So one way to help increase safety in your office is to cut down on the use of paper by going as paperless as possible. True, in some contexts your business may be unable to achieve this, and in some cases all you need is a little creativity to get results.

For example, one company who supply reports to property investors was printing out and posting numerous paper reports each week. To avoid use of paper (and to cut down on the expenses of printing) the company decided to offer electronic reports that they could email to the individuals. Assuming that only a few people would opt for the electronic version, the company was pleasantly suprised that 90% of their customers supported the paperless option.
 
Are there ways you can offer a product or the paperwork associated with it in an electronic format?

Here are some ways to save on paper and get those work desks cleared:

• type up phone messages and ‘notes to yourself’ on a computer
• use a small whiteboard for phone messages (and then add details to your computer later)
• arrange to receive your bills electronically
• send your invoices electronically
• arrange to receive your magazine subscriptions, notifications, etc. via the web
• use an electronic diary
• arrange to receive your bank statements electronically
• use the old ‘handle it once’ system, ie. don’t pick up a piece of paper and then shove it somewhere else on your desk, and then a week later pick it the same piece of paper and put it on the other side of your desk! Deal with the paper a.s.a.p. and as soon as you have, either file it or throw it in the recycle bin (shredding it first if it is of a confidential nature)
• use handtowels and teatowels instead of paper towels. In one medium-sized business (22 employees and 6 managers/supervisors) each staff member has their own handtowel. One cheery soul volunteered to take the towels home twice a week and wash them. Everyone seems happy with the arrangement – even the washing person!

If you can’t find a way to avoid using paper, buy unbleached, 100% recycled paper (one sure way to save the environment and encourage recycling of the masses of wasted paper – yet another fire hazard!)

And REMEMBER… back up your computer, electronic diary, etc. regularly!

Revised building fire and safety regulation came into force on 1 July 2009 with stricter responsibilities placed on building and body corporate management companies and commercial tenants.

As of 1 July 2009, a greater onus has been placed on Queensland businesses to comply with the new mandatory evacuation requirements under the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008.

Queensland businesses now face on-the-spot fines starting at $3,000 for non-compliance and Ben Swan, Director of Evacuation Services Australia (EVAC), believes many businesses are not even aware of their new responsibilities under the amended legislation.

“A large majority of businesses we have had dealings with are not even aware of the legislative changes and their obligations to comply with the revised evacuation procedures, despite being at risk of fines starting at $3,000,” Ben said.

“We recently undertook an audit of a major Brisbane shopping centre – of the 80 businesses surveyed only one was compliant; from the remaining 79, 18% had non-compliant diagrams and the remainder had no evacuation diagrams at all.”

“Becoming compliant is a relatively easy process which EVAC specialises in; businesses have a responsibility to ensure they are up-to-date with their evacuation plans in the case of a fire or emergency – the ramifications of non-compliance are far greater than a financial penalty, in the worst case scenario many lives can be at risk.”

Major changes under the regulation see an increasing number of parties responsible for implementing mandatory evacuation procedures than was previously the case, including tenants in commercial buildings, retail centres and accommodation unit owners.

“Businesses tenanted in commercial and retail buildings are now required by law to have their own evacuation procedures and diagrams in place; no longer can they rely on the common area plan provided by the building management,” Ben said.

“Owners of premises used for long and short term accommodation must also have a specific evacuation plan for their lodging – again, the general complex’s evacuation plan no longer is sufficient under the new laws.”

Ben provides that this is a significant change under the amended legislation and “our experience is suggesting that the majority of businesses and operators are predominately unaware of their new obligations.”

“For businesses that already have evacuation diagrams in place and assume they are compliant, they need to check the new provisions to ensure that the positions of fire extinguishers, fire reels and other vital safety equipment are indicated clearly on the diagram,” Ben said.

EVAC offers a straight-forward, one-stop solution to ensure that the relevant bodies affected by the revised legislation comply with the Regulation in a cost-effective and speedy manner.

EVAC’s experience and extensive resources enables it to produce high quality evacuation diagrams using Computed Aided Design (CAD) software technology. EVAC also offer the ability for clients to customise their design by incorporating company branding in accordance with individual requirements and preferences.

In the event that up-to-date floor plans are not readily accessible, EVAC can also conduct a survey of the business premises to mark up the drawings in preparation for the development of a compliant plan.

Escape Routes

All employees should know their fire escape plan. There needs to be at least two ways to get out of a building, in case one of them has been blocked by fire. If you are the employer, make sure that all employees know what their escape options are.

There must ALWAYS be a clear path to each exit. Obstacles in the way can cause people to trip and fall, adding more possibility of injuries.

Make sure all escape routes are clearly marked so those who are trying to escape the building have no problem finding where they need to go during a stressful situation.

When it comes to those escape options, it is vital to make sure the doors are unlocked when there are employees or visitors in the building. You don’t want employees to go to what they think is a way to get out of a building safely and be stuck inside because the door has been chained or locked.

Never wedge fire doors open as they are designed to protect escape routes and prevent the spread of toxic smoke and fumes. And as fire needs oxygen to survive, a fresh feed of air through wedged open fire doors may only lead to building the fire hazard.

Fire Fighting

There should always be fire extinguishers in your workplace. If a fire is caught soon enough, a fire extinguisher may be enough to put it out and save property and lives. Make sure you have an ample number of fire extinguishers available through the building, which are designed for use in your particular industry (eg. if chemical-related fire then use specific extinguisher, etc.).

Fire extinguishers should be inspected regularly to keep them in good working condition.

Workers should be warned not to attempt to deal with a fire unless they have been trained to do so.  If you have been given permission to deal with a fire, consider these steps:

1. Follow your training procedures – never putting yourself at risk.
2. Always ensure there is an escape route between you and the fire.
3. If your clothes catch fire, drop to the floor and roll around. This will help to extinguish the flames. Your training should have covered this and you most probably know it as the ‘stop, drop and roll’.

Fire Evacuations

Always have an evacuation plan in place and let employees know where they should go outside the building once they are safe. Put together a plan that makes sure that everyone checks in with someone, so you know that all employees and visitors are accounted for – and have escaped safely and are not trapped inside.

Discovering a Fire

If you ever discover a fire follow these steps:

1. Remain calm.
2. Sound the fire alarm and/or alert all the occupants to evacuate.
3. Alert the fire brigade by dialling 000 (or your Security Staff – depending on what procedures are currently in place).
4. Leave the building immeidately via the closest escape route. Never use the lift (elevator).
5. Assemble with other staff at the evacuation assembly point.
6. Apon their arrival, inform the firefighters of the situation.

Evacuating the Building

Upon being told to evacuate, or hearing the fire alarm, follow these steps:

1. Remain calm.
2. Stop what you are doing. Leave the building immediately via the closest escape route. Never use the lift (elevator).
3. Walk briskly, and never turn back.
4. Never take anything with you.
5. Always follow the Fire Warden’s instructions.
6. Before opening any door feel the door and door handle. Never open a warm door as there could be a fire behind it.
7. If the door is hot when you feel it then take another route. A window might be an option.
8. If you encounter smoke during your evacuation, drop to the floor and crawl.
9. Close all doors behind you and all windows along the way, as fresh air feeds fire.
10. Assemble and remain at the evacuation assembly point. Do NOT return to the building until you are told by either the fire brigade or your immediate supervisor that it is safe.
11. Notify someone of any injuries you have sustained, as soon as possible.
12. Never cancel a fire alarm. Fire alarms should only be reset by those directed to do so.

If for some reason you are unable to get out of the building.

1. Alert others of your presence – via a phone, standing at a window, or by opening the window and hanging a sheet or something to alert fire fighters of your presence.
2. Keep a wet cloth over your mouth.
3. Stay as close to the ground as possible. Not only will you be able to see better, there is more oxygen.
4. Keep the door closed to stop smoke getting into the room.
5. Block up the cracks around the doors, if possible with wet cloths, to stop smoke getting in.
6. If there is a lot of smoke, keep your hand against the wall to guide you if you need to move about.
7. If your clothes catch fire, immediately drop to the floor and roll around. This will help to extinguish the flames.

Fires and evacuations are serious matters, therefore fire drills are essential for the safety of all staff (and visitors) of a workplace.

Think back to when you were a kid in school. Do you remember the various hazard drills you had to practice? Depending on where you lived there were fire drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills, intruder drills, etc. The idea was that if such an incident were to happen, everyone would know what to do without thinking about it. They would just act.

Why is it that once we get into the working world, it seems these drills go by the wayside? Whether you are just in an office building where you could be threatened by fire or tornados, or a shop where there could be industrial accidents like chemical spills, why is it we don’t always think to conduct these same ‘worst case’ scenario drills?

It’s time to reinstate the emergency drill. But this will not be just any emergency drill. All businesses are different, and that means you will have specific needs that have to be met. Think about what needs to be met in your workplace in an emergency. 

Possible Threats
In addition to the fire and nature-related threats already mentioned, are there any specific threats that may impact your workplace (i.e. radiation leaks, chemical spills, explosions from combustibles). If there are, you need to train your personnel on how to deal with these situations were they to arise.

Employee Safety
It is important to make sure your employees know where they need to go, and how to get there, to be safe in an emergency situation.

Machine Shutdown
If you have a number of machines operating in your building, and some need to be monitored or assisted while running so they don’t burn up or cause more problems, you need a shut-down procedure that can be followed quickly while still getting your employees to safety in an emergency situation.

Materials Safety
If your workplace has a number of chemicals or other hazardous materials in use, it is vital that you have measures in place to attempt to secure these materials as an evacuation or other emergency operation is underway. Many of these types of companies have special rooms where the chemicals are kept which can be shut and sealed off as an evacuation is happening.

You should plan regular drills with your employees to make sure they know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in case of an emergency. While you may not want to regularly close down all your operations for a drill, you can go department by department, and make the employees do a mock incident, and monitor their reactions, noting any mistakes they make in the process. 

While it may seem like an inconvenience, the more prepared your company is for the worst the better chance you will be able to safely shut down operations and get everyone out alive and well if the worst were to happen.

“A road construction worker was using a demolition saw (demo-saw) to cut a steel upright when sparks ignited the stomach area of his high visibility shirt. He suffered burns to his stomach area and to both hands after trying to pat out the flames with his bare hands.

In this incident, two hazards were present – mobile plant and ignition sources. The high visibility clothing worn to make workers more visible to mobile plant operators introduced a secondary hazard – flammability.

High visibility clothing made from synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon can catch fire or melt. Oxy-cutting, arc welding, angle grinding and demo-saw cutting are examples of common hot work activities that cause sparks that can ignite these types of fibres. Workers should not wear flammable synthetic clothing when performing hot work.

While high visibility clothing made from flammable synthetic materials is common, fire retardant high visibility clothing is also available.”

You’ll find more of the article at the WorkSafe Victoria Website.

Don’t believe me? As a rule of thumb every kilogram of paper has the same energy volatility as 4 litres of petrol. That means if you set fire to a 1 kilo pile of paper you have the same result as tossing a match into a plastic bucket half full of unleaded.

So, if a fire were to occur in an office building, the offices with scattered paper would sustain the same amount of damage as if someone had tossed litres of petrol in their work space. In the event of a fire, paper stored in cupboards and filing cabinets are many times less volatile than those loose sheets or files so often kept on desks or in open trays in any busy office.

Got your attention? Good. But now how do you get the message across to others? Here is a group activity that will really get people thinking and hopefully start a clean desk craze at your work.

First do some homework. Find something like an employee manual or procedure handbook that you know everyone is familiar with and put it on the scales to find out how much it weighs. For example, like lots of businesses, you might have an internal telephone directory that everyone uses. It sits on the desk or within reach and has become part of the background. Lets say you have one of these phone directories at your workplace and when you weigh it you find it weighs exactly half a kilogram.

At the next safety or compliance meeting relay the facts about the rule of thumb. Have your telephone directory and a 2 litre plastic milk bottle. Hold up the telephone directory first as an example of paper that is found on every desk. Next, ask them to close their eyes and visualize the area in their office that had the most loose and scattered paper. The entire group will laugh as they all identify the areas with the most need for housekeeping. When you ask them to open their eyes, you are still holding up the safety handbook but now you are holding the bottle in the other hand. Explain to them how it equals an imaginary 2 litres of petrol and that is how much fuel is in just the telephone directory.

Ask them estimate how many “litres of fuel” that the area they had visualized might contain. After this exercise all of the participants should become very interested in learning how a clean desk policy will improve the situation and reduce the risks in your workplace.