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Why is Occupational Health & Safety so Important?
Reduced workers fatigue, reduced sickness of employees resulting in less absenteeism, reduced risk of injury at work( Repetitive Strain Injuries, Cumulative Trauma Disorders, etc.), increase in worker motivation and loyalty to employees resulting in less job turnover, increase in quality of output, increase in quantity of output and efficient work force are some of the obvious reasons why the health & safety policy is so important. Moreover occupational health & safety guidelines help an organization in documenting each and every operation, thus taking a step forward towards implementation of any Total Quality Management( TQM) system. Assessment and proper documentation of health & safety regulations also helps to deal with workers claim. Making occupational health & safety an assessment manual for an organization requires identifying and scripting the following sections:
• Identify areas of Responsibility, Hazards, Assess Risk( Risk Assessment);
• List Job Safety Information;
• Decide on Emergency Arrangements, Maintenance of Controls, Routine Inspections, Training Records;
• Finally, Prepare The Action List.
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Each of the sections mentioned above will require one or more formats to be prepared and filled up.
Area of responsibility
Define your nature( field) and area( physical dimension) of responsibilities. For example, all managers are responsible for:
• Physical condition of premises, equipment, vehicles under their control;
• Activities carried out by people working in the premises;
• Staff working for them whilst on the premises and any other visitors or contract workers.
Fill up Area of Responsibility Form drawing out boundaries of responsibility, including storerooms, plant areas and access routes. Identify the Responsible Managers for every concerned department by their name. Record the equipment of that department in separate form.
Hazards
Hazards and hazardous activities in the workplace
A hazard is a situation with the potential for causing injury. First identify the physical hazards that are present in your workplace. The only way to do this is by a thorough initial inspection of all the areas within your area of control. Identify the preventive and control measures in specific situations, for example if a stack of
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ESSENTIALS
Accidents are not the result of mere hazardous conditions, but it’ s also the result of‘ unsafe working practices’, or in other words‘ hazardous activities’.
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cartons were to fall, or if the cutting m / c blade were to touch the finger, or if the broken m / c needle were to spring back to eye.
Accidents are not only the result of hazardous conditions, but also result in unsafe working practices, or in other words,‘ hazardous activities’. Observe the jobs people do in your area, both as part of their normal work or as an occasional task. Record all activities in your area on a form. Remember, some people may do a variety of different activities as part of their job. For example, a sewing room helper may do both pocket marking and pocket folding. Give each task a reference number. Then, identify special hazards directly related to work and arrange training to avoid contact with potential hazards.
The control measures may be:
• In the form of physical safeguards, such as guarding machines, using barriers or control systems;
• Dependant on information and instruction given in site rules or warning notices;
• Relying on training and close supervision;
• Personal protection.
For each hazard, decide how the potential for injury is controlled; for example, the stack of cartons being supported by railing, using protective wire gloves while cutting or ensuring protection through a glass fitted in front of the machine while engaged
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