safety and health in workplace

like it or not our work is everything and it takes most of our time, 8 hours a day, five days a week, for twelve months minus public holiday and weekend. we spend most of our time thinking about work even on weekend we have started planning for Monday. therefore office environment is important no matter how big it is, wether it is a shopbouse, office tower or home office. we spent so much time in this environment which sometimes could effect our health without noticing it, a good office should provide ample space and are well planned to accomodate number of staff, filing and storage, discussion area, pantry and a welcoming lobby. the way we work, how we produce idea and looking for inspiration are sometimes based on this factor, especially for those who involved in design work. i have seen some office who dont even have any view looking outside except for partition, and spacing between each cubicle are too near, with boxes of files and drawing at every corner. so i guess i'm quite lucky coz our office still have a view towards Jalan Kewajipan which are very congestion everyday. one thing that i don't really like about this building are their central cooling system which sometimes are too cold and there times that it smells weird like the air have been suck from sewerage line..:-(
what make it worst is because of the location of this building, where it is surrounded by heavy traffic area which produced carbon monoxide plus smoke and unseen particles from nearby factories. so it is not a surprised when each month most of us will take medical leave due to flu, headache, stress and other unknown factor. there is a legal requirements regarding safety and health in workplace which we can refer to in order to overcome this problem and at the same time creating a creative and productive environment. according to Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 there are guideline to comply as below:-
-provided or maintain equipment and systems of work that are safe and without risk to health ( some architect firm require their employee to do printing which contain ammonia (blue print) which are a chemical hazard
-ensure that equipment and substances are used, stored and tranported safely and without risks to health
-provide information, instruction, training and supervision that ensure the safety and health of employees
-maintain their place of work in a safe condition including entrances and exits
-employers must also ensure the safety and health of visitors to the workplace.