1.1 - The scope and nature of occupational health and safety

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2 FOUNDATIONS IN HEALTH AND SAFETY - ELEMENT 1 - UNIT NGC The scope and nature of occupational health and safety The multi-disciplinary nature of health and safety Health and safety is a fundamental aspect of managing an organisation as it impacts on all the functions within the organisation, just as quality might. Health and safety embraces a number of disciplines reflecting the scope of its influence, including finance, insurance, health, personnel, production, design, purchase and information technology (IT). The obstacles to success with health and safety are the same as with other business objectives, with an additional obstacle being that the main operational requirements of the organisation will tend (unless the organisation has the balance correct) to take priority, whether this is construction, manufacture or health care. Organisations tend to focus on the immediate costs of implementing health and safety rather than the benefits that can be gained from doing so. The constant struggle to balance often complex, conflicting demands and behavioural issues with protecting profits (or those wanting to budget) by not spending unnecessarily is something that those wishing to improve health and safety face daily. The organisation may divert resources from health and safety needs to deal with competing issues such as quality improvement. Successful organisations are realising the need to take an inclusive approach to heath and safety that balances effort between the four primary issues - service, quality, health and safety, and environment - by implementing technical, procedural and behavioural solutions. Meanings of and distinctions between common terms HEALTH, SAFETY, WELFARE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Health A state of well being The term 'health' has been defined as a state of well being. It includes well being in a physiological and psychological sense. In occupational terms this would include not suffering from noise-induced deafness, mental fatigue or stress. There is an element of overlap with the terms 'safety'' and 'health'; for example, it would be clear that someone who has experienced a fall could sustain a physical injury such as a broken bone (a safety issue). In addition, it would not be a surprise if someone observed that the injured party had a poor state of health for the period that the injury affected them. Maintaining health includes attention to the various health hazards (agents) in the working environment that can affect the worker and others, for example, chemical and biological agents. Safety Absence of danger of physical harm The term 'safety' is considered to be the absence of danger of physical harm to people. The term would extend to other things that could be harmed in the workplace such as equipment, structures and materials. Attention to safety matters would typically deal with factors that can cause this type of harm, such as a fall from height, fire, electricity, and moving plant and machinery. Welfare Facilities for workplace comfort The term 'welfare' relates to the provision of workplace facilities that maintain the basic well being and comfort of the worker, such as eating, washing, toilet facilities and first aid. Environmental protection A measure used to prevent harm to the environment of the world The term 'environmental protection' relates to measures that are specifically focused on maintaining the general environment of the world. As such it focuses on such things as protection of plant life including flora and fauna, animals, birds and marine life, and the quality of water, land and air. Though the protection does not focus on the worker or other people directly by protecting the environment, people obtain a benefit The moral and financial reasons for promoting good standards of health and safety General argument There are three good reasons for preventing accidents in the workplace: 1) Moral Injury accidents result in a great deal of pain and suffering for those affected. Clearly, we must all do that we can to avoid this. RMS 3

3 MUSCULO-SKELETAL HAZARDS AND RISK CONTROL - ELEMENT 3 - UNIT NGC2 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Ergonomic approach Emphasis must be given to all the factors involved in manual handling operations - task, load, working environment and individual capability. This should be carried out with a view to fitting the manual handling operation to the individual rather than the other way round. Involving the workforce Effort should be made to seek contributions from employees and, where applicable, safety representatives or representatives of employee safety. Training Employers should ensure that all employees who carry out manual handling operations receive the necessary training to enable them to carry out the task in a safe manner. A training programme should include: How potentially hazardous loads may be recognised. How to deal with unfamiliar loads. The proper use of handling aids. The proper use of personal protective equipment. Features of the working environments that contribute to safety. The importance of good housekeeping. Factors affecting individual capability. Good handling techniques. It should always be remembered that training should be kept under review. For training to be effective it should be on-going to reflect improved techniques developed by experienced workers and be supported by periodic refresher training and supervision. Efficient movement principles for manually lifting loads LIFTING TECHNIQUES USING KINETIC HANDLING PRINCIPLES In order to avoid musculoskeletal disorders due to lifting, poor posture and repetitive awkward loads it is important to use recognised techniques. Many of these techniques use a kinetic handling approach, which seeks to use the body s natural movement to the advantage of lifting. RMS 201

4 WORK EQUIPMENT HAZARDS AND RISK CONTROL - ELEMENT 4 - UNIT NGC General requirements for work equipment Scope of work equipment The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998 are concerned with most aspects relating to work equipment. The Regulations define work equipment as any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or assembly of components which are arranged so that they function as a whole. Clearly the term embraces many hand tools, power tools and machinery types. Examples of work equipment commonly used in the construction industry include: Air compressor. Automatic car wash. Automatic storage and retrieval equipment. Blast furnace. Butcher's knife. Car ramp. Check-out machine. Circular saw. Not work equipment: Livestock. Substances. Lifting sling. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) filling plant. Mobile access platform. Overhead projector. Photocopier. Portable drill. Potato grading line. Power press. Structural items (buildings). Private car. Figure 2-4-1: Air compressor. Source: RMS. Figure 2-4-2: Vehicle lift. Source: RMS. Figure 2-4-3: Circular saw. Source: RMS. Figure 2-4-4: Photocopier. Source: RMS. Suitability as it relates to provision of equipment PROVISION OF WORK EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS [PUWER] 1998 PUWER Regulation 4 - Suitability of work equipment (1) Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adapted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided. (2) In selecting work equipment, every employer shall have regard to the working conditions and to the risks to the health and safety of persons which exist in the premises or undertaking in which that work equipment is to be used and any additional risk posed by the use of that work equipment. RMS 219

5 UNIT NGC2 - ELEMENT 6 - FIRE SAFETY Fire detection, fire alarm and fire-fighting equipment Common fire detection and alarm systems FIRE DETECTION Heat detection Sensors operate by the melting of a metal (fusion detectors) or expansion of a solid, liquid or gas (thermal expansion detectors). Radiation detection Photoelectric cells detect the emission of infrared/ultra-violet radiation from the fire. Smoke detection Using ionising radiations, light scatter (smoke scatters beams of light), obscuration (smoke entering a detector prevents light from reaching a photoelectric cell). Figure : Smoke detector. Source: RMS. Flammable gas detection Measures the amount of flammable gas in the atmosphere and compares the value with a reference value. ALARM SYSTEMS The purpose of a fire alarm is to give an early warning of a fire in a building for two reasons: To increase the safety of occupants by encouraging them to escape to a place of safety. To increase the possibility of early extinction of the fire thus reducing the loss of or damage to the property. TYPES OF FIRE ALARMS Voice Hand operated Call points with sounders Automatic system Simplest and most effective type but very limited because it is dependent upon the size of the workplace and background noise levels. Rotary gong, hand bell or triangle and sounder but limited by the scale of the building. Standard system, operation of one call point sounds alarm throughout workplace. System as above, with added fire detection to initiate the alarm. Single-stage alarm The alarm sounds throughout the whole of the building and calls for total evacuation. Two-stage alarm In certain large/high rise buildings it may be better to evacuate the areas of high risk first, usually those closest to the fire or immediately above it. In this case, an evacuation signal is given in the affected area, together with an alert signal in other areas. If this type of system is required, early consultation with the Fire Service is essential. Figure Easy operation alarm call point. Source: RMS. Figure : Alarm point identified and well located. Source: RMS. 280 RMS