23/12/11

HSE Risk Assessment Can Keep Your Business Safe

The wintry weather conditions are definitely upon us and it is important for businesses to think about the ways that they can keep their employees, customers, guests and visitors safe on site. Providing heating and shelter is an important factor in improving the conditions of a workplace but a greater focus needs to be placed on counteracting the external conditions that are brought into the building by people. With snow, rain and hurricane weather hitting Britain in recent weeks, the benefits brought by the HSE risk assessment testing may be invaluable to your business.

At first you may not think of the benefit that HSE risk assessment may bring to a business but when you start to consider your premises in bad weather, the benefits soon become apparent. The inside of your building may be perfectly cocooned from wet weather but when employees and customers start coming in from outside, they will inevitably bring water and dampness in with them. Whether it is their slippery soles or shaking off their coats and umbrellas, your previously dry floors can become very wet in a matter of seconds and this is when accidents can occur.

Employing cleaning staff to work on specific areas on a regular basis and placing non-slip mats can help but there is still a risk of the floor surface being compromised. Bad weather is not an excuse that will negate a firm from any damages they may face if an employee or customer slips on the flooring. This is why it is important to have the integrity of your floors properly evaluated and the HSE risk assessment is the most reliable test. If you are unfortunate enough to face claims for injuries, the findings of this result can indicate you did everything in your power to reduce the risk of accidents.

As with many things in life, prevention is better than a cure and now is the time to evaluate your flooring and determine if it is capable of meeting the harsh extremities of winter. Yes, the bad weather is already upon us but in the UK, it can easily last until March so it makes sense to act now. Having the HSE risk assessment carried out on your premises now can highlight any problem areas before an accident occurs. This is the sensible approach and is likely to be cost effective in the long run. Apart from having the weather to worry about, the economy is not in great shape and many firms will shy away from the idea of spending money on tests and assessments. However, the information provided by these assessments and the changes carried out after these assessments can save a lot of money in the long run.

If the last few years and indeed weeks is anything to go by, this is a winter that will be filled with poor weather conditions. Safeguard your business, customers and employees by carrying out a HSE risk assessment on your property and flooring.

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Further information

Pendulum testing - Surface roughness - Slips Potential Model - Slip testing methods - HSE slips site - Grip Potential Ltd

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