Forgetting about anybody when you assess and plan workplace safety programs? What about office workers? They face hazards, too.
Compared with industrial and construction worksites, the average office tends to be pretty tame. But even in an office, a variety of potential hazards exist, any one of which can lead to accidents and injuries. For example:
- An office worker carrying a stack of files falls down the stairs and severely injures her back.
- Another office worker gets a painful bang on his shin when he bumps into on a lower desk drawer that’s been left open.
- An office worker, opening a box of supplies with a box cutter, cuts her hand and has to be taken to the emergency room for stitches.
- A disgruntled former employee returns to the office and shoots his supervisor and three co-workers.
- The person designated to shut off the coffee maker forgets, and later that night a fire breaks out, spreading rapidly through the office.
- An office worker entering the building on a wet day slips and falls on the wet tiles in the entryway.
- The mailroom receives a suspicious package, which turns out to contain an explosive device.
These are just a few possible scenarios that demonstrate the risks office workers may face on the job.
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OSHA Requirements
Office safety is covered by OSHA’s General Duty Clause requirement that you protect workers against known hazards. The following standards also apply to a variety of office environments:
- Housekeeping—29 CFR 1910.22
- Exit routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire Prevention Plans—29 CFR 1910.33 to 1910.39
- Fire Protection—29 CFR Subpart L
- Electrical Safety—29 CFR Subpart S
- Hazard communication for chemical hazards—29 CFR 1910.1200
- Sanitation—29 CFR 1910.141
Office Safety Plan
Your office safety plan should include information about the following basic elements as applicable to your workplace:
- Hazard assessment
- Safety orientation and training
- Housekeeping (e.g., surfaces, floors, entryways and exits, stairs, file cabinets, storage)
- Electrical cords
- Lighting
- Ergonomics and lifting safely
- Indoor air quality and ventilation
- Electrical appliances
- Emergency action and fire prevention
- Medical and first aid
- Chemical hazard communication and control
- Disability accommodations
- Workplace violence
- Accident investigation
- Sanitation
- Security
Your plan should be reviewed at least annually and updated whenever changes in procedures or the office environment could create new hazards or affect existing ones.
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Office Safety Responsibilities
Responsibility for office safety is shared by safety personnel, office managers and supervisors, and office workers. Everybody’s got an important role to play.
It’s your job to:
- Implement an office safety plan
- Enforce all safety policies and procedures
- Conduct worker training regarding common office hazards
- Investigate all accidents and near misses and keep appropriate records
- Make regular office inspections to look for hazards
- Oversee correction of reported office hazards promptly
Office managers and supervisors must:
- Monitor employee safety performance
- Keep alert for potential hazards in office areas (as well as in areas office workers must pass through to get to the office) Ensure that employees follow safety procedures and policies
- Work with maintenance to make sure that cleaning and maintenance tasks are performed routinely and properly
- Report any hazards or accidents to you immediately
Office workers must:
- Be informed about potential office hazards
- Follow the procedures of the office safety plan and the instructions of their supervisor
- Keep work areas uncluttered, orderly, sanitary, and free of other hazards
- Report unsafe conditions or acts that may cause injury to either themselves or other employees
- Report accidents and injuries to their supervisor
Tomorrow we’ll review good housekeeping requirements for the office.