The retail industry is a major employer in the UK, employing around 3 million people. This article will provide you with the necessary guidance that you need to understand key risks within the retail environment and most importantly how to prevent those risks from happening.
One common cause of injury in a retail environment is manual handling, if tasks are carried out in the incorrect way they can lead to back pain and musculoskeletal disorders. Before any employee is to carry out a task at work they should consider the following:
- What the task is
- The individual capacity of the employee
- The loads involved
- The work environment around them
It has been found that if both employee and management staff engage together to explore how these factors are detrimental to their own health and safety before going out into the work place, injuries can be significantly reduced. One way to do this is to implement a mandatory training session where they can learn how to lift properly, the use of handling aids and raising awareness of common risks.
Similarly, another common cause of injury in the retail workplace is due to slips, trips and falls. Most accidents tend to occur when smooth and cleaned floors are left wet, spills are not cleaned quickly and effectively and finally damage to existing flooring.
Solution 1: Slip Resistance
Slip resistance testing on all floors in your store is vital to preventing trips and falls from happening. It is also much more efficient to carry out slip resistance tests as it means getting the correct flooring first time round- ultimately saving you lots of money on continuous repairs and improvements! If you become concerned for the standard of your flooring and would like to book a pendulum slip test get in touch with us at national testing, where we can offer you great flooring solutions.
Solution 2: Training and Supervision
Effective training and supervision is vital to avoiding any kind of slip, trip or fall. Cleaning should be carried out to the correct standard every time. In conjunction to this it is important that cleaners understand why they clean at specific times and why at other times it is unnecessary and hazardous to clean. If cleaners are not trained well in regards to this it can lead to shortcuts which can cause more damage to the flooring and more importantly to a person.
Solution 3: Good Management System
An effective cleaning regime requires a good management system to be in place in order to identify common problem areas throughout the shop. Communication is key when managing the correct equipment and chemical suppliers to ensure that the both are suitable to work together for the type of flooring it is going to be used on.
Finally, fire is a real risk to retail companies whether it be from arson or from faulty electrical goods. Ensure that your electrical equipment is PAT tester at satisfactory intervals as well as putting in place a robust fire evacuation procedure.
If you are need help with risk assessing your retail premises, particularly to ensure whether your flooring, car parks and stairways are fit for purpose, contact our team at National Testing today. We carry out a variety of slip testing evaluations from pendulum tests to griptester surveys - all our work is offered with a comprehensive report to give you complete peace of mind.