• Sandra Nieuwoudt
    42
    Good afternoon all

    I have another question and that is being an analytical laboratory we have plenty of safety stations plus eyewash bottles installed throughout the lab area.

    To be compliant with the AS 4775:2007 standard it is tested annually. Which comes as a cost. Don't get me wrong you cannot use a cost as a factor above safety. In addition, the lab moved into the premises during 2017 and I did not find any documentation that these units was installed according to a standard.

    The practice we had to date is visually check these units on a monthly basis but we don't know if we comply to the standard and if the standard is a guideline/best practices/the minimum requirement?

    But my thought is if I have a checklist on what needs to be check according to the standard then does that not fall within what is reasonable and practical or is the standard the minimum for reasonable and practical steps taken.

    For example according to the standard the shower need to deliver 75.7 liters per minute for 15 minutes which is a lot of water that will flood the area where the showers are. If I calculate the water flow over 10 - 15 seconds and they check that, will it be ok.

    Thank you
    Sandra
  • Celeste Erasmus
    5
    Hi Sandra, we use a company called Clever First Aid, it is an automated cloud based system that works on its own wifi and automatically resupply stock and send expired stock just to replace and they keep track for your company of it. They managing and monitoring first aid compliance for you in a nutshell basically. Making admin less and ensure compliance in realtime.(as WPS manager keep track as its realtime you can see every first aid injury happening can choose to have the camera on/off, each item have a barcode eg burns, stf, eye, cut.....) Keeping statistically data etc. Currently 170 stores of ours in NZ use it, Australia have incorporated it now, Air NZ also making use of their services. They are very clever, also have other services eg AED, Eye wash stations, Spill kits etc.
  • John Drower
    4

    Hi Sandra
    NZ Safety Blackwoods sell a kit for testing safety showers.
    https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/en/safety-shower-testing-kit-each-419879

    I was pretty sure there was something for the eye ash bath as well.
  • Sandra Nieuwoudt
    42
    Thank you John, we already use the shoot and bucket
  • KeithH
    171
    Hi Sandra
    I too work where there are a number of emergency showers and eyewash stations.
    There's no easy way of testing the operation of these when they are permanent fixtures.

    The flow rate you mentioned is metric conversion from the American standard - ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 - as will be all measurements. See page 4 here

    This publication contains check sheets on pages 8, 9 and 10 depending on what you require.

    Page 8 and 10 show the water pattern at 1524mm as well as the spread and distance from walls. Like you, I currently have no tidy method of testing this.
    So far as delivery for 1 minute goes, calculating the quantity over a set time may be one option (and IMHO) for testing it is practical, as storing 300 gallons of water over a 15 minute period may prove to be logistically challenging.

    While the mechanical aspects are easy enough to measure, chat with your plumber regarding the size and type of pipes feeding the shower or eyewash plus the actual pressure so calculations are accurate.

    Some of our showers are not hands free stay open. There is a balance for us to meet between available funding and ensuring compliance.
    One option we are considering is portable showers along the lines of outside decontamination units. There are certain advantages such as when relocating when rooms are redesignated, privacy when disrobing and easier maintenance and testing.

    Testing.
    Did you know maintenance or inspections are at least weekly? I recall - though cannot remember from where - one reason for this is so any rubber washers don't dry out and attach themselves to the pipe wall. It's a pain when the shower drips after testing or worse still, jambs and doesn't work.

    Annual certification
    Yes, a pain but effectively it's only to ensure the shower or eyewash work and any audible alarms sound. Nothing else. This is (IMHO) definitely just a tick box exercise.
  • Sheri Greenwell
    340
    When I worked for a major chemical company in USA, we were required to test all safety showers and eyewash fountains every Monday morning between 8am - 8:10am. These checks ensured we could verify that the alarms connected to the emergency equipment were working, as well as verifying that showers and eyewash fountains would be activated as intended, had sufficient flow, and didn't have any rust or other particulate matter in the water, thus enabling us to proactively identify any issues and notify the maintenance team if safety equipment needed work.
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