contrast standardized criteria, such as laws or other sources. Protection
goals and safety measures for a given risk can then be defined and assessed
yet again to determine their level of success.
After you have measured your data, it is important that you process and
effectively manage it. It is equally vital that all of the steps and tasks required
to define, perform, evaluate, and document your measurements are taken
into account, as well. Creating an exposure record is a great way to systemati-
cally record the risks in your work places, including hazardous substances,
noise, climate, and lighting, all at the same time. You can also update the
exposure record automatically to create a hazardous-substance inventory to
meet legal requirements. As changes to your exposure record accrue, you will
have a complete history available at any time.
By evaluating the relationships between employees and various assessed risks,
you can propose accurate health-surveillance protocols for each employee,
derived from his or her personal exposure. Such a measure will also result in
reduced healthcare costs; unnecessary employee health-surveillance protocols
are effectively eliminated, thus reducing visits to the doctor.
Standardizing your procedures ........................................................
Critical to the success of your health and safety program is the establishment
of clear standard operating procedures for handling and working with haz-
ardous substances (more about this in Chapter 12), machines, and installa-
tions, or for performing tasks that are potentially dangerous. Two types of
standard operation procedures ought to be in effect at all times. The first type
guides individual procedures; the second provides boundaries for groups of
employees.
Laws such as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the United States,
the hazardous-substance directive in Germany, and other, similar EU legisla-
tion, require that standard operating procedures for handling hazardous sub-
stances contain certain information, including definitions and descriptions of
Workplace and tasksHazardous substances
Dangers to humans and the environmentProtective measures and rules of conduct
Behavior in dangerous situationsFirst aid
Waste disposal measures