Our last blog looked in detail at the dangers posed by workplace dust and the stringent government regulations in place to control it. You know it’s an issue, but what can be done to keep your employees safe, and ensure that you adhere to government regulation?
Top tips To Keep Employees Safe From Dust Exposure
Trap Dust From Source
This is the first and most crucial step you should consider if you want to prevent the health hazards associated with dust. To radically reduce the total amount of occupational dust present in your workplace you should stop the dust from source.
Understand the products you sell and the procedures that take place in your work environment and ask yourself, can anything be modified or replaced to reduce the emissions from source? If your application requires spraying, consider whether it can be applied with a brush to reduce airborne dust or instead of using solvent-based products, switch to water-based products.
Renby’s MicronFog system can effectively trap dust at source, effectively limiting the amount of dust that’s able to enter the air.
Supply Your Employees With Safety Gear
It is a legal requirement for you as the employer to provide your employees with full safety wear and protective gear. That means protective clothing suitable for the levels of dust your employees will be experiencing.
Dust filtration masks and respirators are an essential and need to be invested in to ensure your employees’ safety and for you to comply with government standards.
Study and Implement Safety Instructions
It is surprising how many employers and employees do not follow the safety instructions written for their benefit.
Be aware of how dust can be generated from products, machines and procedures. Study the different types of dust. Understand how your equipment produces harmful dust, read product labels and put up warning signs in your workplace.
Knowing the government regulations on safety and being proactive about reducing dust in your workplace is imperative when complying with government standards. We have covered the everything you need to know about government standard on dust regulation here.
Know When and How to Use Your Control Measures
Once you have these safety procedures and measures in place it is important that your employees are aware of what they do and why you have them.
The importance of this cannot be underestimated and can only be done through effective education. Awareness of the dangers of dust is something that needs to be improved and it is your responsibility to educate your employees on this.
Invest in an effective dust suppression system
An economical and easy-to-maintain dust suppression system is an essential investment if your workplace produces dust to any degree. By installing a dust suppression system in your workplace, you will be able to reduce dust exposure in the workplace to the legally required levels. Not only that, but using a dust suppression system – as opposed to a dust extraction system – is more environmentally friendly and results in lower energy bills for your business too.
For more information on how a dust suppression system could be beneficial in your workplace, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
