Occupational Hygiene Services
This Additional Service involves the provision and completion of occupational hygiene surveys that are authorised by the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL).
WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THE OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE SERVICES:
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, requires that every employer establishes what health and safety hazards are attached to any work performed in their workplace, and further establish precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of employees.
Legislation dictates that Occupational Hygiene Surveys and assessments be conducted by an Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) to help employers comply with these requirements.
You can expect a qualified AIA inspector outsourced by MAKROSAFE to perform an in depth inspection in your workplace to make sure it’s a healthy and safe place for you and your employees.
WHO WILL BENEFIT WITH THE OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE SERVICES:
Employers: The employer is an individual or an organization in the government, private, nonprofit, or business sector that hires and pays people for their work.
Employees: An employee is someone who gets paid to work for a person or company. Workers don't need to work full time to be considered employees—they simply need to be paid to work by an employer.
WHAT OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE SERVICES DO WE OFFER:
This Occupational Hygiene Additional Service includes:
- Inspections to test if there is sufficient lighting
- Chemical Surveys
- Inspections to test if there is sufficient ventilation
- Inspections in areas that are exposed to heat
- Inspections in areas that are exposed to cold
This involves the provision and completion of occupational hygiene surveys that are authorised by the Department of Employment and Labour, and include the following and not limited to:
ERGONOMIC SURVEY
“Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the fundamental understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.”
(International Ergonomics Association)
Many people don’t realize that a poorly designed computer workstation and/or bad work habits can result in serious health problems. Common symptoms associated with poor design or habits include discomfort in the back, neck and shoulders, hands and wrists, as well as headaches and eyestrain.
Fortunately, our solution can be easily applied by being informed of the correct workstation setup and work practices. These in turn can eliminate discomfort and even prevent it from occurring in the first place! Easy adjustments to office equipment can work wonders, making work more comfortable and more productive.
VENTILATION SURVEY
Keeping workers safe from exposure to harmful contaminants is a priority for every business. Each hygiene survey begins with a qualitative risk assessment to identify potential contaminant sources, and to evaluate the risk of exposure. This approach allows the Environmental Monitoring Services hygienists to prioritize your valuable time and resources to areas where exposure is most likely.
Based on the findings of the hygiene survey, our occupational hygienists are also available to assist the client in developing and implementing appropriate, cost-effective control measures. These measures may include engineering controls, worker training programs and personal protective equipment programs, among other strategies.
ILLUMINATION SURVEY
Poor lighting can be a safety hazard and a health hazard – misjudgement of the position, shape or speed of an object can lead to accidents and injury. Too much or too little light, strains eyes and may cause eye discomfort and headaches. It can affect the quality of work, specifically in situation where precision is required, and overall productivity.
Surveys are non-intrusive and will not interfere with on-going operations. Reports include a comprehensive analysis and mapping of the areas surveyed. They indicate and highlight areas that require additional lighting, which are non-compliant to industry regulations and OHS Act specifications. In terms of Regulation 3 of the Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, all areas must be illuminated in such a way that the work can be done safely. These Regulations refer to a Schedule which specifies the minimum illumination for each workstation / work area. These limits depend on the type of work that needs to be performed.
NOISE SURVEY
SANS Code of Practice No 10103:2008 - The measurement and rating of environmental noise with respect to annoyance and to speech communication was developed as a guideline and proposes a maximum design level of 45dB(A) for office environments that should not be exceeded. Levels above 45dB(A) makes speech intelligibility difficult and creates a psychological annoyance.
Often employees complain about excessive noise levels inside their offices. This is where the Environmental Monitoring Services can assist in determining if there is a problem with noise or not.
HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE SURVEY
The Hazardous Chemical Substance Exposure Surveys are conducted to determine the exposure of employees to hazardous chemical substances in the workplace and ensure their exposure to these substances is below the limits determined by OHSA legislation, minimizing hazards in the workplace.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY SURVEY
Indoor air quality (IAQ) broadly refers to the environmental characteristics inside buildings that may affect human health, comfort, or work performance. We monitor IAQ because we spend approximately 90% of our time breathing “indoor air”. Unlike outdoor air, indoor air is recycled continuously causing it to trap and build up pollutants. IAQ characteristics include the concentrations of pollutants of indoor air, as well as air temperature and humidity.
Poor IAQ contributes to both short and long term health issues which can lead to decreased productivity, absenteeism, and possible litigation. Typical symptoms associated with poor indoor air quality include eye, nose, and throat irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. In some cases exposure to indoor air pollution can lead to acute and chronic respiratory illnesses including asthma, lung cancer, pneumonia, systemic hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Legionnaires’ disease, and humidifier fever.
In some countries indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air quality, especially when we consider the amount of time people spend indoors versus outdoors.
AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS AND EXPOSURE SURVEY
This airborne pollutant survey is conducted to determine the exposure of employees to airborne pollutants in the workplace in order to ensure their exposure to these pollutants is below the limits determined by legislation.
DUST SURVEY
This dust survey is conducted to determine the exposure of employees to dust in the workplace in order to ensure their exposure to airborne dust is below the limits determined by legislation.
For all your Occupational Hygiene Surveys, click on the pic below:
