Occupational Health and Safety in Shopping centres
As we near the festive season more and more people will be spending time in shopping malls, supermarkets and shopping centres preparing to go away or buying presents.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act is in place to prevent injury to employees but also for their customers. Therefore, shopping centres are responsible for the safety of anyone entering their premises and should take proper precautions by providing a safe and satisfactory environment.
Health and Safety not only applies to large shopping centres but also to the small shop owner renting in the centre.
Common injuries occur in shopping malls because of wet floors, oily surfaces, loose rugs and mats or uneven flooring, such as broken tiles. Other causes of injuries occur due to obstructed views, poor lighting or uncovered cables.
The most important ways of shopping centres to prevent accidents is by having good housekeeping policy. For example by cleaning all spills immediately, marking spills and wet areas, removing obstacles from walkways, covering cables and keeping good lighting.
All shopping centres and their tenants are required to have first aid kits or bags, fire extinguishers and personnel that are trained on how to use the equipment.Â
Shopping centres need to make sure that all employees are aware of proper lifting techniques, about all hazardous materials on the premises, the location of material safety data sheets (MSDS) and how to read them. All employees should be able to know how to read the labels, how to clean up spills and what protective equipment is required for various duties (gloves, boots etc).
Another important responsibility of shopping centres is that they need to train staff on emergency evacuation procedures. Emergency evacuation plans must be clearly displayed in order to clearly demarcate emergency exit areas.
All lifts and escalators should be tested and inspected on a yearly basis and the date of the next inspection should be clearly visible. Maintenance, inspection, modification and repair record be kept at hand for the inspector should he ask for it.
As far as electrical installations, shopkeepers are required to produce a certificate of compliance on request from an inspector.
Another thing that most of us will be doing during the festive season while shopping, would be to eat out. Summer and food poisoning are synonymous due to the warm temperature and incorrect temperature storage.  Therefore restaurants and fast food businesses are required to have good hygiene practices to ensure that food is not spoilt. This reduces the risk of food poisoning to their customers. Their kitchens and eating areas should be suitable for food storage and food consumption. All equipment should be cleaned and sterilised with safe cleaning agents. Gloves should be used while handling garbage.Â
Making shopping centres safe places to be, makes good business sense.
Occupational Health and Safety in Shopping centres
As we near the festive season more and more people will be spending time in shopping malls, supermarkets and shopping centres preparing to go away or buying presents.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act is in place to prevent injury to employees but also for their customers. Therefore, shopping centres are responsible for the safety of anyone entering their premises and should take proper precautions by providing a safe and satisfactory environment.
Health and Safety not only applies to large shopping centres but also to the small shop owner renting in the centre.
Common injuries occur in shopping malls because of wet floors, oily surfaces, loose rugs and mats or uneven flooring, such as broken tiles. Other causes of injuries occur due to obstructed views, poor lighting or uncovered cables.
The most important ways of shopping centres to prevent accidents is by having good housekeeping policy. For example by cleaning all spills immediately, marking spills and wet areas, removing obstacles from walkways, covering cables and keeping good lighting.
All shopping centres and their tenants are required to have first aid kits or bags, fire extinguishers and personnel that are trained on how to use the equipment.Â
Shopping centres need to make sure that all employees are aware of proper lifting techniques, about all hazardous materials on the premises, the location of material safety data sheets (MSDS) and how to read them. All employees should be able to know how to read the labels, how to clean up spills and what protective equipment is required for various duties (gloves, boots etc).
Another important responsibility of shopping centres is that they need to train staff on emergency evacuation procedures. Emergency evacuation plans must be clearly displayed in order to clearly demarcate emergency exit areas.
All lifts and escalators should be tested and inspected on a yearly basis and the date of the next inspection should be clearly visible. Maintenance, inspection, modification and repair record be kept at hand for the inspector should he ask for it.
As far as electrical installations, shopkeepers are required to produce a certificate of compliance on request from an inspector.
Another thing that most of us will be doing during the festive season while shopping, would be to eat out. Summer and food poisoning are synonymous due to the warm temperature and incorrect temperature storage.  Therefore restaurants and fast food businesses are required to have good hygiene practices to ensure that food is not spoilt. This reduces the risk of food poisoning to their customers. Their kitchens and eating areas should be suitable for food storage and food consumption. All equipment should be cleaned and sterilised with safe cleaning agents. Gloves should be used while handling garbage.Â
Making shopping centres safe places to be, makes good business sense.