Introduction to Health, Safety and Environmental

Week-1-2

Twana A. Tahir
 Course Content

1. Basic Terminology of Health and safety.

2. Understanding the importance of proactive

principles for loss prevention.

3. Overall understanding of Accident investigation.

 History of HSE

1. In 1815 the first safety equipment used by

an English inventor (Sir Humphry Davy) who
invented the Davy lamp which is a safety
lamp for use in flammable atmospheres.

2. It consists of a wick lamp with the flame

enclosed inside a mesh screen. It was
created for use in coal mines, to reduce the
danger of explosions due to the presence of
methane and other flammable gases.
 What is Health and Safety in the
workplace?

Regulations and procedures intended to prevent accident or

injury in workplaces or public environments.

Why do the international companies follow HSE

policies?

Increase productivity
Reduce worker absenteeism
Give the business a strong image
Bring peace of mind to workers and owners
Fulfill the legal responsibilities
Open the door to tender opportunities and winning new work
Keep customers happy.
 What is Health and Safety?

Health The protection of the bodies and

minds of people from illness resulting from the
materials, processes or procedures used in the
workplace. (The state of being free from illness
or injury.).

Safety The condition of being protected from

danger, risk, or injury.
 What Is Environmental Health and
Safety?

The study of those factors in the environment

that affect human health.

Factors (pollutants "or toxicants) in air,

water, soil, or food.

Transferred to humans by inhalation,

ingestion, or absorption.

Production of adverse health effects

 What is OSHA?

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

is an organization (part of the Department of Labor) that
ensures safe and healthy working conditions for workers
by enforcing standards and providing workplace safety
training.

Link: https://www.osha.gov/
 OSHA Regulations and Standard

The standards are adopted as occupational safety and health standards under section 6 of the
Act and shall apply, according to the provisions thereof:

Each employer shall protect the employment and places of employment of each of
his employees engaged in construction work by complying with the appropriate
standards.
OSHA Regulations and Standard
The importance of management of EHS

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive)

believes that effective management of health and safety:

1. Is vital to employee well-being;

2. Has a role to play in enhancing the reputation of businesses and
helping them achieve high-performance teams;
3. Is financially beneficial to business.
 What is Hazard?

Hazard: Is anything that can cause harm

(e.g. chemicals, electricity, working from
ladders etc.).

Harm including illness and injury, damage

to property, plant, products or the
environment, production losses or
increased liabilities
 What is Near miss?

Near miss: This is any incident that could have

resulted in an accident. (Unplanned event that did
not result in injury, illness, or damage, but had the
potential to do so).

Knowledge of near misses is very important as

research has shown that, approximately, for every 10
near miss events at a particular location in the
workplace, a minor accident will occur.
 What is Risk?

A risk is the likelihood of a substance,

activity or process to cause harm. A risk
can be reduced by having an effective
and good safety management program.
Accidents rate at work for different group
 Principles of Accident prevention

There are six principles of accident prevention:

1. Accident prevention is an essential part of good management and of good

workmanship.
2. Management and workers must co-operate wholeheartedly in security freedom
from accidents.
3. Top management must take the lead in organizing safety.
4. There must be a definite and known safety policy in each workplace.
5. The organization and resources necessary to carry out the policy must exist.
6. The best available knowledge and methods must be applied.
 Principles of loss prevention

Organizations should have a plan for ZERO accident. This can be achieved
on ground through:

1. Safety awareness (The employees should have enough instruction about the
level of danger at the workplace).
2. Providing safety training program.
3. Enforcing safety regulations and policy in order to minimize the accident.
 Accident Prevention VS proactive plan

Proactive plan: Successful organizations usually have a proactive plan which

means existing a solid plan for accident prevention prior the accident will occur.

Accident prevention (reactive): Some of the organizations have a plan to face

the accident after the accident happened. This is when the accident investigation
process should be conducted.
 Accident Prevention VS proactive plan

There are many thousands of accidents and cases of ill health

reported every year in small engineering workshops.

Almost two-thirds of all such accidents reported to HSE arise

from the movement of people, goods and vehicles into,
around and out of workshops.

Of these movement accidents:

About half involve lifting and moving goods, and

About half involve slips, trips and falls and hitting stationary
or moving plant and equipment.

Non-movement accidents usually arise from the use of

machinery; these account for between 10 and 15% of all
accidents.
 What are the common causes of
Accident?

1. Personal beliefs and feelings: Individual did not believe the accident would
happen to him or her.
2. Decision to work unsafely: Some people feel it is in their best interests or
to their benefit to work unsafely.
3. Mismatch or overload: Individual is feeling exhausted and has a high
stress level; individual is mentally unfocused or distracted.
4. Systems failure: Lack of clear policy, rules and regulations. Inadequate
monitoring and inspections and insufficient training for employees.
5. Traps: Poor design of workstations and processes can create traps that lead
to unsafe behavior. Excessive temperature extremes, insufficient lighting and
ventilation system.
6. Unsafe condition: It is created by the person injured in the accident or
created by management or created by the elements like rain, sun, snow and
darkness)
What are the common types of Accident?
Safety Signs at Workplace
Safety Signs at workplace
Safety Signs at workplace
List of Personal protective equipment
(PPE)
 The steps for Accident investigation

1. Isolate the Accident Scene: Accident area should be sealed off.

2. Record all evidences
3. Photograph or Videotape the scene
4. Interviewing witnesses:
4.1. When to interview
4.2. Where to interview
4.3 How to interview
5. Reporting Accident: If an Accident results in the death of an employee or
hospitalization of five or more employees, a report must be submitted to the
safety authority.