On average, a person will spend around 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. Given the amount of time we spend in the workplace and legislative WHS obligations, building and facilities managers have an obligation to take the right actions and preventive measures to provide a healthy and safe workplace environment. Building and Facility Managers play a critical role in maintaining a building’s day-to-day operations, as well as ensuring the health and safety of its occupants. By understanding the details of a space and how it is used, Building and Facilities Managers can develop a maintenance program to better manage the asset and reduce risk. A common challenge facing many building and facility managers is the prevention of water damage and mould. The World Health Organisation estimates that indoor dampness is prevalent in between 10 and 50 percent of indoor environments in Australia. This dampness can provide the perfect environment for mould to flourish, with prolonged exposure to mould potentially having health effects.  Cleaning and maintenance staff should include looking for mould as part of their regular workplace inspections, particularly following heavy rain, spills or leaks. 

Training your team to be early detectors of mould will help to reduce the potential impact/damage and lower the costs of rectifying any mould contamination.

Where mould remediation is required, it is important to determine the root cause to prevent mould from returning. A professional service can assess, monitor, and recommend appropriate actions for managing mould contamination. However, your cleaning and maintenance team can play a critical role in ensuring that mould is addressed at the earliest opportunity and doesn’t reach the point where it may require an office shift and worker downtime. . 

Want to know more about safety managing mould in the workplace?

GCG’s Mould Awareness online training is designed to help learners identify mould, understand the conditions that can promote mould growth and develop an awareness of the steps for safely managing the presence of mould. For more information or to enrol click here.  

Stay up to date with the latest in WHS and occupational hygiene news.

Categories

Occupational Hygiene WHS Safety Hazardous Materials Technology Real-Time Monitoring eLearning FSC Accreditation Case Study Other

News & Media

The real-time dust monitoring driving change

Real-time dust monitoring has really come into its own in the last few years. The ubiquity of real-time monitoring devices and the recent emergence of intelligent dust exposure control applications and platforms like GCG’s ‘Exposi’ system have taken monitoring and management of dust exposure to a new level. Hygienists and safety professionals now have the ability to make smarter, faster decisions around dust control management. Real-time hardware devices capture data…
Read More

News & Media

The rise of fixed point real-time dust monitoring 

Increased awareness of silicosis and other occupational lung diseases caused by exposure to hazardous levels of respirable crystalline silica has prompted employers and workers to seek ways to reduce the potential for worker exposure to hazardous dust. This has driven a rise in the uptake of dust monitoring technologies including Remote Real-time Dust Monitoring (Fixed Point Monitoring) in workplaces across Australia. In Australia, silicosis has been known to cause…
Read More

News & Media

How can a work health and safety management system help my business?

A work health safety management system (WHSMS) A WHSMS is a systems-based approach to help companies manage their work health and safety risks and maintain compliance with current legislative requirements. What is a work health and safety management system? A WHSMS is a collective set of procedures, plans, and associated documents that align with business operations and support the process of managing workplace health and safety.
Read More

News & Media

Is your WA principal mining hazard management plan up to date?

The terms and definitions used in reference to ‘principal mining hazards’ vary across Australia. In Western Australia new Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws and accompanying regulations came into effect on 31 March 2022, introducing a meaning for, and a list of, principal mining hazards (PMHs). While it’s likely your risk management framework already identifies principal mining hazards, they may not be addressed as comprehensively as…
Read More

News & Media

What’s next on the journey to eliminate silicosis?

The re-emergence of occupational lung diseases across Australia, such as silicosis and coal worker pneumoconiosis, has received significant focus from industry, regulators, and unions alike. Since 2016, a series of government reviews, task forces, and parliamentary inquiries have identified gaps in hazard awareness, compliance, and regulatory frameworks relating to airborne dust. These documents also identify that preventing occupational lung disease is a complex problem to solve. Occupational…
Read More

Every day more people choose us, contact us today

Stay up to date with the latest in WHS and occupational hygiene news.

[yikes-mailchimp form="1"]