Emergency Spill Response Services You Can Rely On
health and safety consultancy
Emergency Spill Response Services You Can Rely On
Our Emergency Response Teams are on stand-by in the Western Cape, which allows us to provide fast spill response service to both public and private sector in the Western Cape. We’re quick to respond – showing up (in most cases) within two hours of receiving an emergency call.
Dealing with an emergency situation? CVSC is prepared and ready for deployment. Here’s how we can help:
- Fire Clean-up, Odour removal, Assessments and Salvage
- Flood Clean-up and Salvage
- Emergency Storm Damage Repair, Assessments and Clean-up
- Virus and Pathogens Decontaminations, including COVID-19, Swine flu, etc
- Emergency Spill Response
- Environmental Site Assessment and Remediation
- Geology and Engineering Services
- Emergency Response Fuel Spill and Truck Wreck
- Hazardous Material Clean-up and Disposal Management
- Emergency Hazardous Waste and Spill Clean-up Operations
- Industrial Services
- Water and Wastewater Clean-up and Emergency Response
- Hazards Evaluations
1. Working at height
It shouldn’t be a surprise that CVSC frequently spot hazards associated with working at height.
Employers and employees need to identify all locations where fall protection is necessary, as well as where the engineered anchor points are, and train employees and regularly audit the fall protection program.
2. Poor housekeeping
Clutter blocking fire exits, aisles and emergency exits is a housekeeping problem that CVSC, sees often.
Another common hazard? Over-stacking loads on racks in a warehouse that bring them too close to a sprinkler head, which can limit the sprinkler’s efficiency in an emergency. Clutter, leaks or standing water also can contribute to slips, trips and falls.
3. Electrical – Extension cords
Blocked breakers aren’t the only electrical hazard NSC consultants frequently see. Many electrical hazards spotted are related to inappropriate use of extension cords.
4. Forklifts
What’s a leading cause of forklift-related hazards in the workplace? In CVSC’s experience, it’s when workers feel compelled to work quickly.
Shortcuts include driving with too large of a load or driving distracted. The end result may be hitting a rack, damaging a wall or product, or even injuring a co-worker.
5. Lockout/tagout
Proper lockout/tagout procedures can help prevent serious injuries, but only if those procedures are followed.
“A lot of organizations, they’ve got the best procedures in place, but it’s the implementation of the procedures that fails,”
Some examples:
- One employee may go home for the day with his lock on, and the next worker on duty cuts the lock.
- Workers may simply use a label on older equipment for which secure lockout is more difficult.
- Instead of installing a chain to lock a valve in place, a wire that can easily be cut may be used.
Even if all lockout/tagout steps are followed, faulty equipment can still lead to failures. For example a case in which an electrician doing rewiring work was shocked. The equipment was locked out, but the instruments he was using to check the system were faulty and failed to read that the system was live and not isolated. The worker touched a live cable, causing a third-degree burn.
Violation of lockout/tagout procedures often boils down to three reasons:
- Complacency
- A rush to finish the work
- Being unfamiliar with the equipment
5.Chemicals
Chemicals can be expensive, and workers in some industries may never know when they’ll need to use a certain chemical again in the future. But, this kind of thinking can lead to serious hazards.
“Before you know it, you have all these chemicals no one wants or needs,” and “There’ll be literally hundreds of chemicals on the shelves.”
Although it may be easy to overlook a small, 5-gram bottle, those 5 grams can become unstable over time. For example, after a year or so, ether can degrade into explosive peroxide.
7. Confined spaces
Confined spaces can present a number of hazards. George said many tragedies involving confined spaces have occurred because an employer didn’t issue a permit or failed to carry out a risk assessment.
If the risk assessment and process are done correctly, and all steps are followed, employers won’t have a problem. “Everything is all planned.”
“If you don’t plan it correctly, you plan for a disaster.”
Focus on prevention
The seven hazards presented are by no means an exhaustive list – many other hazards may exist at your worksite, and spotting them requires vigilance. To help identify workplace hazards; contact CVSC on 072 927 86 35 or info@cvsc.co.za
Natural disasters – whether a hurricane, tornado or outbreak like COVID-19 – can have a disastrous effect on small businesses, but they don’t have to.
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