Introduction In to Occupational health and Safety

JAMAL HASSAN
What is the image of an occupational
accident ?
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 Introduction

 Occupational health and safety is the field of public
health that studies trends in illnesses and injuries in the
worker population and implements strategies and regulations
to prevent them.

 Its scope is broad, encompassing a wide variety of

disciplines—from toxicology and epidemiology
to ergonomics and violence prevention.
 
 Annually, an estimated 160 million new cases of work-
related diseases occur worldwide, including respiratory and
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hearing loss,
musculoskeletal and reproductive disorders, mental and
neurological illnesses.
 
 An increasing number of workers in industrial countries
complain about psychological stress and overwork.

 These psychological factors have been found to be strongly

associated with insomnia, depression and fatigue, and burn-
out syndromes, as well as with elevated risks of
cardiovascular diseases.
 
 Occupational health and safety is one of the most
important aspects of human concern.

 It AIMS an adaptation of working environment to workers

for the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of
physical, mental and social well being of workers in all
occupations.
Mission


To save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health

of Country's workers.
 Why is it necessary?


Workplace injuries, illnesses and death were increasing and
no uniform or comprehensive law existed to protect against
workplace hazards
 Definition of Terms


 According to WHO (1995), occupational safety and health
can be defined as a multidisciplinary activity aiming at:

 Protection and promotion of the health of workers by

eliminating occupational factors and conditions hazardous
to health and safety at work.
 
 Occupational health is a diverse science applied by:
i. Occupational health professionals engineers
ii. Environmental health practitioners
iii. Chemists
iv. Toxicologists
v. Doctors
vi. Nurses
vii. Safety professionals
 And others who have an interest in the protection of the health
of workers in the workplace.
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 The discipline covers the following key components:

 The availability of occupational health and safety regulations

at workplace
 Monitoring and control of factory hazards to health
 Supervision and monitoring of hygiene and sanitary facilities
for health and welfare of the workers
 Inspection of health safety of protective devices
 
 Pre-employment, periodical and special health
examination.
 Performance of adaptation of work to man
 Provision of first aid
 Health education and safety training to the worker
 Advice to employers on the above mentioned items
 Reporting of occupational deaths, diseases, injuries, and
their related preventive measures at working
 
 According to a statement by occupational health institutes
collaborating with the WHO (1995) the most important
challenges for occupational health for the future will be:

 Occupational health problems linked to new information

technologies and automation
 New chemical substances and physical energies
 Aging working populations.
 Major safety terminologies


 Some key concepts in OH&S are:

 HAZARD –- source, situation, or act with a potential for

harm in terms of human injury or ill health, or a
combination of these, i.e. anything present in the workplace
that has the potential to cause an injury to workers, either a
work accident or an occupational disease.
 
 RISK – combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a
hazardous event or exposure and the severity of injury or ill
health that can be caused by the event or exposure 

 RISK ASSESSMENT – is the process of evaluating risks to

workers’ safety and health from workplace hazards. It is a
systematic examination of all aspects of work that considers:
 
i. What could cause injury or harm
ii. Whether the hazards could be eliminated and, if not,
iii. What preventive or protective measures are, or should be,
in place to control the risks.
 
 SAFETY – it is very difficult to define.
 Safety is the state of being "safe" i.e. free from harm or risk,
but in practice this state is never obtained.

 Therefore safety must be seen as a value judgment regarding

the level of risk of being injured which is considered to be
acceptable
 
 HEALTH – in relation to work, indicates not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity; it also includes the physical
and mental elements affecting health which are directly related
to safety and hygiene at work.

 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE – disease contracted as a result

of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors (chemical,
physical or biological agents) arising from work activity,  that
is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or
occupational activity. 
 
 WORK ACCIDENT– is a discrete occurrence in the course
of work (even if the accident happens off the company’s
premises, or if it is caused by third parties), which leads to
physical or mental harm.

 PREVENTION – all the steps or measures taken or planned

at all stages of work in the undertaking to prevent or reduce
occupational risks 
 
 INCIDENT: Undesired circumstance that produces the
potential for an accident.

 SAFETY MONITORING: Periodic checks on

observance of corporate safety standards and procedures.

 WORKPLACE: The workplace may be described as any

place where people are at work.
 
 FIRE PREVENTION:
 The concept of preventing outbreaks of fire, of reducing
the risk of fire spreading and avoiding danger to persons and
property from fire.

 MANUAL HANDLING:
 Any means of transporting or supporting a load manually.
Lift, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving by
hand of bodily force.
 Goals


i. To reduce industrial accidents.
ii. To prevent occupational hazards/ diseases.
iii. To achieve maximum human efficiency and machine
efficiency.
iv. To reduce sick absenteeism.
 Objectives of occupational health:


i. To maintain and promote the physical, mental and social
well being of the workers.
ii. To prevent occupational diseases and injuries.
iii. To adapt the work place and work environment to the
needs of the workers i.e application of ergonomics
principle.
iv. It should be preventive rather than curative.
 Interdisciplinary Relationships


 Environmental managers:
 Are those trying to eliminate hazards from the workplace
cause many environmental problems.

 Toxicology:
 Is the science that studies poison ands toxic substances
and their mechanisms and effects on living organisms.
 
 Ergonomics:

 Is a multidisciplinary activity dealing with the interaction

between man and his total working environment plus
such traditional environmental elements as atmosphere,
heat, light, and sound as well as all tools and equipment of
the work place.
 
 Chemical engineers:
 Are those who design process plant, they choose values,
decide on how access will be gained and how cleaning will
take place.

 Mechanical engineers:
 Are those who responsible for choosing materials handling
systems or for specifying noise levels on machinery.
 
 Environmental health professionals:

 Are those who apply their knowledge and experience,

understand the environmental health hazards, analyze
the technical and social approaches and reduce and
eliminate human exposures and health impacts.
 
 Industrial hygienists:

 Are scientists, engineers, and public health professionals

committed to protecting the health people in the
workplace and the community.
 Magnitude of the problem/disease


 1.2 million working peoples die of work related accident and
diseases every year.

 More than 160 million workers fall ill each year due to
workplace hazards.

 Women , children and migrant workers are least protected

and most affected.
 
 REASONS for these are:-

 Workplace
i. Unsafe building
ii. Old machines
iii. Poor ventilation
iv. Noise
v. Inaccessible to inspection
 
 Workers:
i. Limited education
ii. Limited skill and training

 Employers:
i. Limited financial resources
ii. Low attention and knowledge
 Variations in performance


 There are significant variations in occupational safety and
health performance between countries, economic sectors
and sizes of enterprise.

 Countries:
 A factory worker in Pakistan is eight times more likely to
be killed at work than a factory worker in France;
 
 Fatalities among transport workers in Kenya are ten times
those in Denmark;

 Construction workers in Quatemala are six times more

likely to die at work than their counterparts in Switzerland
(world bank, 1995) .
 
 Economic sectors:

 OSH performance varies significantly between economic

sectors within countries.

 Statistical data show that, worldwide, the highest rates of

occupational deaths occur in agriculture, forestry,
mining and construction.
 
 Sizes of enterprise:

 Generally, small workplaces have a worse safety record than

large ones.

 It seems that the rate of fatal and serious injuries in small

workplaces (defined as those with fewer than 50 employees)
is twice that in large workplaces (defined as those with more
than 200 employees).
Can you find hazards in this picture?

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