Policy – ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION FOR THE WORKPLACE
- Purpose
The purpose of the Act is to provide for the health and safety of all people at work.
- Regulation
- Air-conditioning
According to the Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, 1987 2(1) was issued in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (No. 85 of 1993), an employer may not require or permit an employee to work in an environment where he or she is exposed to a minimum temperature of 6°C for longer than four hours, unless the employer takes reasonable measures to protect the employee against the cold.
The risks associated with air-conditioners in the workplace are that they can cause discomfort and can contribute to the spread of illness. An air-conditioning system must be maintained to ensure that the air stays clean and safe. Other hazards such as faulty wiring, and so on must be eliminated by means of routine inspections. It is the responsibility of the Employer to ensure that the air-con is serviced frequently and in working conditions.
The most common complaint regarding air-conditioning deals with comfort. People differ from each other. The way in which people experience temperature depends on, among other things, their clothing, physique, and individual preference, to name but a few factors. Some people will complain that it is too warm, while others will complain that it is too cold.
We must maintain a comfortable temperature in the workplace during summer and winter by means of air-conditioners.
We must keep our aircon set between these temperatures. Note that the aircon will regulate the temperature and could take a while to reach the set temperature.
A comfortable temperature is influenced by the environment and the activities in the workplace. A temperature of between 21°C and 26°C is recommended:
- Summer temperatures: 21–24°C
- Winter temperatures: 24–26°C
The quality of the air that employees breathe in at work largely depends on the functioning of the building’s air-conditioning system. Substandard air-conditioning can lead to poor indoor air quality and irritable and sick workers. Pollution in an office environment can raise the risk of illness. Illnesses are generally linked to bacteria and fungi that flourish in cooling towers or other parts of air-conditioning systems.
Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that every employer must provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of his employees.
The same section states that employers have a duty to establish, as far as is reasonably practicable, what hazards to the health or safety of workers are attached to the work that is performed and the conditions in which they work. These hazards include the risks associated with air-conditioning systems. Risks connected to air-conditioning must therefore be identified and reduced as far as possible.
Solutions:
- Depending on the humidity, we must have the air-conditioning switched on, to keep the conditions good and with the buy-in of the team, be at approximately 21 degrees (nothing lower than this). This caters for good ventilation.
- If an employee is still getting too hot, staff can get a desk fan at their own cost, since it is a personal preference
- If an employee is too cold, they can get a blanket at their own cost since it is a personal preference.
- Discuss the possibility of alternative seating arrangements.
There’s no law for maximum working temperature, or when it’s too hot to work. Employers must stick to health and safety at work law, including keeping the temperature at a comfortable level, sometimes known as thermal comfort – providing clean and fresh air.
- Ventilation
Ventilation is the process of bringing in fresh air from outside and removing indoor air, which may:
- be stale
- be hot and humid
- contain pollutants and other impurities
Not only is it the law to provide sufficient fresh air, but studies have shown that good ventilation is associated with:
- improved health
- better concentration
- higher levels of satisfaction with an environment
- lower rates of absence from work
- better quality of sleep
- reduced exposure to a wide range of air pollutants
The method of ventilation will depend on the building, and the company has explored the options that work best for our workplace. Natural ventilation relies on doors, windows, and other openings.
Mechanical ventilation uses fans to move air into and out of rooms. In small spaces and buildings, these may be in the room, but larger buildings may use a network of ducts and fans to blow clean air into rooms and/or extract the stale air.
Many buildings have a mixture of natural and mechanical ventilation, with either (or both) systems in different spaces.
What does the law say? Under regulation 6 of the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations, employers must ‘ensure that every enclosed workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air’.