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Photography: Menno van der Bijl

PROCESS AND PRACTICE 11

ELISETTE DAAMS
is a facility management consultant for TOPdesk. She is specialized in implementing Health and Safety solutions.

HEALTh AND SAFETY & TOPDEsK: A sAFE CoMBINATIoN


Research has shown that 55 per cent of all Dutch companies do not have enough Emergency Response Ofcers (EROs) present during the summer period. Additionally, the AED often does not function properly or has insufcient battery power. Using TOPdesk as your central Health and Safety system helps you prevent such problems.

Excellent H&S registration saves lives


The first step towards a safe work environment is registering your Health and Safety assets. You can do this in TOPdesks Asset Management module. However, make sure to take the right approach. For instance, there is no point in registering each smoke detector individually because they are checked in batches. Asset Management also lets you register Health and Safety certificates. This lets you see at a glance who has which certification. Again, we do not recommend registering each individual certificate: there are usually several people with the same certification, after all. A good example of an object that should be registered individually is the AED. According to US statistics, the chances of survival for someone in cardiac arrest nearly double if one of the bystanders quickly uses an AED. This means that it is vitally important to know the devices location. Once you have registered your Health and Safety assets in TOPdesk, creating calls about the assets is easy. The first aid kit was

used and needs restocking is an example of such a call, but you could also report loose cables or other potentially dangerous situations at the office. We also recommend including Health and Safety in the HR commencement procedure. When setting up a new workstation, you can check whether it obstructs emergency escape routes, for instance. Moreover, you can add the new employee to the mandatory Health and Safety instruction list.

Proactive approach with operational task management


Our consultants see that most organizations plan their evacuation drills well. However, equally important tasks such as checking escape routes and changing AED batteries on time often fall by the wayside. Over the past two years, inspections revealed that only a limited number of the 80,000 AEDs in the Netherlands undergo regular maintenance.

12 PROCESS AND PRACTICE

IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR AEDS ARE

USE TOPDESK TO INFORM YOUR EMPLOYEES ABOUT OPERATIONAL SAFETY

The Operations Management module makes it easy to keep track of recurring maintenance tasks. The tasks to be performed are automatically added to the responsible partys task list. If you have operators that do not regularly log in to TOPdesk, you can use emails to automatically update them about upcoming tasks.

Help! Where is my ERO?


EROs usually work in different departments across the organization. You are probably familiar with the presence lists in the hall, indicating which EROs are in the building. Such lists are good for checking which response officers are present today, but what about tomorrow? Or next week? In holiday periods it is not unusual for organizations to have too few EROs available (55 per cent, as mentioned previously). TOPdesks Plan Board can help you avoid such situations. The Plan Board lets you easily register which EROs are present, and when they have planned their holidays and regular days off. Whats more, the special availability checker lets you see whether the desired number of EROs is present every day. If it turns out that you have a structural ERO deficit, you can respond to the problem accordingly. Colleagues have received instructions about what to do in case of emergency. They are familiar with the building and have usually taken part in an evacuation drill. However, the same cannot be said for most visitors such as repairmen, who often work in rooms with no workstations. The Visitor Registration module lets you register all expected visitors in one place. Registering each visitors arrival and departure ensures you have an up-to-date overview of todays visitors. This helps you prepare for emergencies at all times.

A single information centre


TOPdesk is a great tool for communicating with your colleagues, and can also be used to improve your operational safety. For instance, you can use the Self Service Desk to publish a news item about the results of your evacuation drill. The Knowledge Base is a good place to register your evacuation procedures. You can also register who your employees can turn to for information about allergies or to pass on information about medical conditions. You can demonstrate how you ensure that your colleagues have a safe work environment. Later on you can expand the Knowledge Base with health information, such as RSI prevention. TOPdesk can also be a central information point for your EROs. With the Knowledge Base, they always have information about registered Health and Safety assets, maps, escape routes, and safety procedures at hand. If your organization comprises several buildings, it may be useful to register all information in a single easily accessible TOPdesk environment.

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