SUBSCRIBE TO SEE LEKKER SPECIALS, SAFETY TIPS & MORE

As stated in the Occupational Health and Safety Act of South Africa, section 8, all employers have a duty towards safety;

"Every employer shall provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of his employees.".

It goes onto say the following in section 8.2;

"(b) taking such steps as may be reasonably practicable to eliminate or mitigate any hazard or potential hazard to the safety or health of employees, before resorting to personal protective equipment; 

(c) making arrangements for ensuring, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the production, processing, use, handling, storage or transport of articles or substances;

(d) establishing, as far as is reasonably practicable, what hazards to the health or safety of persons are attached to any work which is performed, any article or substance which is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or transported and any plant or machinery which is used in his business, and he shall, as far as is reasonably practicable, further establish what precautionary measures should be taken with respect to such work, article, substance, plant or machinery in order to protect the health and safety of persons, and he shall provide the necessary means to apply such precautionary measures; 

(e) providing such information, instructions, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees; 

(f) as far as is reasonably practicable, not permitting any employee to do any work or to produce, process, use, handle, store or transport any article or substance or to operate any plant or machinery, unless the  precautionary measures contemplated in paragraphs (b) and (d), or any other precautionary measures which may be prescribed,- have been taken;"

Here you can see exactly what the law requires of you as an employer, it makes it known that because of the work your company does, and the new processes that it now affects onto employees and the public, it is your responsibility to make sure that your company's work, does not introduce unnecessary hazards or risks to the people.

This is why we do hazard identification and risk assessment, to show the individual the proper way to discover, remove or manage risks in the workplace. The first thing to do, as per the law, is to remove the risks all together, or, as a last resort, issue the employees and public with personal protective equipment, like hard hats, safety boots, etc.

There is also a strict need to document these processes correctly, so that employees can be training on the hazards, and should the need arise, and you need to, you can prove that you took all the reasonable steps to remove the risks and hazards associated with the work.

Lastly, from a legal liability point of view, in the act, section 38, offences and penalties, it states that non-compliance to the law's requires could put you in jail for a minimum of 2 years, or a massive fine, or both.

However, we won't let it get that far, book yourself and some of your management team onto this course, and start conducting your risk assessments. You can do them once a year, or when a new machine or process is introduced to the workplace, or when it looks like an old process is failing to remove a risk or hazard.

Click here to make your booking for Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment.