Unit 1A

(1)

Internation

International

al Diploma in

Diploma in Occupational

Occupational

Safety and Health

(2)

International Diploma - Course Contents

Unit 1

Unit 1 Principles of Health and Safety ManagementPrinciples of Health and Safety ManagementPrinciples of Health and Safety ManagementPrinciples of Health and Safety Management

Element 1A – Fundamentals of

Element 1A – Fundamentals of Health and Safety ManagementHealth and Safety Management

Preventing Accidents 1A1

International Occupational Health and Safety Framework 1A2

Health and Safety Management Systems 1A3

Risk Assessment 1A4

Safe Workplace 1A5

Control of Contractors 1A6

Safe Systems of Work 1A7

Personal Protective Equipment 1A8

Human Failure 1A9

Role of the Health and Safety Practitioner 1A10

Protecting the Environment 1A11

Engaging the Workforce 1A12

Element 1B – Applied Health and Safety Management Element 1B – Applied Health and Safety Management

Fire 1B1

Explosion 1B2

Major Accident Hazards 1B3

Emergency Control 1B4

Work Equipment 1B5

Occupational Transport and Driving 1B6

Mechanical Handling and Lifting Operations 1B7

Electrical Safety 1B8

Pressure Systems 1B9

Carriage of Dangerous Goods 1B10

Construction and Demolition 1B11

Working at Height 1B12

Working in Confines Spaces 1B13

Lone Working 1B14

Violence against Employees 1B15

(3)

BSC International Diploma

BSC International Diploma |

Unit 1

Element 1A:

Element 1A: Fundamentals of

Fundamentals of Health and

Health and Safety

Safety Management

Management

Study Unit Title

Page

1A1

Preventing

Preventing Accidents

Accidents

ACCIDENTS, I

ACCIDENTS, INCIDENTS ANNCIDENTS AND NEAR MISSES D NEAR MISSES ... 3... 3

INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 3

DEFINITION OF A CCIDENT,INCIDENT ANDNEARMISS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3

R ELATIONSHIPBETWEEN A CCIDENTS,INCIDENTS ANDNEARMISSES ... ... ... ... ... ... 4

WHAT WHAT CAUSES CAUSES ACCIDENTACCIDENTS S ... ... 66 DOMINOTHEORY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6

UNSAFE A CTS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 8

UNSAFECONDITIONS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9

MULTI-C AUSALTHEORIES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 10

COSTS COSTS ARISING ARISING FROM FROM ACCIDENTS ...ACCIDENTS ... ... 1212 CONSIDERINGOUTCOMES OF EVENTS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 12

INSURED ANDUNINSUREDCOSTS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14

ACCIDENT CO ACCIDENT COST ANALYSIS ....ST ANALYSIS ... ... 1616 DIRECT ANDINDIRECTLOSSES... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 16

COSTBENEFITGRAPH ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17

R ISKCONTROLCOSTDECISIONS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17

C ALCULATING A CCIDENTCOSTS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18

REASONS REASONS FOR FOR PREVENTING PREVENTING ACCIDENTS ...ACCIDENTS ... ... 1919 MORAL ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 19

LEGAL ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 19

ECONOMIC ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 19

ACCIDENT PREVE ACCIDENT PREVENTION STRATEGNTION STRATEGY ...Y ... 20.... 20

(4)

BSC International Diploma - Element 1A | Fundamentals of Health and Safety Management

BSC

BSC International

International Diploma

Diploma |

|

Unit 1

Element 1A: Fundamentals of Health and Safety Management

Study Unit 1A1 | Preventing Accidents

Learning Outcomes

When you have worked through this Study Unit, you will be able to:

1.A.1.1 Explain the importance of and relationship between incidents and accidents 1.A.1.2 Explain why accidents occur

1.A.1.3 Explain the costs of accidents 1.A.1.4 Explain the need to prevent accidents 1.A.1.5 Implement an accident prevention strategy

(5)

Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses

Introduction

According to estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the number of job-related accidents and illnesses, which annually claim more than two million lives, appears to be rising because of rapid industrialisation in some developing countries.

An assessment of workplace accidents and illness indicates that the risk of occupational_{disease has become the most prevalent danger faced by people at their jobs, accounting for} 1.7 million annual work-related deaths and out pacing fatal accidents by four to one. In estimates, the ILO found that in addition to job-related deaths, each year there are some 268 million non-fatal workplace accidents in which the victims miss at least three days of work as a result, as well as 160 million new cases of work-related illness. The ILO has previously estimated that workplace accidents and illness are responsible for the loss of some four per cent of the world’s GDP in compensation and absence from work.

Broken down by region, the figures indicate that workplace accidents have levelled off in many industrialised and newly-industrialised countries, while some countries (now undergoing rapid development in Asia and Latin America) are experiencing increases. For example, the ILO analysis showed that while the number of fatal and non-fatal workplace accidents held steady or declined in most regions, in China the estimated number of fatal accidents rose from 73,500 in 1998 to 90,500 in 2001, while accidents causing three or more days absence from work increased from 56 million to 69 million. Meanwhile, in Latin America, a rise in the total number of persons employed and growth in the construction sector, particularly in Brazil and Mexico, appear to have lead to an annual increase in fatal accidents from 29,500 to 39,500 over the same time period.

Faced with a rising toll of occupational-related death, injury and sickness, international bodies such as the ILO, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, and others highlight the need for a preventative safety culture worldwide.

Definition of Accident, Incident and Near Miss

According to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) document HSG65, accidents, incidents and near misses are defined accordingly:

Incident

An incident is an event that includes all undesired circumstances and “near misses’’ that could cause accidents.

Accident

The HSE defines an accident as “any undesired circumstances which give rise to: ill-health or injury; damage to property, plant, products or the environment; production losses or increased liabilities”. This would suggest that an accident is anevent with an adverse outcomeevent with an adverse outcome that results from a combination of undesired circumstances.

Near Miss

Near misses (or near hits) are any form of incident that could have resulted in injury or loss but did not. Examples include:

A worker realises that the guard is missing and pulls his hand out, just getting a smear of oil on his fingers.

(6)

A piece of material is ejected from a machine and lands on the floor of the workshop some distance away, missing the window.

A worker runs into the car park and stumbles, but regains her balance and carries on unharmed.

Relationship Between Accidents, Incidents and

Relationship Between Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses

Near Misses

Activities at work often give rise to incidents. The outcome of these incidents may (but not

necessarily do) cause harm to people as well as loss. Accidents are a particular type of incident and these result in loss, personal (minor) injury, serious injury or death. Where no such outcome results, the incident is classified as a near miss.

Accident Ratio Studies and Their Limitations

There appears to be a relationship between a number of different types of accident. F. E. Bird

F. E. Bird used accident data to produce the following accident triangleaccident triangle:

Bird’s Accident Ratio Triangle Bird’s Accident Ratio Triangle

Other researchers have produced similar accident ratio triangles:

It is interesting to note the variations in the findings of these surveys although, regardless of the actual data presented there is a consistent pattern that shows that there are always many more near misses than serious injuries. What should be obvious is that the larger figure of near miss incidents is a much better measure of accident potential than the smaller figure of actual injuries.

1

10

30

600

Serious or disabling injury

Minor injuries (first-aid injuries)

Damage accidents

Accidents with no damage - near miss accidents

1 60 400 Fatal Major Over-3-day 1 29 300

Major or lost time

Minor No injury accidents RIDDOR RIDDOR Heinrich Heinrich

(7)

Problems can arise when using accident ratios as a means of predicting accident rates in the workplace and comparing performance. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the basis on which the statistics were srcinally prepared is the same, or that the workplaces themselves being assessed are directly comparable. Where this is not the case, any comparison with other organisations would be meaningless.

Another limitation of statistical analysis is the extent to which the numbers involved allow meaningful conclusions to be drawn. This is known as "statistical significance". Often, the numbers for an individual workplace are too low to allow meaningful comparisons with the much larger numbers involved across the industry as a whole.

(8)

What Causes Accidents

Domino Theory

According to HeinrichHeinrich:

"A preventable accident is one of five factors in a sequence that results in an injury. The injury is invariably caused by an accident and the accident in turn is always the result of the factor that immediately precedes it."

The five factors in his accident sequence are summarised in the following table. Heinrich's Accident Sequence

Heinrich's Accident Sequence Accident Factors

Accident Factors DescriptionDescription

1. Ancestry and social environment

Recklessness, stubbornness, greed and other undesirable traits of character that may be passed along through inheritance. Environment may develop undesirable traits of character or may interfere with education. Both inheritance and environment may cause faults of person.

2. Fault of person

Inherited or acquired faults of person such as recklessness, violent temper, nervousness, excitability. These constitute reasons for committing unsafe acts or for the existence of mechanical or physical hazards.

3. Unsafe act and/or mechanical or physical hazard

Unsafe performance of persons such as: standing under danger areas, careless starting of machines, removal of safeguards and horseplay; mechanical or physical hazards such as unguarded gears or points of operation, insufficient light, which result in accidents?

4. Accident

Events such as falls of persons, striking of persons by flying objects, etc. are typical accidents that cause injury.

5. Injury

Fractures, lacerations, etc. are injuries that result directly from accidents.

(9)

Bird and Loftus

Bird and Loftus extended Heinrich's theory to encompass the influence of managementmanagement in the cause and effect of accidents. They suggested a modified sequence of events as follows: 1. Lack of control by management.

2. This permits the existence of basic or underlying causes (i.e. personal and job factors). 3. In turn, this leads to immediate causes (such as unsafe acts or unsafe conditions) 4. Which leads to the incident in question.

5. Finally resulting in some kind of loss

This modified sequence can be applied to every accident and is of basic importance to loss control management.

The major point that Heinrich and Bird makes is that a preventable injury is the natural culmination of a series of events or circumstances that occur in a fixed logical order. Here an analogy can be made with a row of dominoes placed on end such that if one falls it will cause the next to fall and so on throughout the series If one of the dominoes is removed then the chain of events will be halted.

Accident Domino Sequence Accident Domino Sequence

Similarly, if the accident sequence is interrupted by the elimination of even one of the factors that comprise it, then the loss cannot occur and the accident has been prevented. In the case of the accident sequence, perhaps the easiest factor to eliminate is Number 3 “the immediate causes” which we define as "unsafe act and/or unsafe conditionsunsafe act and/or unsafe conditions".

Unsafe acts and conditions are often caused by a range of underlying causes such as lack of policy or procedure, poor training, no systems of work, poor supervision etc which in turn may be due to a lack of interest or support of senior management.

To quote from HSG65: “The immediate cause (of an accident) may be a human or technical failure, but they usually arise from organisational failings which are the responsibility of management.” Accident Loss Lack of Management Control Basic underlying Causes Immediate causes

(10)

Unsafe Acts

Let us consider an example. In a wood yard, some lengths of timber were being stacked when the “siren” sounded to signal the start of the morning tea-break. The stackers quickly finished their job and went for tea. After tea they resumed work in another part of the yard. Unfortunately, they had left some of the timber in the first stack sticking out into the access path. Later, at dusk, another employee came along, omitted to turn on the appropriate yard lights and tripped over the poorly-stacked timber.

In another example, in the same yard, one of the other workers used a defective ladder, with the result that he fell and broke his arm and sustained laceration to a leg in addition to other superficial injuries. Subsequent investigation revealed that the ladder had a non-slip safety foot on only one leg and that it had been too long for the job in hand. The result was that it was pitched at an excessively shallow angle, consequently causing it to slip at its base. In both examples, accidents occurred because of unsafe acts. In one case, a third party was injured; in the other, the unsafe act was done by the injured party.

Examples of Unsafe Acts

Unsafe acts of persons may be considered under the following headings: Operating without authority.

Operating or working at unsafe speed. Rendering safety devices inoperative.

Using unsafe equipment, or using equipment unsafely. Unsafe methods, e.g. loading, carrying, mixing. Adopting unsafe position or posture.

Working on moving or dangerous equipment. Horseplay, e.g. distracting, teasing, startling.

Failure to wear safe clothing or use personal protective devices. Lack of concentration; fatigue or ill-health.

Types of Unsafe Act

From an accident prevention point of view, it is useful to classify two types of unsafe act: active

active and passivepassive.

Active Unsafe Acts Active Unsafe Acts

An obvious example of the active type of unsafe act is the case where a worker deliberately removes a safety guard, possibly to improve his rate of production. This act, coupled with the fact that he is now working faster, may produce more errors and/or stress. Many of these errors may go unnoticed, some may produce near-misses, but eventually, by the law of averages, an injury accident will ensue.

Of course, it is difficult to control a person’s behaviour, but the most effective measures have been found to be through proper training and adequate supervision.

Passive Unsafe Acts Passive Unsafe Acts

Passive unsafe acts are generally more difficult to deal with. An example here might be the failure of an employee to wear Personal Protection when clearly everyone knows that they

(11)

should. There will be a range of possible reasons why the protection is not worn and these passive acts are often very difficult to change. Modifications to behaviour can be made through participation and consultation schemes, training programmes and effective supervision.

Unsafe Conditions

Mechanical

For many years machinery has been responsible for many industrial accidents around the world. Government legislation was enacted improved techniques in machine guarding, ergonomic design and an increased awareness of moral and social responsibilities have combined to drastically reduce the number of injuries attributable to machinery accidents. This still leaves considerable cause for concern, because machine accident injuries are usually severe, and often result in partial or even permanent disablement.

Although there are regulations and standards relating to the fencing and guarding of dangerous machinery, most accidents arise because of lack of provision of adequate guards or because of failure to use the guards provided. Sometimes it is not possible to make guards that are 100% effective at all times and automatic and interlocking guards should not be regarded as infallible. Nevertheless, all guards should be well designed, correctly adjusted, adequately maintained and tested or inspected regularly.

Some machines may be left unguarded because they are presumed to be 'safe by position'. No machinery can really be safe by position because its relative safety depends upon the proximity of people, and a person near the machine is, or is not, safe by position. In one case, a drive shaft and motor were sited unguarded high up on an internal wall of a factory. It was thought to be safe by position. At some later date, when alterations were being carried out, a worker on a ladder outside the factory reached through a hole in the wall with the result that his arm was amputated.

Machines may sometimes be started by mistake or without the appropriate authorisation. One example is where a machine is stopped for routine maintenance or adjustment. This might not be obvious to the operative, particularly on a change of shift, who may start the machine, causing injury to the mechanic.

The remedy in such cases lies in the adoption of a safe system of work, including a permit-to-work. This commonly involves advising the supervisor at the start and completion of the job, removing fuses, locking or covering starter switches, and hanging the appropriate notices. It is essential the maintenance work should be unable to proceed without the necessary authorisation, duly signed by the appropriate supervisor as necessary.

Physical

Industrial psychologists have spent a great deal of time in examining how operator performance varies as external conditions change, the idea being that there is an optimum condition for performing each kind of task. For example, when conditions of lighting, heating, ventilation, humidity and noise are closely studied, it has been found there is some desirable range within which an operator will function efficiently. Anything outside that range, either too little or too much, will adversely affect his performance. However, many workers will make an extra effort to maintain a given output despite a deterioration of working conditions. In such cases it has been found that this is usually accompanied by an increase in the frequency and severity of accidents.

(12)

Temperature Temperature

Many experiments have been carried out on the effects of temperature. The main variables are air temperature, humidity, air flow and the operator's clothing and activity. The general consensus is that conditions for thermal comfort, work efficiency and minimum accident rates are much the same. Temperatures in the range 16-24°C appear to be acceptable for most people, with the heavier workloads at the low end of the range and sedentary tasks at the higher end. Very hard work, or the use of protective clothing, will lower this temperature range, while it will be raised by high air movement (which gives greater body cooling).

Noise Noise

The effect of noise is extremely complex. It is known that noise can damage the auditory mechanism and that prolonged exposure to levels above 120 dB (decibels) causes permanent damage. Lower levels interfere with speech and communication and there can also be interference with working efficiency. Errors have been found to increase with noise and non-auditory effects, such as loss of touch sensitivity, have been reported. Either of these effects could easily be responsible for an accident.

Examples of Unsafe Conditions

The following examples describe unsafe conditions from which an accident may result: Inadequate guarding; guards of inadequate height, strength, mesh, etc. Unguarded machinery or the absence of the required guards.

Defective, rough, sharp, slippery, decayed, cracked surfaces. Unsafely designed machines, tools.

Unsafe arrangement, poor housekeeping, congestion, blocked exits. Inadequate lighting, glare, reflection.

Inadequate ventilation, contaminated air.

Unsafe processes - mechanical, chemical, electrical, and nuclear. Hot, humid or noisy environment.

This is not to say that an unsafe act or unsafe condition alone could not result in an accident. For example, horseplay is an unsafe act that could take place in otherwise safe conditions, but could nevertheless result in an accident. Similarly, a person could be working in a perfectly safe manner, using safe equipment and materials that are without hazard, but suffer injuries as the result of the collapse of a floor riddled with woodworm and dry rot. (One could argue, however, that collapse of the floor was due to an unsafe act, i.e. failure to inspect the floor and supporting joists and failure to calculate the floor loadings.)

Multi-Causal Theories

There is often more than one cause of an accident, not only in sequence, but occurring at the same time. For example, a methane explosion requires:

Methane in the explosive range of 5% to 15%. Oxygen or air.

(13)

The ignition will only happen if these three events occur together. Each of the three events may, in themselves, be the end result of a number of different sequences of events. In accident investigation, all causes must be identified.

Systems Theory Systems Theory

This is another way of looking at a multiple cause situation.

Factories and processes may be treated as systems, i.e. an assembly of parts or components connected together in some organised way to perform some task, with inputs and outputs and various kinds of control mechanisms.

A systems approach is often useful in simplifying complex operations. Part of the system can be taken as a 'black box', with only the inputs and outputs considered.

System failures are prevented or minimised by components that cannot fail, by back-up systems, or by redundancy built into the system. Accidents happen in our system because it includes fallible components such as machines and human beings. The system is operating in the failure mode.

The essential features of the multiple causation approach are shown diagrammatically in the figure that follows.

Features of the Multiple Causation Approach Features of the Multiple Causation Approach Sub Causes Cause a Cause b Cause c Cause d Cause f Cause e Unsafe Act Unsafe Condition Accident Injury, Damage or Near-miss

(14)

Costs Arising from Accidents

Most accidents are minor in nature but may stop production for some time and lead to the injured employee being away from work for a few days. This involves the cost of lost production, and sick pay, etc. A major accident, on the other hand, can lead to a prolonged absence from work for the employee involved and the costs of an investigation during which equipment and machinery may be at a standstill.

Considering Outcomes of events

As explained earlier an accident is an event with an adverse outcomeevent with an adverse outcome that results from a combination of undesired circumstances.

Incidents include all loss making and non-loss making events but of course the outcome of any event is often a matter of chance and they may not lead to a loss at all. It is useful to consider the outcome of the event as being one of four types that can help us to determine the associated costs of the event:

A

A: Those causing no injury. B

B: Those causing no injury but damaging property. C

C: Those causing injury but no property damage. D

D: Those causing injury and property damage.

Incident Outcomes Incident Outcomes

no

no property property damage damage property property damagedamage

A B

No injury

No injury A person steps on banana skin -does not slip

Steps on banana skin slips -drops cup which breaks

C D

Injury

Injury Steps on banana skin slips -sprains ankle

Steps on banana skin slips -sprains ankle - drops cup which breaks

There will be costs associated with any event, even the no-injury/no property damage event might incur costs associated with reporting and recording the event. But of course the more insignificant the event, the less cost will be attributed.

Direct and Indirect Costs

Costs of accidents may be split into two types: Those relating directlydirectly to the incident. Those relating indirectlyindirectly to the incident. Some examples are given below:

(15)

Type A accidents Type A accidents

• Direct costsDirect costs

None.

• Indirect costsIndirect costs

Negligible. Possibly the cost associated with reporting and recording the “near miss”.

Type B Accidents Type B Accidents

• Direct CostsDirect Costs

− Cost of replacement property. − Cost of repair to property.

• Indirect CostsIndirect Costs

− Waste of material and time spent on job to date. − Downtime awaiting repair.

− Downtime awaiting replacement.

Type C Accidents Type C Accidents

• Direct CostsDirect Costs

− Costs of medical treatment - first-aid, ambulance, etc. − Compensation payments.

− Fines for breach of statutory duty. − Legal fees

• Indirect CostsIndirect Costs

Lost time Lost time due to:

− Workers stopping to assist sympathise or discuss the incident. − Machinery stoppage to free victim.

− Supervisors assisting victim. − Persons investigating accident. − Rearrangement of schedules. − Preparation of reports. − Attendances at courts of law. − Hospital visits.

− Visits to relatives.

Lost profit Lost profit due to:

− Loss of victim's production. − Cost of training replacement.

− Reduced productivity, wages and overtime. − Failure to meet production dates.

(16)

− Cancellation of orders. − Loss of future orders.

Lost overheads Lost overheads due to:

− Higher insurance premiums. − Plant and staff idle. − Cost of plant hire.

Incidental costs Incidental costs:

− Difficulty recruiting good staff. − Poor staff causing increase in waste. − Poor workers having more accidents.

Type D Accidents Type D Accidents

These are likely to include, at least, all the costs involved in Class B and C accidents.

Insured and Uninsured Costs

Employers will invariably take out insurance to cover themselves against potential losses caused by such events as fire and theft. In many countries they are also required by law to have insurance against certain types of liability, as discussed below. However, many of the costs involved in respect of accidents at work are not covered by insurance.

Uninsured costs include all indirect costs as well as those relating to loss of production as a result of many types of incident. In addition, the insurance to cover loss in respect of certain events may be void where it may be shown that the employer has not taken adequate precautions to prevent the incident.

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement in the UK (under the Employers’ LiabilityEmployers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998

(Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998) and without it a company cannot trade. It is required to cover the claims which may be brought in respect of the employer’s civil liabilities – such as negligence, breach of statutory duty, etc. – and the minimum insurance is for £5 million.

Insurance claims under employers’ liability insurance have outstripped premium increases in recent years, partly due to increased public awareness and concern about health. Also, people are more ready to claim, and compensation payments as well as legal costs are continuing to rise. These factors are causing great concern among insurers, who fear the future cost of today’s health hazards (particularly issues such as work-related upper limb disorder and passive smoking). Employers’ liability insurance premiums can rise dramatically for employers who cannot show evidence that risks are being managed, and some companies may well become uninsurable.

(17)

It is useful to be able to distinguish between the different cost elements and the following figure represents examples of types of accidents costs that make up the overall costs of an accident.

INSURED INSURED

Employers’ liability Business interruption II

D

D Public liability Product liability NN

II Damage to buildings DD

R

R Damage to vehicles II

E

E Sick pay Investigation costs RR

C

C Repairs Loss of goodwill EE

T

T Product lost/damaged Loss of corporate image CC

Hiring and training of replacement staff

T T

UNINSURED UNINSURED

Costs Associated with Accidents and Losses Costs Associated with Accidents and Losses

Each of these types of cost needs to be calculated. The easiest is the direct insured costs; a premium will be paid and any loss will (hopefully) be covered by the insurance. The indirect but insured costs will be partly covered by the insurance. Here the problem is that it is never possible to ensure that the entire cost can be forecast and so insured. In any case, the risk manager will be seeking to reduce the insurance burden by retaining risks that can be controlled in other ways.

The indirect and uninsured costs will need careful consideration, and are the costs of things like future loss of sales due to poor public image and loss of goodwill or the costs associated with the investigation itself or the recruitment of any replacement labour needed as a consequence of the accident:

In a survey undertaken by the HSE it was found that that for every £1 that employers spend on insurance, the uninsured costs of accidents over a year amounted to between 8 and 36 times that amount. This is the reason why the direct costs of accidents are often considered to be just the “tip of iceburg”.

(18)

Accident Cost Analysis

Direct and Indirect Losses

We have discussed the costs associated with accidents and when measuring potential losses, both indirect and direct losses must be considered. The problem here is that it is relatively straightforward to calculate the direct costs of an accident (if we have robust systems for capturing the data) but when calculating the indirect losses we may have to rely on reasonable assumptions and prediction which may not be entirely accurate but should be a close estimation so as to afford the opportunity for senior management to understand the impact of the accident on the financial standing of the business.

If we are going to capture, analyse and present accident cost data as part of our performance monitoring programme we need to have a reliable cost for an injury accident, and for damage accidents. This will usually involve filling in an accident cost sheet. The following is an example of such a form.

ACCIDENT COST SHEET ACCIDENT COST SHEET Location

Location

Description of Accident Description of Accident Type of Accident:

Type of Accident: Lost-time injury Damage/(delete those not applicable) Non-lost-time injury Details of injury

Details of injury to employee(s) and/or damage to plant, equipment or materials Date of accident

Date of accident Number of days lost

Number of days lost (lost-time injuries only) Cost Element

Cost Element £

1. Safety administration costs 2. Medical centre costs

3. Cost of lost time of injured employee 4. Cost of replacement labour

5. Costs of welfare (or other) payments (made by company) to employee

6. Cost of lost production

8. Cost of repair/replacement of damaged plant/equipment (a) Labour cost

(b) Materials cost

9. Cost of damaged materials 10. Other costs

Total £

Accident Cost Sheet Accident Cost Sheet

(19)

Cost Benefit Graph

There are costs involved with all accidents and losses. There will also be costs involved with accident prevention and risk reduction. It is possible to spend more on risk treatment than we save by the reduction of the losses. The cost-benefit graph is illustrated in the next figure.

Cost-Benefit Graph Cost-Benefit Graph

This graph shows the position where there is maximum benefit and suggests that there is a point where putting more money and resources into a project can achieve no further benefit and therefore is considered wasteful and unnecessary.

The safety practitioner is often asked to carry out such an analysis for the safety measures that he is proposing.

Risk Control Cost Decisions

Cost Areas

There is obviously a cost implication from controlling any kind of risk. These costs can be split into the following areas:

• OrganisationalOrganisational

These are the costs of staff, and the time involved in investigation, records and first-aid and medical provision.

• DesignDesign

Reduction of accidents will involve engineering aspects, such as the purchase and fabrication of safety devices. Safety systems need to be designed and programms for recording and costing losses will have to be tried out.

• PlanningPlanning

New safe methods of work, permit-to-work schemes and factory layouts could be considered here.

• OperationalOperational

Consideration must be given to the costs of running and maintaining safety systems, maintaining guards and interlocks, providing PPE as well as carrying out sampling and testing. POSITIVE BENEFIT COST OF SAFETY MAXIMUM BENEFIT NEGATIVE BENEFIT

+

− B E N E F I T 0

(20)

Calculating Accident Costs

The UK’s HSE has published a series of examples of accident costs. Students are encouraged to review the HSE website athttp://www.hse.gov.uk/costs/index.asp

(21)

Reasons for Preventing Accidents

Moral

It is widely accepted that moral reasons shouldshould be the prime reason for managing risk, although whether this is actually the case is open to debate in some cases.

There is a need for maintaining a moral code within our society. Without it, employers can be tempted to treat the health and safety of the workforce as being of lower importance than financial profit.

Moral reasons are based on the concept of an employer owing a duty of reasonable careduty of reasonable care to his or her employees. A person does not expect to risk life and limb, or physical health, as a condition of employment.

Society expects every employer to demonstrate a correct attitude to health and safety to his or her workforce. It is totally unacceptable to place employees in situations where their health and safety is at risk.

In addition to the obvious duties owed by an employer to his or her workers, he or she also has a moral obligation to protect other people whose health and safety may be affected by the undertaking, for example, contractors or members of the public.

Legal

Over the years, many moral obligations have been turned into health and safety legislation. The "duty of care" is seen in the UK’s common lawcommon law judgments. The UK’s Health andHealth and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974

Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)(HSWA), and Regulations made under it, follows a long list of legal enactments that reinforce the duty of care.

Many countries have introduced their own legal duties regarding the protection of workers from harm and where this is not the case adoption of other countries’ health and safety laws as best practice is common.

There are strong legal reasons for employers to manage risk: Preventive

Preventive - enforcement notices (improvement or prohibition) can be issued by enforcement inspectors.

Punitive

Punitive - where the criminal courts impose fines and i mprisonment for breaches of legal duties. These punishments can be given to the company or to individuals within the company.

Compensatory

Compensatory - where employees are able to sue in the civil courts for compensation.

Economic

As has been explained accidents and ill-health are costly and the indirect costs involved are often substantially more than direct costs. The financial burden placed on employers is often a key factor in the ownership and development of safety management systems that will help to reduce the costs of failure and sub-standard practice at work.

The Safety Practitioner will often be required to develop budgets and justifications for implementing safety initiatives and it is here that a sound knowledge and understanding of the costs associated with poor practice is essential if proposals and business cases are to be successful.

(22)

Accident Prevention Strategy

An accident prevention strategy is a long-term plan of action designed to prevent accidents from happening. Of course, the strategy may be aimed at specific accident types or may be more general. Accident prevention means implementing measures to prevent them from happening. It will, necessarily, involve identifying how accidents can occur.

We have already seen earlier in this study unit that accidents can result in different types of loss. The resulting cost to the company can be measured not only in terms of its effect on people’s lives, but also in terms of the financial cost to the business. We have also seen that behind serious incidents, there are many more near-miss events that could easily have led to something more serious – the underlying causes are the same. Therefore, because many of the causal factorsareare the same, it makes sense to use a total loss approach – where the aim is to control all accidental loss.

Accident prevention, when applied to a complex organisation, can be quite daunting. We have already considered the myriad causes of accidents – arising from workplace, organisational, personal, job factors, etc. Many causes can ultimately be linked to a failure (or lack) of management systems. An overall approach to long-term accident prevention is therefore to effectively manageeffectively manage it. This can be done by implementing a safety

(23)

BSC International Diploma

BSC International Diploma |

Unit 1

Element 1A:

Element 1A: Fundamentals of

Fundamentals of Health and

Health and Safety

Safety Management

Management

Study Unit Title

Page

1A2

International

International Occupational

Occupational Health

Health and

and Safety

Safety

Framework

THE MAIN FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF KEY INTERNATIONAL OHS ORGANISATIONS ... 3 THE MAIN FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF KEY INTERNATIONAL OHS ORGANISATIONS ... 3

INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 3 INTERNATIONALL ABOURORGANISATION(ILO) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 WORLDHEALTHORGANISATION(WHO) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 EUROPEANUNION(EU)L AW... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 THEEUROPEANTRADEUNIONINSTITUTE(ETUI) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 9 THEHEALTH ANDS AFETYEXECUTIVE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 10 OCCUPATIONALS AFETY ANDHEALTH A DMINISTRATION(OSHA)U.S. ... ... ... ... ... ... 11 N ATIONALINSTITUTE FOROCCUPATIONALS AFETY ANDHEALTH(NIOSH)U.S. ... ... ... ... ... 11 THEN ATIONALOCCUPATIONALHEALTH ANDS AFETYCOMMISSION(NOHSC) AUSTRALIA ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 BRITISHSTANDARDSINSTITUTION(BSI) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 GENERAL

GENERAL DUTIES DUTIES OF OF EMPLOYERS ...EMPLOYERS ... ... 1414 DUTIES OFEMPLOYER TOEMPLOYEES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14 DUTIES ONEMPLOYERS TONONEMPLOYEES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15 DUTIES OFPERSONS INCHARGE OFPREMISES TONON-EMPLOYEES ... ... ... ... ... ... 15

(24)

BSC International Diploma - Element 1A Fundamentals of Health and Safety Management

BSC

BSC International

International Diploma

Diploma |

|

Unit 1

Study Unit 1A2 | International Occupational Health and

Safety Framework

Learning Outcomes

When you have worked through this Study Unit, you will be able to:

1.A.2.1 Describe the functions of the key occupational health and safety informing bodies 1.A.2.2 Outline the principles underlying the general duties of employers in relation to occupational safety and health

(25)

The main functions and responsibilities of key

international OHS organisations

Introduction

The aim of all health and safety legislation, no matter what Country it applies to is to protect the workforce and others who might also be affected from foreseeable hazards and associated risks from an employers undertaking. International health and safety law has been developing since the 19th Century and many Country’s have suitable legislation in place to protect the workforce, however work practices and methods are constantly changing with technical progress and therefore legislation has to change to keep pace.

New legislation is also sometimes brought into force as result of International working groups and organisations raising awareness of particular work practices which continue to cause death and serious injury year after year such as ‘work at height’ or health issues such as ‘vibration’. These two topics have recently been the subject of European Union Directives and

implemented into the UK legal system as: Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.

In this section we shall review a number of key organisations along with their functions in relation to protecting workers from harm.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is built on the constitutional principle that universal and lasting peace can only be established if it is based upon social justice. The ILO is responsible for the eight-hour working day, maternity protection, child-labour laws, and a range of policies which promote workplace safety and peaceful industrial relations. The ILO is the international institutional framework which makes it possible to address such issues (and to find solutions) allowing working conditions to improve everywhere. No country or industry could have afforded to introduce any of these in the absence of similar and simultaneous action by its competitors.

How the ILO Works

The ILO has a tripartite structure unique in the United Nations, in which employers’ and workers’ representatives (the ‘social partners’ of the economy) have an equal voice with those of governments in shaping its policies and programmes.

The ILO also encourages this tripartism within its member States by promoting a ‘social dialogue’ between trade unions and employers in formulating, and where appropriate, implementing national policy on social, economic, and many other issues. Minimum international labour standards and the broad policies of the ILO are set by the International Labour Conference, which meets annually. Every two years, the Conference adopts the ILO’s biennial work programme and budget, which is financed by member States.

(26)

The Functions of the ILO

The ILO has four principal strategic objectives: 1.

1. To promTo promote aote and reand realise lise standards, standards, and fand fundamental undamental principles principles and rand rights aights att work:

work: 2.

2. To crTo create greaeate greater oppoter opportunities for rtunities for women women and and men men to secure to secure decentdecent employment:

employment: 3.

3. To eTo enhance the nhance the coverage coverage and eand effectiveness offectiveness of sociaf social prol protection fotection for ar all:ll: 4.

4. To To strengthen strengthen tripartism tripartism and and social social dialogue.dialogue. These objectives are realised in a number of ways:

Formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights, improve working and living conditions, and enhance employment opportunities. Creation of international labour standards – backed by a unique system to supervise their application – to serve as guidelines for national authorities in putting these policies into action.

An extensive programme of international technical co-operation formulated and implemented in an active partnership with constituents, to help countries in making these policies effective in practice.

Training, education, research, and publishing activities to help advance all of these efforts.

International Labour Standards - Conventions and Recommendations

International labour standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO's constituents and setting out basic principles and rights at work. They are either ‘conventions,’ ‘conventions,’ which are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified by member states, or

‘recommendations,’

‘recommendations,’ which serve as non-binding guidelines. In many cases, a convention lays down the basic principles to be implemented by ratifying countries, while a related recommendation supplements the convention by providing more detailed guidelines on how it could be applied. Recommendations can also be self governing, i.e. not linked to any convention.

Conventions and recommendations are drawn up by representatives of governments, employers and workers and are adopted at the ILO's annual International Labour Conference. Once a standard is adopted, member states are required under the ILO Constitution to submit them to their competent authority (normally the parliament) for consideration. In the case of conventions, this means consideration for ratification. If it is ratified, a convention generally comes into force for that country one year after the date of ratification. Ratifying countries commit themselves to applying the convention in national law and practice and reporting on its application at regular intervals. The ILO provides technical assistance if necessary. In addition, representation and complaint procedures can be initiated against countries for violations of a convention they have ratified.

(27)

World Day for Safety and Health at Work

In 2003, the ILO began promoting occupational safety and health across the globe as part of the annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Since the ILO began observing the day, (which is held on 28 April each year), the event has become one of global importance and is now marked in over 100 ILO member States. In 2005, the ILO SafeWork programme chose the theme “preventative safety and health culture,” with a focus on the construction industry and younger and older workers.

In 2010 the programme highlighted technological advance, emerging workplace risks, and changing patterns of employment and workforce.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

The WHO is a specialised agency of the United Nations governed by 193 Member States throughout the World Health Assembly. WHO promotes technical co-operation for health among nations, carries out programmes to control and eradicate disease, and strives to improve the quality of human life.

Its four main functions are:

To give world-wide guidance in the

To give world-wide guidance in the field of health.field of health. To set global standards for health.

To set global standards for health. To co-operate with governments in st

To co-operate with governments in strengthening national health programmes.rengthening national health programmes. To develop and t

To develop and transfer appropriate health technology, information andransfer appropriate health technology, information and standards.

standards.

Health is defined in WHO’s Constitution as: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

The main tasks of the World Health Assembly are to approve the WHO programme and the budget for the following biennium and to decide major policy questions.

WHO addresses occupational health through a programme in WHO headquarters, the six WHO regional offices and WHO country offices, with the support of a strong network of 70 Collaborating Centres.

Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All

WHO is implementing a global strategy to:

Provide evidence for policy, legislation and support to decision-makers, including work carried out to estimate the magnitude of the burden of occupational diseases and injuries. Provide infrastructure support and development through capacity building, information dissemination and networking.

(28)

WHO also assists countries to develop or upgrade their national occupational health profiles and action plans and to create the capacity to implement the plans. It has a particular focus on strengthening capacity building activities, particularly on practical solutions, and to enhancing work addressing selected priority groups, such as health care workers.

Other WHO Occupational Health Activities

Needlestick Injuries Needlestick Injuries

Since 2003, there has been a special project “Health Care Workers/Prevention of Needlesticks: a special pilot project to reduce the exposure to HIV and other sharps-related infections (hepatitis B and C) in health care workers associated with injections.”

The project aims to raise awareness and reduce injuries in a variety of health care settings in selected countries. The project is implemented by WHO (HQ, Regional and National Offices), WHO Collaborating Centres and the International Council of Nurses, and is based on the WHO Toolkit entitled “Behaviour Change Strategy to Achieve a Safe and Appropriate Use of Injections.” The Toolkit provides technical and policy guidance to health-care workers, administrators and politicians in order to promote injection safety.

Practical Solutions Practical Solutions

The focus of WHO has been to support countries to implement solutions to tackle the most serious and prevalent occupational hazards. Work is under way on the development of practical solutions, with a focus on control banding, silicosis, child labour, and workplace health promotion.

Control Banding is an approach to risk assessment and management that groups workplace risks into “control bands” based on a combination of hazard and exposure information. It can be applied to chemicals and other workplace hazards.

Over the years, ILO and WHO have paid special attention to the prevention of silicosis in collaboration with national and international organisations. Continuous efforts are being undertaken in organising various activities in developing countries aimed at the prevention of occupational respiratory diseases, which are targeted particularly at the elimination of silicosis. Hazardous child labour is a widespread phenomenon that has recently appeared on many political agendas in countries in all regions. It is estimated that around 350 million children, about one in every six children aged 5 to 17 on the face of the globe, are involved in child labour. Of these, some 179 million (one in eight) are trapped in the “worst forms” of child labour, including hazardous child labour. The Occupational Health and Safety community has not been effectively involved in the definition and action on hazardous child labour. WHO considers the workplace as a priority setting for health promotion into the 21st century. The workplace can have a very positive impact on the health and well-being of workers, their families, communities and society at large. However, in spite of demonstrated benefits, current workplace health promotion efforts reach a limited number of workplaces and workers around the world. WHO supports a participatory process to help promote a stronger implementation of occupational and environmental health legislation. It suggests tools for

(29)

maintaining or strengthening national (and sector-based) healthy workplace initiatives, such as an awards system as an incentive for participating enterprises, and creation of healthy workplace networks.

Regional Initiatives, Including the WHO/ILO African Joint Effort

The Regional Initiatives in Occupational Health are the cornerstones for the implementation of tools and materials developed by the WHO Global Occupational Health Programme.

Efficient application of available knowledge to practical solutions to overcome the ‘knowledge application gap’ is more important than generating new theoretical knowledge. An important example is the development and implementation of the WHO/ILO Joint Effort on Occupational Health in Africa (AJE). This project recognises that many factors are working in occupational health and safety in the African region, but that there has been a lack of strategic co-ordination. In many countries, less than 10% of workers are covered by any occupational health programme or service. With the support of WHO and the ILO, the AJE has established a precedent for promoting and protecting workers’ health by information generation and sharing, education and training for workers, employers, professionals and decision-makers, and risk assessment and management.

Another regional initiative supported by WHO and ILO is under development in the Asian region, joining two of the WHO regional offices (Western Pacific Regional Office WPRO and South East Asian Regional Office SEARO) with both ILO Asian offices.

European Union (EU) Law

European Law generally consists of EU DirectivesEU Directives and EU Regulations.EU Regulations. EU Directives are binding on member states with respect to the objectives to be achieved but the method for achieving this is left open. Directives are normally implemented by regulations made in the member states.

EU Regulations however, are directly acting on member states and requires no further implementation.

The main institutions of the EU are as follows:

Council of the European Union Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union was previously known as the Council of Ministers. It consists of one member from each of the member states and usually meets in Brussels. The office of President rotates on a six monthly basis between the member states.

The Council has a number of powers, the most important of which are:

To ensure the co-ordination of the general economic policies of the member states. To take decisions and to delegate implementing powers to the European Commission. To request the Commission to undertake any studies the Council deem appropriate in order to achieve Community objectives and to submit proposals on them to the Council. The Council of the European Union is the principal decision-making institution in the Community.

(30)

The European

The European CommissionCommission

The Commission is made up of Commissioners from the various member states. The President of the Commission is nominated by the member states in consultation with the European Parliament. Voting on issues is resolved by a simple majority. The Commission's functions are:

To formulate and institute policy decisions. To promote and represent the interests of the EU. To implement EU policy.

To institute proceedings before the European Court of Justice for any violations of EU obligations by member states, or against any EU institution considered to have exceeded its powers.

European Parliament European Parliament

Originally, the Parliament lacked real executive power and had a mainly advisory role. However, with the adoption of theSingle European ActSingle European Act, its powers have widened considerably. In addition to its legislative role, the Parliament can join with the Commission and the Council of the European Union in dealing with legislation relating to discrimination on grounds of nationality, free movement of workers or services, and the establishment and function of the EU's internal market.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) European Court of Justice (ECJ)

This Court, based in Luxembourg, consists of judges appointed from the member states who are assisted by advocates-general.

Most cases brought before the ECJ deal with the interpretation or application of EU legislation as it affects individual rights. If an individual person can show that the member state is in breach of EU law, s/he can bring the case before the ECJ. However, the individual cannot make a directdirect approach to the ECJ. The case must commence in a national court.

Where there is a conflict between EU law and national law, EU law takes precedence. If during the course of a case in a national court a point of EU law is raised and disputed, the individual may ask the court to refer the matter to the ECJ.

Enforcement of EU laws

Decisions of the ECJ become precedents for the courts of member states and any future legislation enacted by member states must have regard to such decisions.

Once a Decision has been made by the ECJ the Court can impose a financial penalty on a member state which fails to comply with the judgment of the Court.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EASHW)

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union and is based in Bilbao, Spain. It aims to make Europe’s workplaces safer, healthier and more productive by encouraging improvements in the working environment.

The main functions of the Agency are:

To collect and disseminate technical, scientific and economic information in the Member States in order to pass it on to the Community bodies, Member States and interested

(31)

parties. This collection takes place to identify existing national priorities and programmes and provide the necessary input to the priorities and programmes of the Community. To collect technical, scientific and economic information on research into safety and health at work and on other research activities which involve aspects connected with safety and health at work, and disseminate the results of the research and research activities. To promote and support co-operation and exchange of information and experience amongst the Member States in the field of safety and health at work, including information on training programmes.

To organise conferences and seminars and exchanges of experts from the Member States in the field of safety and health at work.

To supply the Community bodies and the Member States with the objective available technical, scientific and economic information they require to formulate and implement judicious and effective policies designed to protect the safety and health of workers.

Furthermore, to provide the Commission with the technical, scientific and economic information it requires to fulfil its tasks of identifying, preparing and evaluating legislation and measures in the area of the protection of the safety and health of workers, notably as regards the impact of legislation on enterprises, with particular reference to small and medium-sized enterprises.

To establish, in co-operation with the Member States, and coordinate the network referred taking into account the national, Community and international bodies and organisations which provide this type of information and services.

To collect and make available information on safety and health matters from and to third countries and international organisations (e.g. WHO, ILO).

To provide technical, scientific and economic information on methods and tools for implementing preventive activities, paying particular attention to the specific problems of small and medium-sized enterprises.

To contribute to the development of future Community action programmes relating to the protection of safety and health at work, without prejudice to the Commission’s sphere of competence.

The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

The Health and Safety Department of the European Trade Union Institute - Research, Education, Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS) aims at promoting high standards of health and safety at the workplace throughout Europe. It succeeds the former European Trade Union Technical Bureau for Health and Safety (TUTB), founded in 1989 by the European Trade Union Confederation.

(32)

One of its main activities is in providing information on health and safety issues and policy while coordinating European networks of health and safety experts in the field of technical standards and chemicals.

The Health and Safety Department

The Health and Safety Department monitors the framing, national incorporation and implementation of European legislation in the field of occupational health and safety. It has set up an Observatory on the application of the European directives to carry out comparative research into the impact of Community legislation on prevention systems in EU countries, and work out common trade union responses.

Expertise and Research

The Health and Safety Department also provides resources of expertise to trade union members of the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work, which meets in Luxembourg and the Bilbao-based European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. It conducts research into such fields as risk assessment, prevention systems, musculoskeletal disorders, gender dimension and health at work, ergonomics, mental workload and

occupational stress.

It runs networks of experts on technical standardisation (ergonomics, safety of machinery) and hazardous substances (classification, risk assessment, setting occupational exposure limits). The Health and Safety Department works in co-operation with the two other departments of the ETUI-REHS involved in industrial relations and education and is financially supported by the European Commission.

The Health and Safety Executive

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the regulation of almost all the risks to health and safety as a result of workplace activities. Their mission is to protect people by ensuring the control of risk in the workplace. This is done through the enforcement of the Health and Safety Work Act and other relevant statutory provisions

The HSE covers health and safety in a variety of workplace sectors including nuclear plants, mines, factories, farms, hospitals, schools, offshore gas and oil installations, the safety of the gas grid and the movement of dangerous goods and substances, railway safety, and many other aspects of the protection both of workers and the public. Local authorities are responsible to HSE for enforcement in offices, shops and other parts of the services sector. The duties of the HSE include protecting people in the UK against risks to health or safety from workplace activities by conducting a sponsoring research, promoting training, providing an information service and by putting forward proposals for new or revised legislation and guidance. They also have a specific duty to maintain the Employment Medical Advisory Service which provides advice on matters relating to occupational health.

(33)

Their field-staff include many specialist areas such as nuclear, railways, mines, agriculture and the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS), the latter dealing exclusively with the ‘health’ aspect of Health and Safety.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) U.S.

U.S.

OSHA's mission is to ensure the health and safety of people in the American workplace by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. OSHA and its state partners have over 2000 inspectors, as well as complaint discrimination investigators, engineers, physicians, educators, standards writers, and other technical and support personnel spread throughout the country. OSHA establishes protective standards, enforces them, and reaches out to employers and employees through technical assistance and consultation programs.

Nearly everyone who works in the U.S. comes under OSHA's jurisdiction (except miners, transportation workers, many public employees, and the self-employed). Other users and recipients of OSHA services include occupational safety and health professionals, the academic community, lawyers, journalists, and personnel of other government entities.

OSHA aims to ensure worker safety and health in the United States by working with employers and employees to create improved working environments. Since it launched in 1971, OSHA has helped to cut workplace fatalities by more than 60 per cent and occupational injury and illness rates by 40 per cent.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) U.S.

Health (NIOSH) U.S.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Department of Health and Human Services.

NIOSH was established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 which also established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Although NIOSH and OSHA were created by the same Act of Congress, they are two distinct agencies with separate responsibilities. NIOSH is in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is a research agency. OSHA is in the U.S. Department of Labour and is responsible for creating and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH and OSHA often work together toward the common goal of protecting worker safety and health.

NIOSH objectives include:

Conduct research to reduce work-related illnesses and injuries.

Promote safe and healthy workplaces through interventions, recommendations and capacity building.

Unit 1A - Course Notes

Internation

International

al Diploma in

Diploma in Occupational

Occupational

Safety and Health

Safety and Health

Unit 1A

Unit 1A

International Diploma - Course Contents

International Diploma - Course Contents

BSC International Diploma

BSC International Diploma |

Unit 1

Unit 1

Element 1A:

Element 1A: Fundamentals of

Fundamentals of Health and

Health and Safety

Safety Management

Management

CONTENTS

Study Unit Title

Page

1A1

1A1

Preventing

Preventing Accidents

Accidents

BSC

BSC International

International Diploma

Diploma |

|

Unit 1

Unit 1

Element 1A: Fundamentals of Health and Safety Management

Study Unit 1A1 | Preventing Accidents

Learning Outcomes

Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses

Introduction

Introduction

Definition of Accident, Incident and Near Miss

Definition of Accident, Incident and Near Miss

Incident

Incident

Accident

Accident

Near Miss

Near Miss

Relationship Between Accidents, Incidents and

Relationship Between Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses

Near Misses

Accident Ratio Studies and Their Limitations

Accident Ratio Studies and Their Limitations

What Causes Accidents

Domino Theory

Domino Theory

Unsafe Acts

Unsafe Acts

Examples of Unsafe Acts

Examples of Unsafe Acts

Types of Unsafe Act

Types of Unsafe Act

Unsafe Conditions

Unsafe Conditions

Mechanical

Mechanical

Physical

Physical

Examples of Unsafe Conditions

Examples of Unsafe Conditions

Multi-Causal Theories

Multi-Causal Theories

Costs Arising from Accidents

Considering Outcomes of events

Considering Outcomes of events

Direct and Indirect Costs

Direct and Indirect Costs