Submitted by: Abrenica, Christine Cabuhat, Merry Ann De Guzman, Franz Jay Diaz, Myra Jalyn Magno, BSA32KB1

Submitted to: Mr. Laurente Ferrer

Health, Safety and Post-Employment

With colleagues around the world, we share a vision that the workplace can be a place where the health is protected and accidents and diseases are prevented. Some workplaces go further, and demonstrate that the workplace can be a setting for improvement or creation of good health.
-World Health Organization (WHO)-

Health, Safety and Post-Employment Occupational Health and Safety Other HRM Functions Health and Safety Programs and Activities y Accident Prevention y y y y Recruitment Training and Development Compensation Labor Relations

Post-Employment y y y y Termination Lay-off Disability/ Death Retirement

Organizational Goals y y y y y y Profit Productivity Employee Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction Development of New/ Better Products Expansion to Global Market

Strategic Relationship of Health, Safety and Post-Employment with Other HRM Functions

Definition and Importance

Health  World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity. Occupational Health  Deals with diseases, injury, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and other conditions that happen in the workplace. Occupational Illness  Is any illness caused by environmental factors, the exposure to which is unique to a particular process, trade or occupation and to which an employee is not ordinarily subjected or exposed outside of or away from such employment. Safety  Is the state of being certain that some agent under defined conditions will not cause adverse effects. Occupational Safety  Means dealing with accidents that are primarily a result of human and/or technical error. Workers Health and Safety Benefits: 1. Healthy workers are productive and raise healthy families. They are a key strategy for overcoming poverty. But workplace health risks are higher in the informal sector and small industries, which are key arenas of action on poverty alleviation and where people can work their way out of poverty. 2. Safe workplaces contribute to sustainable development. The processes of protecting workers, surrounding communities, and the environment for future generations have important common elements, such as pollution control, and exposure reduction. Pollution and other hazardous environmental exposures from industrial processes may be influenced by occupational health and safety programs.

3. Occupational safety and health can contribute to improving the employability of workers through workplace (re)design, maintenance of a healthy and safe work environment, training and retraining, assessment of work demands, medical diagnosis, health screening, and assessment of functional capacities. 4. Occupational health is fundamental to public health, for it is increasingly clear that major diseases (such as HIV/AIDS and heart disease) need workplace programs as part of the disease control strategy.

The Philippine Occupational Safety and Health Standards manual considers the following hazardous workplaces: 1. Where the nature of work exposes the workers to dangerous environmental elements, contaminants, or work conditions including ionizing radiation, chemicals, fire, flammable substances, noxious components and the like; 2. Where the workers are engaged in construction work, logging, fire fighting, mining, quarrying, blasting, stevedoring, dock work, deep-sea fishing, and mechanized farming; 3. Where the workers are engaged in the manufacture or handling of explosives, and other pyrotechnic products; 4. Where the workers use or actuated tools; and are exposed to power-driven or explosive powder-

5. Where the workers are exposed to biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, nematodes, and other parasites.

Health and Safety Programs

The Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) describes a health and safety programs as a definite plan of action designed to prevent accidents and occupational diseases. The CCOHS has an online publication of the basic guidelines and principles for companies in making or reengineering their own health and safety programs.

According to the CCOHS, while the organizations have different needs and scope for specific areas required in their health and safety programs, they should however consider the following basic elements in each case. 1. Individual Responsibility  Individual responsibilities apply to every employee in the workplace, including the Chief Executive Officer. When a safety coordinator has been appointed, it is best to spell out his/her responsibilities as well. All employees will then know exactly what is expected of each individual in health and safety terms. Health and safety are not just an extra part of an employees job. It is an integral, fulltime component of each individuals responsibilities. 2. Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee  An effective safety program needs the cooperation of all the employees. An occupational health and safety committee is a forum for cooperative involvement of employees representing both labor and management. 3. Health and Safety Rules  Governmental health and safety regulations represent minimum requirements. In almost cases, organizations will have to augment these regulations with specific rules. These rules must be followed to achieve a healthful and safe workplace. 4. Correct Work Procedures  Correct work procedures are the safest way of doing a job, monitoring performance, and investigating accidents.  Job Safety Analysis (JSA), also known as job hazard analysis, is the first step in developing the correct procedures. In this analysis, each task of a specific job is examined to identify hazards and determine the safest way to do job. JSA is generally carried out by observing a worker doing the job. 5. Employee Orientation  Health and safety education should start with employee orientation or when an employee joins the organization or is transferred to a new job. Orientation sessions normally cover such items as explanation of the function of the work unit, organizational relationships, administrative arrangements, and miscellaneous policies and rules.

6. Emergency Procedures  These are plans for dealing with emergencies such as fire, explosions, and major releases of hazardous materials, violent occurrences, or natural hazards. The objective of emergency procedures is to prevent or minimize fatalities, injuries and damages. 7. Medical First Aid  First-aid facilities and the provision of medical aid are generally prescribed under health and safety legislation or workers compensation legislation. 8. Health and Safety Promotion  Studies have shown that the effectiveness of health and safety educational techniques depends largely on how much importance management gives to health and safety in the workplace. Where management, by its actions, has shown that it is sincerely concerned, interest in the program can be maintained at a high level. Accountability for individual performance is a key motivator. 9. Workplace Specific Items  The elements of OH&S programs apply to all basic health and safety programs. In addition, specific items may be needed to address workplace specific activities. 10. Implementation  A good health and safety programs provides clear set of guidelines for activities that, if followed rigorously, will reduce accidents and cases of occupational disease. The key to success is the manner in which the program is implemented and maintained. 11. Evaluation  Rather than relying solely on injury rates or after-the-event measures, it is desirable to use an audit as a before-the-fact measure of the effectiveness of an OH&S program. An audit uses a checklist where each element is subdivided into a series of questions. Records, observations, interviews and questionnaires are used to evaluate performance for each sub-element.

Accidents and Accident Prevention

Accidents  Are the results of unexpected happening.  CCOHS defines accident as an unplanned event that interrupts the completion of an activity, and that may or may not include injury or property damage.

Common Causes of Accidents

1. Task  Explores the actual work procedure being used at the time o the accident. 2. Material  Seeks out possible causes resulting from the equipment and materials used. 3. Environment  Identifies the physical environment especially sudden changes to that environment. What is important is the situation at the time of the accident, not what the usual conditions are. 4. Personnel  Explore the physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved in the event. The purpose for investigating the accident is not to establish blame against someone; but the injury will not be complete unless personal characteristics are considered. 5. Management  Management holds the legal responsibility for the safety of the workplace; therefore, the role of supervisors and higher management must always be considered in an investigation of the accident.

Accident Prevention
1. Reducing unsafe conditions  Means eliminating the potential physical hazards in the workplace. Examples of unsafe work conditions are: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Unguarded or improperly guarded machines Poor housekeeping Defective equipment and tools Poor lighting Poor or improper ventilation Improper dress Sharp edges

 These potential hazards may be eliminated by careful inspection of the workplace and identifying and removing the potential hazards. A modification of the workplace from the simplest to the more complicated must be done to prevent accidents. 2. Reducing unsafe acts  Suggest minimizing the likelihood of the workers committing fatal mistake or error while performing their jobs. Unsafe acts may be reduced through various means: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Careful selection and placement of employees Posters and other propaganda materials Training Incentive programs and positive reinforcements Top management commitment Emphasis on safety Establishment of a safety policy Setting specific loss control goals Conducting safety and health inspections Monitoring work overload and stress