General framework
Since occupational accidents and work-related injuries to health occur at the individual workplace, preventive and control measures within the enterprise should be planned and initiated jointly by the employer, managers, and workers concerned.
Measures for the prevention and control of occupational hazards in the workplace should be based upon a clear, implementable and well-defined policy at the level of the enterprise.
This occupational safety and health policy represent the foundation from which occupational safety and health goals and objectives, performance measures and other system components are developed. It should be concise, easily understood, approved by the highest level of management and known by all employees in the organization.
The policy should be in written form and should cover the organizational
arrangements to ensure occupational safety and health. In particular, it should:
• allocate the various responsibilities for OSH within the enterprise;
• bring policy information to the notice of every worker, supervisor, and
manager;
• determine how occupational health services are to be organized; and
• specify measures to be taken for the surveillance of the working environment and workers’ health. The policy may be expressed in terms of organizational mission and vision statements, as a document that reflects the enterprise’s occupational safety and health values. It should define the duties and responsibilities of the departmental head or the occupational safety and health team leader who will be the prime mover in the process of translating policy objectives into reality within the enterprise.
The policy document must be printed in a language or medium readily
understood by the workers. Where illiteracy levels are high, clear non-verbal forms of communication must be used.
The policy statement should be clearly formulated and designed to fit the particular organization for which it is intended. It should be circulated so that every employee has the opportunity to become familiar with it.
The policy should also be prominently displayed throughout the workplace to act as a constant reminder to all. In particular, it should be posted in all management offices to remind managers of their obligations in this important aspect of company operations. In addition, appropriate measures should be taken by the competent authority to provide guidance to employers and workers to help them comply with their legal obligations.
To ensure that the workers accept the safety and health policy objectives, the employer should establish the policy through a process of information exchange and discussion with them. A checklist for employers writing a safety and health policy is given.
The policy should be kept alive by regular review. A policy may need to be revised in the light of new experience, or because of new hazards or organizational changes. Revision may also be necessary if the nature of the work that is carried out changes, or if a new plant or new hazards are introduced into the workplace. It may also be necessary if new regulations, codes of practice or official guidelines relevant to the activities of the enterprise are issued.
Employers’ responsibilities
The safety and health policy should reflect the responsibility of employers to provide a safe and healthy working environment. The measures that need to be taken will vary depending on the branch of economic activity and the type of work performed; in general, however, employers should:
• provide and maintain workplaces, machinery, and equipment, and use work methods, which are as safe and without risk to health as is reasonably practicable.
• ensure that, so far as reasonably practicable, chemical, physical and biological substances and agents under their control are without risk to health when appropriate measures of protection are taken;
• give the necessary instructions and training to managers and staff, taking
account of the functions and capacities of different categories of workers; provide adequate supervision of work, of work practices, and of the application and use of occupational safety and health measures;
• institute organizational arrangements regarding OSH adapted to the size of the undertaking and the nature of its activities;
• provide adequate personal protective clothing and equipment without cost to the worker, when hazards cannot be otherwise prevented or controlled;
• ensure that work organization, particularly with respect to hours of work and rest breaks, does not adversely affect the safety and health of workers;
• take all reasonable and practicable measures to eliminate excessively physical and mental fatigue;
• provide, where necessary, for measures to deal with emergencies and accidents, including adequate first-aid arrangements;
• undertake studies and research or otherwise keep abreast of the scientific and technical knowledge necessary to comply with the obligations listed above;
• cooperate with other employers in improving occupational safety and health.
Workers’ duties and rights
The cooperation of workers within the enterprise is vital for the prevention
of occupational accidents and diseases. The enterprise’s safety and health
policy should, therefore, encourage workers and their representatives to play this essential role: specifically, it should ensure that they are given adequate information on measures taken by the employer to secure occupational safety and health, appropriate training in occupational safety and health, and the opportunity to inquire into and be consulted by the employer on all aspects of occupational safety and health associated with their work.
The policy should outline the duty of individual workers to cooperate in implementing the OSH policy within the enterprise. In particular, workers have a duty to:
• take reasonable care for their own safety and that of other persons who
may be affected by their acts or omissions;
• comply with instructions given for their own safety and health and those
of others, and with safety and health procedures;
• use safety devices and protective equipment correctly (and not render
them inoperative);
• report promptly to their immediate supervisor any situation which they
have reason to believe could present a hazard and which they cannot
themselves correct;
• report any accident or injury to health which arises in the course of or in
connection with work. Workers also have certain basic rights in respect of occupational safety and health, and these should be reflected in the enterprise’s policy. In particular, workers have the right to remove themselves from danger and to refuse to carry out or continue work which they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious threat to their life or health. They should be protected from unforeseen consequences of their actions. In addition, workers
should be able to:
• request and obtain, where there is cause for concern on safety and health grounds, inspections and investigations to be conducted by the employer and the competent authority;
• know about workplace hazards that may affect their health or safety;
• obtain information relevant to their health or safety, held by the employer or the competent authority; and
• collectively select safety and health representatives.
Access to better information is a prime condition for significant, positive contributions by workers and their representatives to occupational hazard control. The enterprise policy should make sure that workers are able to obtain any necessary assistance in this regard from their trade union organizations, which have a legitimate claim to be involved in anything that concerns the protection of the life and health of their members.
Safety and health committees
Cooperation in the field of occupational safety and health between management and workers or their representatives at the workplace is an essential element in maintaining a healthy working environment. It may also contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a good social climate and to the achievement of wider objectives.
Depending on the national practice, this cooperation could be facilitated by the appointment of workers’ safety delegates, or workers’ safety and health committees, or joint safety and health committees composed equally of workers’ and employers’ representatives. Workers’ organizations play a very important role in reducing the toll of accidents and ill health. One study found that establishments with joint consultative committees, where all employee representatives were appointed by unions, had significantly fewer workplace injuries than those where the management alone determined safety and health arrangements (Reilly, Paci and Holl, 1995).
The appointment of joint safety and health committees and of workers’
safety delegates are now common practice and can help to promote workers’ active involvement in safety and health work. Furthermore, safety delegates are known to be effective in monitoring the safety and health aspects of shop floor operations and in introducing corrective measures where necessary. Joint safety and health committees provide a valuable framework for discussion and for concerted action to improve safety and health. They should meet regularly and should periodically inspect the workplace. Workers’ safety delegates, workers’ safety and health committees, and joint safety and health committees (or, as appropriate, other workers’ representatives) should be:
• given adequate information on safety and health matters;
• enabled to examine factors affecting safety and health;
• encouraged to propose safety and health measures;
• consulted when major new safety and health measures are envisaged and before they are carried out;
• ready to seek the support of workers for safety and health measures;
• consulted in planning alterations of work processes, work content or organization of work which may have safety or health implications for workers.
No comments:
Post a Comment