Chapter

1: Introduction To
OSHA
 Define the concept of occupational safety
and health.
 Explain the history of occupational safety

and health.
 Explain the importance of safety in the

workplace.
 Describe the major safety terminologies.

 Classify types of accident.

 Occupational safety
and health (OSH)
is a basic human
right for safety at
workplace
DON’T WATCH THIS IF YOU HAVE A
WEAK
HEART!
 Accident prevention is an essential part of
good management and workmanship
 Management and workers must cooperate
 Top management must take the lead
 A define and known safety and health policy
 Organization and resources to achieve policy
 Best available knowledge and methods
 Until 1970, there were no national laws for
safety and health hazards
 Several tragedies had occurred
◦ The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York
City killed 146 of 500 employees
◦ Production for World War I caused a crisis in
workplace safety and health conditions.
◦ By the 1960’s, 14,000 workers died every year and more
than 2.2 million workers were not able to work from
injuries and illnesses
 The Era of Boiler Safety- Before 1914
◦ Around 1890’ s Perak state government
elected apersonnel expertise in
steam boiler and was given a
license as boiler surveyor
 The era of machinery safety- 1914 to 1962
◦ On 1 January 1914, all the steam boiler enactments
was replaced with “Machinery Enactment”.
◦ The inspector inspects the steam boiler and any
other machinery such as internal combustion engine,
water turbine and any other auxiliary installation
involved
 The era of industrial safety- 1953 to 1967
◦ All the machinery enactment used before
1953 was then replaced with Ordinal
1953.
◦ The role of an inspector has expanded from
only inspecting the steam boiler to the safety
of workers in factories that uses machinery.
 The era of industrial safety and
health- 1970 to 1994
◦ Akta Kilang dan Jentera’ (Factories and
Machinery Act ) 1970 was approved by
the parliaments.
◦ To solve all the shortcoming of the
Machine Ordinal 1953, as the w
orkers in aworkplace without
machine previously are nowbeing
protected under the new Acts.
 The era of occupationalsafety and
health- 1994 onwards
◦ Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
was enacted in 1994
◦ FMA 1967 emphasis on safety while OSHA 1994
emphasis on addressing health hazards in the
workplace
 Employees can remain motivated if they feel
safe and happy
 Formation and implementation of safety
programs that are meant to teach the employees
to handle risks
 Violence at workplace
 Accident - An unplanned unexpected
event which may result in loss, injury or
 damage
Codeof Practice - A body of rules for
Practical Guidance only and not having the
force of law although failure to comply may
 be used in evidence
Ergonomics in legal
- The study of proceedings.
relationship
between workers and their occupation,
equipment and environment and particularly,
the application of anatomical, physiological and
psychological knowledge to the problems
arising there from.
 Fire Precautions - The measures taken and the fire
protection features provided in a building (e.g. design,
systems, equipment and procedures) to minimize the risk
to the occupants from and outbreak of fire.
 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.
 First Aid - The skilled application of accepted principles of
treatment on the occurrence of an accident or in the case
of sudden illness, using facilities or materials available at
the time.
 Hazard- The exposed danger, a condition or practice
with potential for loss. A situation that may give rise to
personal injury or asset damage or both.
 Manual Handling - Any means of transporting or
supporting a load manually. Lift, putting down, pushing,
pulling, carrying or moving by hand of bodily force.
 Means of Escape - Structural means whereby a safe
route is provided for persons to travel unaided from any
point in a building to a place of safety
 Near Miss - An incident, which does not show a visible
result, but had the potential to do so.
 Policy - A statement of corporate intent, which will be
adopted and pursued as advantageous or expedient.
 Qualified Worker - One who is accepted as having the
necessary physical attributes, who possesses the required
intelligence, training and education, and has acquired the
necessary skill and knowledge to carry out the work in
hand to satisfactory standards of safety, quantity and
quality.
 Reasonably Practicable - A computation made in
which the quantum of risk is placed on one scale, and
the
disadvantages involved in the measure necessary of
averting the risk is placed upon the other. A balance
between: risk and cost, inconvenience, effect on
 production.
Risk Assessment - A process where hazards are
identified and risks evaluated, with the objective of
eliminating or reducing the risks as low as
 reasonably practicable.
Safety Audit - Monitoring of the implementation of a safety
policy by subjecting each area of an activity to a
systematic critical examination with the purpose of
minimizing loss, and providing a quantified assessment of
performance
 Safety Inspection - Systematic
assessment of safety standards for plant,
place of work, working. Carried out by a
manager and not a safety adviser/engineer.
 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
 Accident happens mostly
due by two major
causes:
◦ Unsafe condition at
the workplace
◦ Unsafe act done by
a person or a group