SAFETY SIGNS AND COLOUR AT WORK

Safety signs and colour are useful tools to help protect the health and safety of employees and workplace visitors.

Safety signs are used to:

ü draw attention to health and safety hazards;

ü point out hazards that may not be obvious;

ü provide general information and directions;

ü remind employees where personal protective;

ü equipment must be worn;

ü show where emergency equipment is located indicate where certain actions are prohibited.

Colour attracts attention and can be used extensively for safety purposes. For example, colour can be used as an additional safety measure to identify the contents of pipes and the nature of the hazard.

The choice of colour also draws attention to the probability of a hazard causing harm. For example, the colour red is used to indicate a definite hazard. A potential hazard is communicated by the colour yellow.

When employees are aware of the hazards around them and take the necessary precautions, the possibility of an injury, illness or other loss is minimized.

However while safety signs and colours are valuable in warning of hazards, they are not substitutes for eliminating or reducing those hazards, whenever possible.

This guideline will help your workplace to effectively use safety signs and colours for the protection of employees and visitors alike.

Task 3.Look atthe title of the unit and discuss the following questions with a partner.

1. Why do people receive industrial injuries?

2. What can reduce the danger of industrial injuries?

3. Should workers receive training in basic safety?

4. What potential dangers in your laboratory, workshop, or place of work do you face? How is the risk of these hazards reduced? Do you always observe safety instructions?

Task 4.Study the safety instructions below, and then answer the following questions with a partner.

a.Who are the instructions for?

b.Who wrote them?

c. What was the writer's purpose?

1. Wear protective clothing at all times.

2. Always wear eye protection when operating lathes, cutters, and grinders and ensure the guard is in place.

3. Keep your workplace tidy.

4. The areas between benches and around machines must be kept clear.

5. Tools should be put away when not in use and any breakages and losses reported.

6. Machines should be cleaned after use.

Task 5.Read the company document on safety, and then answer the questions.

1. Who is this document for?

a. machine operatives

b. managers

c. all employees

d. injured employees

2. Who wrote this document?

a. trade union representative

b. technician

c. manager

d. medical staff

3. What is the writer’s intention?

a. to prevent accidents

b. to ensure speedy help for injured employees

c. to protect the company

d. to warn about dangers

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Whenever an accident occurs that results in an injury (medical case), damage of equipment and material, or both, prompt accident investigation by the immediate manager is required. A written preliminary investigation will be completed by the end of the particular shift or business day on which the accident occurred.

In no event should there be a delay of more than 24 hours. Failure to comply with this requirement may subject the immediate manager to disciplinary action up to and including discharge.

Without adequate accident investigation data the Company may be subjected to costs, claims, and legal action for which it has no defence.

As a minimum, the preliminary accident investigation report will include the following:

1. Name, occupation, and sex of injured worker.

2. Place and date / time of accident.

3. Description of how the accident happened.

4. Immediate causes of the accident - unsafe acts and unsafe conditions.

5. Contributing causes - manager safety performance, level of worker training, inadequate job procedure, poor protective maintenance, etc.

6. Witness(es) - name and department.

7. Corrective action taken - when.

The employee who was injured and any employee(s) who witnessed the incident should be separately interviewed as soon as possible. A copy of the report must be submitted to the Manager - Human Resources for review. Another copy of the report is to be retained for a period of not less than the injured employee's length of employment plus five years.

Task 6.Study the following report of an accident. Discuss with a partner in which points it does not meet company policy on reporting accidents?

Task 7.Summarize everything that you have learned about safety at work and accident investigation.

Task 8.Simulate an accident investigation. Perform the following roles: an injured worker, a trade union representative, a medical man/woman, witness(es), Human Resources Manager.

Task 9. Work with a partner or a small group.

1. Find out about the causes of common accidents in your industry.

2. Design a safety poster to avoid one of these accidents.

LESSON 5

LASERS

Task 1.Discuss with a partner the following questions.

1. What are lasers?

2. When were lasers invented?

3. What are applications for lasers?

4. Is it possible to go without lasers in modern life?

Task 2.Read this text to check your answers to the questions in Task 1.

Lasers (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) are devices which amplify light and produce beams of light which are very intense, directional, and pure in colour. They can be solid state, gas, semiconductor, or liquid.

When lasers were invented in 1960, some people thought they could be used as 'death rays'. In the 1980s, the United States experimented with lasers as a defence against nuclear missiles. Nowadays, they are used to identify targets. But apart from military uses, they have many applications in engineering, communications, medicine, and the arts.

In engineering, powerful laser beams can be focused on a small area. These beams can heat, melt, or vaporize material in a very precise way. They can be used for drilling diamonds, cutting complex shapes in materials from plastics to steel, for spot welding and for surfacing techniques, such as hardening aircraft engine turbine blades. Laser beams can also be used to measure and align structures.

Lasers are ideal for communications in space. Laser light can carry many more information channels than microwaves because of its high frequency. In addition, it can travel long distances without losing signal strength. Lasers can also be used for information recording and reading. Compact discs are read by lasers.

In medicine, laser beams can treat damaged tissue in a fraction of a second without harming healthy tissue. They can be used in very precise eye operations.

In the arts, lasers can provide fantastic displays of light. Pop concerts are often accompanied by laser displays.

Task 3.Make up questions beginning with the following words. Ask your partner to answer them.

What Where When

Task4.Fill in the table of laser applications using information from the text. You may also add any applications you know of which are not included in the text.

Task 5. Read the title of the article devoted to laser technology. Work in pairs and make up a list of questions you would like to ask the inventor of this technology. Why would you like to know it?

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