Synopsis
This report discusses the importance of a proper workplace layout, the building codes in Australia, safety signs, safety equipment, safety program and an emergency evacuation procedure.
Findings
Designing a safe workplace has been seen to improve efficiency of the personnel involved (Usernomics, 2008). Taking safety measures in the workplace has been found also to reduce fatality rates in the office (eHow Inc., 2010). According to Answers.com (2010), productivity is also seen to depend on an office’s layout.
According to Davenport (2005), in as much as the physical work environment affects the productivity of the knowledgeable worker, it remains a factor to be clearly understood. This report identifies a proper work design layout as critical in improving the efficiency and productivity of the personnel involved as well as discussing safety as regards the work place. Productivity for any company is important to say the least and so is safety thus it is very important to look at these two issues.
Building Standards
According to the website Australian Building Codes Board the Australian Building Codes Board (2010), the board represents the building industry of Australia. The board requires of every building be made to suit disabled people. The board’s codes require that buildings provide a means of escape in times of emergencies, not be made of combustible material, that the structure of the building should not collapse internally and that the structure of the building should aid firefighters in their duties. Additionally, the codes require that toilets be provided in every building and the building to have a proper ventilation and drainage system.
Safety Signs
Safety is defined according to Answers.com (2010) as a state of being protected from danger. Safety is very important in the workplace and an employer cannot run the risk of running a company that does not lay proper emphasis on safety issues. According to authorSTREAM (2010), the workplace presents us with hazards from electrical equipment, heat-generating sources hand and power tools, chemicals and even fires. One way of implementing safety in the workplace is through workplace safety signs.
Workplace safety signs come in different types that are commonly differentiated by the art and color of the sign. The types include Informatory, warning, mandatory, brail and disability signs (The Office Safety Company, n.d.). Below is a tabular listing of safety signs together with the types and where they fit in a workplace.
Table 1. Tabular List of Safety Signs
Employees should be made to understand that by not heeding to safety signs they are not only endangering their lives but also those of their colleagues and are therefore liable to disciplinary measures if they ignore safety signs.
Safety Equipment
Safety equipment is also a vital component in provision of safety in the workplace. Safety equipment includes proper work gear for employees to safeguard them against accidents in the workplace; these include helmets, aprons, gloves etc. First aid equipment is another type of safety equipment necessary in the workplace: it enables the workplace to contain minor injuries and in case of major injuries, attend to the victim as he or she awaits further medical attention. First aid equipment includes bandages, antiseptics, medicine. Another type of safety equipment is fire-extinguishing equipment such as fire extinguishers. Firefighting equipment is important at the workplace as it helps to deal with fires that threaten to cause injury, severe damage to property or even loss of life. Office furniture and proper lighting are also another type of safety equipment because if not properly taken into account can cause serious discomfort in the workplace. A workplace should also supply workers with the appropriate and safe equipment for undertaking their activities e.g. proper disposal for hazardous waste, proper storage for sharp materials in use in the workplace etc.
Safety Program
A safety program would involve maintain proper records of people within the premise at any given time plus details of their next of keens. The safety program will enable all the personnel including disabled workers to identify the company’s emergency alert, the emergency warden and enlighten the personnel on the company’s evacuation procedure. The program will include training sessions to be held regularly at intervals of 3 months. The trainers will include fire fighters, medics and emergency handling officials from the government. The expectation after undergoing training is that the personnel know how to conduct themselves during emergencies, where to go and how to get there fast and safely. Drills will also be undertaken severally to ascertain whether the training has been successful. The following table shows the kind of training that different personnel will undergo.
Table 2. Personnel Safety Training
Emergency and Emergency Evacuation Plan
According to the Macmillan Education (2005), workplace emergency is an unanticipated situation that threatens the very existence of the workplace and anything in it. It is therefore of fundamental importance to develop an emergency action plan that will guide you when disaster strikes. An emergency evacuation plan should have in its simplest form a way or reporting emergencies, a way of alerting disabled workers and an emergency evacuation procedure. It needs also to have a list of people in the workplace and their next of keens, a procedure for workers to ensure a complete shutdown of the workplace and a rescue and medical plan for the workers to perform the shutdown. In case of an emergency the first step in the evacuation, procedure is to alert everyone including the disabled workers of the looming disaster. The second step is to have them assemble at one point. The third step is to issue them with safety gear if necessary. The fourth step is to lead them outside the workplace through the designated emergency exits and routes. Once outside the fifth step is to have them assemble at one point. The sixth step is to accord the necessary medical attention if need be while taking a list of the people who were successfully evacuated and comparing it to the list of people reported to be in the premise at the time the emergency was called. If still reasonably safe, the seventh step is to go searching for missing people. The eighth and final step would be to find a way of notifying the next of keens of seriously affected people.
Brochure
Brochures are designed with the aim of promoting a business or a certain product (Answers.com 2010). The following is a brochure for EDDS, an electrical drafting and Design Company.
Engineering draft and Design Solutions (EDDS) is a state-of-the-art company committed to developing reliable and cost-efficient construction solutions.
Recently we have been involved in a dam construction project for the Republic of Kenya. The multi-million project was aimed at making the country’s self reliant in terms of clean water and hydroelectric energy.
In 2009, company has been involved in a cement plant construction project for the Yamama Cement Company. Yamama Cement is a leading cement company in Saudi Arabia. They annual average turnover is estimated at 2 billion dollars. The plant’s construction cost was 100 million dollars and was successfully completed in time. The company’s revenue is expected to rise this year with the plant having started operating early this year.
The staff at EDDS is fully qualified and observes high levels of professionalism. Our HR policies are strictly based on recruiting individuals with proper academic credentials who are willing to demonstrate high levels of professionalism. This has been the recipe for success in the company. The company also keeps track of the employees’ continuous professional development plans.
The team leader of the design process is Ann Schwartz, an engineering graduate from the University of Northumbria. Michael Scott a civil engineering degree holder from the University of Sidney. The team comprises of Denis John (BSc. Computer Science), Jennifer Widom (Bsc. Public Relations), Lucas Martins (BSc. Accounts) and Julio Santarez (BSc. civil engineering).
Below is the current Invoice for EDDS
References
Answers.com, 2010, Brochure, Web.
Answers.com, 2010, Safety, Web.
Answers.com, 2010, Office Layout, Web.
AuthorSTREAM, 2010, Office Safety, Web.
Australian Building Codes Board, 2010, What’s new? Web.
Davenport, T., 2005, Why Office Design Matters, Web.
eHow Inc, 2010, About Workplace Safety Signs.
Macmillan Education (2005) Macmillan English Dictionary For Advanced Learners. United Kingdom: Macmillan Publishers Limited
The Office Safety Company, n.d., Shop >> Signs and Posters.
Usernomics, n.d., Egonometrics.