If there’s one piece of advice the team at Signsmart can give you, it’s that you always need to know what the law is in regards to workplace safety.
This extends beyond hazchem signs and dangerous goods labels – it’s particularly important when it comes to fire safety in your workplace.
You’ll need to know all about fire hazard signs, proper fire preparation strategies and the law about hazchem materials and flammable substances.
We know it can be hard to wrap your head around everything you need to know and do in regards to safety in your workplace.
All of the rules and regulations can confuse people, especially if you’re new to the business – “legalese” is pretty much an entirely different language at this point!
That’s why our team of experts is taking the time out to explain some of the details.
Everything you need to know about OHS laws and fire hazard sign requirements
Use the correct labels and hazchem signs
It goes without saying that your workplace needs the appropriate fire hazard signs.
In particular, you’ll need signs for:
- Firefighting equipment
- Emergency exits
- Fire alarms
- Evacuation routes
- Fire safety doors
In addition to all these fire safety signs however, businesses that deal with chemicals should also ensure that the appropriate hazchem signs and dangerous goods labels are also used.
Many of these substances are flammable or may react violently – as such, special signs are needed to warn workers of their flammable qualities.
For example, there are several types of hazchem sign dedicated to chemicals that are flammable under different circumstances. These signs are mandatory if you deal with these chemicals, and can help prevent fires altogether!
Finally, back these hazchem signs and dangerous goods labels up with prohibition signs listing and banning potential sources of fires, such as electronics and open flames.
Make sure your safety data sheets are updated and easily accessed
So you deal with flammable chemicals. You know that you need appropriate hazchem signs and dangerous goods labels.
What you may not know however is that manufacturers are also legally-required to provide safety data sheets to buyers or warehouses like yours.
Like the name suggests, a safety data sheet (SDS) tell you everything you need to know about the chemicals you’re carrying. With regards to flammable substances (like petrol) in particular, that means: is used to lower the risk associated with hazardous chemicals and substances.
- Name and contact details of manufacturer
- Date it was prepared and reviewed
- Unit measurements
- Proper fire fighting techniques and methods
- Risk of fire
- What can ignite the substance
All of this information is critical to the safe storage and handling of any hazchem substance, forming the basis of your fire safety strategy. You’ll need to ensure these sheets are present on-site, and easily accessible by your workers.
Ensure you have the proper firefighting equipment on-site
As we all know, water conducts electricity – as a result, water is a poor choice for fighting electrical fires!
And it isn’t just electrical fires that have unique firefighting requirements, either – many different fires and substances require special strategies to effectively put out any flames should the worst happen.
This can include purchasing specialised fire extinguishers or suppressants, as well as different containment strategies depending on the substance.
It’s also important that you label storage areas using signage that immediately identifies the type of fire and substance, allowing emergency services to respond appropriately should you have to call them.
This information you need can be found in the safety data sheet, and communicated using high-quality hazchem signs and dangerous goods labels.
Make sure all your team is trained and educated about the hazchem substances
As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!
This is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of OHS law. In addition to implementing proper responses, you’re also required to take all reasonable steps to prevent a fire from occurring in the first place.
And if your team doesn’t know what chemicals they are working with and how to use and store them, you’re setting your team up for an accident!
Your entire team must be aware of the correct procedure for storing and transporting hazchem materials. That means a proper training regime that covers safe handling and proper safety procedures.
In particular, with flammable chemicals you’ll want to ensure that all staff are trained on the proper use hazchem spill kits that spillages can be cleaned up appropriately.
Where can you go to find the right fire information on OHS law?
Signsmart can cover all your signage needs as well as provide OHS advice
It’s no secret that every workplace requires some kind of signage. Whether it be corporate signage or OHS signage, Signsmart can deliver.
However, our team provides much more than just hazchem signs, dangerous goods labels and fire extinguisher signs – we can also assist in educating your business about the relevant OHS laws and procedures too!
We work with a range of different businesses who all deal in flammable substances and chemicals. We’ve done so for years.
As a result, our team has built up a strong working knowledge of your legal requirements and OHS laws.
If you’re new to the world of hazchem, our team can help with advice and solutions that help keep you and your team safe.
And after that, we can also recommend different types of workplace safety signs to help you adhere to your OHS requirements, providing:
We send our signage all over Australia, so no matter where you are, we can get our safety signage to you and keep your workplace safe!
Signsmart can help you to keep your team safe – get in touch with our team today. Give us a call on (03) 9687 3050 to organise custom safety signage for your business.
