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ORGANISATIONAL SAFETY AND

HEALTH

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the sections, participants will appreciate the Health and Safety at Work
Act and related work and safety legislation. This presentation covers:

The Health and Safety at Work (The HASAW) Act (1974)

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH)

Benefits of Occupational Health and Safety Act

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

Key Elements of Health and Safety Management System

Implications of Health and Safety Legislations

INTRODUCTION

ILO constitution stipulates that workers should be protected from sickness,


disease and injury arising from their employment.

A safe, orderly, and efficient working environment is a key to successful


operation.

However, when people feel threaten or unsafe in any environment, their


natural reaction is to flee.

Workplace safety and health laws seek to institute regulations intended to


eliminate personal injuries and illnesses from taking place at the workplace

THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT (1974)

The HASAW Act (1974) places responsibilities of a general nature on


employers, employees, the self-employed, providers of workplaces and

manufacturers of work equipment including a provision for establishing


more detailed Regulations in specific areas of health and safety.

THE ROLE OF KEY PLAYERS IN IMPLEMENTING HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES

Section 2 of the HASAW Act imposes general duties of employers to their employees.' The Act
states that 'it shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as its reasonability is
practical and safe, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.' This includes
the following:

Make assessments of the risks to the health and safety of employees and others;

Conduct risk assessments if five or more people employed;

Appoint safety representatives;

Provide and maintain plant, that is so far as is reasonably practically safe;

Provide a written statement of policy; and

Provide training and PPE where appropriate.

Under Section 3, general duties of employers and self employed to persons other than their employees'
the Act requires every employer and self-employed person to conduct their undertaking in such a way as to
ensure, so far as is reasonably practical that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to
their health or safety.

NOTE
o

Health and safety issues should considered as a corporate


governance issue that involves every aspect of the organisation.
Thus, the top to the bottom, all must show not just concern for health

and safety but also live and practice it as well.

Good safety culture is a work environment where all members of the


organisation share a high safety ethic.

The Board

The board should set the direction for effective health and safety management. Board members
need to establish a health and safety policy that is much more than a document it should be
an integral part of the organisations culture, of its values and performance standards.

The Board can do this by ensuring that:

Health and safety appear regularly on the agenda for board meetings;

The chief executive can give the clearest visibility of leadership, and can name one of
their members as the health and safety champion;

The presence on the board of a health and safety director can be a strong signal that the

issue is being taken seriously and that its strategic importance is understood; and

The Board must set targets helping at defining what the board is seeking to achieve.

Quotes from health and safety leaders in the public and private sectors
Health and safety is
integral to success.
Board members who
do
not
show
leadership in this
area are failing in
their
duty
as
directors and their
moral duty, and are
damaging
their
organisation.

Board level
involvement is an
essential part of the
21st Century trading
ethic. Attitudes to
health and safety
are determined by
the bosses, not the
organisations size.

The Management

The management has to put in place reasonable practical steps to ensure the health and safety of
employees, customers and members of the public.

Effective leadership: if visible board members can reinforce health and safety policy by being seen
on the shop floor, following all safety measures themselves and addressing any breaches
immediately.

Some of the strategies that can be used include::

Effective monitoring of sickness, absence, and workplace health can alert the board to
underlying problems that could seriously damage performance or result in accidents and
long-term illness;

Provide health and safety training to both new and existing staff to promote their
understanding and knowledge of key health and safety issues within the organisation;

The Management Contd

Some of the strategies that can be used include::

Displaying written statement of policy and a wide range of manuals on health and
safety issues.

Effective monitoring system: regular collection of workplace health and safety data to
enable the board benchmark the organisations performance against others in its
sector;

Continuous assessment of the risk as well as the health and safety of employees;

Appraisals of senior managers to include an assessment of their contribution to health


and safety performance.

Appoint safety representatives at the lower levels of the organisation to enhance safety
culture in the business.

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSH)

OHS Act provides a statutory framework for promoting and improving the standards
of occupational health, safety and welfare of employees in both public and private
sector.

In 1997 the ISO decided not to develop an OHSMS standard. As a result many
countries have developed their own.

Ghana has no national body, policy nor process that governs Occupational Safety &
Health management (Annan, 2013).

Ghana has different agencies under different jurisdictions which monitor different
industries for workplace and employee safety (Annan, 2013).

OSH Contd
Currently, two major edicts provided guidance in the provision of occupational/
industrial safety and health services, practice and management in Ghana.

These include the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970, Act 328 and the Mining
Regulations 1970 LI 665, but these have only driven the mining and the labor sectors
and are therefore very limited in scope, given the multifaceted distribution of industrial

operations that we have in Ghana. There is the Workmens Compensation Law 1987
(PNDC 187) which relates to compensation for personal injuries caused by accidents
at work and hence, indirectly impacts on monitoring worker / workplace safety.

OSH Contd

Even though Ghana does not have a national policy on Occupational Health and Safety,
the Ghana Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) has made provision for Occupational Health and
Safety.

Part XV Section 118 of the Labour Act, 2003 stated the responsibility of employers to
provide a safe and healthy working environment and obligation on employees to use
safety appliances provided by the employer in compliance of the employers instructions.

The OHS activities stated under the Act 328 include, creating safe work and work environment
and promoting the safety, health and welfare of employees in order to ensure effective utilization
of human capabilities thereby promoting increased productivity.

WHY IS OHS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF GOOD BUSINESS


Occupational health and safety (OHS) is good for business as well as being a legal
and social obligation

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)


COSHH is a UK statutory Instrument that states general requirement on employers to
protect employees and other persons from the hazards of substance, including
hazardous chemicals used at work by risk assessment, control of exposure, health
surveillance and incident planning.

Hazardous chemicals refer to any chemical for which evaluation is performed by the
chemical for which evaluation is performed by the manufacturer/importer, as listed on
the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), indicates it is hazardous.
Hazardous Chemicals also refer those chemicals that have import restrictions, where
licenses and permits are needed before they are imported, transported, stored,
managed and controlled.
Employers must draw health and safety policies regarding the management, control
and storage of hazardous chemicals giving direction as to what to do.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) contd


The regulation six (6) of COSHH requires that before any work is carried out
within the hazardous chemical storage environment, risk assessment and
review of existing risk assessment for preventing; controlling and reducing

exposure to an adequate level must be carried out.


Mandatory requirement for an employer to provide personal protective
equipment (PPE) in all forms to the employee.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) contd


Health and safety legislations and COSHH stipulate that employer provides training and
supervision to the employees in the following areas:
Provide supervision ensure that work procedures that are followed lead to
employee safety at the hazardous chemical facility.
Inform employees about what the hazards and risk are, so as to eliminate or
minimized exposure
Explain any early signs of outbreaks and pandemics for precautionary measures so
that workers are not affected or treated if affected.
Supervise storage and inventory record keeping thereby ensuring professionalism.
Toolbox talks emergency procedures, safe handling procedures, good record
keeping, and cleaning up spills correctly among others.

KEY ELEMENTS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS


Policy

Organising

Audit

Planning &
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance

Policy
Effective health and safety policies set a clear direction for the
organisation to follow.
Organising

An effective management structure and arrangements are in place for


delivering the policy.

Planning
There is a planned and systematic approach to implementing the health and safety
policy through an effective health and safety management system.

Measuring Performance
Performance is measured against agreed standards to reveal when and where
improvement is needed

Auditing and Reviewing of Performance


The organisation learns from all relevant experience and applies the
lessons

Group Exercise
Discuss in detail the implications of health and safety legislation on an
organisation.

Implications of Health and Safety Legislations

The implications of health and safety legislation on organisations could be viewed


from three perspectives:

Legal: non-adherence to the legal requirements means breaking the law and this
has several implications ramifications for the organisation etc.

Economic: high cost of insurance premiums, cost of occupational accidents,


payment of additional wages for injured staff replacement etc.

Socio-cultural: loss of goodwill, reputation and confidence from the general public if
accidents and incidents are rampant and are made public etc.

REFERENCES
Annan J.S., (2013). Occupational & industrial safety & health in Ghana. Retrieved August 7, 2014,
from
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=197916.

Health and Safety Commission (2006). Health and safety statistics 2005/06. Sudbury: HSE Books,
UK.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.18

ILO (2012). Occupational safety and health. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from
http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/occupationalsafety-and-health/lang--en/index.htm.
Health
and
Safety
Executive,
www.hse.gov.uk/puns/indg401.pdf.

(2005).

Retrieved

August

7,

2014,

from

Control of substances hazardous to health in the production of pottery Approved Code of Practice L60
HSE Books 1995.

Thank you

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