The minister of Employment and labour has announced that the Department of Employment and labour aims to visit 839 000 workplaces for the purpose of conducting inspections to ensure labour legislation compliance and improving work conditions and so to protect workers.
During this announcement, the minister also pointed out that 26 000 employers were found non-compliant during inspections conducted last year and that the number of inspections targeted, will be conducted over a period of five years, placing the annual target per year at 167800 employers to be visited. The most common forms of non-compliance relate to, general safety regulations, Covid-19 regulations, hazardous chemical regulations, electrical installation regulations and facilities regulations. Based on this information, we therefor urge all employers to consider their scope of operations, and the health and safety legislation which is applicable to make sound judgement on the improvement of such operations and practices, and to minimize the possibility of penalties and fines as well as the possible harm to employees and other stakeholders, who may be exposed to such operations.
A study was conducted over the last week, to analyze and determine which are the most frequent findings. Although some of these findings may seem common to the genera person, the frequency at which they occur is a concern and food for thought for any employer.
With information gathered from the beginning of the year to date, the following results were compiled, showing the number of instances/clients where the finding was raised, and the details on the finding itself, which shows the importance of detailed On-site inspections being conducted by a qualified person. Here are the top ten, ranked from number 10 to number 1 with the questions related to those findings:
10. Does the company have a company-specific health and safety policy, which adheres to the act? (670 Instances/Clients)
9. Does the employer display only those symbolic signs, which are allowed by the Act, in places where notices are required? (707 Instances/Clients)
8. Are notices prominently displayed for each first aid box, indicating its position and the name of the responsible first aider? (720 Instances/Clients)
7. Does the employer ensure that, periodic drills are conducted for a specific emergency or disaster? (820 Instances/Clients)
6. Has a system been implemented to make sure every possible step has been taken to make the working environment safe for employees before giving them personal protective equipment (PPE)? (854 Instances/Clients)
5. Are all fire-extinguishing equipment maintained in a good working order? (934 Instances/Clients)
4. Does the business maintain all rooms and facilities in a clean, hygienic, safe, hole and leak-free condition and in a good state of repair? (968 Instances/Clients)
3. Does the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appoint one or more 16(2) assignees to assist with the management of health and safety within the organization? (1099 Instances/Clients)
2. Does the owner of a structure make sure that it is maintained in a way that keeps it safe for continued use? (1331 Instances/Clients)
1. Do all first aid boxes contain the minimum equipment listed in Annexure 1 of the current General Safety Regulations? (1760 Instances/Clients)
Consider your position towards these questions, are these possible findings on your site? It may be worth investigating…
CONTACT COFESA TODAY FOR HEALTH & SAFETY ASSISTANCE
011 679 4373 | ALLY@COFESA.CO.ZA
Source: Makrosafe | Ockert Fourie
