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Health and Safety Information

Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe and healthy work environment.[1] As secondary effects, OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment as well as reduce medical care, sick leave and disability benefit costs. OSH may involve interactions among many subject areas, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering / industrial engineering, chemistry, health physics and ergonomics.

Contents

Definition

Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995.

The definition reads:

"Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job

The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives: (i) the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; (ii) the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and (iii) development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertakings. The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking."[2]

Reasons for Occupational health and safety

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

International

The International Labour Organization (ILO): published a standard in 2001 titled ILO-OSH 2001, which is similar to OHSAS 18001. The system is based on five steps Policy, Organizing, Planning & Implementation, Evaluation, and Action for improvement. This is supported by auditing with an emphasis on continuous improvement. The ILO management system was created to assist employers to keep pace with rapidly shifting and competitive industrial environments. The ILO recognizes that national legislation is essential, but sometimes insufficient on its own to address the challenges faced by industry, and therefore elected to ensure free and open distribution of administrative tools in the form of occupational health and safety management system guidance for everyone. This open access forum is intended to provide the tools for industry to create safe and healthy working environments and foster positive safety cultures within the organizations.[3]

OHSAS 18000 is an international occupational health and safety management system specification. It comprises two parts, 18001 and 18002 and embraces a number of other publications. OHSAS 18000 is the internationally recognized assessment specification for occupational health and safety management systems. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies, international standards and certification bodies to address a gap where no third-party certifiable international standard exists. This internationally recognized specification for occupational health and safety management system operates on the basis of policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action, management review, and continual improvement.

The British Standards - Occupational Health and Safety management Systems Requirements Standard BS OHSAS 18001 was developed within the framework of the ISO standards series. Allowing it to integrate better into the larger system of ISO certifications. ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System can work in tandem with BS OHSAS 18001/18002 to complement each other and form a better overall system. Each component of the system is specific, auditable, and accreditable by a third party after review.[4]

Also Standards Australia and the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) in France have developed occupational safety and health management standards.[5]

United Kingdom

Guidance note HSG65: Successful Health and Safety Management, achieves a systematic management of health and safety through a six step system, policy, organizing, planning and implementing, measuring performance, reviewing performance. These components are all linked to an audit system providing for evaluation and a feedback loop to improve performance.[6] This systematic approach allows flexibility for the company through good business planning to strategically apply resources according to risk priorities.

National implementing legislation

Different states take different approaches to legislation, regulation, and enforcement. Also economic incentives for compliance to rules and general good occupational safety and health practice vary among nations. In the EU, for example, some member states promote OSH by providing public monies as subsidies, grants or financing, while others have created tax system incentives for OSH investments. A third group of EU member states has experimented with using workplace accident insurance premium discounts for companies or organisations with strong OSH records.[7]

The number of OSH personnel used to ensure compliance to OSH rules varies markedly between countries.[8]

European Union

In the European Union, member states have enforcing authorities to ensure that the basic legal requirements relating to occupational health and safety are met. In many EU countries, there is strong cooperation between employer and worker organisations (e.g. unions) to ensure good OSH performance as it is recognized this has benefits for both the worker (through maintenance of health) and the enterprise (through improved productivity and quality). In 1996, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was founded.

Member states of the European Union have all transposed into their national legislation a series of directives that establish minimum standards on occupational health and safety. These directives (of which there are about 20 on a variety of topics) follow a similar structure requiring the employer to assess the workplace risks and put in place preventive measures based on a hierarchy of control. This hierarchy starts with elimination of the hazard and ends with personal protective equipment.

However, certain EU member states admit to having lacking quality control in occupational safety services, to situations in which risk analysis takes place without any on-site workplace visits and to insufficient implementation of certain EU OSH directives. Based on this, it is hardly surprising that the total societal costs of work-related health problems and accidents vary from 2.6% to 3.8% of GNP between the EU member states.[9]

UK

In the UK, health and safety legislation is drawn up and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities (the local council) under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.[10] Increasingly in the UK the regulatory trend is away from prescriptive rules, and towards risk assessment. Recent major changes to the laws governing asbestos and fire safety management embrace the concept of risk assessment.

Denmark

In Denmark, occupational safety and health is regulated by the Danish Act on Working Environment and cooperation at the workplace.[11] The Danish Working Environment Authority carries out inspections of companies, draws up more detailed rules on health and safety at work and provides information on health and safety at work.[12] The result of each inspection is made public on the web pages of the Danish Working Environment Authority so that the general public, current and prospective employees, customers and other stakeholders can inform themselves about whether a given organization has passed the inspection, should they wish to do so.[13]

United States

In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).[14] OSHA, in the U.S. Department of Labor, is responsible for developing and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is focused on research, information, education, and training in occupational safety and health.[15]

OSHA has been regulating occupational safety and health since 1971. Occupational safety and health regulation of a limited number of specifically defined industries was in place for several decades before that, and broad regulations by some individual states was in place for many years prior to the establishment of OSHA.

Canada

In Canada, workers are covered by provincial or federal labour codes depending on the sector in which they work. Workers covered by federal legislation (including those in mining, transportation, and federal employment) are covered by the Canada Labour Code; all other workers are covered by the health and safety legislation of the province they work in. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), an agency of the Government of Canada, was created in 1978 by an Act of Parliament. The act was based on the belief that all Canadians had "...a fundamental right to a healthy and safe working environment." CCOHS is mandated to promote safe and healthy workplaces to help prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld. DOSH is responsible to enforce the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

People's Republic of China

In the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Health is responsible for occupational disease prevention and the State Administration of Work Safety for safety issues at work. On the provincial and municipal level, there are Health Supervisions for occupational health and local bureaus of Work Safety for safety. The "Occupational Disease Control Act of PRC" came into force on May 1, 2002.[16] and Work safety Act of PRC on November 1, 2002.[17] The Occupational Disease Control Act is under revising. The prevention of occupational disease is still in its initial stage compared with industried countries such as the US or UK.

South Africa

In South Africa the Deparment of Labour is responsible for occupational health and safety inspection and enforcement in commerce and industry apart from mining and energy production, where the Department of Minerals and Energy is responsible.

The main statutory legislation on Health and Safety in the jurisdiction of the Department of Labour is Act No. 85 of 1993: Occupational Health and Safety Act as amended by Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, No. 181 Of 1993.

Regulations to the OHS Act include:

Roles and Responsibilities of Occupational Health and Safety Professionals

Safety Professionals in Europe

In Norway, the main required tasks of an Occupational Health and Safety Practitioner include:

In the Netherlands, required tasks for health and safety staff are only summarily defined, and include:

‘The main influence on the Dutch law on the job of the safety professional is through the requirement on each employer to use the services of a certified working conditions service to advise them on health and safety’. [27] A ‘certified service’ must employ sufficient numbers of four types of certified experts to cover the risks in the organisations which use the service:

It shows in Table 1 (based on the European Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations [ENHSPO] survey to) that in Norway, 37 % of Health and Safety practitioners had a MSc education level, and 14% in the Netherlands; 44% were BSc graduates and 63% in the Netherlands; and 19% were of a Technician level and 23% in the Netherlands. [29]

Safety Professionals in the USA

The main tasks undertaken by the OHS practitioner in the USA include:

Knowledge required by the OHS professional in USA include:

Some skills required by the OHS professional in the USA include (but are not limited to):

Different areas of need and focus between countries and regions

Because different countries take different approaches to ensuring occupational safety and health, areas of OSH need and focus also vary between countries and regions. Similar to the findings of the ENHSPO survey conducted in Australia, the Institute of Occupational Medicine found that in the UK, there is a need to put a greater emphasis on work-related illness. [33] In contrast, in Australia and the USA a major responsibility of the OHS professional is to keep company directors and managers aware of the issues that they face in regards to Occupational Health and Safety principles and legislation. However, in some other areas of Europe, it is precisely this which has been lacking: “Nearly half of senior managers and company directors do not have an up-to-date understanding of their health and safety-related duties and responsibilities.” [34]

Identifying Safety and Health Hazards

Hazards, risks, outcomes

The terminology used in OSH varies between countries, but generally speaking:

“Hazard”, “risk”, and “outcome” are used in other fields to describe e.g. environmental damage, or damage to equipment. However, in the context of OSH, “harm” generally describes the direct or indirect degradation, temporary or permanent, of the physical, mental, or social well-being of workers. For example, repetitively carrying out manual handling of heavy objects is a hazard. The outcome could be a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) or an acute back or joint injury. The risk can be expressed numerically (e.g. a 0.5 or 50/50 chance of the outcome occurring during a year), in relative terms (e.g. "high/medium/low"), or with a multi-dimensional classification scheme (e.g. situation-specific risks).

Hazard Assessment

Hazard analysis or hazard assessment is a process in which individual hazards of the workplace are identified, assessed and controlled/eliminated as close to source (location of the hazard) as reasonable and possible. As technology, resources, social expectation or regulatory requirements change, hazard analysis focuses controls more closely toward the source of the hazard. Thus hazard control is a dynamic program of prevention. Hazard-based programs also have the advantage of not assigning or implying there are "acceptable risks" in the workplace. A hazard-based program may not be able to eliminate all risks, but neither does it accept "satisfactory" -- but still risky—outcomes. And as those who calculate and manage the risk are usually managers while those exposed to the risks are a different group, workers, a hazard-based approach can by-pass conflict inherent in a risk-based approach.

Risk assessment

Further information: Risk assessment#Risk assessment in public health

Modern occupational safety and health legislation usually demands that a risk assessment be carried out prior to making an intervention. It should be kept in mind that risk management requires risk to be managed to a level which is as low as is reasonably practical.

This assessment should:

The calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. This can be expressed mathematically as a quantitative assessment (by assigning low, medium and high likelihood and severity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor), or qualitatively as a description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise.

The assessment should be recorded and reviewed periodically and whenever there is a significant change to work practices. The assessment should include practical recommendations to control the risk. Once recommended controls are implemented, the risk should be re-calculated to determine of it has been lowered to an acceptable level. Generally speaking, newly introduced controls should lower risk by one level, i.e., from high to medium or from medium to low.

Common workplace hazard groups

  • Mechanical hazards include:
By type of agent:
By type of damage:
Harry McShane, age 16, 1908. Pulled into machinery in a factory in Cincinnati. His arm was ripped off at the shoulder and his leg broken. No compensation paid. Photograph by Lewis Hine.

Fire prevention (fire protection/fire safety) often comes within the remit of health and safety professionals as well.

Canadian Classification

In Canada, Hazards are typically categorized into one of six groups:

1. Safety (moving machinery, working at heights, slippery surfaces, mobile equipment, etc.) 2. Ergonomic (material handling, environment, work organization, etc.) 3. Chemical Agents 4. Biological Agents 5. Physical Agents(noise, lighting, radiation, etc.) 6. Psychosocial(stress, violence, etc.)

Future developments

Occupational health and safety has come a long way from its beginnings in the heavy industry sector. It now has an impact on every worker, in every work place, and those charged with managing health and safety are having more and more tasks added to their portfolio. The most significant responsibility is environmental protection. The skills required to manage occupational health and safety are compatible with environmental protection, which is why these responsibilities are so often bolted onto the workplace health and safety professional.

Healthy city

On an international scale, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have begun focussing attention on the labour environments in developing nations with projects such as Healthy Cities [35] This focus is well-placed, as many developing countries are caught in a trap: They have fewer resources to invest in OSH, yet because of this, they must also suffer from increased costs of work-related illnesses and accidents. A 2007 Factsheet from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work states:

“Countries with less developed OSH systems spend a far higher percentage of GDP on work-related injury and illness — taking resources away from more productive activities. [...] The ILO estimates that work-related illness and accidents cost up to 10 % of GDP in Latin America, compared with just 2.6 % to 3.8 % in the EU.”[36]

Future Risks

Nanotechnology

Main articles: Health implications of nanotechnology and Environmental implications of nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is another example of a new technology with few studies available that access the risks to human health. A Swiss survey of one hundred thirty eight companies using or producing nanoparticulate matter in 2006, resulted in forty completed questionnaires. Sixty five per cent of respondent companies stated they did not have a formal risk assessment process for dealing with nanoparticulate matter [37]

Nanotechnology in the near future presents unique challenges for occupational health and safety professionals to anticipate and control, this will only become more difficult as nanostructures become more complex. The size of the particles renders most containment and personal protective equipment ineffective. The toxicology values for macro sized industrial substances are rendered inaccurate due to the unique nature of nanoparticulate matter. As nanoparticulate matter decreases in size its relative surface area increases dramatically, increasing any catalytic effect or chemical reactivity substantially versus the known value for the macro substance. This presents a new set of challenges in the near future to rethink contemporary measures to safeguard the health and welfare of employees against a nanoparticulate substance that most conventional controls were not designed to manage. [38]

Relationship to occupational health psychology

Occupational health psychology (OHP), a related discipline, is a relatively new field that combines elements of occupational health and safety, industrial/organizational psychology, and health psychology.[39] The field is concerned with identifying work-related psychosocial factors that adversely affect the health of people who work. OHP is also concerned with developing ways to effect change in workplaces for the purpose of improving the health of people who work. For more detail on OHP, see the section on occupational health psychology.

See also

Organized labour portal

General

Government organizations

Laws

Lawsuits

Related fields

Workplace environmental standards

Other

References

  1. ^ Oak Ridge National Lab Safety Document http://www.ornl.gov
  2. ^ http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857170174
  3. ^ http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@publ/documents/publication/wcms_publ_9221116344_en.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/Standards-and-Schemes/BSOHSAS-18001/
  5. ^ Pun, K.-F., R.C.M. Yam & W.G. Lewis (2003): “Safety management system registration in the shipping industry”, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 704-721.
  6. ^ http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg65.htm
  7. ^ See European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2004): “Effectiveness of economic incentives to improve occupational safety and health”, Forum # 14, Bilbao, Spain: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ISBN 92-9191-119-4, http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/forum/14/view or Elsler, D. (2007): “European Comparison of Economic Incentives in Occupational Safety and Health”, in C. Berlin & L.-O. Bligård (Eds): Proceedings of the 39th Nordic Ergonomics Society Conference, Oct 1 – 3 2007 in Lysekil, Sweden, downloadable from: http://www.nes2007.se/papers/A67_Elsler.pdf.
  8. ^ Based on p. 475 of European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2000): Monitoring the state of occupational safety and health in the European Union – Pilot Study, Bilbao, Spain: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ISBN 92-95007-00-X, downloadable from: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/401 and p. 148 of European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2001): Monitoring the state of occupational safety and health in the EFTA Countries – Pilot Study, Bilbao, Spain: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ISBN 92-95007-19-0, downloadable from: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/403.
  9. ^ See p. 2-4 of European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2001): “Quality of Work ‘A future Community strategy for safety and health at work’, FORUM # 1, downloadable from: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/forum/1/view.
  10. ^ Health and Safety Executive (2009): A Guide to Safety and Health Regulation in Great Britain. 4th edition. ISBN 978-0-7176-6319-4, http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web42.pdf.
  11. ^ Danish government web page “How a good working environment is secured in Denmark”, http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/Integration/online_danish/working_in_denmark/occupational_safety_and_health_at_the_workplace/how_a_good_working_environment_is_secured_in_denmark.htm.
  12. ^ English web pages of the Danish Working Environment Authority, http://arbejdstilsynet.dk/en/engelsk/wea.aspx
  13. ^ The inspection results can be found from the main page of the Danish Working Environment Authority at: http://arbejdstilsynet.dk/da/ under the heading “Smiley Status”. See also http://arbejdstilsynet.dk/en/engelsk/inspection/smiley-26-6-07.aspx.
  14. ^ Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
  15. ^ About NIOSH. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
  16. ^ "Occupational Disease Control Act of the People's Republic of China" http://www.gov.cn/banshi/2005-08/01/content_19003.htm
  17. ^ "The Work Safety Act of the People's Republic of China" http://www.gov.cn/ztzl/2006-05/27/content_292725.htm
  18. ^ Government Notice. R: 533, 16 March 1990
  19. ^ Diving Regulations 2009 of the South African Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993. Government notice R41, Government Gazette #32907 of 29 January 2010, Government Printer, Pretoria
  20. ^ Government Notice. R: 295, 26 February 1988
  21. ^ Government Notice. R: 2281, 16 October 1987
  22. ^ Government Notice. R: 1521 of 5 August 1988
  23. ^ Government Notice. R: 1031, 30 May 1986
  24. ^ Government Gazette, No. R. 307 7 March 2003
  25. ^ Hale A, Ytehus I, 2004, ‘Changing requirements for the safety profession: roles and tasks’, Journal of Occupational Health & Safety – Australia and New Zealand
  26. ^ Hale, A et alia. 2004
  27. ^ Hale, A et alia. 2004
  28. ^ Hale, A et alia. 2004
  29. ^ Hale, A et alia. 2004
  30. ^ Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 2012, “Safety Fundamentals” and "Comprehensive Practice" blueprints, accessed 17 February at http://www.bcsp.org/csp
  31. ^ Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 2012
  32. ^ Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 2012
  33. ^ Anonymous. 2008. ‘Occupational Health’, Health and Safety News: In Brief, Vol 60, Iss. 3; UK. pg. 6
  34. ^ Paton, Nic. 2008. ‘Senior Managers Fail to Show Competence in Health and Safety’ Occupational Health, Vol. 60, Iss. 3; pg. 6
  35. ^ Swuste, P., Eijkemans, G. "Occupational safety, health, and hygiene in the urban informal sector of Sub-Saharan Africa: An application of the prevention and control exchange (PACE) program to the..." International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. Abel Publications Services Inc. 2002.
  36. ^ European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2007): Facts 76/EN National economics and occupational safety and health. Bilbao, Spain: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, ISSN 1681-2123.
  37. ^ http://www.innovationsgesellschaft.ch/images/fremde_publikationen/Nature_Public_concern.pdf
  38. ^ http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1781.php
  39. ^ Everly, G. S., Jr. (1986). An introduction to occupational health psychology. P. A. Keller & L. G. Ritt (Eds.), Innovations in clinical practice: A source book, Vol. 5 (pp. 331-338). Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Exchange.

Further reading

External links

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