This Lecture is on Health and Safety at the Workplace and the Home

Most of the issues to be discussed would focus on the workplace but a lot of the issues to be discussed would still be relevant and applicable to our various homes.

Health and safety is just common sense....but I guess common sense is not common to most common men. We practice health and safety in our everyday lives, except that we have not given it the official names as is perceived.

 

Scope

The main issues to be handled under the first part of this lecture are

 

• Fundamentals of Occupational (Workplace) Health & Safety, i.e. OSH.

• Various Definitions under OSH

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)

• Housekeeping

• First Aid

• Emergency Evacuation

 

The 2nd part which is would be presented at later date encompasses the following.

 

• Fires, Fire Prevention and Protection

• Environmental Protection

• Electrical Hazards

• Accidents and Incidents Reporting

 

The worker under modern OSH is placed at the centre of all planning and programming

Safety and Health of Employees are paramount and key because the worker is de most important assets of any organisation. Buildings and equipment can be replaced in the extreme case of loss but loss of human life is irreplaceable.

OSH is a discipline with a broad scope comprising many specified and diverse fields

 

Aims

 

• Preserving and protecting human and facility resources in the workplace

• Helping people by preventing them from being injured or becoming ill due to exposure to hazards at the Workplace

• The promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers in all organisations

 

Legal

The Health and safety of workers are protected by Legal framework. These are:

 

• The 1992 Constitution of Ghana

• ILO Convention No. 155- Occupational Safety and Health

• Factories, Offices and Shops Act, 1970 (Act 328)

• Workmen's Compensation Law, 1987 (PNDCL187)

• Environmental Protection Agency Law, Act 1994 (Act490)

 

Terms

ACCIDENTS

Accidents result from contact with a substance or a source of energy above the threshold limit of de body structure

It must be emphasised that not all accidents occasion injuries. It is an undesired event that results in harm to people, damage to property or loss to process. An unplanned event that results in injury, loss of business opportunities etc

 

INJURY

Harm done to de body as a result of an accident. They are usually harmful effects of a single contact

 

NEAR - MISS ACCIDENTS

An undesired event which under slightly different circumstances could have resulted in harm, to people, damage to property or loss of process

 

ILLNESS

The harmful effects of repeated contacts such as exposure to carcinogenic substances leading to cancer and liver damage, hearing loss due to over exposure to excessive noise

 

HAZARD

Hazard is a condition/ practice/process/material that has de POTENTIAL to cause harm or death

It is the identification, evaluation and the control of those factors or stresses, arising in and from the workplace, which at cause sickness, impaired health, and wellbeing or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers

 

RISK

The chance/probability/likelihood that a hazard will result in an accident or cause harm

 

ENERGY

Energy is de ability to do work. For example flying or moving objects have kinetic energy which is transferred to a body it comes into contact with or it hits. Accidents happen from contact with sources of energy above the threshold limit of the body or structure. If the energy is too much, it results in personal harm or property damage or loss

 

 

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

In addition it is the control of work related illness

How many times did we test ourselves at Owass for the incidence of communicable diseases?

How about our canteen? Were the workers screened periodically for these diseases of public health concern?

The next is wells below the houses. How many times was the water in these underground wells tested and certified safe?

I do believe that we were wise to use it only for flushing of shanko and under severe water shortage for bathing.

 

Even de mining Sector emphasises more on de Safety aspect more than de health

In fact most companies handle more of de safety aspect to de detriment of de health aspect for nothing but the economic benefits of low accident levels

 

Hazard Identification and control

The easiest way is to examine accidents at the Workplace.  All factories or companies must keep records of accidents or near miss accidents whether fatal or not. Such reports must be compiled and such reports must be reported to the Factory Inspectorate. But most Ghanaians companies don't do. At best we keep it under wraps. Mostly when serious accidents happen and it gets out of hand then the factory Inspectorate and de media would come in.

 

 

HAZARD CLASSIFICATION

Hazards can b grouped into the following categories

 

• Physical (noise, vibration, shock, etc)

• Psychosocial

• Mechanical Hazards

• Physiological

• Biological

• Chemical

To better comprehend these hazards and their debilitating effect on man, their sources and effects are enumerated below

 

PHYSICAL HAZARDS

These include the hazards created by Noise. Vibration.  Shock. Dust. Etc

Possibility of getting an electrical shock as a result of defective insulation on wiring, broken switches etc

Source

 

• Noise created by a machine as a result of bad design, poor maintenance etc.

• Vibration of a working floor as a result if poor insulation, unbalanced machines

Effects

 

• Hearing loss

• Temporal or permanent hearing loss dependent on severity

• Hearing Impairment

• Death

• Burns

 

MECHANICAL HAZARDS

These are conditions of machines or parts of machines with the potential of causing accidents which may result in injury

Sources

 

• Transport and transport ways

• Machine and Machines parts

• Ladders and other means for access

• Working stands and platforms

Effects

 

• Fractures

• Effects

• Bruises

• Wounds

• Death

 

CHEMICAL HAZARDS

These include the hazards created by the wrong handling and use of chemicals in factories, farms, and our various homes

These are normally present in health, agriculture and food processing industries

Source

 

• Wrong handling

• Wrong usage

• Bacterial

• Virus

• STDS

• Fungus

Effects

 

• Genetic disorders

• Cancers

• Irritations

• Burns

 

PHYSIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Heavy workload

 

Source

 

• Fatigue

• Wrong working methods especially lifting of heavy items

• Unsuitable tools

• Indiscipline

Effects

 

• High staff turnover

• Backache

• Absenteeism

• Increased hospital visits and hospitalizations

 

PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS

Source

 

• Quality of work (i.e. monotonous, working alone, etc.

• Human Relations

Effects

 

• Discomfort

• Mental diseases

• Profit reduction

• Harm to people and property

 

 

HAZARDS CONTROL.

How can we control these hazards to make work meaningful and enjoyable?

Control can be exerted thru the following.

 

• SUBSTITUTION

• ELIMINATION

• PPEs

• ADMIN CONTROL

 

Moral lessons

It must be emphasised that hazards cause accidents, occupational diseases and economic losses. Accidents Results in losses It is unacceptable to put the safety and health of others inside or outside the workplace at risk for profit or otherwise

 

Demerits of poor health and safety in organisations

 

• Profit reduction

• Harm to people and property

• Performance Interruptions

• C. Market positions and shares

• Loss of business opportunities

• Workers morale are drastically lowered after an accident

• Loss of jobs

• Quality Degradation

• Environmental damage

 

 

• Adverse publicity affects the fortunes of an organisation and it weakens

• Public Confidence

• Community relations are disrupted

• And above all the REPUTATION of the organisation is thrown to the dogs

 

Hazards /potential hazards exist everywhere in our everyday lives; some constant and some developing all the time.

 

Having management systems in place to continually deal with such hazards help to eliminate accidents and ill health. In the case of our homes, having practices ingrained in our children right from infancy will help them to be safety conscious.

In our homes, simple things like asking the children to tidy up their toys after play time and explaining to them the need to avoid tripping on toys will not only help avoid accidents but inculcate in them how to be safe. Where kids are present, especially with most of us having young kids, it is very important that certain areas are demarcated as no go zones for them, For example kids must be allowed into the kitchen when there is a responsible adult present. All small things must be put beyond the reach of children because they have a tendency to put everything into their mouths. All sharp objects such as knives, needles and cutters must be kept in places that are beyond children. Such items may be kept in locked cupboards. All medication MUST be kept in locked cupboards and beyond the reach of children. They must also be clearly labelled .

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