Employer’s Guide to Workplace Safety and Emergency Procedures

Posted on Jan 20, 2025 in Medicine & Health

Employer’s Role in Workplace Prevention

An employer can manage prevention tasks if:

  1. The company has fewer than six workers.
  2. The business is not engaged in hazardous activities as defined in regulation 39/1997.
  3. This is a usual practice within the company.
  4. The employer has proof of basic prevention training (30 or 50 hours).
  5. The employer cannot handle health surveillance and must hire an external agency.

The employer may also designate:

  1. One or more trained workers.
  2. If the necessary measures are available.
  3. If they are given time to dedicate to prevention tasks.

The employer will provide prevention services with their own staff if:

  1. They are exclusively dedicated to preventive work.
  2. They have the necessary resources and two preventive specialties.
  3. In three cases:
  • When the company has over 500 employees.
  • If it employs between 250 and 500 and is engaged in hazardous activities.
  • If the labor authority decides due to a high accident rate.

Emergency Plans

An emergency plan is a mandatory document where the employer must state:

  1. Identification of the emergency, meaning any unexpected situation in the company.
  2. Ranking the level of emergency:
  • Attempted Emergency: Controlled with local resources.
  • Partial Emergency: Requires resources from the workplace, possibly partial evacuation.
  • General Emergency: Exceeds company resources, requiring external help.
Operating procedures: Detailed actions for each possible emergency. Identification of personnel responsible for emergency procedures. Hazard ingredients and personnel responsible for evacuation.

Evacuation Plan

An evacuation plan is a document that outlines the movement of occupants to a safe outer space. Key aspects are speed, order, control, and efficiency.

The phases are: identification of an emergency, warning or alarm for evacuation.

Emergency Response

In an emergency, it may be necessary to react to save lives or prevent serious damage:

  • Remain calm but act quickly.
  • Reassure the injured, examine, and treat them in order of severity.
  • Do not move the injured unless absolutely necessary, and do not administer medication.
  • Maintain communication with the injured.
  • Only do the essentials to avoid aggravating the victim’s situation until medical help arrives.

Role in Accident Prevention

Personnel responsible for preventive work must have relevant information. There are three levels of training:

  1. Basic Level: Minimum 30 hours of training (50 hours for hazardous activities).
  2. Technical Level: Minimum 300 hours of training.
  3. Top Level: Minimum 600 hours and a university degree.

Basic Level Functions:

  1. Encourage worker cooperation.
  2. Promote proper use of personal and collective protection.
  3. Carry out risk assessments.
  4. Assist with complex risk assessments.
  5. Manage emergency first aid interventions.