Guidance for workplace building owners/ employers following the Christchurch earthquake

This guidance is to assist owners/employers with their decision making before they resume work in their workplaces.

It applies only after the City Council has approved your buildings’ structural safety and you have obtained permission to enter.

Having gained structural clearance, it is important to realise that there may still be a number of potential hazards inside the premises. Prior to commencing normal operations in the workplace you will need to take all practicable steps to ensure a safe workplace for employees and others as they resume work.

Below are some points to consider as you prepare to resume work.

Cleaning up

If clean up work is required it needs to be effectively managed to ensure the safety of those involved.

Hazards associated with the different types of clean up roles need to be identified, task analysis developed and control measures put in place. All people carrying out work need to be adequately trained and supervised and provided with suitable resources i.e. protective clothing and equipment.

As this work goes on, you and your employees will often be in the best position to gauge the risks.

There may be situations where work will need to be deferred while hazards are assessed. Encourage your employees to take this approach and to be cautious.  

Hazard identification and assessment

It is important that prior to commencing normal work operations that you take time to carry out a thorough hazard identification and management assessment of the workplace.  This should include –

• looking at existing hazards and ensuring previous control measures are still adequate

• identifying any new hazards or potential hazards that the earthquake may have caused and discussing the control measures that may be required

• being vigilant. Some of the hazards or risks may not be clearly visible. An example of this could be an overhead travelling or gantry crane in a factory where the crane visually looks good but the structure supporting the beam may have been weakened.  This would require checking by a certified inspection body.

You and your employees will generally have a greater knowledge of the risks or hazards that may have resulted to the work environment from the earthquake and all should be involved in the process. However, outside expertise may be required for particular hazards, especially if it is of a structural or supporting nature or involves hazardous substances.

Consider the impacts on your employees

Sadly casualties have been widespread, and it is likely that your employees will be affected in some way by the loss of friends and loved ones.

Be mindful of the psychological impact on employees returning to work. You will need to be sensitive to the reluctance of some people to re-enter the workplace and be aware of any cultural or religious considerations, particularly when people return to a workplace where a fatality has occurred.

Remember too that aftershocks may still occur, and ensure that your evacuation plan is adequate and ensures a safe exit from the building should the need arise.

Things to look out for

All workplaces that have been affected by the earthquake will need to be assessed. This includes farms, forestry operations, shops, warehouses, gyms, factories, offices, entertainment venues etc.

There is not a single checklist of hazards that will work for all workplaces. Instead each business will have its own hazards and the effects of the earthquake will differ from one workplace to another. However, as a starting point, below are some of the hazards that may have resulted from the earthquake:

General

• Electricity
• Gas
• Water
• Access and egress
• Chemicals – leaking containers, compatibility, cleaning up spills
• Stability of fixtures
  • Shelving
  • Mezzanine floors
  • Plant or equipment that was bolted down
  • Storage of goods
• Structural soundness of any lifting equipment or supporting mechanism for any lifting equipment

Construction

• Propping of precast panels
• Integrity of excavations
• Integrity of scaffolds
• Propped framework
• Partially completed structures
• Temporary power supplies
• Anchor points used for harnesses
• Access platforms

Forestry

• Unstable root base
• Hung-up spars
• Ruptured diesel tanks
• Crevasses
• Unstable rocks/banks/land features

Farms

• Unstable silos
• Unstable tanks
• Structural damage to out buildings
• Unstable haystacks