With the fact that one in three workplace deaths are caused by maintenance failures, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) and the 26 district councils have launched a safe maintenance campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly planned maintenance.
Safe Maintenance aims to reduce the number of workers who are being hurt or are experiencing ill health as a result of inadequate and unsafe maintenance activities. It covers all work on buildings, plant, equipment and vehicles that enables them to function normally and remain fit for purpose, and includes preventive routine actions such as cleaning, lubrication, replacing parts, inspection and thorough examination. It also deals corrective actions when a fault is detected or a break-down occurs such as repairs or clearing blockages.
The campaign examines the issue of maintenance, why it is important and how operating to a good level of preventive maintenance can save businesses time, money and lives. In addition, it identifies potential hazards associated with a lack of maintenance which will depend on the work being carried out and where it is being done. The hazards are commonly grouped as physical, chemical and biological and psychosocial, and can vary significantly between planned preventive and repair or corrective maintenance tasks.
The campaign is aiming to make sure that maintenance workers and those supervising the works understand potential consequences of their actions or their lack of attention to detail.
Five basic rules are established which should be followed. These include:
For further information on the Safe Maintenance campaign, visit http://cedr.ec/maintenance.
