Occupational Health Risk Assessments Make for Great Companies
South Africa has always been proud of its relatively stringent occupational health legislation, and we’re typically more in step with the best in the world than other emerging economies may be. It’s not unusual to see various countries around the world making the news for the appalling work conditions and hazards their citizens face daily.
More than anything else, the legislated risk assessment companies must undertake is a point of decency, a commitment to the spirit of caring about each other enough to wish safety for everyone. It’s a fairly elementary process in intent – all an occupational health risk assessment does is gauge whether the processes and goods that people are exposed to at work are dangerous. Even where the nature of work concerns hazardous material manufacturing, the law asks that employers attempt to control risks by instituting sufficient precautions.
The Benefits of Occupational Health Risk Assessments are Actually Social
Not only does compliance remain solid and workplaces remain safe through regular occupational health risk assessments, but a few things do more for company morale than the demonstration of caring risk assessment involves. Not only workers, but surrounding communities, too, feel better for knowing that above-board business is being conducted on the premises.
Both workers and neighbouring communities have the right to protection from harm where it may result from a company’s failure to take what are considered reasonable precautions or adequate control measures.
Compliance says more though – it tells workers that you care about their wellbeing. It’s partially informative of advances in factory processes, too, especially in waste and hazardous goods management, and other particularly dangerous operations. Companies can easily calculate a risk rating, and decide whether, as per best practice, they have taken sufficient precautions for workplace safety.
Good Practices Make Everything Easier
Occupational health risk assessments run on the understanding that accidents and poor health can be ruinous to people’s lives, that they can often dramatically affect annual production, and also result in damaged goods or machinery.
Quite apart from the human angst that ensues, insurance premiums can escalate, or there might even be some legal challenges for a business suspected of negligence in the matter of staff safety.
There are of course some inherently dangerous occupations or industries that deal almost exclusively with flammable, toxic or otherwise dangerous goods. Occupational health as a field accepts those inherent dangers, but is concerned with what companies do to mitigate them. This is, in essence, the heart of such health risk assessments – making sure that no matter the goods or services, risks are logically mitigated as per legislation that governs workplace safety.
Occupational Health Risk Assessments Are an Aid to Business
More than simply policing known protocols, companies dealing in matters of occupational health aid companies with specialised services, too, such as asbestos identification, checking for chemical compatibility, and also performing hazardous biological sampling. In a nutshell, if it’s suspected of being dangerous, practitioners offer a variety of services to determine handling and safety precautions to keep companies on the right side of the law.
Risk assessments are mandated to be conducted biennially, in other words, every two years. For a comprehensive, cost-effective, and professional service, look no further than IOH Solutions. We have the experience and resources to provide prompt and effective solutions to workplace safety assessments and have been keeping companies safe since 2003.