 It would be rather
difficult to get hold of some reliable data on accidents in offices in India. Even more
difficult would be to calculate the loss of man-days due to work related illnesses in our
country. Generally the offices are considered safe and secure, but really are they? Any
place, whether a home, an office, a factory or for that matter any place, is only as safe
as you make it. A very common statement "accidents are not caused, they happen",
is perhaps all wrong. Accidents do not happen by themselves; they are caused by people
like you and me who tend to take safety lightly. In fact, we can predict accidents because
we know their causes. Of course, offices are much safer than an industry, but accidents
happen in offices too.
Common office hazards like trailing telephone
leads, loose carpets and mats, cluttered desk, all these are seemingly very common and
innocent but can actually cause a lot of damage. Just imagine you returning from the
canteen with a hot cup of tea and your feet get entangled in the trailing telephone cable.
What happens next needs no description. And in a majority of cases all of us notice such
things on our way to the canteen, but seldom make an effort to correct them. The more
aware you are of a hazard the, more likely you are to avoid them. The IT revolution may
really take us into a paperless office age, but we still would have a desk and a desk
would still have drawers. A drawer left open can really be a dangerous thing. It can cause
a simple annoyance or can hurt your knee, which may be serious enough to put you out of
circulation for quite sometime.  A desk cluttered with pins, staplers, scissors and disposable cups is a
potential hazard. Would you believe that much of safety is just good commonsense. All of
us teach our children to keep their rooms tidy and things in order. But do we? The basic
thought should be - think safe, act safe, and be safe.
We may have a paperless office, but you cannot
do without equipment in an office today. Starting from PCs, printers, scanners,
photocopiers, UPS and Heaters and Air-conditioners, you have a whole lot of them. And all
depend on electricity. Remember electricity is a good servant, but a very bad master.
Don't play with it or misuse it. Isn't it very common to find damaged, frayed and torn
electrical leads? You are always eager to upgrade your system and to have the latest
version of what Bill Gates has to offer. But it is very rare that you upgrade the
electrical wiring. When these IT gizmos are introduced in an office, there can really be a
shortage of power points. In such a situation we resort to temporary connections and
stopgap arrangements which then tend to acquire permanency. Adapters, trailing
multi-sockets all are dangerous. Ensure that all equipments are maintained, installed and
periodically inspected. A last word of caution as regards electricity; under no
circumstance attempt repairing any electrical appliance or equipment yourself.
Most of us today spend a great deal of our
office time in front of a computer screen, even it may be only to play solitaire. And as
WIPRO and INFOSYS continue to churn out millionaires, the level of use of video display
units would only increase. This problem did not exist about a decade back, but today it
has become a major problem area.  According to a study published in Safety Online Newsletter (Volume 2, Issue 12
April 04, 2000) an estimated 18 million Americans are at a significant risk from
repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and lower back
injuries. The survey identified four common office risks that could lead to RSIs: poor
workstation layout, inadequate office equipment, unhealthy postural habits, and low worker
expectations about office comfort. Conducted over a 24-month period, the study sampled
computer office workers across the United States. Respondents came from every state, age
group, office size (offices with one to nine workers to major corporate work centers of
500 and more employees), and included many job titles.
Wishing you a very safe week. Next week we
will talk about some more aspects of office safety. Do remain safe.
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