Task1 A
Temperature
Temperatures in the indoor workplace are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which place a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in the workplace
Minimum workplace temperature
The Approved Code of Practice suggests the minimum temperature in a workplace should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius. If the work involves rigorous physical effort, the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius. These temperatures are not absolute legal requirements; the employer has a duty to determine what reasonable comfort will be in the particular circumstances.
Higher workplace temperatures
A meaningful figure cannot be given at the upper end of the scale due to the high temperatures found in, for example, glass works or foundries. In such environments it is still possible to work safely provided appropriate controls are present. Factors other than air temperature, ie radiant temperature, humidity and air velocity, become more significant and the interaction between them become more complex with rising temperatures.
Risk assessment
In addition to the Workplace Regulations, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees, and take action where necessary and where reasonably practicable. The temperature of the workplace is one of the potential hazards that employers should address to meet their legal obligations. Employers should consult with employees or their representatives to establish sensible means to cope with high temperatures.
Lighting
Key principles in lighting
Different activities require different levels of light. In general, the more detailed the task, the greater the light requirement. A process control room should be lit at an illuminance of 300 lux, a corridor or walkway may only require 50 lux, whilst studying an engineering drawing may require 750 lux.
Where individuals are carrying out different activities, they will need control over their local lighting e.g. a control and instrumentation engineer coming into a process control room lit at 300 lux may need a desk with a lamp to study a wiring diagram.
Accurate work such as soldering a control panel will require higher light levels than walking down a corridor. When considering lighting, a number of different factors need to be considered such as colour, contrast, glare and so on.
Light regulation
There are no statutory workplace lighting levels in the UK (though the HSE does offer suggested minimal levels). Regulation 8 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) (WHSW) Regulations simply requires that lighting at work is "suitable and sufficient" and that, where reasonably practicable, workplaces are lit by natural light.
Minimum light levels
Choosing lighting will be largely a "matter of judgement". The broad guidelines it offers include:
The finer detail a worker needs to see, the higher the illuminance needed;
Lighting needs to produce a "reasonable uniform illuminance" in all task areas; and
Lighting design needs to account for the effect of shadows caused by people or objects.
Beyond these general tips, the key issues are the type of work, the working environment (such as the level of natural light, interior design colours and work area layout), and individual requirements, including those of people with special needs. The recommended minimum lighting levels are in the table below.
Code of Practice
The Approved Code of Practice for the WHSW Regulations says lighting should allow people to work and move about safely: local lighting should be provided where necessary at workstations and at places of particular risk, such as crossing points on traffic routes; and lighting and light fittings shouldn't create any hazard themselves