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The study of health and safety involves the study of many subjects including sciences (chemistry,
physicsand biology) engineering, psychology, sociology and the law.
Definitions are:
1.
Health
The absence of disease, for example asbestos creates a health risk because if you inhale asbestosdust
you may contract lung cancer.
2.
Safety
The absence of risk of serious personal injury for example walking under a load suspended from acrane
during a lifting operation is not safe because if load falls serious personnel injuries or deathcould result.
Staying out of danger area results safety.
3.
Welfare
Access to basic facilities, Such as toilet facility, hand was station, changing rooms, rest places andwhere
food can be prepared and eaten in hygienic conditions, drinking water and first aidprovision.
4.
Accident
An unplanned, unwanted event which leads to injury or loss, for example a worker on the ground
isstruck on head and killed by a brick dropped by another worker 5 meter high from scaffold or alorry
driver misjudge and hit his lorry with road side barriers. In both examples the act are notcarried out
deliberately. Any deliberately attempt to cause injury or loss will not call accident.
5.
Near miss
an unplanned, unwanted event that had the potential to lead to injury(but did not in fact do so)
forexample a worker drops a brick form 5 meter high scaffold and it narrowly misses another
workerstanding on the ground. No injury result and brick not even broken. The only thing that
separatesaccident and near misses is OUTCOME of the event. Accident causes loss and near miss does
not.
6.
Hazard
Something with the potential to cause harm. For example a lorry moving around a site road is ahazard
because it might run over a worker. Hazard can be classified as:1.
Physical
–
things which cause harm because of their physical characteristics e.g. electricity,work at height,
radiation, vibration, noise, heat, trip hazards.2.
Chemical
things which can cause harm because of their chemical characteristics e.g lead,mercury, sulphuric acid,
cement dust etc.3.
Biological
living micro organism that cause disease and ill health e.g. hepatitis B virus,legionella bacteria.4.
Ergonomic
stress and strain put on the body through posture and movement e.g. frequentrepetitive handling of
small boxes.
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5.
Psychological
things that have the potential to cause injury to the mind rather than thebody e.g. exposure to highly
traumatic event.
7.
Risk
The likelihood that hazards will cause harm in combination with the severity of Injury, damage or
lossthat might occur for example an electrical flex trailing across a busy corridor in a hospital creates a
risk.For example an electrical flex trailing across a busy corridor in a hospital creates a risk. The degree
of riskcan be described as high or medium depending on how likely person might trip over that trailing
flexand how badly they might be injured.
8.
Dangerous occurrence-
A specified event that has to be reported to relevant authority by statute law, even if the event did
notlead to fatality or major injury of a worker. For example the failure of the load bearing parts of a
crane isa dangerous occurrence even no person hat be injured. This is reportable event.
9.
Environmental Protection
:T
10.
Diseases
isease of theskin often caused by work activities especially when the handling of solvents
detergents involved.
11.
Commuting accident
An accident to a worker that occurs when they are travelling to or from:1. Their work place 2. The place
where they take a meal during working hours3. Place where they collect their pay.
In order to understand health and safety issue you need to familiar with following things,
Why might the management of an organization not consider health and safetyto be a priority?
The barriers to good standards of health and safety in work place are:1.
Complexity
2.
Conflicting demands
3.
Behavioral issues
Complexity
workplace can be complicated. Many people involve in many different workactivities need coordination.
Conflicting demands:
a common conflict of interest is that between the need to supply aproduct or a service at an appropriate
speed so as to make a profit, and need to do so safely andwithout risk of people.
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Behavioral issues
:
good health and safety practice often relies on the perfect behavior of peoples but sometime they do
not behave in ideal way. For example a worker on constructionsite should wear hard hats to protect
form falling object but people sometime deliberately donot wear hard hats.
Outline the Reasons why an organization should manage health and safety?
There are following main 3 reasons why an organization has to manage health and safety
Moral
This about moral duty that one person has to another. Many people killed, injured by other peoplework
which is morally unacceptable.
2.
Social (legal)
Reason related to framework of law that governs the conduct of business and organization. Thelegal
responsibility for health and safety at work rests on primarily on the employer. The employerhas duty to
provide the following.
3.
Economic
Accident and ill health cost money. When an accident occurs there will be direct and indirect
costsassociated the event. Some of these losses can be Insured against many of them will be
uninsured.When an accident occurs there are two types of losses that the organization may face Direct
Costs &Indirect Costs
Outline the direct & indirect costs that might arise from a workplace accident?
The business case of health and safety Is simply that accident and ill health cost money. When
anaccident occurs there will be direct and indirect cost associated with event.
Direct Costs:
The measureable costs arising directly from the accident, for example first aid treatment,worker sick
pay, repairs to or replacement of damaged equipment, fines in the criminal courts
Indirect Costs:
Those costs which are indirectly as a consequences, for example loss of staff from productiveduties in
order to investigate the incident, prepare reports, deal with relatives attend court
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proceeding, loss of staff morale, loss of goodwill of customers and damage to public andindustrial
image.
Uninsured Costs:
It has been estimated that uninsured losses are between eight and 36 times greater than insured
losses.Some examples of uninsured losses
The international labor organization (ILO) has set out convention C155 and Recommendation R164which
apply to workplace health and safety standards.
Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet or exceed the
minimumstandards set out in C155 and R164.
Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet the minimum standardsset out in
C155 & R164.
In 1981 the ILO adopted the occupational safety and health convention C155. This describes basic
policyfor health and safety at national and individual undertaking level.The occupational safety and
health recommendation 1981 R-164 supplements C155 and provided moredetails that how to comply
with policies of C155.
Employer’s Responsibilities
1.
To ensure that the workplace, machinery, equipment and processes under their control are safeand
without risk to health.2.
To ensure that the chemical, physical and biological substances and agents under their controlare
without risk to health.3.
To provide adequate protective clothing and protective equipment to prevent risk of accident oradverse
affects on health.4.
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Article 19 of c155 states that all worker and their representatives have to cooperate with
theiremployers so that he can fulfill his safety obligations
1.
Take reasonable care of their own safety and that of other people who might be affected by thethings
that they do and the things that they fail to do.2.
Report any situation which they believe could be hazard and which they cannot themselvescorrect5.
In addition to the basic right to safe workplace article 19 of c155 gives workers the followingrights.
1.
The right to be provided with adequate information on actions the employer has to taken toensure
occupational safety and health.2.
The right to be consulted by the employer on all matters of occupational safety and healthrelating to
their work.4.
The right to leave a workplace which he has reason to think presents an imminent and seriousdanger to
his life of health and not be compelled to return until it is safe.
Outline the consequences for an employer of non compliance with health andsafety responsibilities?
A breach of health and safety legislation is usually a criminal offence. Failure to meet legal
standardsmight lead employer to1.
An enforcement agency might force an employer either to make improvement within the workplace
orstop carrying out high risk activities. failure to comply considered to be an offence in itself.
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As well as the criminal law consequences there is also the matter of compensation forworkers and
other injured by a workplace accident.
1.
Taking legal action against their employer through the civil legal system and have prove thatemployer
had been negligent.2.
Claiming compensation from national or regional compensation schemes witho no requirementto prove
negligence or blame through the use of the legal system.
What are the organizational requirements for effective health and safetymanagement?
Policy 2. Organizing 3. Planning and implementing 4. Evaluation5. Action for improvement 6. Audit 7. Co
ntinual improvement
Policy:
A clear statement has to be made to establish health and safety as a prime commitment at all level
of organization particularly at the top
Organizing:
A framework of roles and responsibilities for health and safety must be created within
the organizationfrom top management to down to the floor.
Detail arrangement must be made for the management of health and safety. Central to this idea is
theconcept of risk assessment and the identification and implementation of safe systems of work
andprotective measures.
Evaluation:
Methods must be developing to monitor and review the effectiveness of the arrangements put
intoplace. This might be done reactively e.g. by reviewing accident and ill health statistics reports.
Any identified by the review process must be corrected as soon as possible by making any require action
Audit:
To ensure that all parts are working acceptably well by systematic and critical examination of the
safetymanagement system
Continual Improvement:
The intention is safety management system will develop over the time to become
increasinglyappropriate and useful for company.
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ELEMENT 1
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IGC-1Identify the internal and external sources of information about health andsafety?
1.
Accident records2.
Medical records3.
Risk assessments4.
Maintenance reports5.
Audit reports7.
Safety committee meeting minutes
1.
Trade associations6.