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Unit 1: Basic Concepts Related to Risk Prevention.

Initial Situation

Ana is finishing her Vocational Training. She has taken a course on "Occupational Health and
Safety" through the Internet using the e-learning methodology. Nevertheless, she still has to do
her work-experience module. Today she has been told that her work-experience placement is
going to be an international company headquartered in Toledo. Ana is really happy because her
tutor has told her that the company is likely to offer her a contract when she finishes her
Vocational Training. However, she is also a bit worried because she does not have a good level
of English.

Ana has decided to improve her English knowledge. That will help her find a good job. She has
thought she had better begin by learning the basic concepts about labour risk prevention. If she
does not have a good grounding in that area, she will not understand a single thing in her work-
experience placement.

She will also ask Pedro for help. Pedro is a friend of hers who works in London. He will give her
some important pieces of information about the official organizations in charge of labour risk
prevention, legislation, etc.

Ana is so excited that, although it is already very late, she starts looking for information about
Occupational Health and Safety on the Internet. The first thing she looks for is the World Health
Organization definition of labour and health.

Grammar
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Presente simple

Formación:

Por regla general, a la mayoría de los verbos se añade -s para he/she/it.

He walks, he smiles.
Si el verbo termina en -sh, -ch, -s, -x, -z y -o se añade -es para he/she/it.
She catches, it goes.
Si termina en consonante + -y, ésta se transforma en -ies para he/she/it.
She cries (cry).
Para I/you/we/they los verbos no cambian.
I walk, we smile, you catch, I cry.

Usos del presente simple:

Acciones habituales.
Leo todos los dias. I read every day.
Situaciones permanentes.
Trabajo en Cuenca. I work in Cuenca.
Verdades objetivas.
El agua se congela a 0º. Water freezes at 0º.
Horarios.
El autobus sale a las 7:30. The bus leaves at 7:30.

Further Information

En el siguiente vínculo podrás practicar un poco más con la formación y el uso del presente simple:

http://www.isabelperez.com/happy/tenses/present_simple.htm

Grammar Activities
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Resolve Activity

Une los verbos con su forma correcta del presente simple en tercera persona (she/he/it):

Read

reads
reades

Listen
listenes
listens

Get up
gets up
getes up

Stay
stays
staies

Go
goes
gos

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Resolved Activity
Utilizando las formas correctas del presente simple de los verbos del ejercicio anterior, completa los huecos:
She always the newspaper every day.
I always music in my car.
He late on Sundays.
On Saturdays, she at home all day.
He to work by bus.
  

Labour and Health

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines labour as "all the human activities, paid or unpaid, that produce the goods or services in
an economy, or supply the needs of a community, or provide a person's accustomed means of livelihood". However, during the course of these
activities, many people bear situations which can damage their health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as: "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity".

Further Information

Éstas son las direcciones web de la Organización Mundial de la Salud y de la Organización Internacional
del Trabajo. En ellas podrás encontrar una gran cantidad de información sobre Prevención de Riesgos
Laborales.

http://www.who.int
http://www.ilo.org
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In the report of the First Session of the Convention held in 1950 between the International
Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), labour health was
defined as the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social
well-being of workers in all occupations by preventing departures from health, controlling risks
and the adaptation of work to people, and people to their jobs.

Basic Concepts Related to Health and Safety

Ana has found the International Labour Organization (ILO) web site. Surprisingly, she finds out
that this organization has published an Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety. From
now on, this will be one of her most important sources to look for the vocabulary she will need
in her work-experience placement.

Further Information

A Short History of the ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational health and Safety:

"Dedicated to Safety at Work

The history of the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety is tightly interwoven with the history of
the organization which publishes it. The International Labour Organization's Constitution calls for an
improvement of working conditions and "the protection of the worker from sickness, disease and injury
arising out of ... employment". The Encyclopaedia is one manifestation of this long-term commitment".

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Source: ILO, http://www.ilocis.org/en/default.html

Basic Concepts Related to Health and Safety I

The 31/1995 law from 8th November about Occupational Health and Safety states that:

Prevention is "any activity or measures (either already adopted or foreseen) which aim to avoid
or diminish the conditions of work and factors in the working environment that may cause
disease or injuries".

Labour Risk refers to "the likelihood that a worker may be harmed in their job. In order to
classify different kinds of risks, two factors should be jointly taken into account: the probability
of the harm being realized and the severity of the harm involved".

The Labour Risk Prevention law takes into consideration some other concepts:

Damages derived from the work: "any illness, pathology or injury which is contracted as a result of an exposure to risk factors arising from
work activity".
Severe or imminent labour risk is "the risk which is likely to become real in an immediate future and which may cause a severe harm to the
workers' health. In the concrete case of exposure to substances which may cause severe damage to the workers' health, a severe or
immediate risk will only be estimated when there is a rational probability that, in an immediate future, an exposure to such substances may
become real and the outcome from that likely exposure results in severe damages for health, even though the mentioned damages do not
appear immediately".

Basic Concepts Related to Health and Safety II

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Working conditions refers to "The physical, social and managerial factors affecting a worker's job environment and which may meaningfully
influence the appearance of risks for the workers' safety and health. In this definition we should include:

a. The general features of the premises, installations, equipments, products and any tool in the working place.
b. The physical, chemical or biological substances in the working environment and their corresponding intensities and concentration
levels.
c. The procedures to use the above mentioned substances which may influence the appearance of risks.
d. Any other working feature, including those related to organization and regulation, which may influence the magnitude of the risks to
which the worker is exposed to".

Personal Protective Equipment refers to "all equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects them
against one or more risks to his health or safety", for example safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear
and safety harnesses.

Basic Concepts Related to Health and Safety III

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Today is Ana's first day in the company where she is going to do her work-experience module.
When she arrived, Juana was already waiting for her. She is in charge of the Occupational
Health and Safety department and she will also be her tutor. The first thing Juana has done is
show Ana the premises and give her some information about Labour Risk Prevention in the
company. After that, Juana has given her some personal protective equipment (PPE) items that
she must wear when she is in some of the installations. Ana has perfectly understood
everything Juana has explained to her, so she feels very glad because she now understands
the usefulness of what she had studied in the theoretical modules.

Further Information

The PPE is to be used wherever there exits risks for the workers which cannot be adequately controlled or
diminished in any other way. The PPE must fulfil the following requirements:

It must be appropriate for the risks involved and the conditions at the place where exposure to the
risk may occur, without being a nuisance or increasing the overall level of risk.
The PPE must take into account the wearers' physical features. Apart from that, it must be correctly
adjusted to fit the wearer. 
If more than one PPE item is to be worn, they must be mutually compatible and they must not
interfere in the others effectiveness.

In order to decide whether a PPE is suitable, the Labour Risk Prevention Manager should:

Analyze and assess the risks which cannot be otherwise avoided.

Specify the requirements the PPE must fulfil to warrant its overall effectiveness.

The company must compulsory have a PPE management system to ensure that every worker has the
PPE they need; that workers are properly trained and instructed to use it; and that the equipment is
adequately looked after and properly stored. Apart from that, the company must have a procedure to
replace the PPE's which are deteriorated or in bad conditions. The PPE assessment should be
documented and periodically reviewed.

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Basic Concepts Related to Health and Safety IV

We have already studied that a hazard is the likelihood that a worker

may be harmed. Well then, the risk or hazard is closed linked to the risk
factor. The risk factor is an element (present in all working conditions) which
can cause a risk to arise, diminishing or damaging the workers’
health.

Risk factors can be classified into three groups:

1. Safety
conditions: all the material conditions which may cause working accidents. For
example, mechanical factors, like a faulty
machine.
2. Environmental
conditions: all those surrounding elements or substances which may cause health
problems or nuisances when certain
levels are exceeded. They are:

a. Physical
factors, such as noise, vibrations, temperature, humidity, etc.
b. Chemical
factors, such as fumes from welding or gases and vapours from paint or
solvents, etc.
c. Biological
factors such as viruses, fungi, etc.

3. Workload
and work organization: Workload refers to the mental and physical demand of the
work: physical efforts, postures, level of
concentration, responsibility, etc.
Work organization depends on the overall organization of the company: working
day, timetables, how
the company is managed, etc. Here we should point out:
a. Ergonomics:
it refers to the optimal adaptation of physical environment to human activity
to obtain maximum productivity with a
minimum of effort, fatigue and
inconvenience, such as working place design, posture, matching the work to the
worker, etc.
b. Psycho-social elements: communication, interpersonal relationships,
workers’ involvement in the company, etc.

Resolved Activity
Choose the correct answer. The main function of Labour Risk Prevention is:
To avoid and diminish labour risks.
To offer a job to disabled people.
To fine careless workers.

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Damages Derived from Work

When Juana gave Ana a course on Prevention, she insisted on the damages that workers may
suffer as a result of their work. Ana already knew this because she had studied it in one of the
theoretical modules. Juana explained Ana the difference between working accidents and
occupational diseases and the importance of avoiding incidents, since several incidents may
arise in an accident.

The risk factors we have studied in the previous chapter do not turn up in isolation. They are
interconnected and may result in the so-called damages derived from work. These damages
are classified into three groups: occupational accidents, occupational disease and other
pathologies related to work.

Resolved Activity
¿Cuáles de las siguientes características son propias de un accidente de trabajo?
Unusual event
Neither wanted nor wished
Sudden and unexpected
Unavoidable
Daily event
It interrupts working continuity
It causes injuries to people

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Accidents

In legal terms, an occupational accident is an occurrence arising out of, or in the course of, work which results in fatal or non-fatal injury".
Therefore, the term "accident" comprises:

Any injury which is produced in the working place.

Any injury which is produced on the way to the working place from the worker's home or vice versa (that is, a commuting accident).
Any injury which is produced in the course of rescue or in similar situations.
Any injury produced in the course of trade union activities.

In the field of Labour Risk Prevention, an occupational accident is an unusual event, neither
wanted nor wished. It is sudden and unexpected and usually avoidable. It interrupts the working
continuity and it may cause injuries to people.

According to this definition, accidents are classified into three groups:

1. Incidents: There is no visible injury or damage, but the outcome could be a minor injury, a serious injury or even fatal injury.
2. Accidents resulting in any kind of injury.
3. Commuting accidents: an accident occurring on the habitual route, in either direction, between the place of work and the worker's
residence or vice versa.

Occupational Diseases and Other Pathologies

The term Occupational Disease refers to any health problem or chronic ailment which results in
a progressive worsening of the worker's health. Occupational diseases are contracted as a

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result of continuous exposure to risk factors arising from work activity.

Further Information

The Spanish General Law of Social Security defines occupational disease as "any disease which is
contracted as a consequence of being an employee in the activities which are specified in the general
frame which this regulation contains, and which is caused by the exposure to the risk factors which are
also recorded in the above mentioned frame".

The Royal Decree 1299/2006, from 10th November, approved of the occupational disease frame in the
Social Security System and established the notification and register criteria. This Royal Decree is the last
update of the occupational disease frame. It also includes a whole list of illnesses which are likely to
become occupational diseases in the future.

Apart from occupational accidents and diseases, there exist other pathologies or health
problems which can be caused by any of the risk factors already mentioned, being the most
relevant the ergonomic and psycho-social pathologies. Two very common cases are fatigue (as
a result of a heavy workload, either physical or psychological) and job dissatisfaction (as a
result of monotony, pressure or lack of involvement in the company).

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