With the more machinery and equipment that you have in the premises, the risk increases but for now, we will just consider the small office with the common electrical equipment of, say, computers, fax machines, fans, etc.

There is no way of eliminating such dangers as it is entirely down to how the user operates the equipment with respect to the potential dangers that can occur from miss-use. It is therefore your responsibility to make sure that all electrical equipment (including power points) are maintained so that the risk of injury is low.

This does not mean re-wiring, say, the computer, it is just a general inspection and testing which may include:

• Looking for exposed wires that have no insulation

• Identifying damaged and defected equipment

• Identifying signs of overheating

• Checking that all plugs have the right fuse and are earthed correctly, etc

Any issues need to be fixed immediately which will mean putting the equipment out of use until it is fixed: if you are still unsure, then turn off the power to the premises completely until it has been adjusted.

It is common for most equipment to be 'double insulated' meaning that it has high integrity insulation and is usually marked with a '?' symbol. This means that the equipment does not need an earthed connection to sustain it's safety as the external casing (or parts) are non-conducting. As a result, if an accident occurred, the outer casing would not become live causing a further threat. For equipment that is not 'double insulted', it is important that they are earthed and tested, say, every five years to prevent the equipment from becoming live in an accident.

If you walk into the office one day and find an employee lying unconscious on the floor, then you should regard electrocution as a possibility. In which case, you should examine the scene to see if the employee is connected to a possible electrical source, say, a wire, and as a result you too would be electrocuted by touching the person. If they are, then you must remove the source with respect to your own safety and then perform the necessary first aid procedure (resuscitation, etc).

It is important that all tests and inspections are carried out by someone (if not you) who has a high knowledge on electrical safety. If your business employs more then five employees, it is stated in the Health & Safety Regulations that such inspections should be carried out by a qualified electrician.

b) Fire safety

Fire can put an end to small businesses if they are not controlled and you should therefore take all the necessary precautions to prevent such an incident from happening. All individual threats should be identified in your risk assessment but fire can be caused through a 'knock-on' effect of poor electrical safety precautions.

It is important that you isolate the individual threats of fire by training your staff to deal with each case of fire. This will include fighting electrical and chemical fires as well as the general fires. In which case, you should provide the necessary equipment that is needed to battle fires including blankets, extinguishers, and possibly axes.

Fire extinguishers come in different sizes and more importantly, different types to put out different classes of fire:

Class A fires

These are combustibles such as wood, paper, general furniture, etc and can be put out with an extinguisher that consists of either pressurized water or foam.

Class B fires

These include fires caused by flammable liquids or gases. In which case, you have to eliminate the oxygen to prevent the liquid or gas from further reaching the ignition source. Such extinguishers contain either carbon dioxide or dry chemicals (powder).

Class C fires

These are fires caused by electrical equipment and therefore it is important that the element used to put out the fire is a non-electrical conductor. You should never use water to put out electrical fires. The correct extinguisher to use would consist of carbon dioxide or dry chemicals (powder).

All extinguishers are classed and correlate to the type of fire that they can be used for. Some extinguishers may have, say, a BC class meaning that they can be used for both flammable liquid (class B fire) and electrical fires (class C fire). Fire extinguishers start at less than £20 for an extinguisher that can deal with A, B, and C fires.

Viking - the office product supplier - sell fire extinguishers and offer a visual guide to choosing the right extinguisher: Click here (will open in a new window).

It is important that you maintain your fire equipment and have it regularly checked by a fire authority (e.g. the fire brigade) to make sure they are in constant working order. Aside from the use of equipment, your employees should be trained on how to evacuate the premises as quick and safely as possible. This will require you to make sure that fire escapes are clear at all times.

c) Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

Back in the times when typewriters were the only form of word processing, the degree of repetitive strain injury was reduced by the regular breaks of inserting paper. Today, because computers allow us to type freely with no interruptions, the risk has increased. When typing, very few of us think about the high risks of injury associated with our fingers, wrists and tendons. Those people that are employed only to type (e.g. secretaries) are usually the ones that keep quiet when they suffer from RSI caused by constant typing because they fear for their job.

Employees now have the backing of the law for employers to provide action to reduce the risk of RSI and is an issue that should be covered in the risk assessment (if used). To reduce the risk, you should provide adequate workstations that allow the employee to feel more comfortable when using a computer for typing or manoeuvring the mouse. Further, you should allow the employee to have regular breaks from typing by rotating their tasks.

Products have also been made available to assist RSI sufferers, which includes the ergonomically designed keyboard (available at all big office equipment stores) that reduces the need to bend and flex the wrists when typing. Similar products are available to assist with using the mouse.



Article Index

1 Introduction
2 Essential Health
3 Health & Safety Issues
4 Poor Posture