Muirgen Safety Solutions
Muirgen Safety Solutions is dedicated to helping small businesses with their Food Safety and Occupational Health and Safety issues. There are many consultants in the market place that have worked with big business but very few, like us who specialize in small businesses.
We have expertise in the food industry ranging from high risk food industries such as childcare, aged care and hospital catering, food distribution to a single-person takeaway shop.
While we specialise in food and hospitality businesses, we can help most businesses with their Occupational Health and Safety issues. This includes risk and hazard rating, accident prevention and investigation, policy writing and other aspects of health and safety.
As well as consulting we offer tag and testing of portable electrical equipment and leads.
Fred Pollak
Fred has qualifications and experience in food safety, occupational health and safety, and test and tagging portable electrical appliances and leads.
Fred has worked in the catering and hospitality industry for 30 years. His experience has ranged from being a Catering Manager in a Sydney Public Hospital, working for a number major hotels in Australia and overseas, operating his own motel, sandwich bar and juice distribution businesses.
Fred became a Food Safety Auditor and then an Environmental Health Officer work for various local councils. Fred set up Muirgen Safety Solutions to help businesses with their Food Safety and Occupational Health and Safety Issues.
Services
Fire Safety
Our technicians are fully qualified to test and service your portable fire extinguishers, fire blankets and testing your emergency lights and exit signs. We will ensure that all testing is carried out at the required times and give you a detailed report. If equipment is found to be faulty we can either fix it or replace the item, whichever is appropriate. We service and test equipment in your office, warehouse, other areas on your premises as well as on vehicles, machinery and even boats.
Food Safety Auditing
As a regulatory food safety auditor we carry out audits for Child Care Centres, Aged Care Facilities (such as residential, day centres and meals on wheels), and Hospitals (including hospitals that use a cook-chill method for their food service).
Food Safety Program Design
We are able to develop a Food Safety Program for your food business or if you wish we can help you design and write your own Food Safety Program.
Advisory Service
We offer a complete food safety advisory service and can help you with
- design,
- resolving issues with local councils,
- pre-purchase advice before purchasing a food business,
- or if you need some general advice.
Occupation Health and Safety
Fred also specialises in advising businesses on their Occupational Health and Safety requirements. Fred has owned and operated a number of small businesses in the past so he understands the needs and restrictions that come with operating a small business.
Fred can either write your Occupation Health procedures or help you write them. It is important to have these procedures in place when tendering for projects.
Portable Appliance Test and Tagging
Workplaces and public areas
While there is no legislation specifically requiring your portable electric equipment and leads to be tested, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 requires the employer to, as far as reasonably practical, to provide a workplace that is safe and without risk to the health of all people on their premises.
In 2009/10 (the latest figures available) – 6 people died in Australia from electric appliances and accessories, half of them in Victoria (Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council). One death is one too many.
All portable electrical appliances and leads need to be tested – this includes personal items.
By getting all of your portable electrical appliances (such as TV’s, fridges, computers, toasters, tools, and the list goes on) and leads tested on a regular basis an employer is carrying out their due diligence. By carrying out the testing of your portable electrical appliances and leads in accordance with the Australian New Zealand Standard 3760:2010 an employer can show that they have taken all reasonable steps to provide a safe place in respect to their portable electrical appliances.
The standard sets out the testing frequency. The frequency depends on the environment that the equipment and leads are in. This ranges from before each use to up to 5 years depending on the environment and use.
As well as cable testing your Safety Switches (RCD) need to be regularly tested to ensure that they respond when required and within the appropriate time.
Basically all portable electrical equipment and cables should be tested.
In the home
In 2009/10 – 54% of the electrical fatalities in Australia were in the non-work place (ie the home) (Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council). It is important that the home is kept as safe as possible and that you don’t get complacent with your portable electrical equipment and leads. It is not uncommon to purchase an item such as an electrical tools, extension leads and do all sorts of misuse, such as dropping things on them, dropping them, walking on them, using the cable to lift them and all sorts of other things.
Items within the home can also be subjected to wear and tear such as irons, jugs, lamps, extension leads, computers and other portable equipment. Often when they get damaged it is ignored and the damage can’t be easily seen. If the equipment or lead is damaged it can cause a fire or electrocution causing death or injury.
There would be nothing worse than if somebody got injured when it can be easily and cheaply prevented. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald (25/10/2015) reported 2 men died in their home from electrocution http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/two-men-found-dead-inside-randwick-unit-20151024-gkhrfm.html. Test and tagging may have stopped this from happening.
When we carry out the testing you will be supplied with a shredsheet detailing the item checked, when and if it passed or failed and any recommendations. We will also contact you when your next scheduled testing needs to be undertaken.
How the test and tagging works
We come to you at a convenient time and test your equipment and leads. We charge a minimum fee which includes the first 20 tests. We can check all your portable electrical equipment including 3 phase (400 v) and RCDs.