Health & Safety at XAMK

Now-a-days students are fully focused on doing their studies to the maximum and finding their dream pathway. Of course, that should be the students’ ultimate goal but how many students have thought of the quality of health and safety at their study place? It’s essential to maintain good health & safety atmosphere in the study place in order to have a better focus during study time. In general, XAMK has provided better lighting, ergonomic seating facilities, clean air, perfect temperature and many more things to ensure the physical wellbeing of the students and staff. Not only that, the counselling service is also available free of charge for everyone at the XAMK focusing the mental health wellbeing.

When paying attention to safety aspects, fire & first-aid safety always come first due to its importance. Specially a large educational institute like XAMK must pay a considerable attention towards first-aid and fire safety. These first-aid and fire safety skills are important not only in emergencies but also in day-to-day life.

XAMK has taken necessary actions to promote first-aid awareness throughout their facilities in numerous ways. Everyone has easy access to first aid boxes and defibrillators which have been installed on the walls of each floor. As a recommendation, it is better to have first-aid members from each batch and staff of XAMK to promote the safety culture furthermore. As per the St. John Ambulance Service, it is recommended to have one first aider for every 50 heads in low-risk workplaces, one first aider for every 25 heads in high-risk workplaces & one first aider for every 10 heads in remote high-risk workplaces. The risk category of XAMK could be defined through a proper first-aid risk assessment.

Also, when it comes to fire safety, XAMK has a strong fire safety system which is equipped with fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, call points, smoke & heat detectors and hose reels. By looking at the ‘Means of Escape’ requirements, XAMK has implemented adequate exits in each floor and most of the doors are with outward openings as recommended by safety protocols. However, it is noted that some doors are with inward openings which is not an accepted standard of fire safety in an organisation.

Even though the XAMK has displayed their main map and floor wise maps, the evacuation maps are not much visible due to their size & displayed locations. It is better to enlarge and display such maps to enhance its quality of information which has provided and also for the convenience of students and staff in an emergency.

As improvement points, XAMK can form a fire team aligned with the first-aid team and promote that within student groups. That can be promoted as a safety committee or a club in the campus. A mechanism for near miss capturing can be implemented through this safety team. Regarding the training and development of health & safety, at least one fire drill per year is recommended for all at XAMK through a proper training body like Fire Brigade. However, it is important to have a general knowledge about health & safety protocols as an undergraduate. By incorporating these simple recommendations, XAMK can create a better safety culture that would ensure the staff and students are equipped to manage crisis situations and create a safer atmosphere in the campus.