What is a workplace hazard?
Anything unsafe or unhealthy at workplace leads to hazards. Identifying the hazards at workplace is very essential to safeguard the employees from the potential hazards.
Though it is hard to expect the unexpected hazards; our team at JIC constantly inspects the workplace thoroughly.
Generally, hazards arise from the following aspects:
· Physical work environment
· Equipment, materials and substances used
· Work tasks and how they are performed
· Work design and management
Some hazards might be part of the work process, like various hazards in our working kitchen, hazards during performing the work, through equipment’s used chemical spills etc.
During our regularly inspections we observe the surroundings, we look at how people actually work, how the equipment is used, what chemicals are used around and what they are used for, what safe or unsafe work practices exist and also check the general state of housekeeping.
Things we look out for includes the following:
· Is the work environment enabling workers to carry out work without risks to health and safety.
· Are the tools and equipment used is suitable for the task and how well are they maintained
· Any changes have occurred in the workplace that may affect health and safety
Hazards are not always obvious. Some hazards can affect health over a long period of time.
As we walk around, we spot problems that are straightforward and action can be taken immediately, for example cleaning up a spill.
If a situation is found where there is immediate or significant danger to people, immediate action like shifting workers to a safer location first and then attend to the hazard immediately is taken.
A list of potential hazards and also the existing hazards is made to ensure nothing is missed. To monitor this a Risk Assessment Template is made where in all the work related hazards are identified and the control measures taken and the preventive action taken to mitigate the workplace hazards.
Al Jazeera International Catering L.L.C 