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OSH Intro

The document discusses occupational safety and health standards and programs. It outlines the goals of occupational safety which are to foster a safe work environment and protect employees and the public. It also discusses types of workplace hazards, allocating safety officers, and costs of accidents.

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janina balhag
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18 views

OSH Intro

The document discusses occupational safety and health standards and programs. It outlines the goals of occupational safety which are to foster a safe work environment and protect employees and the public. It also discusses types of workplace hazards, allocating safety officers, and costs of accidents.

Uploaded by

janina balhag
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BASIC OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

● Occupational health and safety standards are in place to mandate the removal,
reduction, or replacement of job site hazards.
● OHS programs should also include material that helps minimize the effects of the
hazards. A hazard control program consists of all steps necessary to protect workers
from exposure to a substance or system, the training and the procedures required to
monitor worker exposure and their health to hazards such as chemicals, materials or
substance, or other types of hazards such as noise and vibration. A written workplace
hazard control program should outline which methods are being used to control the
exposure and how these controls will be monitored for effectiveness.
● Employers and company management are obliged to provide a safe working
environment for all of their employees.
● Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health
and safety (OHS), is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and
welfare of people at occupation. These terms also refer to the goals of this field.
● The goal of an occupational safety and health program is to foster a safe and healthy
occupational environment. OSH also protects all the general public who may be affected
by the occupational environment.
● In common-law jurisdictions, employers have a common law duty, (also called duty of
care) to take reasonable care of the safety of their employees.
● Statute law may, in addition, impose other general duties, introduce specific duties, and
create government bodies with powers to regulate occupational safety issues: details of
this vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Terminologies
1. Safety - protection from injury and well being of the individual.
2. Health - protection of the body and mind from illnesses.
3. Welfare - provision of facilities to maintain the health and well being of the individuals in
the workplace.
4. Hazard - The way in which an object or situation may cause harm.
5. Exposure - the extent to which the recipient of the harm is exposed to or the state of
being exposed to contact or influenced with harm.
6. Risk - chance that such effects of harm will occur.

Types of Hazards in a Workplace


1. Physical Hazards - environmental factors that can harm an employee without necessarily
touching them. Examples:
-Energy
-Noise
-Radiation
-Vibration
-Extreme temperature
2. Chemical Hazards - hazardous substances that can cause harm. These hazards can result
in both health and physical impacts, such as skin irritation, respiratory system irritation,
blindness, corrosion and explosions. Examples:
-Substances or explosive mixtures
-Flammable
-Toxic
-Corrosive
3. Biological Hazards - hazards that can cause adverse health impacts. For example, mold,
blood and other bodily fluids, harmful plants, sewage, dust and vermin, viruses, bacteria, and
protozoans.
4. Psychosocial - include hazards that can have an adverse effect on an employee’s mental
health or wellbeing. For example, sexual harassment, victimisation, stress and workplace
violence.
5. Ergonomics - Hazards which refers to the physical factors which harm the skeletal and
muscular systems. For example, a poor workstation setup in an office, poor posture and manual
handling.
6. Safety Hazards - These are hazards that create unsafe working conditions. For example,
exposed wires or a damaged carpet might result in a tripping hazard. These are sometimes
included under the category of physical hazards.

Safety Officer(s) Allocation


Hazardous Workplace:
Number of Workers: Number of Safety Officer:

200 and below 1 part-time Safety Officer


Over 200 1 full-time Safety Officer
For every 1000 workers 1 full-time Safety Officer

Non-hazardous Workplace:
Less than 1000 1 full-time Safety Officer
For every 1000 workers 1 full-time Safety Officer

Cost of Accidents and Diseases


1. Direct costs are also referred to as insured costs. They are usually considered as those
costs covered by workers compensation insurance and other minor medical costs for the
accident. The company pays insurance to cover these costs.
For a self-insured employer, direct injury costs include:
● Claim Cost – 80%
● Administrative Cost -10%
● Excess Premium -8%
● Other – 2%
These direct costs can be broken down into the following categories:
● Medical treatment
● Hospitalization where required
● Prescription drugs
● A weekly wage replacement sum
● Insurance company administrative costs and profit
● Rehabilitation expenses.
2. Indirect costs are those costs that are not direct damage expenses, pre-funded loss
allocations or losses covered by insurance.
This list gives examples of indirect or uninsured costs:
● Lost production time.
● Productive time lost by an injured employee.
● Productive time lost by employees and supervisors helping the accident victim.
● Cleanup and startup of operations interrupted by an accident.
● Cost of continuing all or part of the employee’s wages, plus compensation.
● Reduced morale among your employees, and perhaps lower efficiency.
● Cost of completing paperwork generated by the accident.
● Lost of Productivity or Service Standards
● Additional Supervision Time and Administrative Costs
● Temporary Labor and Overtime Costs
● OSHA Fines
● Building and/or Vehicle Damage
● Equipment Damage
● Product/Material Damage
● Emergency Supplies
● Interim Equipment Rentals
● Accident Investigation Costs
● Accommodations/Modifications Made for Injured or Potentially Disabled Worker
● Recruiting, Hiring and Training Replacement Workers
● Loss of Business and Goodwill

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