Workplace Safety: Emergency Plans, Fire Protection & Waste Handling

Posted on Mar 31, 2025 in Architecture

Basic Emergency Plan Documents

Essential documents include the alarm plan, extinction plan, and evacuation plan.

Conditions for Fire Protection Facilities

Fire protection facilities must undergo regular maintenance:

  • Fire Fighting Facilities: Maintenance of fire extinguishers, equipped fire hydrants (BIE), and fire hydrants.
  • General Facilities Maintenance: Includes water systems, air conditioning, electrical installations, processing plants, emergency lighting, and heating systems.

Maintenance Program Activities

Key activities include:

  • Regular training courses and drills (mandatory in buildings with medium or high risk).
  • Maintenance of facilities posing a potential fire risk (e.g., boilers, stoves).
  • Maintenance of detection, alarm, and fire fighting facilities, as set by building standards.
  • Safety inspections.
  • Emergency drills.

Steps for Investigating Incidents

In case of an emergency, follow these investigation steps:

  1. Investigate the causes that enabled its origin, propagation, and consequences.
  2. Analyze the behavior of individuals and emergency teams and take necessary remedial measures.
  3. Write a report containing the investigation results, to be referred to the fire service or possibly provincial civil protection services.

First Aid Concepts and Objectives

First aid involves the necessary care administered to an accident victim in the absence of healthcare professionals, sometimes using improvised elements. The objectives are:

  • Relieve discomfort.
  • Provide comfort through presence and encouragement.
  • Ensure the victim is in the best possible condition until professional help arrives or until transport to a health center is arranged.

Hazardous Waste: Types and Disposal Actions

A hazardous waste is any substance or object which, by its nature, is harmful to the environment and/or human health.

Types of Hazardous Waste:

  • Laboratory chemical reagent wastes.
  • Pesticide, fungicide, and herbicide residues.
  • Remains of cleaning products.
  • Waste solvents.
  • Containers that have held dangerous goods.

Actions for Appropriate Destination:

  1. Identification
  2. Packaging
  3. Labeling
  4. Storage
  5. Collection and Transport
  6. Treatment

Hazardous Waste Identification

Hazardous waste must be properly identified via its label. Essential label information includes:

  • Product name.
  • Name, address, and telephone number of the person responsible for marketing the dangerous product.
  • Pictograms and hazard statements.
  • Reference to specific risks of dangerous products (R phrases).
  • Safety advice concerning dangerous products (S phrases).

Hazardous Waste Signage

Standard hazard pictograms include:

  • E: Explosive
  • O: Oxidizing (Oxidising agent/fuel)
  • F: Highly Flammable
  • F+: Extremely Flammable
  • T: Toxic
  • T+: Very Toxic
  • Xn: Harmful
  • Xi: Irritant
  • C: Corrosive
  • N: Dangerous for the environment

Packaging and Labeling Procedures

Consider the following for packaging:

  • Do not mix different wastes in the same container.
  • Use packaging material resistant to the contained residue.
  • Plastic containers are recommended (glass can break).
  • The package must be solid and durable.
  • The container closure must be airtight.
  • Containers should be filled to no more than 90% capacity.
  • Avoid transferring waste from one container to another.

During the labeling phase, it is important that the label includes:

  • Data Center information (name, address, and telephone).
  • Identification of the residue.
  • Date of packaging.
  • Hazard pictograms or identifiers.

Required Label Information

The essential information that must be on the label is:

  • Product name.
  • Name, address, and telephone number of the person responsible for marketing the dangerous product.
  • Pictograms and hazard statements.
  • Reference to the specific risks of dangerous products (R phrases).
  • Safety advice concerning dangerous products (S phrases).

Employer’s Principles for Preventive Measures

The employer shall implement preventive measures based on the following principles (first 7 listed):

  1. Avoid risks.
  2. Evaluate risks that cannot be avoided.
  3. Fight risks at the source.
  4. Adapt the work to the person, including choosing appropriate equipment and working methods.
  5. Take into account the evolution of technology.
  6. Replace dangerous elements or avoid danger where possible.
  7. Plan prevention comprehensively.
  8. Prioritize collective protective measures over individual ones.
  9. Inform and train workers.
  10. Provide adequate instructions to workers, considering potential issues like distractions.