1 Foundations in Health & Safety

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1. SCOPEAND NATURE OFOGCUPATIONAL HEALTHAND SAFETY. . ....".. ....ri;i2. MORAL, LEGALAND ECONOMICREASONS FOR PROMOTINGGOOD STANDARDS OF HEALTHAND SAFETYWITHINANORGANISATION.. ...,...".iliil

2.1. Legal2.2. Moral2.3. Financial3. THE ROLE OF NATIONALGOVERNMENTSANDINTERNATIONAL BODIES INFORMU LATI NG A F RAM EWORKFORTHE REGULATION OFHEALTH AND SAFETY. . ,".. ,.r.ii:i4. HE NATURE AND KEY SOURCESOF HEALTH AND SAFETYINFORMATION..... ...".-....r-ii:i5. THE KEY ELEMENTS OFA HEALTHAND SAFETY MANAGEMENTSYSTEM .,... ".".*.j'.6. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHAND SAFETYASSESSMENTSERIES (OHSAS 18001).... ....{i;i'

Step 1: OH&S PolicyStep 2: PlanningStep 3: lmplementation and OperationStep 4: Checking and CorrectiveActionStep 5: Management Review


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D EFrN tTtO NS/TERM I NOLOGYThe Labour Force Survey (LFS): A UnitedKingdom survey of over 50 000 householdseach quarter provides information on the UKlabour market. The British Health and SafetyExecutive (HSE), commissions annualquestions in the LFS to gain a view of work-related illness and workplace injury based onindividuals' perceptions.- RIDDOR 95: The Reporting of Injuries,Diseases and Dangerous OccurrencesRegulations 1995, under which fatal and

specified non-fatal injuries to workers andmembers of the public arising from work activityare reported by employers and others to therelevant enforcing authority in the UnitedKingdom.I. SCOPEAND NATURE OFOCCUPATIONATHEALTHANDSAFETYOccupational safety and health is concerned withproviding for the health, safety and welfare ofpersons at work, for persons in connection with theuse of plant and machinery and for the protectionof other persons who may be affected by the use ofplant and machinery i.e. visitors etc.ln 1950, the joint ILO/WHO Committee onOccupational Health stated that,"Occupational Health should aim at thepromotion and maintenance of:- the highest degree of physical, mental andsocial well-being of workers in all occupations;- the prevention amongstworkers of departures

from health caused by theirworking conditions;- the protection of workers in theiremploymentfrom risks resulting from factors adverse tohealth;- the placing and maintenance of the worker in anoccupational environment adapted to hisphysiological and psychological capabi lities ;

i]- to summarize, the adaption of workto man and\t* of each man to his job.'; \-;"-.|, V-'-nr*."-'-'-='l*-;1

The lnternational Labour OrganisationConvention outlines three fundamentalprinciples regarding work:- Workshould take place in a safe and healthyenvironment- Conditions of work should be consistentwithworkers' well-being and human d ignity- Work should offer real possibilities for personalachievement, self fulfilment and service to thesociety.

2. MORALTEGALANDECONOMIC REASONSFOR PROMOTING GOODSTANDARDS OFHEALTHANDSAFETYWITHINANORGANISATIONThe protection of all workers against work-relatedsickness, disease and injury is the duty of everyemployer. A goal of society is to promoteopportunities forwomen and men to obtain decentand productive work in conditions of freedom,equity, security and human dignity.Decent work is safe work. Safe work is also apositive factor for productivity and economicgrowth and sustainability.The three reasons for promoting goodstandards of health and safety within anorganisation are:- Legal- Moral- Financial


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,,il2.1. LEGAT "'f', - Givil/Private liability: Civil liability falls withinthe ambit of private law. Civil liability arises

vSeucan hold someone else responsible forthe harmAccording to the ILO's Juan Somavia, in the orlossthatyousuffer,onthegroundsofggl&Lor ". , .'foreword to ILO-OSH 2001, Guidelines on contract. Under common law, a person or ''.' \-:h management company can be held liable according to theprogreJs and principles of delict if his/her wrongful, negligentng rapid change or deliberate actions cause harm to someoneProcesses anO else'

Legislation is essential but insufficienton its own toaddress these changes or to keep pace with newhazards and risks. Organisations must also beable to tackle occupational safety and healthchallenges continuously and build effectiveresponses into dynam ic management strategies.ln law we can identify two main types ofliability, namely:a) Criminal liability (public law; Tl'eteb) Civilliability (private law)

- Criminal/Public liability: Criminal liability fallswithin the ambit of public law. The state chargesa subject (who can be a natural or legal person)with a crime. The objective of criminal law is todeter individuals and/or organisations frombehaving in a socially unacceptable manner.Criminal law is punitive and punishment, whichlies at the courts' discretion, may take the form ofpenalties and/or imprisonment or both.The burden of proof is on the State to prove guiltand the "beyond a reasonable doubt" principle isapplied.

..\nr*,q.,as "**achieved by ensuring that all interested and& ' affected parties' needs are considered andaddressed.

The burden of proof under private law is "thebalance of probabil ity".2.2. MORATManagement has a social obligation to provideadequate measures and systems to look aftertheiremployees as well as themselves. Goodcorporate governance dictates that thesustainable development of a business should be

In addition, management should address issuesthat protect visitors, the public at large and anycontractors from risks. According to a reportreleased by the lnternational Labour Organisation(Global estimates of Fatal Work Related Diseasesand Occupational Accidents, World Bank Regions2005), estimates for occupational accident andwork-related diseases for South Africa read asdepicted in the table.

Accidents causing 3 or more days absence

Death caused by dangerous substances


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According to the British Health and SafetyExecutive's Health and Safety Statistics200712008 report, in Great Britain in200712008=- 2.1 million people were suffering from an illness(long-standing as well as new cases) theybelieved was caused or madeworse bytheircurrent or pastwork;- 1 .3 million of these cases were suffered bypeople working during the year, of which563 000 were new cases;- 229workers were killed atwork, a rate of 0.8 per100 000 employees;- 136 771 other injuries to employees werereported under RIDDOR, a rate of 517.9 per100 000 employees;- 299 000 reportable injuries occurred, accordingto the Labour Force survey arate of 1000 per

1 000 000 employees;- Atotal of 34 million days were lost (1 .4 days perworker), 28 million due to work-related ill-healthand 6 million duetoworkplace injury.2.3. FINANCIAISustainable development implies that for abusiness to thrive it must, firstly, be able to createwealth. lf this occurs, financialgrowth, investmentand job security are the results.Incidents in the workplace account for losses inprofit. Peter Drucker once said that the basicprinciple of business economics is not necessarilythe maximisation of profit, but the avoidance ofloss. lncidents have direct and indirect costs.According to a study undertaken by Bird andLoftus, the uninsured (hidden) costs of incidentsare between five and fifty times the costs ofcompensation and medical expenses.

According to the South African CompensationCommissioner's 2007 Annual Report, betweenApril 2006 and March2007 over R1.14 billion waspaid out in medical claims against the fund and afurther R655 million was paid out in compensation.ln the same period, a total of 543 449 claims weremade against the fund. With some 8 millionemployees in the formal sector in SouthAfrica, thenumber of claims amounts to over 6% of theworkforce.This means, all things being equal, that annually inSouth Africa, for every 17 employees in yourbusiness, it is almost guaranteed that at least oneof them will be injured to such an extent thatmedical treatment will be required. When peopleare injured or become ill, plant and machinery aredamaged or products wasted, organisations losemoney.Large-scale losses such as those arising fromexplosions or major fires, such as the PiperAlphadisaster, involved the loss of 167 lives and isestimated to have cost over f2 billion, including8746 million in direct insurance payouts.


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3. THE ROLEOFNATIONALGOVERNMENTSANDTNTERNATIONAT BODIESINFORMUIATINGAFRAMEWORK FORTHEREGUTATIONOFHEATTHANDSAFETYln the United Kingdom, the health and safetyregulatory framework began to develop toward theend of the industrial revolution. Parliamentpromulgates health and safety legislation in theformofActs and Regulations e.g. the Health and SafetyatWork etc, Act1974.ln the United States, the legislation regardinghealth and safety developed in a similar manner,for example in 1891, US Congress promulgatedthe first statute governing mine safety. USCongress created OSHA under the OccupationalSafety and Health Act in 1 970.The European Union member states propose andagree upon directives in order to coordinate theirregulatory activities. Recent directives includethose pertaining to noise, manual handling,carcinogens and biological agents.The lnternational Labour Organisation's principalfunction is setting international labour standards ona broad spectrum of labour-related issues. Theadoption of a convention by the ILO allows UNmember states to voluntarily ratify it; this imposes alegal obligation upon the memberstates to applytheprovisions of the convention. Recommendations donot have the same binding force as conventions.According to David Walters, in the 2001(p2) paperPrescription to Process: Convergence andDivergence in Health and Safety Regulation inEurope, "ln recent years, national andinternational regulatory policies have beencharacterised by their increased emphasis on thepursuit of means to achieve more activemanagement of occupational health and safety."Walters writes of the trend toward increasedemployer and worker engagement in preventivehealth and safety. Traditional regulation, inwhich detailed, inflexible and prescriptiverequirements have been imposed uponemployers by governments have been replacedby self-reg u latory frameworks.

4. THENATUREANDKEYSOURCES OF HEATTHANDSAFETYINFORMATIONTypes of health and safety information include,but are not limited to the following:- Risks to employees and orthird parties- Operationalcontrol measures e.g. worksinstructions- Health and safety performance information e.g.accident rate- Regulatory information- Benchmarking information- Emergency procedures- CompetenUresponsible persons e.g. first aidersHealth and safety information may be obtainedfrom both external and internal sources:- lnternal

f - Monitoring and measurementrecordse.g.equ ipment i nspections reports, statistics,hygiene survey reports, biological mon itoringand medical surveillance records, safetyrepresentative inspections- Training and communication records- Accident records- Risk assessments/profiles- Health and safetycommittee minutes- N on -qgnfq Im a n c-e-re ports/reco rd s- Management system documentation e.g.proced u res, works i nstruction, policies

- External- Regulatory bodies- Manufacturers e.g. equipment specifications- Suppliers e.g. materialsafetydata sheets- Professionalbodies- Research- Consulting firms- lnsurers


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5. THE KEYETEMENTS OFAHEATTHANDSAFETYMANAGEMENTSYSTEMNo company can afford the risk of not managing itshealth and safety effectively via a health and safetymanagement system.The ILO, 2001 write, "the positive impact ofintroducing safety and health managementsystems at the organisation level, both on thereduction of hazards and risks and on productivityis now recognised by governments, employersand workers."The standard against which an organisation electsto base their system is determined by their needsand expectations. The internationaltrend is one ofintegration of the various organisational systemsin orderto avoid duplication and unnecessary cost.Standards which may be utilised to implement ahealth and safety management system include,but are not limited to the following:- HSG65,2003- tLo-oHS2001- OSHAS 18001:2007- NOSAForthe purposes of this module, only the elementsof OSHAS18001 and ILO-OSH 2001 will becovered.

OCCUPATIONALHEATTHANDSAFETYASSESSMENTSERIESfoHsAs tsootfAs was seen in the previous sections, no companycan afford the risk of not managing it's health andsafety effectively via a health and safetymanagement system. Most larger companies willbe familiar with ISO 9000 (Quality Management)and ISO 14000 (Environment Management)series of standards.A lesser known but growing standard is that ofOHSAS 18000. Similarly to what the othermentioned standards do for their fields, theOHSAS 18000 standard specifies requirementsfor a safety management system to enable anorganisation to develop and implement a policyand objectives which take into account legalrequirements and information about theorganisations risks.The standard is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology, illustrated thus:

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-JD.eAcan! :__"._._*"-: P_laq Establish the objectives and processes*-n"ecessary to deliver results in accordance withthe organisation's OHS policy.-:rEg! I mp lement the p rocess

- -G" he-.ql: Monitorand measure processes against--- OHS p6licy, objectives, legaland otherrequirements, and report the results..4c!,l'.Take actions to continually improve OHSperformance.The steps in the standard are as follows (notethe parallels to legislative requirements):

OH&S policyffiof directionandsets the principles of action for an organisation.It sets OH&S objectives for OH&S responsibilityand performance required throughout theorganisation. The OH&S policy should beconsistent with the organisation's overallbusiness policies and with its policies for othermanagement disciplines e.g. qualitymanagement and environmental management.The OH&S policy should be documented,implemented and maintained.OHSAS 18001 requiresthe esta ment and maintenance ofprocedures for ongoing identification of hazards,the assessment of risks, and the implementationof necessary control measures for the activitiesof all persons having access to the premises.The organisation should document and keepis information up to date.

OHSAS 18001 requires each organisation toestablish and maintain a procedure foridentifying and accessing the legal and otherOH&S requirements that are applicable to it. Theorganisation should keep this information upto-date. lt should communicate relevant informationon legal and other requirements to its employeesand other relevant interested parties.OHSAS 18001 requires the organisation toestablish and maintain documentedoccupational health and safety objectives ateach relevant function and level within theorganisation.

The organisation should establish and maintainan OH&S management programme forachieving its objectives. This should includedocumentation of the designated responsibilityand authority for achievement of the objectivesat relevant functions and levels of theorganisation, and the means and time-scale bywhich objectives are to be achieved.

personnel who manage, perform and verifyactivities having an effect on the occupationalhealth and safety risks of the organisation'sactivities, facilities and processes should bedefined, documented and communicated inorder to facilitate effective management. Tomake a health and safety policy effective, staffmust become involved and committed to healthand safety matters. This is often referred to as apositive Health and Safety Cultu re.OHSAS 18001 states that personnel should becompetent to perform tasks that may impact onOH&S in the workplace. Competence should bedefined in terms of appropriate education,training and/or experience.OHSAS 18001 requires each organisation tohave procedures for ensuring that pertinentOH&S information is communicated to and fromemployees and other interested parties.Employee involvement and consultationarrangements should be documented andinterested parties informed. The OHSASspecification requires that each organisationestablishes and maintains plans andprocedures to identify the potential for, andresponses to, incidents and emergencysituations, and for preventing and mitigating thelikely illness and injury that may be associatedwith them.The organisation should review its emergencypreparedness and response plans andprocedures, in particular, after the occurrence ofincidents or emergency situations. Theorganisation should also periodically test suchprocedures where practicable.

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6 - STEP 4: CHECKING AND CORREGTIVEAGTION: The OHSAS specification requiresthat each organisation establishes andmaintains procedures to monitor and measureOH&S performance on a regular basis. Anycorrective or preventive action taken to eliminatethe causes of actual and potential non-conformances should be appropriate to themagnitude of problems and commensurate withthe OH&S risk encountered. The organisationshould establish and maintain an auditprogramme and procedures for periodic OH&Smanagementsystem audits to be carried out.F- srep 5: MANAGEMENT REVTEW: Theorganisation's top management should, atintervals that it determines, review the OH&Smanagement system, to ensure its continuingsuitability, adequacy and effectiveness. Themanagement review process should ensure thatthe necessary information is collected to allowmanagement to carry out this evaluation. Thisreview should be documented.

The management review should address thepossible need for changes to policy, objectivesand other elements of the OH&S managementsystem, in the light of OH&S managementsystem audit results, changing circumstancesand the commitmentto continual improvement.As a consequence of changes in legislativerequirements, societal expectations and thenature and performance of the organisation, theOH&S policy and management system shouldbe reviewed regulady to ensure its continuedsuitability and effectiveness. lf changes areintroduced, these should be communicated assoon as practicable.

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