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Every business has its own hazards and associated risks.
Whenever a workplace is occupied by two or more employers the area is said to
be jointly occupied. In this case according to article 17 of ILO C155 and Recommendation
11 of ILO R164 the responsibility to ensure the safety of the workplace
lies on all the parties.
It is impossible to fulfil this responsibility without
taking into account the hazards and associated risks of all the businesses it
could be done through cooperation and consultation.
The steps which could be taken to strengthen this
cooperation are:
·
A safety committee should be established the
sole purpose of which is the single thing to protect themselves and others who
might be affected by their business.
·
It should be comprised of the members who belong
to different organizations. For example, if there are 5 employers in the same
building then the committee should have one member at least from every company.
·
In order to monitor the effectiveness, regular
meetings should be conducted. The frequency of the meeting could be decided
mutually by all the stakeholders.
·
This committee should have an agenda to discuss.
The productivity of the meetings could be measures by taking follow up in the
next meeting.
·
Once the committee is established the next step
should be towards implementation of agenda. Every stake holder must share a
comprehensive risk assessment with other parties so that an appropriate
response could be developed. For example, a company dealing with flammable substances
must share its hazards because there might be another company dealing with
crackers and explosives.
·
Not only the hazards but the method statements
should also be shared to all the employers.
Once risk assessment and method statement is available then
a jointly agreed effective health and safety policy must be devised. This
policy will be concerned with the issues such as
·
Access
and exit from building of all the parties each having a dedicated parking
area for workers of each employer.
·
Developing joint
emergency response in case of accidents such as fire.
·
Availability of first aid facilities appropriate for all the workers in the
premises.
·
Welfare
facilities , their maintenance and staff for maintenance.
References
https://app.croneri.co.uk/topics/shared-workplaces-and-occupiers-liability/indepth
RRC International NEBOSH IG1
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