Ensuring employee safety involves the employer’s protection of their employees from danger, risk, or injury. It can be summarized as workers experiencing the following:
- Being provided with adequate and ongoing training on safety
- Exposed to well-maintained machinery with proper protective guards
- Provided with the required safety gear
- Protected from toxic chemicals
- Able to report any injury
For instance, workers in certain industries handle hazardous materials (HAZMATS) regularly. These materials include any substances (biological, chemical, radiological, or physical) that could negatively affect public safety and the handlers or carriers during transportation. Depending on the type of material, hazardous materials should be transported in antistatic bulk bags provided by the company.
The impact of exposing humans to hazardous materials could range from mild (simple skin irritations) to severe reactions (cancer). Therefore, employers need to build a culture of safety for handling, transporting, and storing hazardous materials. While it’s a requirement by federal regulations for all employees to go through proper HAZMAT training, it’s also the responsibility of all companies to provide a conducive environment for the safe handling of HAZMAT materials.
Ensuring employee safety is a top priority for any business. If your company is involved in chemical transport, it’s essential to know the fundamental rules for handling hazardous materials. With 11 basic but crucial guidelines, you can minimize the risks to your employees and mitigate the potential for accidents. Among the key rules are keeping your transport vehicle in good condition, performing regular safety checks, and avoiding smoking or any activities that may cause a spark near the vehicle during transport. By following these rules, you can take a proactive approach to employee safety and help protect your workers from harm.
Here are rules that employees need to know and follow to avoid any hazards:
- Adherence To Job Descriptions
It’s expected that all employees follow all procedures as established and perform their duties as they’ve been trained.
- Risk Assessment
Companies should take the time to measure and obtain data on all the potential risks that could be existing in the workplace to know which materials could be hazardous.
- Employee Training On Hazardous Materials
Employers should ensure that employees are provided with adequate training and information on hazardous materials in the workplace. They should go beyond emphasizing the requirements set by federal regulations and provide more consultation and procedures for employees. It will work best to involve the employees during a safety meeting in adding items to the list of safety rules they should follow. That way, they’ll have a sense of ownership over these regulations and it’ll be easy for them to follow the rules.
- Planning For Emergencies
Employees should always be ready to handle any emergencies that may come up, such as spillage of or exposure to hazardous materials. Employees are expected to be aware of all existing emergency procedures (including evacuation and what to do in case of a fire) and know where to access all emergency equipment like eye wash stations. Additionally, get training on first-aid skills to be able to respond to co-workers who may have experiences with HAZMAT exposure.
- Use Of Proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
Employees should use the required PPE and inspect it carefully to make sure it’s safe for use. The employee should replace damaged and routinely inspect the use of ventilation hoods.
- Proper Marking Of Hazardous Materials
Employees must ensure that all containers are properly labeled and that all materials or chemicals are placed in appropriate containers. Report immediately to your supervisor in case there is a damaged container or illegible label.
- Proper Storage Of Materials
It’s required that chemicals are kept in cool, dry, and ventilated areas. Keep lids (which should be leak-proof and vapor-tight) closed. Moreover, all storage areas should be free from items that could cause trips, falls, and spills—as well as from materials that could attract pests.
- Observe Cleanliness
Ensure that working areas are always kept clean to minimize the risk of contamination or exposure. Encourage everyone to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling materials.
- Use Materials Only For Their Intended Purpose
Ensure to use materials only for what they’re intended. To illustrate, don’t clean your hands with solvent or wipe equipment with gasoline.
- No Foods Or Drinks While Handling HAZMATS
Create a culture that discourages eating or drinking while handling materials that are hazardous. Also, to reiterate, remember to always wash your hands after using or carrying hazardous materials.
- Read All Instructions
Employees should read the instructions provided on labels and understand the properties of the chemicals they’re working with. Moreover, they must always fill in Safety Data Sheets (SDA) before using any materials so that they’re better able to understand how to handle a spill or exposure to the chemical or material.
When transporting hazardous materials, remember to do the following:
- Identify the risks that may be involved, then classify the goods accordingly.
- Secure loads, distribute weight evenly, and paste suitable warning signs on the transportation vehicles. For transport by road or rail:
- Use suitably labeled packaging so people can take precautions
- Use proper containers and tanks according to how the goods have been classified
- Display on the vehicle or container certain information that may be required by government regulations
- Follow the right procedures when loading and unloading goods.
- Have a qualified dangerous goods safety adviser.
- Receive suitable training on how to drive and what to do in case of an accident.
- Comply with certain international regulations to transport goods by air, sea, rail, or road
- Make sure the materials meet the maximum quantity limit as defined on the Material of Trade Quantity Limits.
- Transport not more than a combined gross weight of 200 kg on any one vehicle.
- Remind the transporter to be aware of the hazardous material.
- To manage travel time and distance, plan the route and destination in advance. Chemicals shouldn’t be left stored in a vehicle for too long.
- It’s recommended that employees use university and not personal vehicles, for insurance purposes. In case of an accident using a personal vehicle, some insurance companies may not cover the claim unless the company had been consulted earlier.
To Wrap Up
Safety is key to all people: both employees and their employers. Employee safety is crucial because it’s the employees that do the actual work of storing and transporting materials. As highlighted above, employees need to know and follow the rules regarding handling hazards and transporting hazardous materials. It’s also important to note that there are financial, environmental, and health-related risks that come with the transportation of hazardous materials. That said, all risk areas should be addressed accordingly to prevent and manage the impact.
