British Safety Council issues employer guide on lithium-ion battery management

Most e-bikes and e-scooters are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which ar larger versions of the kind to be found in our smart phones, tablets and certain types of laptops. In a recent UK-based survey of current and potential users of e-bikes, 40% of current users commute to (and from) a place of work using their e-bikes, with 20% of respondents having used them for business travel.

Across the last six months, lithium-ion batteries have regularly made the headlines, with tragic stories of fires and explosions resulting in injury and even loss of life. Many of these episodes were traced back to the charging of lithium-ion battery-powered e-bikes and e-scooters.

Indeed, the rising number of injuries and fatalities linked to lithium-ion batteries exploding and realising fire outbreaks raise new questions and considerations for employers, ‘Responsible Persons’ and Health and Safety practitioners concerning the risks, challenges and implications posed by battery technologies.

Specifically, questions arise around how e-bikes are stored and/or charged in the workplace and the additional hazards and risks that this may bring.

Collating Best Practice advice

On that basis, and to coincide with National Battery Day 2024, the British Safety Council has drawn together advice in a bid to explain some of the challenges and provide helpful suggestions, from innovative storage solutions through to effective risk assessments.

The introductory guide is entitled ‘Storing Lithium-ion Batteries in the Workplace’.

Phil Pinnington, head of audit and consultancy at the British Safety Council, said: “As is the case with all new and developing technologies, the increasing use of e-bikes and e-scooters has prompted a wave of new questions, considerations and challenges, not least for employers as those e-bikes and e-scooters have entered the workplace. Many are routinely charged at or underneath employees’ desks.”

Pinnington added: “The British Safety Council’s ‘Introductory Guide to Lithium-ion Batteries in the Workplace’ offers a series of tips to help employers identify and assess the risks posed, how to put control measures in place and also outlines some of the solutions being used around the world.”

*Copies of The British Safety Council’s ‘Introductory Guide to Lithium-ion Batteries in the Workplace’ are available to download for free