December 2015

E-learning Asbestos Awareness Training

E-learning Asbestos Awareness Training

In the times that we live in usually when it comes to technical work you must be trained and passed the necessary exams and licensure processes before you could work. And especially for work that involved dangerous substances or a difficult and/or health and safety hazardous environment, it is an absolute must that you receive the up to standard training and knowledge for the subject matter.

Where do we find the necessary information and training needed for work? Luckily nowadays it’s quite common and not always necessary to travel somewhere far to receive training. It’s not just limited to work but to a lot of other things through E-Learning and the internet in general.

Electronic educational technology, also called E-learning, has become an important part of society today, comprising an extensive array of digitization approaches, components and delivery methods. The means and methods for this kind of learning are through different types of media such audio recordings, video, internet streaming/learning and of course it must be well-made instructional and informative.

E-Learning allows you to receive training and information outside of the training/learning institutions as well helps those institutions provide better education and training for the people.

Through the internet it is now possible to learn and be trained with many work and non-work related matters. Staying at home or workplace and learning and finding training courses for anything nowadays isn’t uncommon and if you are diligent, hardworking and of course know where to look for it should be enough you should be able to do it. In fact it’s not just training and education that you can receive through online, a lot of day to day tasks from work and even at home aren’t done personally meetings and interviews are done online is one of the more common cases.

For asbestos awareness training is no exception it can also be learned through e-learning.

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Asbestos Training Package

Asbestos Training Package

Asbestos can be found in any building built before the year 2000 (houses, factories, offices, schools, hospitals etc) and causes around 5000 deaths every year. While there are tons of improvement, laws and restrictions overtime compared to when the use of Asbestos started being used in homes and industries around a hundred years ago, it is still important to be aware about the risks that it presents to workplaces and homes that it may likely be present.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 makes it compulsory that employers must provide appropriate training for all workers they have that is likely to be exposed to asbestos.

It is known that it is the employers and supervisors legal obligations to make sure to provide the necessary information, precaution and equipment for their employees if the workplace has a dangerous exposure of Asbestos. And this is also a moral obligation, employee’s lives and healths are important as well. They will be held liable if not all the necessary training and knowledge was provided in any harm that is caused to them.

Asbestos Awareness Training key information, instruction and training should cover the following are:

  • the properties of asbestos and its effects on health
  • the types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos and asbestos materials in infrastructures
  • the guidelines on dealing with unstoppable exposure of Asbestos at the workplaces
  • how to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos

Workers and supervisors must be able to recognise asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) and know what to do if they come across them in order to protect themselves and others.

There are three main levels of information, instruction and training. These relate to:

  • Asbestos awareness
  • Non-licensable work with asbestos including NNLW
  • Licensable work with asbestos.

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Fire Extinguisher Inspection

Fire Extinguisher Inspection

It is recommended that employees or someone from the establishment at least knows how to use fire extinguishers but that alone is not enough.

Just like in many other matters it is just not enough that the persons work is the only one with top quality but the materials/equipments used should be in top shape as well. Especially for preparing for emergency situations where lives may be at stake, we must ensure that everything is up to standard and Fire Extinguishers are no exception.

The owner or occupant of the property where the fire extinguishers are located, are responsible for arranging your fire extinguishers’ maintenance.

Fire extinguishers must be checked every 30 days. You can certainly do some quick checks yourself by asking the following questions.

 

Another thing to note about is that it’s also important that you must also be up to date of the regulations and standards of fire extinguishers for better and safer results.

Maintenance is also important to make sure that the Fire Extinguisher are usable during the time of crisis. Of course training is also another thing that one should consider. And even if you or whoever is responsible has already have done doing the training before. It’s important that you refresh your mind with retraining every now and then. Just to make sure you don’t become rusty when the dangerous scenario strikes just like in every other matter being rusty or forgetting how do it may mean failure and failure in the matters of fire incidents could also mean harm or worse death.

If you are going to do something, you might as well put your heart into doing it, especially for serious precautionary matters like this that could mean life and death.

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Fire Extinguisher Training

Fire Extinguisher Training

Fighting fire is not a task that is a walk in the park. It is not easy and it’s very dangerous that could lead to fatal situations easily. Though we have professionals who deal with these kind of disaster, it is still important that we know what to do when one strikes cause there will be times professional fire-fighters isn’t fast enough to arrive and fires can spread incredibly fast.

Luckily somewhere along time as science and technology got better, there are now many other ways possibly surpass fire incidents and one of them is the invention of Fire Extinguishers.

Most establishments nowadays have fire extinguisher at their disposals considering fire extinguishers are very accessible.  Still people need information to determine which sources of fire a certain fire extinguisher should be utilized and training in using the fire extinguisher themselves in the time of need.

Learn PASS a quick guide on how to use Fire Extinguishers:

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Pull the Pin at the top of the extinguisher. The pin releases a locking mechanism and will allow you to discharge the extinguisher.

Aim at the base of the fire, not the flames. This is important – in order to put out the fire, you must extinguish the fuel.

Squeeze the lever slowly. This will release the extinguishing agent in the extinguisher. If the handle is released, the discharge will stop.

Sweep from side to side. Using a sweeping motion, move the fire extinguisher back and forth until the fire is completely out. Operate the extinguisher from a safe distance, several feet away, and then move towards the fire once it starts to diminish. Be sure to read the instructions on your fire extinguisher – different fire extinguishers recommend operating them from different distances. Remember: Aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames!!!!

Always keep in mind that dealing with dangerous situation such as fire incidents you must be well knowledgeable about the matter. Since we will never know when the need for that knowledge arises.

Types of Fire Extinguishers

Types of Fire Extinguishers

Fire incidents are one of the most common accidents that happen everywhere. These incidents could be cause by artificial or natural means, can also be incidental or intentional but that’s a different issue. Nevertheless these kinds of incidents are harmful.

One of the means of dealing with Fire Incidents is the use of Fire extinguishers. Commonly Fire Incidents happen due to the following materials

  • Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of water it holds and the amount of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (green triangle)
  • Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (red square)
  • Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires – the risk of electrical shock is far too great! Class C extinguishers do not have a numerical rating. The C classification means the extinguishing agent is non-conductive. Geometric symbol (blue circle)
  • Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory. They are for fires that involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium. These types of extinguishers also have no numerical rating, nor are they given a multi-purpose rating – they are designed for class D fires only. Geometric symbol (Yellow Decagon)
  • Class K fire extinguishers are for fires that involve cooking oils, trans-fats, or fats in cooking appliances and are typically found in restaurant and cafeteria kitchens. Geometric symbol (black hexagon)

And these are the Types of Fire Extinguishers:

·         Water and Foam fire extinguishers extinguish the fire by taking away the heat element of the fire triangle. Foam agents also separate the oxygen element from the other elements.

·         Carbon Dioxide fire extinguishers extinguish fire by taking away the oxygen element of the fire triangle and also be removing the heat with a very cold discharge.

·         Dry Chemical fire extinguishers extinguish the fire primarily by interrupting the chemical reaction of the fire triangle. Using the incorrect agent can allow the fire to re-ignite after apparently being extinguished successfully.

·         Wet Chemical is a new agent that extinguishes the fire by removing the heat of the fire triangle and prevents re-ignition by creating a barrier between the oxygen and fuel elements.

·         Halogenated or Clean Agent extinguishers include the halon agents as well as the newer and less ozone depleting halocarbon agents. They extinguish the fire by interrupting the chemical reaction of the fire triangle.

·         Dry Powder extinguishers are similar to dry chemical except that they extinguish the fire by separating the fuel from the oxygen element or by removing the heat element of the fire triangle.

·         Water Mist extinguishers are a recent development that extinguishes the fire by taking away the heat element of the fire triangle. They are an alternative to the clean agent extinguishers where contamination is a concern.

·         Cartridge Operated Dry Chemical fire extinguishers extinguish the fire primarily by interrupting the chemical reaction of the fire triangle.

 

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Assessment of Display Screen Equipments

Assessment of Display Screen Equipments

For this day and age it is quite common for everybody to use DSE’s both for work and personal matters. In workplaces the use of Display Screen Equipment is essential and so employees being overexposed to it is not unnatural for workplaces anymore. And we all know that these kind of overexposure may lead to unwanted problems for the workers themselves.

For these reasons laws like The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations of 1992 are produced to provide the best standards that workplace employees who use Display Screen Equipment for work. These standards aim to ensure that all workplace employees are given the best environment.

And for these standards to be met in the workplaces proper assessments are done so that the lack in the workplace in regards to Safety of the Employees and DSE’s. Now these standards are check by the Safety representatives. Safety representatives are either elected by the workforce or appointed by a trade union , they are consulted for safety issues. And the workplace standard involving Display Screen Equipment are also no exception to this.

Safety representatives need to check that their employer is implementing the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, and is fully involving safety representatives in implementing the requirements.

Safety representatives must ensureto check that employers have:

  • carried out risk assessments on all workstations (Regulation 2)
  • consulted users but ensured they are provided with training before being asked to complete any sort of checklist
  • ensured that any workstation meets the minimum requirement of the Schedule to the regulations (Regulation 3)
  • planned the activities of users to allow for breaks (Regulation 4)
  • provided a free eye test to users (Regulation 5)
  • provided training (Regulation 6)
  • provided information about their health and safety to users (Regulation 7)
  • establish systems for early reporting of problems and ill health symptoms, and
  • reviewed all risk assessments when there are reports of problems, or changes in work practices, equipment and workload.

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The Hazards of Display Screen Equipment Usage

The Hazards of Display Screen Equipment Usage

Display Screen Equipment are devices or equipment that has a graphical screen display and it allows users to navigate the functions of the device, these type of technology serves a purpose to help industrial or personal lives.

For sure we are very familiar with these Display Screen Equipment for they are quite common and can be seen everywhere and anywhere in our everyday lives it can range from handheld devices to the more bulky yet powerful personal computers/laptops and even stationary DSE that are engineered fore specific purposes.

But just like everything else these things while convenient as they are improper usage and overexposure may cause harm towards those who are using them.

For example for the industry workers who are regularly using Display Screen Equipment for work then can possibly experience a wide range of different physical and psychological health problems including temporary myopia, eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, mental stress, musculoskeletal problems including RSI, and reproductive hazards.

Here are the most commonly caused DSE-related health issues:

  • Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) – Repetitive strain injuries are a major problem for users of display screen equipment. RSI is the collective name used to describe a range of muscle and tendon conditions of the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands and fingers caused by continuous, repetitive or pressurised finger, hand or arm movements such as typing.
  • Stress is very common to any kind of work-related matters and even personal matters cause this, many DSE workers complain about suffering from very high levels of stress, and mental as well as physical fatigue, when they are involved in work on DSE.
  • Eyesight problems these are the most commonly heard problems caused by extensive usage of DSE, for the use of DSE is very visually demanding and has a lot of stress that it does to the eyes of the user. Though there are no clear evidence that DSE may cause permanent eye damage for certain some of the visual fatigue that the eyes experience from DSE can lead to eye related complications.
  • Reproductive hazards while they are not quite common, there has been cases of reproductive defectiveness and birth-related problems related to exposure of  electromagnetic radiation that DSE emits,

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The Uses of Display Screen Equipment

The Uses of Display Screen Equipment

Ever since the dawn of mankind as we know it, over the years and generations of human being from different cultures, religion and geographical locations we always had continually developed tools and techniques to help us with whatever endeavors we had for our daily lives. Those tools and techniques has helped simplified the lives of humanity from all over the world and in any time period in whatever concerns they have. It’d would be for farming there were tools and techniques for agriculture, would it be for warfare metals and materials has been forged to protect and gear soldier for war where it started from simple wooden spears with stone tips used for hunting and tribal conflict which developed into swords and armor and much later on into gunpowder up until now with the modern technologies for peacekeeping. Those are one of the many aspects of humanity that has been improved vastly

And recently with the modern times the promotion and involvement of computers and the internet when it comes to commercial and personal uses, these technology has evolved and has been much more accessible from the older computers that has slower processors.  Nowadays we already have handheld and home devices that are supposed to cater many of our modern needs.

Some of the handheld and home devices are Display Screen Equipment. Now display screen equipment does not only cater for personal needs but there are tons of applications it does for any industry.

Display Screen Equipment can range from anything from smaller handheld devices like tablets, cellphones, mobile devices to bigger devices with more applications such as Laptops, personal computers and even stationary devices or equipments such information booths that you can in malls that can act as maps.

Suffice to say that Display Screen Equipment (DSE) is a device or equipment that has an alphanumeric or graphic display screen, regardless of the display process involved; it includes both conventional display screens and other emerging technologies.  It has multitudes of different applications in any industry and for personal use that aims in improving our lives with convenience.

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Importance of Safety and Regulation of DSE

Importance of Safety and Regulation of DSE

It is not unusual that there presents a possible danger in almost everything. Not just unfortunate car accidents, crime and other visible physical incidents that cause harm but even with simple things such as the ingredients that is used to prepare for our food or the means in preparing our food might poison us, from the dangerous substances we found at work, the dangerous substances we find everywhere that cause harm whoever it is that is that had too much exposure of those substances and even technology that we use for our daily lives such as Television, tablets, phones, computers and even display screen equipment’s (DSE) may cause harm upon us.

Keeping that in mind, rules and regulations set upon by lawmakers with the  help of researches done by the concerned or interested scholars has been there for all things for the purpose of lessening the risks of harm and potential abuse of the usage of industrial/commercial products or services.

The industry of Display Screen Equipments are also no exception to this.

Certainly without these safety rules and regulation regarding DSE the risk of harm presented towards the the potential users and even the manufacturers alike may be undesired.

This is why laws like The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 are there to ensure that employers are given obligations for their employees that work with heavy activities of DSE.

And without a doubt the importance of safety rules and regulation matters is not only limited towards DSE but all kinds of matters whether it’d be about agriculture, construction and engineering, services and labor, medicine and health industry are among one among the many things that rules and regulations exist to make sure that our daily lives are not only easier but also safer as well.

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What are the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 ?

What are the Display Screen Equipment Regulations of 1992 ?

Rules, laws and regulation have always existed even way before this modern era. They exist for people to avoid abuses and harm that may befall upon them different matters.

For Display Screen Equipment, no matter how useful and how much help it provides to mankind in different fields, they also have rules and regulations.  And Health and Safety Regulation of 1992 was made to address the usage of DSE.

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 aim to protect the health of people who work with DSE.

These safety regulations gives the employers and the employees themselves responsibilities for those who work and has regular use of DSE. The law obliged that :

  • Analyse workstations, and assess and reduce risks

Employers need to look at:

  • the whole workstation including equipment, furniture and the work environment
  • the job being done
  • any special needs of individual staff.

Employees and safety representatives should be encouraged to take part in risk assessments, for example, by reporting health problems. Where risks are identified, the employer must take steps to reduce them.

These requirements are good features that should normally be found in a workstation, such as adjustable chairs and suitable lighting. They are set out in a schedule to the Regulations, covering the equipment, the working environment and the interface (for example, software) between the computer and the user or operator. The main requirements include:

  • adequate lighting
  • adequate contrast, no glare or distracting reflections
  • distracting noise minimised
  • leg room and clearances to allow postural changes
  • window covering if needed to minimise glare
  • software – appropriate to the task, adapted to the user, providing feedback on the system status, no undisclosed monitoring
  • screen – stable image, adjustable, readable, glare/reflection free
  • keyboard – usable, adjustable, detachable, legible
  • work surface – with space for flexible arrangement of equipment and documents, glare-free chair – stable and adjustable
  • footrest if user needs one.

Other things like giving the employees training and information dissemination regarding VDU health and safety which assures them that they will be knowledgeable with DSE health and safety.

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