Business_Spotlight_-_Nr.2_2020

60 Business Spotlight 2/2020 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE

ENGLISH FOR...

E

verybody should be expected to go home in

the same mental and physical condition as

they were in when they came to work. That is

the guiding principle of workplace health and

safety, according to Mandy Harley-English,

health and safety manager for Saxon Weald, a

housing association in the UK. Therefore, under UK

law, best practice for any company with over 250

employees is to have a health and safety manager on

staff to minimize work-related deaths, injuries and

ill health. Companies with between five and 249

employees can invest in the services of a health and

safety consultant.

A health and safety manager provides workers

with information and training on how to perform

their health and safety-related duties at work. The

safety manager must make sure there are enough

people trained in first aid. And there must be first-

aid kits and emergency medical equipment, such as a

defibrillator, in easily reachable areas of the company.

The manager is also responsible for displaying health

and safety information posters and reporting certain

injuries, accidents (including those that almost hap-

pened) and work-related illnesses to the authorities.

The health and safety manager must examine

the workplace. They carry out risk assessments to

identify hazards and decide whether or not anyone

could come to harm — and, if so, what changes must

be made to prevent this. They must know when and

how to get competent outside help in dangerous or

hazardous situations, prepare a health and safety

policy for their company and make sure it is imple-

mented.

After all preventable risks have been eliminated,

certain workers must still be provided with “last line

of defence” personal protective equipment (PPE),

such as hard hats for construction workers, high vis-

ibility vests for railway workers or panic alarms for

home-care providers.

Regular checks must be made to ensure that there

is nothing in the way of clearly defined exit routes,

and that emergency exit lights function and exits are

clearly marked. Checks must also be made to ensure

that fire and smoke alarms as well as fire extinguish-

ers are fully functional, that all surveillance cameras

are working and that emergency evacuation drills are

carried out as if they were real.

Anyone who regularly uses display screen equip-

ment (DSE) should have their workstation checked

by a health and safety expert. The company must pro-

vide financial help for eye tests and special glasses for

seeing a computer screen better. Workplace aids and

adaptions, such as ergonomic chairs and hydraulic

desks that can prevent skeletal and muscular prob-

lems, should also be provided by the company.

Any building that has stored water — such as hos-

pitals, care homes, social housing and large offices

— must follow an approved code of practice to elim-

inate the risk of potentially fatal diseases.

display screen equipment

(DSE) [dI(spleI skri:n

I)kwIpmEnt]

, Bildschirmgeräte

evacuation drill

[i)vÄkju(eIS&n drIl]

, Evakuierungsübung

fatal [(feIt&l]

, tödlich

first-aid kit

[)f§:st (eId kIt]

, Erste-Hilfe-Kasten,

-Ausrüstung

hard hat [(hA:d hÄt]

, Schutzhelm

hazard [(hÄzEd]

, Risiko, Gefahr

high visibility vest

[)haI vIzE)bIlEti (vest]

, Warnweste

housing association

[(haUZIN EsEUsi)eIS&n]

UK , Wohnungsbau-

gesellschaft

last line of defence

[lA:st )laIn Ev di(fens]

, hier: als letzter Schutz

panic alarm

[(pÄnIk E)lA:m]

, Notfallalarm

personal protective

equipment (PPE)

[)p§:s&nEl prE)tektIv

I(kwIpmEnt]

, persönliche Schutz-

ausrüstung

risk assessment

[(rIsk E)sesmEnt]

, Risikobewertung,

Gefahrenanalyse

social housing

[)sEUS&l (haUzIN] UK

, Sozialwohnungen

Exercise: Sayings using “safe”

Use these words to complete the phrases in bold.

hands | houses | side | sorry | sound

A. It might rain later on, so take your umbrel-

la. It’s better to be safe than.

B. I wanted to let you know that we arrived in

Cambodia this morning, safe and.

C. Don’t worry about the takeover. Your posi-

tion here is as safe as.

D. Jennifer is a qualified nursery nurse, so

your kids are in safe with her.

E. It’s probably enough, but let’s order one

more dish, just to be on the safe.

Health and

safety in the

workplace

Vorschriften sollen Gesundheit und Sicherheit

der Beschäftigten am Arbeitsplatz gewährleisten.

Nützliches englisches Vokabular dazu finden

Sie auf diesen beiden Seiten.

ADVANCEDPLUS

Answers

Exercise:

Sayings using “safe”

sorry (better safe than A.

besser auf sorry =

) Nummer sicher gehen

sound (safe and sound B.

) wohlbehalten=

houses (as safe as C.

absolut = UK houses

sicher, so sicher wie

) Immobilien

hands (in safe hands D.

) in guten Händen=

side (on the safe side E.

) auf der sicheren Seite=

A CLOSER LOOK

“Hazard” or “risk”?

According to health and safety regulations, a

hazard is something in your business that could

cause harm to people, such as chemicals, elec-

tricity and work done in high places. A risk is the

probability — however large or small — that a

hazard could cause harm.

M