We have reached our twenty-third episode and, consequently, we will talk about the twenty-third Regulatory Standard. NR-23, published by ordinance 3,214 in 1978 and characterized as a “special standard” by ordinance 787 of 2018, has undergone four changes since its publication to date. In fact, the last change, made in 2011 by ordinance 221 of May 6, left the text of the standard as it is today: with only six items on a single page. Initially, the standard addressed a series of issues such as types of extinguishers and their validity, fire extinguishing, sprinklers, among others. But since the last revision, in 2011, it no longer has this direction in its text and there is a reason for that. State standards and technical standards The explanation is right in the first item in NR-23: “All employers must adopt fire prevention measures, in accordance with state legislation and applicable technical standards.” Therefore, the NR stopped providing some specific guidelines, which were left to each state, and companies must follow this state legislation, as well as some technical standards (also called Technical Instructions) that apply to their establishments. One requirement of the standard is that the company must pass on some information to its workers, such as: Use of firefighting equipment: that is, workers must know how to handle the existing equipment. If the company has fire extinguishers, hydrants, hoses, etc., workers must receive information on how to use this equipment, if necessary. There is no point in having a great fire fighting system if no one knows how to operate it, right? Procedures for evacuating workplaces safely: we have some examples of incidents that did not end well, due to people's lack of knowledge about what to do. Organizing how workers will evacuate the workplace ensures that this evacuation will be successful. Existing alarm devices: workers must be familiar with these devices, so that they can identify when they are used. This way, they will be able to understand that an incident has occurred and will proceed accordingly. Emergency exits The standard also provides guidance on emergency exits, recommending that workplaces must have a sufficient number of them and be arranged in such a way that everyone in these locations can leave the area quickly and safely in the event of an emergency. This route to guide the exits must be visible and clearly indicated. Openings, exits, stairs and passageways must be indicated by signs or light signals indicating the direction to be taken. During the workday, no emergency exit should be locked or have its access blocked, after all, you never know when it will need to be used. What can be done is to equip emergency exits with locking devices that allow for simple opening from inside the establishment. In short... The current NR-23, although short, still contains important guidelines, especially regarding emergency exits. But perhaps its main item is the recommendation to adopt measures present in specific legislation (state and technical standards). Thus, NR-23 indicates that these measures will be adopted in compliance with the legal provisions of the company's location, in compliance with the respective competent bodies. So, are you comfortable complying with NR-23? Do you have any questions regarding the application of this standard? If you have any, leave a comment and we'll do our best to help you. In the meantime, I'll be preparing the next episode of our #SextouComNR web series. A big hug to everyone and SEX TOU! To consume our content, visit our website http://www.sstonline.com.br/ Follow us on social media: Instagram: / sstonline_ Facebook: / sstonline.com.br LinkedIn: / 65035684 #NR23 #SextoucomNR #FireProtection #PPCI #SST #NR