Workplace Environment
A Safe Workplace
This page outlines some of the key aspects of maintaining a safe workplace. The focus is on general workplaces with additional, or in some cases, different controls for specialist areas.
Workplace Maintenance
Your workplace should be:
- In good repair and maintained so that it is safe and works efficiently.
- Provided with enough space for safe movement and access.
- Maintained to ensure floors, corridors and stairs etc. are free of obstructions, e.g. trailing cables.
- Provided with good drainage in wet processes.
Lighting
The facility should be provided with lighting which:
- Is good light – natural light where possible and measures to avoid glare.
- Includes local lighting at workstations, where necessary.
- Includes suitable forms of emergency lighting.
- Ensures well-lit stairs and corridors.
- Ensures well-lit outside areas – for pedestrians and to help with work activities such as loading/unloading at night.
Safe Movement Around the Premises
Measures will include:
- Safe passage for pedestrians and vehicles – separate routes may be necessary.
- Level, even floors and surfaces without holes or broken boards.
- Handrails on stairs and ramps, where necessary.
- Safely constructed doors and gates.
- Floors and surfaces which are not slippery.
- Minimisation of risks caused by snow and ice on outdoor routes, e.g. use salt or sand and sweep them.
Maintaining a Clean Workplace
Workplaces will be maintained to ensure:
- Floors and stairs are clean, with effective drainage, where necessary.
- Premises kept clean, including furniture and fittings.
- Containers for waste materials.
- Dirt, refuse and trade waste are regularly removed.
- Spillages are promptly cleaned up.
- Internal walls and ceilings are kept clean.
Glazing, Windows and Skylights
Measures include:
- Safety glass, where necessary.
- Windows capable of being opened can be opened, closed or adjusted safely.
- All windows and skylights are designed and constructed so that they may be cleaned safely.
Hygiene and Welfare
Provisions include:
- Clean toilets and hand basins, with running hot and cold or warm water, soap and towels or another suitable means of drying.
- Drinking water.
- Somewhere to rest and eat meals, including facilities for eating food which would otherwise become contaminated.
- Accommodation or hanging space for personal clothing not worn at work (and somewhere to change if special clothing is worn for work).
- Rest facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Comfortable Working Environment
Work environments will be:
- A reasonable working temperature within workplaces inside buildings (usually at least 16 °C, or 13 °C for strenuous work, unless it is impractical to do so, e.g. in certain temperature controlled laboratories).
- Local heating or cooling where a comfortable temperature cannot be maintained throughout each workroom (e.g. hot and cold processes).
- Good ventilation – a sufficient supply of fresh, clean air drawn from outside or a ventilation system.
- Heating systems which do not give off dangerous or offensive levels of fume into the workplace.
- Enough workspace, including suitable workstations and seating.
Working at Height
The following controls will be put in place:
- Precautions to prevent people or materials falling from open edges, e.g. fencing or guard rails.
- Fence or cover floor openings, e.g. vehicle examination pits, when not in use.
Reporting Issues
Any issues should be reported to the SEF Service Centre
Reference