• Make a Safe Workplace Overview
• Manage health and Safety
  • Safety of Contractors and Visitors
  • Visitors to Farms
  • Children in the Workplace
  • First Aid Kits
• Make a H&S plan
  • Implementing Your Plan
  • Employee Participation
• Manage Hazards
  • Monitor Employee Health
  • More on health monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Getting staff to wear safety gear
  • Fatigue, Drugs and Alcohol
  • Sample Drug and Alcohol Policy
  • Workplace Fatigue
• Manage Staff Safely
  • Employee Responsibilities
  • Employee Capability Levels
  • Seven Steps for Training
  • Sample Health and Safety Policy
• Investigate Incidents

More on health monitoring

Here are some common health hazards with suggestions on how they could be monitored. Get help from a qualified occupational health professional on how best to manage each risk. Sources include occupational health specialists, your local GP, or the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management. You can also contact the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20 during normal business hours (9.00am - 5:00pm) or get more specific help from the sources listed at the end of this table.

Hazard type	Impact on health	Measures to take	Possible monitoring
All health hazards	Various	Check for any changes (such as increases) and take appropriate action (such as repairs to excessively noisy machinery).	Review all hazards every six months for changes or for new ways to eliminate, isolate or reduce the hazard.
Chemicals	Immediate (skin contact, inhaled or absorbed through the skin).	Protective equipment (gloves, overalls, masks Safe handling training.	Check procedures and compliance quarterly.
Chemical fumes, vapours	Chronic (medium to long-term exposure).	Improve ventilation. Install filters. Compulsory use of protective equipment.	Review every six months. Annual health check.
Dust particles (wood, asbestos, sand, etc).	Chronic (medium to long-term respiratory or disease impact).	Fit extraction fans, filters. Compulsory use of respiratory equipment.	Review every six months.
Noise	Immediate (a few hours of high decibel noise can cause permanent hearing loss	Compulsory hearing protection. Isolate noise areas.	Check decibel levels and reduce where practical
Excessive sunlight (exposure to ultraviolet radiation)	Skin degradation, potentially fatal skin cancers	Supply appropriate sunscreen creams, hats dark glasses and protective clothing. Educate employees in dangers of excessive sun exposure.	Annual skin check by dermatologist. Monitor time spent in sun and whether employees are using protection supplied.
Microwave radiation (high frequency welders, freeze drying).	Many possible neurological, reproductive and cardiac disorders. Possible eventual cancers.	Limit exposure, job variety	Monitor exposure of individual employees to the radiation. Annual health check.
Vibration (trucks, vibrating platforms, hand tools, chainsaws, pneumatic hammers).	Damage to muscles, tendons and cartilage plus stress effects.	Monitor and limit exposure	Review every six months. Annual health check.
Biological hazards (such as brucellosis from meat products, allergies from bird feathers and droppings).	Disease or allergies from inhalation, ingestion, skin contact	Monitor working conditions. Improve occupational hygiene. Compulsory use of protective equipment.	Screening and skin reaction tests. Quarterly health check.

More specific help

• Approved Code of Practice for the Management of Noise in the Workplace
• Guidelines for the Provision of Facilities and General Safety in Commercial and Industrial Premises
• Guidance Notes for the Protection of Workers from Solar UV Radiation
• Deafness due to noisy work environment
• Removal of steam, fumes, dust and other contaminants
• Safety requirements for asbestos removal
• Exposure to sunlight and prevention of sunburn
• Workplace Exposure Standards (solvent exposure)
• Guidelines for the Management and Removal of Asbestos

Compulsory medical examination

A Department of Labour Medical Practitioner who has concerns that a worker's health may have been affected by work (such as by exposure to chemicals), may require the employee to be examined, or to provide a sample for testing.