Chapter One

INTRODUCTION TO
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH
 Objectives of this Chapter

1.0 To understand the

occupational safety and health
 Definition the concepts of
occupational safety and health

The means by which an organisation

controls risk through the management
process.

Health & Safety Executive

Part of the overall management system that
facilities the management of the OH&S risks
associated with the business of the organisation.

This includes the organisational structure, planning

activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures,
processes and resources for developing and
achieving, reviewing and maintaining the
organisations OH&S policy.

British Standards Institute

 Definition cont.
Act: General law.e.g.NSW OHS Act 2000

Regulation: More specific law under act i.e. NSW

OHS Regulation 2001

Codes of Practice: Practical guidelines produced to

encourage best practice (not law but guides)

OSH Standards (ensure good design, safety &

efficiency for a range of items and practices): Law
only when referred to in other legal documents (eg
contracts or regulations).
5
 The history of
occupational safety and health
1800s Industrial Revolution, number of
workers increase exponentially, with little
concern for worker safety
Mines, factories (ex. textile mills), industrial
plants
Child labor a significant portion of labor pool
From 1880-1920, American work force
increases from 28 to 42 million workers, mostly
in manufacturing and heavy industry
 History cont.
By 1900s worker hours allow little to no time for life
outside work (14-18 hr days)
Safety still an issue, in 1908, 1 out of every 50 workers
were killed or suffered a major injury on the job
Unions begin forming successfully (1910-1920) and
lobby to shorten work days to 10 hours
By 1920 all but 6 states have established workers
compensation laws (by 1930 all states)
 Pre OSHA Workers
Rights & Safety
Unions organizing in part over worker safety
1920s, the Workers Health Bureau, a research & advocacy
group for workers
1935, the Social Security Act, for unemployment
compensation & retirement
1938, Fair Labor Standards Act, establishes first minimum
standard of living for workers (wage)
1966 & 1969, The Mine Safety Act, & Federal Coal Mine
Safety Act, set basic standards for work place safety in mines
 WHATS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY?
IN THE YEAR 2003, MORE PEOPLE WERE
KILLED IN WORK RELATED INCIDENTS
THAN THOSE KILLED IN NATIONAL
ROAD TOLL IN THE WORLD

THAT IS MORE THAN 2000 PEOPLE DEAD

EVERY YEAR !!!
9
Georg Christoph Licthenstein
(1742-1799)
I cannot say whether things will
get better if we change, what I can
say is that they must change to get
better

Safety in the world must change

to get better
 Quotable Quote
A health & safety problem can be
described by statistics but cannot be
understood by statistics. It can only be
understood by knowing and feeling the
pain, anguish, and depression and shattered
hopes of the victim and of wives,
husbands, parents, children, grandparents
and friends
 Quotable Quote

and the hope, struggle and triumph of

recovery and rehabilitation in a world often
unsympathetic, ignorant, unfriendly and
unsupportive, only those with close
experience of life-altering personal damage
have this understanding"
 Facts

Far too many people killed and seriously

injured due to work
We really do not know how many
Evidence to suggest incidence of some life-
altering personal damage is getting worse
 Workplace Safety

Awareness training for

support staff working
in department

e.g Disability Employment Service

 The important of safety in
the workplace

IMPROVE EMPLOYEE MORALE AND

SATISFACTION

PREVENTING RECURRENCE

IMPROVEMENTS TO WORK
ENVIRONMENT
 The important of safety in
the workplace

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

IMPROVEMENT OF OPERATIONAL &

SAFETY PROCEDURES

RAISES SAFETY AWARENESS LEVEL

 The important of safety in
the workplace

LOWER EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS

REDUCED EXPENSES RELATED TO

INJURIES AND ILLNESS

REDUCED ABSENTEEISM
The important of safety in
the workplace

WHEN AN ORGANIZATION REACTS

SWIFTLY AND POSITIVELY TO
ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES, ITS
ACTIONS REAFFIRM ITS
COMMITMENT TO THE SAFETY AND
WELL-BEING OF ITS EMPLOYEES
 There are several ways to safe in the
workplace, including:

Inspections and audits

Hazard reports
Job analysis
Health monitoring data
Material safety data sheets
Workplace environment monitoring data
The major safety terminologies

Use "personal damage occurrence" not

"accident"
Use "life-altering personal damage" not
"permanent disability"
Concept Terminology
Concept-related Terminology
Operational Concept

Example:
High-level Concept
High-level Description of
ATM Services and Environment

Concept of Operations (Use)

Operational/User Needs/Requirements
Operational Procedures
Airspace Organisation
Functions and Processes
Interactions and Information Flows
Involved Actors
Roles and Responsibilities
Definition of accident

AN ACCIDENT IS AN UNDESIRED AND

UNPLANNED EVENT,
MAINLY CAUSED BY HUMAN ERROR
AND/OR HIGH RISK CONDITIONS
THAT RESULTS IN OR HAS THE
POTENTIAL FOR PHYSICAL HARM TO
PERSONS AND/OR DAMAGE TO
PROPERTY AND/OR INTERRUPTION OF
BUSINESS.
 Basic types of accidents
MINOR ACCIDENTS:

Such as paper cuts to fingers or dropping a

box of materials.
 THE ACCIDENT
MAJOR ACCIDENTS:

More serious accidents that cause injury or

damage to equipment or property:

Such as a forklift dropping a load or

someone falling off a ladder
 THE ACCIDENT
Accidents that occur over an extended time
frame:
Such as hearing loss or an illness resulting from
exposure to chemicals
 THE ACCIDENT
NEAR-MISS
Also know as a Near Hit

An accident that does not quite result in

injury or damage (but could have).

Remember, a near-miss is just as serious as

an accident!
 Types of Accidents
FALL TO CONTACT WITH
same level chemicals
lower level electricity
CAUGHT heat/cold
in radiation
on BODILY REACTION
between FROM
voluntary motion
involuntary motion
 Types of Accidents
(continued)
STRUCK RUBBED OR
Against ABRADED BY
stationary or moving friction
object
pressure
protruding object
sharp or jagged edge vibration
By
moving or flying object
falling object
 THE ACCIDENT

ACCIDENTS HAVE TWO THINGS IN

COMMON
 THE ACCIDENT
They all have outcomes from the accident
 THE ACCIDENT

They all have contributory factors that cause

the accident
 Causes of accidents

Implies carelessness
Inability to foresee and prevent
Personal failure
Affects how people perceive
incidents and those involved
 contd.

Community has poor understanding of why

personal damage occurs
Blame the worker
 The Three Basic Causes
Poor Management Safety Policy & Decisions
Personal Factors Basic Causes
Environmental Factors

Unsafe
Unsafe Act Indirect Causes Condition

Unplanned release of energy ACCIDENT

and/or Personal Injury
Hazardous material Property Damage
s es Business Interuptions
a u
t C
irec
D
 Examples of Accident Causes
Direct Causes Indirect Causes Basic Causes
Struck Failure to secure No oversight
by/against
Falls Guarding Poor
maintenance
Caught Improper use Training
in/between
Exertion Unsafe position Policies
Contact with. Environmental Stress
Impact (vehicle) Defect Engineering
Any Questions ???