SAFETY AND

HEALTH
A.Definition of safety
• Safety refers to the absence of accidents.
• It refers to the protection of workers from the
danger of accidents.
 Types of accidents
• Internal and external
• Major and minor
• Fatal and disability
• Temporary and permanent
 Need for safety
• Cost saving
1. Direct cost
2. Hidden cost
• Increased productivity
• Moral
• legal
 Safety programme
It deals with the prevention of accidents and
minimising the resulting loss and damage to
persons and property.
Five basic principles must govern the safety
programme of organisation.
• Multiplicity of factors responsible for industrial accidents must be
traced to their root causes.
• To identify potential hazards, provide effective safety facilities and
equipment and to take prompt remedial action.
• The safety policies should be determined by the top management.
 Safety programme contd…
• The management and supervision must be
made fully accountable for safety
performance.
• All employees should be given training in safe
methods of work.
 Safety process
1. Strategic choices
2. Development of safety policy
3. Organisation for safety
4. Analysis of causes for accidents
5. Implementation of the programme
6. Evaluation of effectiveness
 1. Strategic choices
• The level of protection
• Formal or informal safety programme
• Proactive or reactive safety programme
• Safety of workers as a marketing tool
 2.Safety policy
It specifies the firm’s goals and designates
the responsibilities and authority for their
achievement.
It may also contain caveats and sanctions for
failing to fulfill them.
 3.Organisation for safety
Companies constitute safety committees which are
composed of employees from across the
organisation.
These committees serve in advisory
capacities and are responsible for such tasks
as :-
• reviewing safety procedures
• making recommendations for eliminating
specific safety and health hazards
 3.Organisation for safety contd…
• Investigating accidents
• Fielding safety related complaints from
employees and monitoring statutory
compliance
 4.Analysis of causes for
accidents
Causes for accidents
• Human faliure
it leads to an accident when the employee ignores
safety precautions and commits an unsafe act.
• Machine faliure
refers to faulty mechanical and physical conditions
leadig to an accident.
 Remedies for industrial
accidents
• Safety committee
• Safety training
• Material handling equipment
• Gaurding of machines
• Maintenance of plant
• Regular inspection
 Remedies for industrial accidents contd…

• Equipment redesign
• Proper clothing
• Safety campaign
• Safety week and awards
• Role of management and unions
 5.Implementing the
policy
It refers to putting the policy into
action and practising it into real
situation
 6.Programme evaluation
Methods of programme evaluation
• Systematic methods
These methods are concerned with outcomes.
• Organic methods
It attempts to evaluate how well the safety
programme is designed and fulfilled.
 B.Health
Health means the well-being of a worker
working in an industry. The well-being of a
worker is affected by accidents and by ill-
health ---- physical as well as mental.
The health of a worker can be
examined from following aspects:-
1.Physical health
2.Mental health
3.Noise control
4.Stress management
5.Alcoholism, smoking and drug abuse
6.Violence in the work place
7. AIDS
 1.Physical health
Sign of healthy employees:-
a) More productive
b) More safety concious
c) More regular at work
d) Cheerful and confident looking
 2.Mental health
Reasons for the develpoment of mental
health:-
a) Mental breakdowns are common in modern
days because of pressure and tension
b) Reduced productivity and lower profits
c) Alcoholism, high employee turnover and
poor human relationships
 3.Noise control
• Noise can only be minimised but cannot be
totally eliminated.
• Constant exposure to noise not only impairs
hearing ability, it has adverse effects on
general health of the employees.
 4.Work stress
• Stress refers to an individual’s response to a
disturbing factor in the environment and the
consequense of such reactions.
• Stress is mostly understood to be negative.
• But it has positive dimension also. Where stress
brings out something better from an individual, it
is called eustress.
• The factors that causes stress are called stressors.
 Different persons experience stress in
different intensity. It depends upon
following factors:
a) The persons perception of the situation
b) Past experience
c) Social support
d) Individual differences
 5.Alcoholism, smoking and
drug abuse
Effects:-
a) Quality and quantity of work declines sharply
b) On the job absenteesim
c) Morale of other workers suffer
6.Voilence in the workplace
Violent incidents at place include fist fights,
shooting, stabbing and sexual assaults. Taxi
drivers, police officers, retail workers and
night shift employees are exposed to such
risks.
 7.AIDS
• AIDS is likely to cause confusion and
disruption in workforce. When employees
realise that they are working with an infected
worker, they demand that hapless employee
should be dismissed.
• Organisations are hit by additional costs----
direct and indirect.
Thank you