Stop! Machine Guards
Stop! Machine Guards TONY MANGAN Health and Safety Consultant EazySAFE Crushed fingers, broken bones, amputation, strike by flying material. These are just some of the real outcomes of poorly guarded machines. It can be life altering. And it can kill. Each piece of machinery has its own unique mechanical and non-mechanical hazards, causing injuries from minor to very severe. Each machine must have adequate safeguards to protect operators and other employees in the immediate work…
Planning Your Safety Budget
Planning Your Safety Budget GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE When a company creates a budget for safety, then you know that they are taking the first step to taking safety seriously. A safety budget isn’t just keeping some money aside for the obvious things like PPE and fire safety maintenance, it's about using your available financial resources in a creative way to ensure that other less thought about aspects of safety are considered and…
The Benefits of an Effective Safety Committee
The Benefits of an Effective Safety Committee GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE Some people may think that there is no need for a safety committee and that may be true, only if the one that you have in place is not effective! Speaking from experience, I have always found that an effective safety committee can be a huge benefit to the company and to employees. Working with all different types of companies — large…
Understanding Safety – Electrical Safety – PAT Testing Principles and Practice
Understanding Safety : Electrical Safety - PAT Testing Principles and Practice ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE The idea of electrical portable appliance testing (PAT) is relatively recent in Ireland and therefore there can be some confusion about what this basic term means, how it is carried out and what equipment is covered under the testing requirement. For our discussion, portable appliance testing does not include electrical installation testing. Electrical installations in Ireland are covered under…
Risks to the Long-Term Health of Irish Workers
Risks to the Long-Term Health of Irish Workers TONY MANGAN EHS Consultant EazySAFE Health can be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. An occupational disease, meanwhile, is a disease where work may be a contributory factor. In 2013, an estimated 55,000 workers in Ireland suffered from a work‐related illness. Musculoskeletal and stress related ill health are the biggest risks to workers…
Trends in Health & Safety
Trends in Health & Safety TONY MANGAN EHS Consultant EazySAFE Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has grown in importance in the past decades as governments recognise the cost of poor health and safety, and employees recognise the benefits of prevention. Many more stakeholders now recognise that prevention pays. There are two aspects to OHS: work related injuries, and illness as a result of work, and their relative sizes varies in different parts of the world.…
First Aid in the Workplace
First Aid in the Workplace GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE From my experience, First Aid can be one of the first things that a company may try and tackle when they are starting/reviewing their health and safety management program. Initially this can mean a significant investment, with training, time and first aid equipment. It is for sure a great place to start and a very important area to keep on top of. Unfortunately, unless…
Understanding Safety: Workers in Sensitive Risk Groups
Understanding Safety: Workers in Sensitive Risk Groups ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE There are myriad environments that people work in on a day to day basis in which they are able to work without undue problems, what most of us would consider to be a normal working regime. Although there are some more hazardous risk management issues that may need to be assessed and managed, such as working with chemicals, working in a confined space…
Hidden Dangers – Office Safety
The office is not the first place you would think of when you think of safety at work! Office places would not usually fall into the high-risk category, but this does not mean that no hazards exist here. Let’s take a closer look. A job where most work tasks are carried out while sitting in a chair in a climate-controlled office would …
Understanding Safety: Safety Statements
The term safety statement is used to describe a document which summarises how an Irish company manages risk and provides an opportunity for company management to show commitment to their employees that workplace risk is effectively managed.