Safety And

Health At
Work
Unit 6
Introduction
 Management has both legal and
moral responsibilities to provide a
safe and healthy workplace.
 Work-related accidents, injuries, and
illnesses are costly.
Concept
Occupational Safety is freedom from work
related accidents. It is protection of workers
from accidents
Occupational health is absence of health
hazards and illness at work place. It is
physical as well as mental well-being
Importance
Legal Compliance
Every country has legal framework to enforce
occupational safety and health
 USA has OSHA ( Occupational Safety and Health Act)
 Nepal has Labour Act

Moral Requirement
Employers have moral duty to provide safe
and healthy working conditions for better
quality of life to employees
 Importance
Productivity
Health and safe environment promotes
productivity.
Cost Savings
The cost can be medical expenses plus
compensation payable to the employees.
Employee Retention
Helps to improve employee retention by
decreasing labour turnover and absenteeism.
Improved Labor Relations
Promotes harmonious relations between
employees and management
Enhance company image as good employer
The Occupational Safety and Health
Act
1970 Federal legislation
Established health and safety standards.
Authorized inspections and fines for
violations.
Empowered OSH Administration to ensure
standards are met.
Requires employers to keep records of
illnesses and injuries, and calculate accident
ratios.
 The Occupational Safety and Health
Act

OSHA Enforcement Priorities

Imminent danger: Where an
accident is about to occur that can
lead to serious injuries or death
Employer must report within 8 hours.
Employee complaints: Employees
have right to call OSHA.
The Occupational Safety and Health
Act
OSHA Enforcement Priorities
Inspection of industries with the highest
injury or illness rates
 chemical processing
 roofing and sheet metal
 meat processing
 lumber and wood products
Additionally, special emphasis is placed on
the handling of hazardous waste.
Sexual Harassment
 Unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome
request for sexual favor or other unwelcome
conduct of a sexual nature which makes a
person feel offended, humiliated and where a
reasonable person would anticipate that
reaction in the circumstances
 Acc to Us Sex Discrimination Act 1984, defines
nature and circumstances in which sexual
harassment is unlawful for a person to be
victimized for making or proposing to make, a
complaint of sexual harassment to Human
rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
 Examples:
Unwelcome Sexually Making Sexually
touching explicit questions explicit
pictures or about a physical
posters person's contact
private life or
body
Staring Unwanted Unnecessary Sexually explicit
invitations to go familiarity, e.g. emails or SMS
out on dates deliberately text messages
brushing up
against a
person
Suggestive Request for sex Insulting others
comments or based on sex
jokes
Preventive measures
Code of conducts
Policies, procedures
Ongoing training & communication
Self initiations
Drug & Alcohol issues in
Workplace
Use of alcohol products and Marijuana,
cocaine, brown sugar, etc
Using drugs and alcohols impairs decision
making abilities as well as physically
impairs people
Sometimes employers suffer from hiring
substance abusers
Basically seen in mining & construction,
hotel industries
Two specific kinds of drinking behavior
significantly contribute to the level of
work performance:
Drinking right before or during working
hours and heavy drinking the night
before that causes hangovers in the
next day
Symptoms may be extreme mood
swing, glassy eyes, slurred speech
frequent absenteeism, noticeable
exhaustion, increase in accidents, etc.
Effects (For both)
 Decrease morale of co-workers
 Workplace accidents, injuries
 Absenteeism/extra sick leaves
 Spoil of mutual understanding
 Decrease in productivity
 Increase turnover
 Increase cost of insurance and compensation
 Physical distortions ( weight, heart problems,
brain functioning)
 Financial problems, involvement in criminal
activity, declining in social life
Preventive Measures
Effective workplace drug program
Testing
Educating
Handling in effective way (Employee
assistance Program (EAP)
Dealing with problems, providing short-
term-counseling (confidential)
 The Occupational Safety and
Health Act

OSHA Punitive Actions

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
of 1990 allows fines up to $70,000 if
violation is severe, willful and repetitive.
Fines can be for safety violations or
failure to keep adequate records.
Courts have backed criminal charges
against executives when they have
willfully violated health and safety laws.
Labour Act 1992
Labour Act 1992 requires occupational
health and safety measures. Occupational
hygiene consists of:
Protection of eyes from chemical materials
Safety from dangerous machines
Upper limits of lifting weights
Fire safety
Monitoring of safety measures by labour
office
Work injury compensation for wounds,
damages to the vital organs and death in
course of work
Job Safety Programs
Costs of Accidents
 Workers’ compensation premiums.
 Time lost due to injury.
 Time to investigate/report accidents.
 Damage to equipment/materials.
 Work stoppages
Job Safety Programs
Causes of Accidents
 Accidents are generally classified as human or
environmental.
 Human causes responsible for majority of accidents.
 Environmental causes include
 tools
 equipment
 physical plant
 general work environment
Job Safety Programs
Preventative Measures
Education
Skill training
Engineering
Protection devices
Regulation enforcement
Job Safety Programs
Ensuring Job Safety
 Management needs feedback from
inspections, reports, and observations.
 Safety should be part of organizational
culture.
 Top management must be committed to
safety.
 Safety committees empower employees to
maintain a safe environment.
Maintaining a Healthy Work
Environment
Sick buildings are office environments
that contain harmful airborne chemicals or
indoor pollution.
Maintaining a Healthy
Work Environment
Sick Buildings
Suggestions for keeping the
environment healthy include:
 Making sure workers get enough fresh air.
 Avoiding suspect building materials and
furnishings.
 Testing new buildings for toxins before
occupancy.
 Providing a smoke-free environment.
 Paying attention to workers’ complaints.
 Maintaining a Healthy Work
Environment

The Smoke-Free Environment

Costs of smokers include
increased diseases
Absenteeism
lost productivity due to smoke
breaks
maintenance costs
harm to coworkers by second-
hand smoke
Maintaining a Healthy Work
Environment
The Smoke-Free Environment
Smoke-free policies at work include
banning smoking or restricting it to
properly ventilated designated areas.
Some employers offer incentives and help
for employees to stop smoking.
 Maintaining a Healthy Work
Environment

Repetitive Stress Injuries

Injuries resulting from continuous,
repetitive movements, such as
typing.
Also referred to as musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs).
The most frequent injury is carpal
tunnel syndrome, which occurs in
the wrist.
Maintaining a Healthy Work
Environment
Repetitive Stress Injuries
Ergonomics, or fitting the work
environment to the individual, can prevent
repetitive motion injuries.
Includes design of environment and
furniture to fit the individual.