When it comes to developing safe workplaces through effective Occupational Hygiene practices it is better to be safe than sorry. Dust, gases, vapours, crystalline silica, airborne contaminants, and a whole range of other workplace exposure risks all pose a threat to the safety of employees who are just trying to go about finishing their workday, and as such, rigorous standards need to be in place to ensure that these environmental risks do not exceed safe levels.<\/p>\n
Further, what at one stage may have been deemed to be a \u2018safe\u2019 level of exposure may, upon review, be identified as a potential risk, with workplace rules and regulations changing to protect the safety of business\u2019 and their staff. An effective method for ensuring that your business remains on top of its legal and regulatory obligations in keeping its workplace safe from exposure hazards is to conduct regular Occupational Hygiene Audits <\/strong>of the premises, ensuring that exposure levels at your premises do not exceed workplace regulations, and that your staff and operations is upholding the highest safety standards.<\/p>\n In 2019 Safe Work Australia (SWA), the government body dedicated to promoting work health and safety practices, revised the existing Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) <\/strong>regarding respirable crystalline silica exposure<\/strong>, from the time weighted average (TWA) of 0.1 mg\/m3 <\/sup><\/em>to the much lower 0.05 mg\/m3<\/sup>. The reason for this change is due to increased awareness of the dangers of exposure to this hazardous substance, and its potential to cause a number of long-term health problems, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease<\/strong> (COPD), kidney disease<\/strong>, silicosis<\/strong>, and a number of other lung diseases<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Further, SWA has recognised the potential hazard that respirable coal dust<\/strong> poses for workers in relevant sectors, such as the mining industry, and reduced its allowable exposure levels to the TWA of 1.5 mg\/m3<\/sup><\/em>. Although SWA is giving business\u2019 in different states and territories various deadlines, up until October 2022, to adjust their practices in accordance with these new levels, to best promote the safety of staff, and develop a productive, supportive work environment, it is recommended that companies begin the transition process at their earliest convenience.<\/p>\n These revised Occupational Health and Safety regulations will affect business across different industries in various ways. For example, organisations whose operations work with engineered stone have a responsibility to be on top of their occupational hygiene requirements, and utilise them as a guideline for developing a safe work environment. Under these revised OH&S regulations, companies have a responsibility to develop risk control practices related to exposure, conduct regular audits of their processes to ensure they continue to meet regulations, and ensure that their employees are not exposed to crystalline silica dust or respirable coal dust levels exceeding the updated standards.<\/p>\n It is crucial for business\u2019 working in the mining, construction, and related sectors to have an effective exposure mitigation <\/strong>strategy in place. This is a unified approach to identifying and mitigating potential exposure threats, and then implementing safeguarding measures to ensure they do not reoccur, and that the workplace undergoes periodic checks to ensure it continues to operate with regulatory safe levels.<\/p>\n An effective workplace exposure Occupational Hygiene Audit works at mitigating risks and ensuring the safety of employees from the pre- to post-risk stage. This means that it works at identifying potential threats, safeguarding the business from them, implementing protective strategies to stop potential threats in their tracks and thus protect the operations, immediately mitigating the impact of existing threats, and developing checking procedures to ensure that they do not reoccur. This is conducted through a systematic, step-by-step, process, which:<\/p>\n By conducting an Occupational Hygiene Audit your business is demonstrating a commitment to staff safety, developing a productive, safe work environment, and upholding its reputation as a socially conscious, reliable organisation to deal with.<\/p>\nExposing the risks of workplace exposure<\/h2>\n
Occupational Hygiene Audits develop Overall Heightened Awareness<\/h2>\n
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