9 ways to make sure your machinery is effectively guarded

1. Conduct a risk assessment to immediately make yourself aware of all the hazards and risks attached to the machines.

2. The machine operator must inspect all machine guards every day before he starts working.

3. Make all cleaning staff aware of the importance of obeying instructions regarding cleaning procedures/replacement of guards.

4. Correctly train and monitor all operators working on moving machinery, and record this training in writing. Often the machines come with a manual that includes the safe methods for using the machine. Use this to train the operators. Or draw up safe work procedures for the safe use of each dangerous machine. Have operators sign a simple “acknowledgement of training” form.

5. Display a notice warning of moving machinery in a prominent position. This should either be a sign stating “beware moving machinery” or alternatively a pictogram.

6. Develop safe work procedures for hazardous moving machinery and ensure you’ve trained relevant employees in these procedures.

7. Have all moving machinery and guards inspected on a monthly basis by the Health and Safety Representative. You must ensure that Machine Guarding is listed as an item for Health and Safety Representatives to inspect on a monthly basis.

8. Have a competent person inspect all moving machinery and guards on a monthly basis (this is someone who has the relevant knowledge and experience), or people nominated and deemed competent for this purpose.

9. Number each machine and record these numbers on the checklist/register.

Use these 3 documents to inspect your machine guards

• Health and Safety Representative checklist
• Safe work procedures
• "Competent Person” inspection checklist

22 ways to keep flammable liquids from incinerating your business

When I was younger I dated a gent who was too impatient to build a braai like every other person. His favourite method for preparing the fire was to pour turps or paraffin over the charcoal, light a match and toss it in. The resulting inferno meant we usually had to wait longer than usual to cook our meat because the flames were just too hot!

Now, this is an example of carelessness when it comes to flammable liquid, but the fact is some of us need to use it to do our jobs. Here are the 22 requirements you must fulfill to use flammable liquids.

1.Custom build the room, cabinet or enclosure where you use the substance with fire-resistant material (GSR 4(2), OHSA).

2.Don’t allow the creation of a fire or explosion hazard. You must extract flammable or explosive vapours from the room (GSR 4(2)(a), OHSA).

3.Effectively disperse or dilute the vapours from its use or application into the atmosphere by providing extraction fans (GSR 4(2)(b), OHSA).

4.Don’t contaminate any other part of your workplace with the vapour. The extraction’s outlet must lead into the atmosphere and not into another room in the workplace (GSR 4(2)(c), OHSA).

5.Provide effective intake and exhaust ventilators to remove all flammable vapours from the store, cabinet or enclosure (GSR 4(3), OHSA).

6.If the air supply and extraction is horizontal, the average air speed measured 1.5m above floor level must be at least 0.5 metres per second (GSR 4(4)(a), OHSA).

7.If the air supply is vertical and extraction is done through slits or a grill along the side wall at floor level, the average air speed measured 1.5m above floor level must be at least 0.4 metres per second (GSR 4(4)(b), OHSA).

8.If the air supply is vertical and extraction is done through a grill over the whole of the floor area, the average air speed measured 1.5m above floor level must be at least 0.3 metres per second (GSR 4(4)(c), OHSA).

9.Provide every employee spraying flammable liquid with a suitable respirator, mask or breathing apparatus.

10.All ducts trunks and enclosures must be of fire-resistant material, of a smooth interior finish and you must regularly clean these (GSR 6(a), OHSA).

11.Keep the ventilation system going during working hours and after hours for at least the period of time it takes to clear the vapour from the room’s atmosphere to below 25 % of the lower explosive limit of that vapour (GSR 6(b), OHSA).

12.Don’t obstruct the flow of air towards the intake of the ventilation and draw the spray or vapour away from any employee operating the equipment (GSR 6(c), OHSA). Do this by instructing the spray to be directed towards the extraction intake.

13.If the floor area exceeds 20 square metres, the room must have at least two separate entrances at two opposite sides of the room with doors opening outwards that can’t be locked (GSR 7(a), OHSA).

14.Fit the room with an inspection window of strengthened or shatterproof glass that no one can open (GSR 7(b), OHSA).

15.You and your employees may not take any fire, flame, naked light or static producing item into the room. Post “no smoking” and “no open flames” signs indicating such prohibitions at all the entrances to the room (GSR 8(a)(i), OHSA).

16.Don’t allow any smoking in such a room and you must post signs prohibiting smoking at all the entrances to the room (GSR 8(a)(ii), OHSA).

17.Employees may not conduct any process capable of sparks or fire or apply any application of heat to dry the sprayed items before the atmosphere has been cleared of all vapour (GSR 8(a)(iii), OHSA).

18.Clear and safely dispose of all waste from the room daily (GSR 9(a), OHSA).

19.You may only keep one day’s requirement of flammable liquid in the room (GSR 9(b), OHSA).

20.You must tightly close the containers in which you partially store flammables or where you also keep other stock when not in use and safely remove and dispose of empty containers daily (GSR 9(c), OHSA).

21.Keep the room, all fans, ducts, trunks and enclosures clean and in good working order (GSR 9(d), OHSA).

22.Use tools that don’t cause sparking to clean, scrape or scour (GSR 9(d), OHSA).

7de Laan: Our health and safety professionals have their eyes on you!

Question

My question may seem a bit silly as it’s based on a soapie, where things normally don’t work out the way they’re supposed to. But, I thought it’s an interesting situation and I want to know what we would have to do in reality. The soapie I was watching was 7de Laan. One of the characters injured himself walking up a staircase. He was trying to force past people, coming down the staircase, while lugging a heavy wardrobe! The accident happened when the railing he was pressing against broke, causing him to fall backwards and land on his back, breaking his hand in the process. It turned out the bolts on the staircase were rusted and brittle. Now, the interesting part of this scenario is the lawyer on the soapie claimed the owner of the block of flats was responsible, and could be sued.

1.    The person injured isn’t a tenant.

2.    The owner has an appointed maintenance person responsible for maintenance.

3.    The person injured had to force himself up against the railings as he wasn’t in a position to get past the people moving downwards, and surely they weren’t at fault for not letting him past?

4.    Would the court not suggest that the injured character should’ve waited to let the people come down first before going up the stairs with the wardrobe?

5.    We obviously don’t know whether the building has a sign up stating that people use the building at their own risk, but would that change the outcome?

6.    Can the injured actually sue the owner for damages, and where would the OHSA fit in as the owner is not employing this visitor? I would think that the only claim this person would have is against the owner’s insurance under liability cover?

7.    This is a reportable injury. Who reports this?

Answer

Interesting! The owner of the building is the Section 16.1 appointee, so is ultimately responsible. You have to find out whether he has a Section 37.2 mandatory agreement with the maintenance company. Does the public have access to the building? Are the stairs on a maintenance schedule? These are the types of questions the DoL will ask the owner. It’s the same as a situation where there’s oil on the supermarket floor and someone slips and hurts his back. He must have seen the oil, but keeps on walking. Now it’s his fault. Remember, the root cause of the injury was the rusted bolts and not squeezing by. If there’s a maintenance plan and the company or worker didn’t adhere to it, then the maintenance person will have to answer for the injury.

Drinking water at the correct time

2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion

1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure

1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

HIV / AIDS news

South Africa could cut the number of new HIV infections to below 200000 a year by 2020, more than one-half of the current level, with the right policies, but reaching the goal will be costly, a report on Friday said.

South Africa has the most infected people of any country in the world with 5,7-million with HIV, according to data from the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids). Around 18% of South Africans aged between 15 and 49 are infected.

"This situation poses huge financial dangers and risks for the country, particularly at a time when South Africa is feeling the negative effects of the global economic recession," the report said.

The report recommends drawing up and funding more effective plans for prevention, treatment and halting the transmission of the virus from infected parents to their children.

Even if it implements these plans, a further five-million more South Africans will be infected with HIV over the next two decades, according to the report from the Centre for Economic Governance and Aids in Africa and the Results for Development Institute.

The government has allocated several billion dollars a year for treatment, prevention and drugs aimed at keeping HIV infections in check.

Total costs over the next two decades to reduce the number of new infections are estimated to be as much as $102-billion if the country steps up spending on drugs, increases the number of those receiving treatment and plans to prevent the spread of the disease, the report said.

"South Africa is beginning to make important inroads in its efforts to slow the number of new infections and bring life saving treatment to those who need it", said Robert Hecht, one of the report's authors and managing director of the Results for Development Institute.

UNAids said that access to treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - an incurable viral infection that causes Aids and infects around 33,4-million people around the world - has increased 12-fold in six years, and 5,2-million people are now getting the drugs they need.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region hardest hit by HIV, accounting for 67% of all people living with the virus worldwide, 71%of Aids-related deaths and 91% of all new infections among children.

African nations whose populations have been devastated by Aids have made big strides in fighting HIV, with new infections down 25% since 2001 in some of the worst hit places, a recent UN report said.

Amputations Related To The Workplace

Amputations are widespread in the workplace. Most of all workplace amputations occur in the manufacturing sector. The rest occur in construction, agriculture, wholesale, retail and service industries.

These injuries result from the use of machines such as presses, conveyors, shaping machines, saws, hand tools, forklifts, doors and trash compactors.

One must recognize contributing factors for amputations such as hazardous mechanical components and hazardous mechanical motions like rotating machinery.

Employees operating and caring for machinery perform activities that present potential amputation hazards. Most of these activities involve servicing and maintenance of machinery such as machine inspection, cleaning jams and cleaning of machines. Therefore understanding the mechanical components of machinery will help workers avoid injury.

The primary method for preventing amputations is to safeguard machines. Safeguarding of machines can be done by guards which provide physical barriers that prevent access to danger areas and by safeguarding devices to prevent operator contact with hazardous machine motion or if any part of an individual’s body is within the hazardous portion of the machine.

There are four types of machine guards:

1.Fixed machine guards are barriers that permit operators to reach the danger area and permanently enclose the hazard area.

2.Adjustable machine guards are barriers that adjust and can be constructed to suit many situations. It may however require frequent maintenance.

3.Interlocking machine guards shuts off power and prevents machine start-up when guard is open. It requires periodic maintenance.

4.Self-adjusting machine guards moves according to the size of the stock entering point of operation and is commercially available but does not provide maximum protection.

Risk indicators in the workplace to look for include:

•Unguarded moving parts of machinery;

•Machine guards which are loose, incomplete or allow people to put parts of their body through, or climb over, under or around;

•Machinery which is able to be started without the guard being in its correct position;

•Machinery which is not maintained in good working order;

•Machinery which is able to be inadvertently started;

•Moving parts or controls which are difficult to see due, possibly because of poor lighting;

•Untrained operators working with machinery;

•Cluttered or confined work areas at machines;

•Work practices which require employees to rush their work;

•Mobile machines and vehicles being operated outside of designated areas;

•Incorrect use of equipment.

Here are a few examples of what can be done to stop amputations from happening. Employers should, for example, make sure that:

•All moving parts of machinery are guarded and the guards cannot be readily removed;

•Guards are designed and constructed which prevent people (either whole body or parts of) coming in contact with moving parts during machine operation;

•Machine work areas are clearly defined, for example, by marking floor areas, and by limiting access to only those employees authorised to work with the machines;

•Safe working procedures are developed for all machinery and promoted in the workplace;

•All machinery is regularly inspected, services and tested by qualified persons;

•Controls are located within easy reach of the operator and cannot be unintentionally turned on;

•Work areas are well lit and uncluttered;

•Regular inspections of guarding integrity are carried out;

•Correct tools are used for the job.

Safeguards need to be properly designed, constructed, installed, used and maintained to ensure that the workers are protected.

How to influence worker OHS attitudes

We can all agree that the development and maintenance of good Health and Safety attitudes is an important aspect of workplace Health and Safety. The correct attitude will provide you with the foundation on which you will implement interventions that will minimize hazards, prevent incidents, and create a safer, healthier workplace.

Here is a list of 6 strategies that you can employ:

1. Talk about Health and Safety. The more you talk about the importance of Health and Safety, the more you encourage discussion at management level, supervisory level, and employee level. The more you talk about OHS, the more you generate interest, inclusion, and the sharing of information. Just talking about occupational safety and health, draws attention to it and makes it important.

2. Encourage Health & Safety suggestions. Who knows their jobs better than the workers who perform them? It is important to listen to them. Encourage workers to talk to you about their ideas for making their jobs and other workers’ jobs safer. This approach not only produces some excellent ways to improve safety conditions and performance, but it also involves employees in the improvement process. Involvement creates buy-in.

3. Act promptly to correct hazards and improve safety conditions. Whenever you identify hazards or employees bring them to your attention, act promptly to correct the situation. Then take it a step farther and try to create an even safer situation. If you don’t get in there and fix safety problems-even the minor ones-right away, employees will think you don’t care, so why should they. If you ignore safety problems, so will employees.

4. Provide excellent Safety and Health training and information. Make sure employees have the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to work safely and avoid incidents. Well-trained employees quickly develop good Health and Safety attitudes and make safety a priority.

5. Reward safe performance. Catch workers doing something safe and make a big deal about. Praise safe performance loud and clear for all to hear. When workers who have bad or so-so attitudes see that others are getting recognition for their good attitudes, they’ll want to get in on that, too.

Make it clear to employees and supervisors that safety performance is a key part of employee performance appraisals. When employees realize that raises, promotions, and other rewards depend on having a good safety attitude, they’re going to take workplace safety more seriously.

6. Set a positive example. Make sure that managers and supervisors throughout your workplace set a positive example and always exhibit a good Health & Safety attitude. Workers will notice and emulate their behavior.