If you use appliances in your business, whether for your business services or for employee comfort (e.g. a refrigerator), there’s a chance these appliances might not be safe. Buying second-hand appliances to save a bit of cash is fine, and actually rather smart. However, you absolutely must be sure that your appliances are safe to use. Whether your appliances are second hand or not is irrelevant; you must make sure they are safe, even if they are fairly new.
Here are some things to remember when you’re looking at business appliances and why they might not be safe:
You’re Not Performing Regular Checks And Maintenance
Regular checks and maintenance is an absolute must if you use any kind of appliance within your business. It’s not something that can be compromised on. It’s your responsibility to check over your appliances and take the steps to maintain them. Usually, this means hiring somebody who is qualified to maintain your equipment, rather than attempting to do it yourself. If you know that something is faulty and you put off the repair process, you will get in a lot of trouble if something happens, e.g. an employee becomes injured.
Although this is your responsibility, it’s a good idea to make sure employees know that they should be checking things over before each use too. Ensuring they know what to look for and that they report anything that doesn’t look right is really important.
They Haven’t Been Tested And Tagged
Making sure you adhere to the tag and test regulations in your area is also a must. Having somebody come into your workplace, test your appliances and mark them as safe is so important if you want to continue working legitimately. Safety isn’t something you should take risks with, and ensuring you test and tag your appliances keeps you, your business, your employees, and your customers/the general public as safe as possible.
Of course, there are other tests that can help to ensure your appliances are safe too; be sure to ask the company that test and tag your appliances for more information.
Whether you know your appliances are safe or not is irrelevant; you also need to make sure you have the correct insurance cover, just in case something does go wrong. It doesn’t always take a faulty appliance to cause trouble, so you must make sure that you have the insurance necessary to protect your business. Don’t avoid it just because you think you are safe!
Make sure everybody is on the same page when it comes to what to do in the event of an emergency too. You should have signs, briefings, and all kinds of things that confirm what should be done. If something happens and it transpires that you have not properly briefed your employees on what to do, you will face many problems and get into legal trouble.
Is it really worth risking the safety of your business and your employees? Follow the advice in this guide for the best results!
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