Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Safety and Health in the Workplace - Environmental Safety

Safety and health in the workplace cannot be overemphasized. In a work environment two things take precedent over any issue. Number one is the occupational well-being of employees. The second most important issue is environmental safety and health. It is no surprise that when environmental safety and health guidelines are followed, threat to humans health is lessened, not to mention the threat to the environment. Codes, laws and regulations often go hand in hand to achieve both. The list of environmental concerns is lengthly. As a Health and Safety professional, your obligation is to follow and address environmental safety and health issues.
Four of the major environmental safety and health in the workplace areas are; indoor air quality (IAQ) issues, chemical disposal, petroleum storage / fuel tanks and pest management.
Indoor Air Pollutants
I have learned that indoor air complaints range from uncomfortable temperature ranges, fear of dirt on a ceiling tile, actual mold growing on walls and unexplained illness in an entire wing of a building. One thing to make clear is this: The complaint is real to one or more persons and needs to be taken seriously. The culprit most often to blame in an IAQ investigation is inadequate ventilation. People need to breath fresh air that is brought in from outside. Often the second most common complaint is mold. Keeping roof leaks (or any water intrusion) under control is the best practice at reducing mold growth on indoor environments.
Chemicals and Chemical Disposal
Other indoor contaminates are chemicals in the air that we breathe. Chemicals that are "green" approved are considered safe for the environment, and the people who occupy the rooms. Green chemicals are safe when considering prolonged exposure for the staff who use them day after day.
State and Federal laws mandate the proper disposal of chemical, electronic, universal and hazardous waste. It is not ok to throw items into the dumpster unless the owner is certain that the items do not posses characteristics that would classify it as hazardous. Electronic items for example contain metals like cadmium, lead, and mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) knows that the disposal cost for hazardous waste is high, therefore they classify items like computers and fluorescent bulbs that contain these metals as being a universal waste. This means these items can be managed by recycling. Other chemicals must be disposed of as hazardous waste. It's the employers duty to determine the classification of the waste and how material is to be disposed of. They must be very careful to do so correctly to avoid serious and costly penalties and harm to the environment.
Petroleum Storage and Fuel Tanks
Another major responsibility that employers have is on keeping in compliance with state and federal regulations concerning above and below ground petroleum fuel tanks. There are many laws regulating that entities report and register existing tanks at their facility. There are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly record keeping and reporting that goes into being a petroleum tank owner.
Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management or IPM is the least toxic approach to pest management. IPM is important because no one wants to work with or around toxic or dangerous pesticides, herbicides or any other chemical that is designed to "kill". And we certainly don't want to harm the environment either. It is the business owners responsibility to assist and teach all employees how to comply with laws pertaining to IPM so that no one is exposed to dangerous pest elimination chemicals at work.
Environmental safety and health in the workplace is everyone's business. Most people aren't aware of the issues concerning indoor air, chemical disposal, petroleum storage tanks or integrated pest management. But for the safety person, these environmental issues are a major part of the job. We will continue to strive to keep human safety as our main priority and the safety of our environment a very close second.
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Health and Safety Training Courses - What Do They Teach?

Most governments make it mandatory for businesses, and organizations to conduct health and safety training for their employees. Undergoing the training makes it possible for employers, authorities, and their staff to implement safe practices in workplace and respond immediately and effectively if an accident or health hazard occurs. The training not only helps when occupational hazards or problems such as fire or earthquake hits but also assists in maintaining practices which would ensure safety in the work place or anywhere else.
The lessons taught in the health and safety training varies from course to course. The basic courses give training on basic safety and healthy practices and how to follow them. Other courses provide guidance on areas such as health and safety legislation, fire, first aid, food safety, manual handling etc which would range over all sectors of work. The fire training usually involves responding to fire alarms, using fire extinguishers and other means of extinguishing fire, training classes for fire marshals and fire wardens and information on the methods which would help prevent fire.
First aid courses in health and safety training include recognizing and providing primary care for sudden illness and injuries so as to maintain the person stable till medical personnel arrives on the scene. It would also include performing CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on adults. Other courses include emergency evacuation, hazard communication, management of hazardous waste, laboratory safety, electrical safety, tool safety, bio safety etc. Depending up on your occupation and needs you can apply for the courses, though basic health and safety training (which provides guidance on healthy practices, practicing safety etc) would be mandatory for all employees.
You could find many health and safety training courses online. The applicability of these courses would depend on your own requirement as well as what you already know. For example many centers offer courses such as alarm response, bio safety, office orientation, electrical safety, earthquake safety emergency procedures, refresher courses etc online. These may include learning materials which do not require practical training (unlike classes such as first aid, fire warden, and material handling). Some of these courses may require prior training. The requirements vary from course to course.
It is of course better to take Health and safety training offline especially in subjects such as first aid, fire safety etc since these involve practical work. Many universities as well as health and safety consultants hold these courses. If you are employing consultants, they would be able to provide training at your work place as well.

Colocation Pricing and Safety

Pricing colocation for your servers can be a complicated task. While every data center will be slightly different, it may be difficult to see the differences between them until you take a very close look at the systems utilized in protecting customers' data and equipment. From physical and network security to power, cooling and fire protection, there are several facets to consider in the debate over data center pricing.
Anyone considering colocation should think of fire safety as a top priority, but many business owners don't know where to start. This is understandable, but can be simply explained. This article details the levels of fire protection your facility should offer, as well as the top-tier systems that all data centers should use, in order to give you a better idea of what to expect in the process of pricing colocation facilities.
The best defense, of course, is a multi-tiered defense that protects your equipment on several levels:
1. Prevention
You will want to do some research on the staff at your colocation facility, making sure that they are fully trained and equipped with the proper tools to handle any threat of fire. If your data center has an excellent reputation for service, that's a good sign you have chosen a facility with trustworthy personnel who will be proactive about fire prevention. A good example of some of the training you should expect out of colocation staff is the proper use of handheld extinguishers and other equipment.
2. Detection
Early detection is always best. When pricing colocation centers, you should look closely at the methods used for detecting a threat of fire. Some data centers will use High-Sensitivity Smoke Detection (HSSD) sensors to actively sample the air around the clock. This type of fire detection is preferable because it will detect overheating components and combusted particulates at the earliest possible moment.
3. Suppression
The industry's undisputed best fire suppression system is FM-200. Respected around the globe for protecting some of the world's most critical servers, this waterless fire suppression system stops any type of fire before it has the chance to cause significant damage. FM-200 is stored as a liquid, but deploys quickly and cleanly as a vapor that is completely safe for both your equipment and your employees.
Safety is number one when considering pricing for various data centers. While pricing may be dependent on your business' budgetary restrictions, it is important to select a colocation center that has fault tolerant, redundant systems for fire protection. This is a very important aspect of data center performance. Whatever your decision, choose a facility you trust to provide top-tier protection for your servers. This includes making sure your facility utilizes the highest standards in fire prevention, detection and suppression.

All website HSE job search USA, Canada, Algeria, France, Tunis, Morocco, England

All website HSE  job search USA, Canada, Algeria, France, Tunis, Morocco, England

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