Despite is name, occupational hygiene is not about maintaining cleanliness standards at work – it actually means recognising, evaluating and controlling health hazards arising from work.

The aim of occupational hygiene is to protect employees’ health and well‐being by identifying and controlling potential hazards like fumes or dust, as well as physical factors like noise and vibration.

Employers have a statutory duty to safeguard the health of their employees, and good workplace risk management can prevent people’s health being damaged by work‐related causes.

This is particularly important long‐term, as prolonged exposure to hazards at work can result in painful and debilitating conditions many years later.

Occupational hygienists also have expertise in the application of ergonomics, which aims to ensure that people and technology work together without causing health problems such as discomfort and tiredness. Occupational hygiene also involves incorporating health and safety principles into design.

Abermed’s occupational hygiene service offers:

Recognition

Abermed’s occupational hygienist will visit your workplace to assess and identify possible hazards, such as:

• Chemicals ‐ gases, vapours, liquids, dust, mists, fumes
• Environmental factors ‐ noise, vibration, heat, cold, lighting, radiation
• Physical factors ‐ lifting, stretching, repetitive movements
• Other health factors ‐ shift work, stress

Evaluation

After meeting the client and surveying the workplace, the occupational hygienist will carry out detailed sampling and analysis. The hygienist will then report back to the client, outlining in detail their findings and possible solutions.

Control

Abermed will help you to implement practical ways of controlling the hazards that have been identified.

These may include:

• Ways of eliminating the hazard altogether
• Substitution
• Containment
• Ventilation
• Providing protective equipment
• Information, instruction and training
• Regular maintenance

With few experienced and qualified occupational hygienists in the UK, this is a highly specialised area and we are pleased to be able to offer this expertise to our clients as part of our comprehensive occupational health service.

Abermed’s occupational hygiene team provides practical common sense ideas that can be used to achieve cost effective improvements in health management performance.