STANDARDS FOR WORKPLACES

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STANDARDS FOR WORKPLACES

Employers must ensure that virtually any workplace within their

control complies with the Workplace (Health, Safety and

Welfare) Regulations 1992.

Construction sites are excluded, due to being covered by the

Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.

Other excluded workplaces include farm and forestry land

away from the main buildings.

As the Regulations apply to the majority of workplaces they, and the

accompanying Approved Code of Practice are a useful source

of standards.

Other people connected with the workplace - such as the owner

of a building which is leased to one or more employers or self- employed

people - also have to make sure that requirements falling within their

control are satisfied.

The following table of the main requirements contained in the Regulations

and Approved Code of Practice may prove useful as a benchmark of

basic standards to measure a particular workplace against.

REGULATION	SUBJECT	OUTLINE

5	Maintenance	Workplaces, equipment, devices and systems to be maintained in: o An efficient state o Efficient working order o Good repair Subject to a suitable system of maintenance where appropriate. Included in the above are those in which a fault is liable to cause a breach in the Regulations and mechanical ventilation systems provided under Regulation 6.
6	Ventilation	Effective and suitable provision to ensure every workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air. There must be an effective device to give visible or audible warning of failure.
7	Temperature	Must be reasonable during working hours. Heating and cooling methods must not result in injurious or offensive fumes. A suitable number of thermometers must be provided for persons to determine the temperature in any workplace. According to the supporting ACoP, the temperature must be at least 16^oC unless work involves severe physical effort, when it should be at least 13^oC.
8	Lighting	Suitable and sufficient lighting in every workplace, so far as is reasonably practicable by natural light. This must include emergency lighting in any room in which persons at work are especially exposed to danger in the event of failure of artificial lighting. Fire precautions legislation also concerns the lighting of escape routes.
9	Cleanliness	Workplaces, furniture and fittings must be kept sufficiently clean. Surfaces of floors, walls, and ceilings must be capable of being kept sufficiently clean. Waste materials must not accumulate, except in suitable receptacles.
10	Space	Persons must have sufficient floor area, height and unoccupied space. The ACoP suggests the total volume of the empty room divided by the number of people normally working in it, should be at least 11 cubic metres. (Any height above 3 metres should be taken as 3 metres. The 11 cubic metres per person may be insufficient where much of the room is taken up by furniture etc).
11	Workstations and Seating	Must be arranged to be suitable for both the person and the work. (Special arrangements are required for outdoor workstations). A suitable seat must be provided where the work can or must be done seated.
12	Floors and Traffic Routes	Floors, where necessary, must have an effective means of drainage. They must be kept free from obstruction and substances which could cause slips, trips and falls. Traffic routes must be constructed to be suitable for the purpose. Floors and traffic routes must not have holes, slopes, uneven or slippery surfaces which expose persons to risk.
13	Falls	Suitable and effective measures to prevent any person from falling a distance likely to cause personal injury or being struck by a falling object likely to cause personal injury. The measures taken should not, so far as is reasonably practicable, involve personal protective equipment information, training pr supervision. (Special arrangements required where falls into dangerous substances could occur.) According to the ACoP, secure fencing should be provided, wherever possible, at any place where a person might fall 2 metres or more.
14	Windows, etc	Every window and translucent surface in a wall, partition, door or gate shall, where necessary, be of safety material or be protected against breakages. It must also be appropriately marked or incorporate features to make it apparent.
15	Windows, Skylights and Ventilators	Must be capable of being opened. Must not be constructed in a manner which either exposes the person opening or closing them to risk or when open exposes any person to risk. According to the ACoP, they should not project into an area where persons are likely to collide with them.
16	Cleaning Windows	Windows must be designed and constructed so as to be cleaned safely. According to the ACoP, where they cannot be cleaned safely from the ground then suitable provision shall be made for them to be cleaned. This may include using pivot windows which can be cleaned from the inside, fitting access equipment such as cradles or providing suitable conditions for future use of mobile access equipment (anchorage points for securing ladders etc).
17	Traffic Routes	Workplaces must be organised to allow vehicles and pedestrians to circulate safely. Traffic routes must be sufficient in number, suitable for the person and vehicles using them, be in suitable positions and be of sufficient size.
18	Doors and Gates	Must be of suitable construction. More detail is given in the Regulations in relation to specific types of doors and gates.
19	Escalators and Moving Walkways	They must function safely, be equipped with safety devices and be fitted with one or more emergency stop controls.
20	Sanitary Conveniences	Suitable and sufficient conveniences must be provided at readily accessible places. The rooms must be: o Adequately Ventilated o Adequately Lit o Kept clean Separate rooms needed for both sexes except where each convenience is in a separate room capable of being secured from the inside. According to the Acop, 1 WC is needed for the first 5 employees and another one for every 25 employees above that number. (Where only men are involved, another table gives the number of WCs and urinals to provide).
21	Washing Facilities	Suitable and sufficient facilities must be provided. Showers must be provided where required for health reasons. Facilities must be readily accessible and in the immediate vicinity of sanitary conveniences. The facilities provided must include: o A supply of clean hot and cold (or warm) water o Soap or other means of cleaning o Towels or other means of drying The rooms used must be adequately ventilated, adequately lit and kept clean. Separate facilities being provided for both sexes except in a room intended to be used by one person at a time and whose door can be secured from the inside. The accompanying ACoP suggests that 1 washstation be provided for the first 5 employees and an additional 1 for every 25 employees above that figure.
22	Drinking Water	An adequate supply of wholesome drinking water must be provided. Supplies must be readily accessible and conspicuously marked. Suitable cups or drinking vessels must be provided unless a drinking fountain is used.
23	Storage for Clothing	Suitable and sufficient accommodation must be provided for non-working clothes and special clothing not taken home. Facilities must be included for drying clothes, so far as is reasonably practicable.
24	Changing Clothes	Suitable changing facilities must be provided where necessary.
25	Resting and Eating Non-Smokers Pregnant Women etc	Suitable and sufficient and readily accessible facilities must be provided for resting. Suitable facilities to eat must be provided where food eaten in the workplace would otherwise be likely to be contaminated. Suitable and sufficient facilities should be provided where meals are regularly eaten in the workplace. Rest-rooms and rest areas must include suitable arrangements to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke. Suitable facilities shall be provided for any person at work who is a pregnant women or nursing mother to rest

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