Blocked Exit, Overloaded Socket and an Open Record Room
A two-room field office of a skill mission has nine staff and one main door. Cartons of paper and old files have been stacked in front of the second exit, which is kept locked because it opens into a lane. An extension cord runs from a wall socket under a desk, with a heater, kettle, printer and two chargers connected through one multi-plug. The fire extinguisher was last serviced 26 months ago. One staff member is pregnant and works at a desk beside the printer; another has wrist and shoulder pain from eight hours of typing on a laptop without an external keyboard. Visitors walk in without appointment; last week a visitor smoked just outside the door and another entered the record room unattended. Drinking water is stored in a cooler next to the main switchboard.
1. Rank these risks and justify the order in which you would address them.
Read the worked answer
Rank by consequence, not by visibility. (1) Blocked exit and locked second door: life safety, potentially catastrophic; clear the cartons today and either restore the door as a usable exit or formally record that it is not an exit, ensuring the main door and travel path are unobstructed. (2) Overloaded multi-plug with heater and kettle: fire risk; these are high-current appliances and daisy-chaining them on one socket is a genuine fault. Remove the heater or kettle to a dedicated socket, or stop using them. (3) Extinguisher out of service for 26 months: small cost, high risk; service or replace immediately. (4) Smoking at the door: both fire and etiquette; a no-smoking notice and a designated outside point. (5) Pregnant staff member beside the printer and the laptop posture issue: important but not immediate life risk; relocate the printer and provide a keyboard and wrist support. (6) Visitor access to the record room: confidentiality risk; a visitor register and escorted access. (7) Water cooler beside the switchboard: move one of them.
2. Separate the fixes into immediate low-cost actions and budgeted items.
Read the worked answer
Immediate, near-zero cost: clear the exit path, unlock and test the second door, remove the heater and kettle from the multi-plug, relocate the water cooler, put up a no-smoking sign, move the printer away from the pregnant staff member, and start a visitor register. Small spend: service or replace the fire extinguisher, buy an external keyboard and mouse, a wrist rest, and a surge-protected multi-plug or small UPS. Budget items: an electrician's inspection of the circuit and earthing, a second extinguisher, an ergonomic chair, and an exit sign with emergency light. Cheap but important: a five-minute staff briefing on the exit route and extinguisher location, and a named fire warden. Do not buy new furniture before the electrical and exit issues are fixed; a chair does not compensate for a blocked door. Record everything in a simple risk register with owner and date.
3. Draft a visitor and workplace etiquette policy for this office.
Read the worked answer
Write a one-page rule. Visitors report to the front desk, sign the register with time in and out, state whom they are meeting, and wait in the visitors' area; no visitor enters the record room without a staff escort. Staff book appointments where possible and inform the front desk. Smoking is not permitted in or at the doorway; provide a sign and an outside point. Personal calls at the desk should be brief and away from visitors; shared appliances are cleaned after use; the last person checks that the kettle and heater are off. For the pregnant staff member, offer a written relocation request and a seating change - ask her, do not assume. For the wrist pain, provide the keyboard and a five-minute break prompt each hour. Enforce the rules consistently, including for senior staff; an etiquette rule applied only to juniors will not survive a month. Review the register and risk log monthly.