ELEMENT 1

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The scope and nature of occupational health and safety

The study of health and safety involves the study of many subjects including sciences (chemistry, physics
and biology) engineering, psychology, sociology and the law.
Define health, safety, welfare, hazard.
Definitions are:
1. Health
The absence of disease, for example asbestos creates a health risk
because if you inhale asbestos
dust you may contract lung cancer.
2 Safety
The absence of risk of serious personal
injury for example walking under a load
crane during a lifting operation is not safe because if suspended from a
could result. Staying out of danger area
load falls serious personnel injuries or death
3.
results safety.
Welfare
Access to basic
facilities, Such as toilet facility, hand was
where food can be prepared and eaten in station, changing rooms, rest places and
provision. hygienic conditions, drinking water and
first aid
4. Accident
An unplanned, unwanted event which leads to injury or
struck on head and killed by a brick loss, for example a worker on the ground is
lorry driver misjudge and hit his droppedby another worker 5 meter high from
lorry with road side barriers. In both scaffold or a
carried out deliberately. Any examples the act are not
5. Near miss deliberately attempt to cause injury or loss will not call accident.
an unplanned,
unwanted event had the potential to
example a worker drops a brick that form 5 meter high
lead to injury(but did not in
standing on the ground. No injury scaffold and it narrowly misses fact do so) for
accident and near misses is result and brick not even another
6 OUTCOME of the broken. The only thing that worker
Hazard event. Accident causes loss separates
and near mniss does
Something with the potential to cause not.
hazard because it might run over a harm. For example a
lorry moving around a site
1
Physical - things which causeworker. Hazard can be classified as: road is a
work at height, harm because of their physical
radiation,
2.
Chemical - things whichvibration, noise, heat, trip
can cause harm hazards. characteristics e.g.
electricity,
mercury, sulphuric acid, because of their chemical
Biological - living microcement dust etc.
3.

legionela bacteria. organism that cause disease and ill

characteristics e.g lead,
4

Ergonomic- stress and strain put on health e.g. hepatitis B

virus,
repetitive handling of small boxes. the body through posture
and
movement e.g. frequent
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5 Psychological - things that have the potential to cause injury to the mind rather than the
body e.g. exposure to highly traumatic event.
7. Risk
The likelihood that hazards will cause harm in combination with the severity of Injury, damage or loss
that might occur for example an electrical flex trailing across a busy corridor in a hospital creates a risk.
For example an electrical flex trailing across a busy corridor in a hospital creates a risk. The degree of risk
can be described as high or medium depending on how likely person might trip over that trailing flex
and how badly they might be injured.
8 Dangerous occurrence
A specified event that has to be reported to relevant authority by statute law, even if the event did not
lead to fatality or major injury ofa worker. For example the failure of the load bearing parts of a crane is
a dangerous occurrence even no person hat be injured. This is reportable event.

9. Environmental Protection: The prevention for damage to the air, land and water
10. Work related ill health
Diseases or medical conditions caused by a person's work. For example dermatitis is a disease of the
skin often caused by work activities especially when the handling of solvents detergents involved.

11. Commuting accident

An accident to a worker that occurs when they are travelling to or from:
1. Their work place 2. The place where they take a meal during working hours
3. Place where they collect their pay.

In order to understand health and safety issue you need to familiar with following things,
The technical background to the issue and have relevant knowledge.
The standards that may apply to the workplace
The possible strengths and weaknesses of the various options that are available to solve
the problem.

Why might the management of an organization not consider health and safety
to be a priority?
The barriers to good standards of health and safety in work place are:
1. Complexity 2. Conflicting demands 3. Behavioral issues

Complexity: workplace can be complicated. Many people involve in many different work
activities need coordination.

Conflicting demands: a common conflict of interest is that between the need to supply a
product or a service at an appropriate speed so as to make a profit, and need to do so safely and
without risk of people.

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Behavioral issues: good health and safety practice often relies on the perfect behavior of
peoples but sometime they do not behave in ideal way. For example a worker on construction
site should wear hard hats to protect form falling object but people sometime deliberately do
not wear hard hats.

Moral Social and Economic Reason for Health and Safety

Outline the Reasons why an organization should manage health and safety?
There are following main 3 reasons why an organization has to manage health and safety
Moral, Social & Economic
1. Moral
This about moral duty that one person has to another. Many people killed, injured by other people
work which is morally unacceptable.

2. Social (legal)
Reason related to framework of law that governs the condut of business and organization. The
legal responsibility for health and safety at work rests on primarily on the employer. The employer
has duty to provide the following.
Safe Place of Work.
Safe Plant and Equipment.
Safe System of Work.
Training, Supervision and Competency of Staff.
3. Economic

Accident and ill health cost money. When an accident occurs there will be direct and indirect costs
associated the event. Some of these losses can be Insured against many of them will be uninsured.
When an accident occurs there are two types of losses that the organization may face Direct Costs &
Indirect Costs

Outline the direct &indirect costs that might arise from a workplace accident?
The business case for health and safety
The business case of health and safety Is simply that accident and ill health cost money. When an
accident occurs there will be direct and indirect cost associated with event.
Direct Costs:

The measureable costs arising directly from the accident, for example first ald treatment,
worker sick pay, repairs to or replacement of damaged equipment, fines in the criminal courts
" Indirect Costs:
Those costs which are indirectly as a consequences, for example loss of staff from produtive
duties in order to investigate the incident, prepare reports, deal with relatives attend court

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proceeding, loss of staff morale, loss of gOodwill of customers and damage to public and
industrial image.
Uninsured Costs:
It has been estimated that uninsured losses are between eight and 36 times greater than insured losses.
Some examples of uninsured losses
Loss of raw materials due to accident.
Sick pay for injured workers.
Overtime to make up for lost production
Repair to damaged equipment.

The roles of national governments and international bodies:

The international labor organization (|Lo) has set out convention C155 and Recommendation R164
which apply to workplace health and safety standards.
Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet or exceed the minimum
standards set out in C155 and R164.
Most countries and regions have established legal standards that meet the minimum standards
set out in C155& R164.

The international framework:

In 1981 the ILO adopted the occupational safety and health convention C155. This describes basic policy
for health and safety at national and individual undertaking level.
The occupational safety and health recommendation 1981 R-164 supplements C155 and provided more
details that how to comply with policies of C155.

Outline the legal duties that an employer has to comply with?

Employer's Responsibilities
1. To ensure that the workplace, machinery, equipment and processes under their control are safe
and without risk to health.
2. To ensure that the chemical, physical and biological substances and agents under their control
are without risk to health.
3. To provide adequate protective clothing and protective equipment to prevent risk of accident or
adverse affects on health.
4. to provide appropriate instruction and training
5. to provide necessary supervision
6. to ensure that the hours of work doo not adversely affect employees health
7. to remove any physical and mental fatigue

Outline the legal duties that a worker has to comply with?

Workers Responsibilities and rights

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Article 19 of c155 states that all worker and their representatives have to cooperate with their
employers so that he can fulfill his safety obligations

R164 says that worker should:

1. Take reasonable care of their own safety and that of other people who might be affected by the
things that they do and the things that they fail to do.
2. Comply with safety instructions and procedures.
3. Use all safety equipment properly and not tamper with it.
4. Report any situation which they believe could be hazard and which they cannot themselves
Correct
5. Report any work related accident of ill health.

In addition to the basic right to safe workplace article 19 of c155 gives workers the following
rights.
1. The right to be provided with adequate information on actions the employer has to taken to
ensure occupational safety and health.
2. The right to the necessary training in occupational safety and health
3. The right to be consulted by the employer on all matters of occupational safety and health
relating to their work.
4. The right to leave a workplace which he has reason to think presents an imminent and serious
danger to his life of health and not be compelled to return until it is safe.

Outline the consequences for an employer of non compliance with health and
safety responsibilities?
The consequences of Non Compliance:
A breach of health and safety legislation is usually a criminal offence. Falure to meet legal standards
might lead employer to
1. Formal enforcement action
2. Prosecution of the organization in the criminal court
3. Prosecution of individuals such as director, managers and workers.

Formal enforcement action:

An enforcement agency might force an employer either to make improvement within the workplace or
stop carrying out high risk activities. failure to comply considered to be an offence in itself.

Prosecution of the organization in the criminal court

Successful prosecution might result in punishment in the form of a fine

Prosecution of individuals such as director, managers and workers

Successful prosecution might result in punishment in the form of a fine or imprisonment

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As well as the criminal law consequences there is also the matter of compensation for
workers and other injured by a workplace accident.
1. Taking legal action against their employer through the civil legal system and have prove that
employer had been negligent.
2. Claiming compensation from national or regional compensation schemes witho no requirement
to prove negligence or blame through the use of the legal system.

What are the organizational requirements for effective health and safety
management?
Health and safety management system:
ILO OSH 2001 safety and health system we can summaries the key elements of this system
1. Policy 2. Organizing 3. Planning and implementing 4. Evaluation
5. Action for improvement 6. Audit 7. Continual improvement

Policy:
A clear statement has to be made to establish health and safety as a prime commnitment at all level of
organization particularly at the top

Organizing:
A framework of roles and responsibilities for health and safety must be created within the organization
from top management to down to the floor.

Planning and Implementing:

Detail arrangement must be made for the management of health and safety. Central to this idea is the
concept of risk assessment and the identification and implementation of safe systems of work and
protective measures.

Evaluation:
Methods must be developing to monitor and review the effectiveness of the arrangements put into
place. This might be done reactively e.g. by reviewing accident and ill health statistics reports.
Action for Improvement:
Any identified by the review process must be corrected as soon as possible by making any require action

Audit:
To ensure that all parts are working acceptably well by systematic and critical examination of the safety
management system

Continual Improvement:
The intention is safety management system will develop over the time to become increasingly
appropriate and useful for company.

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ldentify the internal and external sources of information about health and
safety?
Internal & External Information Sources:

Internal information sources:

1. Accident records
2. Medical records
3. Risk assessments
4. Maintenance reports
5. Safety representative inspections
6. Audit reports
7. Safety committee meeting minutes
External information sources:
1. National legislation (e.g. regulations)
2. Material safety data sheet from manufacturers
3. National codes of practice and guidance notes
4. Manufacturer operating instructions
S. Trade associations
6. Safety journals and magazines

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