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Health & Safety at

Workplace
“The bottom line is that
success in controlling a
particular hazard is
proportional to the amount of
attention given to that
hazard.”
Health & Safety at
Workplace (Contd)
 It is safe to assume that most employers
consider their employees to be their most
important asset. That is why it is so
important for employers to protect workers
from hazards, or potential hazards, in the
workplace.
 The Occupational Safety and Health
provisions in the Labour Act (Act 651)
requires employers to provide a workplace
that is free from recognized hazards that are
causing, or are likely to cause, death or
serious physical harm to employees. To
achieve that end, employers should develop
a comprehensive safety and health plan.
Health & Safety at
Workplace (Contd)
 Developing and maintaining an
organizational culture of health and
safety requires management
commitment at all levels. Regardless
of the type of industry—from
manufacturing and construction to
knowledge management and retail—
safety is managed by focusing on
training and accident prevention.
Health & Safety at
Workplace (Contd)
 In today’s litigatious society,
organizations cannot afford to
be ignorant regarding
occupational safety.
 Further, if companies want to
maintain a positive employer
brand and reputation, safety
is key
Health & Safety at
Workplace (Contd)
 Employers receive big dividends from
an effective safety and health plan.
Studies have shown that a good plan:
• Reduces the extent and severity of
work-related injuries and illnesses.
• Improves employee morale and
productivity.
• Lowers workers’ compensation costs.
• Helps with retention and recruiting,
due to the organization’s good
reputation for safety.
Health & Safety at
Workplace (Contd)
 Every effective safety and health
plan has four key elements:
 management commitment and
employee involvement;
 worksite analysis (risk
assessment);
 hazard prevention and control;
and
 training and education.
Management
Commitment and
Employee Involvement
There are seven steps that contribute to the
successful involvement of both managers
and employees in developing a safety and
health plan:
 . Go to the top officer in the organization
and present the plan; request the support
of each member of management as well.
Ask that safety and health be made a core
value of the company and that
management’s actions reflect that
commitment. Without strong support from
the head of the organization, the plan
cannot succeed.
Management
Commitment and
Employee Involvement
2. Develop a safety and health policy
and be sure to communicate that
policy to all employees. It should be
posted on the bulletin board of each
company location and included in the
employee handbook.
3. Develop short-term and long-term
goals and communicate them to all
employees. Develop a plan to help
achieve the goals and provide
feedback on the progress made.
Management
Commitment and
Employee Involvement
4. Create a safety and health manual and be
sure it defines responsibilities at all levels.
5. Be sure that all levels of management have
a visible role in the implementation of the
plan. If management is not in evidence,
employees will not take management’s
commitment to safety and health seriously.
Managers can reinforce the plan by
complying with its provisions themselves. If
safety glasses are required in a certain
area, for example, be sure managers wear
safety glasses when they are in that area.
Management
Commitment and
Employee Involvement
6. Ensure employee participation—a critical
factor. Levels of involvement for workers
range from contributing advice to serving
on a safety committee. If there is to be an
incentive plan based on safety
achievements, be sure that the employees,
not just managers, take part. Share the
goals and objectives with employees and
ask for their support and commitment.
7. Review the plan regularly. It should be
reassessed at least once a year to evaluate
its success in meeting the established goals
and objectives. When a new standard
comes out or an existing standard is
revised, update the written plan.
Worksite Analysis
 After managers and employees are
committed to the safety and health plan,
specific job issues should be addressed. Walk
through the facility and conduct a thorough
needs analysis. Once the analysis is
complete, develop a job safety analysis for
each position. A job safety analysis looks at
each function of a job, identifies any
potential hazards, and lists what should be
done to protect employees from those
hazards.
 After the safety and health plan has been
implemented, conduct frequent and regular
inspections of the workplace. This will reveal
issues that may have been omitted from the
original plan, or facets of the plan that
Hazard Prevention &
Control
 The first step in preventing or eliminating hazards
should be the use of engineering controls. Engineering
controls can include lowering work benches, installing
safety switches, adding lifting devices, or changing
the chemicals used in a particular process. In addition,
layouts can often be redesigned to eliminate hazards.
 Administrative controls are another way to reduce
hazards. One example is reducing the length of time
employees are exposed to particular hazards. If an
employee has worked for two or three hours in a noisy
area, allow him (or her) to work in another section of
the facility for a while. When the total time of
exposure is calculated, the employee should be below
the threshold limit. In such cases, be sure to
document any administrative actions taken to reduce
exposure.
 The last method used to protect employees is the use
of proper personal protective equipment (PPE). PPEs
must be provided by the employer at no cost to the
Training and Education
 Employees should be trained person in a specific
areas of safety, such as fall protection, scaffolding and
excavations.
 Regular training should be conducted with all
employees. Some safety standards require that all
employees who are exposed to a hazard be trained in
how to recognize the hazard and protect themselves.
 The final step in education is to have regularly
scheduled safety meetings. A weekly safety talk of
five to 10 minutes is an ideal way to continue the
educational process. Use the weekly talk to provide
feedback on safety goals, talk about a “close call”
incident, or educate employees about a wide array of
safety and health issues.
Health & Safety
Committee Operating
Procedures
 Purpose:
 In accordance with the company’s commitment to safety,
each company element will be responsible for establishing a
Health and Safety Committee for the following purposes:
 1. To maintain and enhance employee interest in health and
safety issues.
 2. To ensure that managers, supervisors and employees are
aware through training activities that they are responsible
for the prevention of workplace accidents.
 3. To help make health and safety activities an integral part
of the organization's operating procedures, culture and
programs.
 4. To provide an opportunity for discussion of health and
safety problems and possible solutions.
 5. To inform and educate employees and supervisors about
health and safety issues and research findings, etc.
 6. To help reduce the risk of workplace injuries and illnesses.
 7. To help ensure compliance with federal and state health
and safety standards.
Health & Safety
Committee Operating

Procedures
Functions:
 To accomplish these objectives, the Health and Safety Committee
will:
 1. Develop a written mission statement in accordance with
corporate requirements.
 2. Define duties and responsibilities of committee members.
 3. Identify and prioritize goals and establish action plans to achieve
each goal.
 4. Include representation from different levels and areas of the
company element.
 5. Meet at least monthly.
 6. Record and disseminate minutes of meetings, documenting
attendance, problems, and issues, as well as corrective action
proposed and actions taken to address each issue.
 7. Make attendance mandatory with the penalty of removal for
repeated absences.
 8. Develop methods to increase and maintain safety awareness.
 9. Organize special subcommittees to address specific issues,
projects or programs.
Safety Scorecard System

 Building a world-class workplace safety program takes time,


dedication and commitment. The following 10 steps are guidelines
for organizations to design a safety scorecard system.4
 1. Review the organizational culture, starting from top management.
 2. Collect information on organizational safety goals, objectives,
performance measures and training documentation.
 3. Assign safety responsibilities to all management.
 4. Establish a safety steering team.
 5. Develop systems to measure success regarding safety.
 6. Establish a safety committee (develop a mission, conduct training
on health and safety issues, and define roles and responsibilities of
members).
 7. Brainstorm safety ideas.
 8. Provide additional training to safety steering team and safety
committee (e.g., ergonomics, OSHA topics, hazard analysis skills,
safety conferences, plant tours).
 9. Deliver safety training to management (e.g., incident
investigation skills, corrective action development and tracking,
safety scorecard measurements, and safety program
responsibilities).
 10. Provide safety training for the entire workforce.
Elements of a Safety
Program
 A workplace safety program is more than training. It
encompasses a wide range of issues and topics, as listed
below, and establishes clear roles and responsibilities
regarding health and safety within the organization.
 • Written safety policy.
 • Safety committee (safety inspections, accident
investigation, safety record keeping).
 • Companywide safety training.
 • Training on workplace violence prevention.
 • Health issues (e.g., drug-free workplace, smoke-free work
environment).
 • Fire drills.
 • Ergonomics.
 • Emergency response plan (e.g., medical emergencies,
terrorism).
 • Training for first aid and CPR.
 • Employee assistance program.
Lessons Learned/Best
Practices
 In the safety arena, learning from past
mistakes is important. These lessons,
however, do not happen in isolation.
Workplace safety is closely tied to the
organizational culture supported by the
leadership and management of the entire
organization. To enhance the safety program,
organizations may want to include a “lessons
learned” or best practices program. For
employee access, this information may be
posted in a safety newsletter on the
company intranet.
Other Health & Safety
Concerns (Research)
 Security abroad for expatriates will increase to ensure
personal and business safety and to deal with terrorist
kidnappings and blackmail.
 Obesity and diabetes among the working population
will increase, affecting health and the ability to work.
 Work intensification will occur as employers try to
increase productivity with fewer employees and
resources. This could drive up stress and stress-
related illnesses.
 Businesses will increasingly ban smoking as more
cities/states enact Clean Indoor Air laws.
 Real-time video surveillance via high-speed Internet
is becoming affordable to more effectively monitor
employee activity and safety and prevent theft.
Part XV of the Labour Act
(Act 651)-Occupational
Health, Safety &
 Environment
118 (1) It is the duty of an employer to ensure that
every worker employed by him works
under satisfactory ,safe and health conditions.
 An employer shall:
 (a) maintain at the workplace, plant and the
system of work that are safe and without risk
to health.
(b) ensure the safety and absence of risks to health in
connection with use, handling, storage and transport of
articles and substances
 (c) Provide the necessary information, instructions,
training and supervision having regard to the age,
literacy level and the other circumstances of the
worker to ensure ,so far as is reasonably
practicable ,the health and the safety at the work of
those other workers engaged on the particular ;
Part XV of the Labour Act
(Act 651)-Occupational
Health, Safety &
 Environment
d) Take the steps to prevent contamination of the
workplaces by, and protect the workers from,
toxic gases ,noxious substances vapours, dust,
fumes, mists and other substances or materials
likely to cause the risk to safety or health.
 (e) Supply and maintain at no cost to worker
adequate safety appliances, suitable fire-fighting
equipment, personal protective equipment, and
instruct the workers in the use of appliances or
equipments;
 (f) Provide separate, sufficient and suitable toilet
and washing facilities and adequate facilities for the
storage, changing, drying, and cleansing from the
contamination of clothing for male and female
workers;
Part XV of the Labour Act
(Act 651)-Occupational
Health, Safety &
 Environment
(g) Provide adequate supply of clean
drinking water at the workplace; and
 (h)Prevent accidents and injury to health
arising out of connected with, or occurring in
the course of, work by minimizing the causes
of hazards inherent in the working
environment.
 It is the obligation of every worker to use the
safety appliances fire-fighting equipment and
personal protective equipment provided by
the employer in compliance with the
employer’s instructions.
Part XV of the Labour Act (Act
651)-Occupational Health,
Safety & Environment
 An employer shall not be liable for injury
suffered by a worker who contravenes
subsection (3) where the injury is caused
solely by non-compliance by the worker.
 An employer who, without reasonable
excuse ,fails to discharge any of the
obligations under subsection (1) or (2)
commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
1000 penalty units or imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 3 years or both.
Part XV of the Labour Act
(Act 651)-Occupational
Health, Safety &
 Exposure toEnvironment
imminent hazards
 119. (1) When a worker finds himself or herself in
any situation at the workplace which she or he has
reasonable cause to believe presents an imminent and
serious danger to his or life ,safety or health ,the
worker shall immediately report this fact to his or her
supervisor and remove himself or herself from the
situation.
 An employer shall not dismiss or terminate the
employment the worker or withhold any remuneration
of the a worker who has removed himself or herself
from the wok situation which the worker has reason to
believe presents imminent and serious danger to his
or her life, safety or the health.
 (3) An employer shall not require a worker to return
to work in circumstances where there is a continuing
imminent and serious danger to the life, safety or
health of the worker.

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