HEALTH AND SAFETY LECTURE

SEPTEMBER 2011 OYEWOLE OYENIRAN

BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS

The study of Health and Safety includes the study of many different subjects including the sciences [Physics, Chemistry, Biology], Engineering, Psychology, Sociology and the Law There are many barriers to good standards of health and safety in a workplace: workplaces can be complex; there are often competing and conflicting demands placed on people and organizations; and good health and safety practices often relies on the perfect behavior of individuals who sometimes fail to behave in this desired ideal way

KEY DEFINITIONS
Health: The absence of disease Safety: The absence of risk of serious personal injury Welfare: Access to basic facilities Environmental Protection: Prevention of damage to the air, land, water and living creatures in the wider environment

Conflicting Demands and Behavioral Issues

The need to supply a product or service at an appropriate speed so as to make profit and the need to do so safely without risk to peoples health Need to comply with different type of standards at the same time e.g. health and safety law and environmental protection law People do not behave as they are supposed to all the time; they sometimes make mistakes, they do the wrong thing thinking that it is right or sometimes do the wrong thing deliberately knowing it is wrong but doing it anyway

EXAMPLE OF BEHAVIORAL ISSUES

Conflicting Demands and Behavioral Issues Contd

Thus worker behavior poses a serious barrier to the maintenance of good health and safety standards in the workplace

HEALTH
The absence of disease or ill health. For example asbestos creates a health risk because if you inhale asbestos dust you may contract lung cancer (a disease at some stage later in life perhaps 20 or 30 years after you inhale the dust). Health relates not only to physical ill health but also to psychological ill health (e.g. exposure to extreme stress can lead to nervous breakdown)

SAFETY
The absence of risk of serious personal injury and or Death. For example walking under a suspended load from a crane during a lifting operation is not safe because if the load falls, serious personal injury or death could result. Staying out of Danger areas result in safety

WELFARE
Access to basic facilities such as; toilet facilities, hand wash stations, changing rooms, rest rooms and places where food can be prepared and eaten in relatively hygienic conditions, drinking water and basic first aid provision

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The prevention of damage to air, water, land and living creatures in the wider environment Environment simply refers to the local area around a workplace or workstation, meaning the air, temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting etc in the local area. It can also be use in the wider context to refer to; air, land, water and creatures. Environmental protection refer to the prevention of damage to this wider environment and is of course subject to legal standards.

REASONS FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY (Moral, Financial and Legal)

Individuals and Organizations have to manage health and safety standards within the workplace for various reasons These reasons can be grouped under 3 main headings: moral, financial and legal

THE PROBLEM
The following statistics presented below compiled by the Health and Safety Executive HSE UK represents averages over recent years in the UK Every year in the UK over 220 workers are killed at work over 29000 workers suffer a major injury over 110,000 workers suffer over 3 day injury

THE PROBLEM Contd

Over 30 million working days are lost - 80% as a result of work related ill health - 20% as a result of workplace injury 2 million people suffer from an illness they believe was caused or made worse by their current or past work Over 2,000 people die of mesothelioma and thousands more from other occupational cancer and lung diseases

THE PROBLEM Contd

The above figures relates to only those accidents and diseases that were reported and recorded, there will be cases of under reporting thus the statistics could be higher! The above is also indicative of a huge amount of pain and suffering experienced by people who simply go to work to earn a living The numbers indicate the scale of the problem but what numbers do not do is tell individual stories

THE MORAL REASONS

When health and safety is not managed properly people get killed and injured in gruesome ways or suffer terrible diseases that have a massive impact not only on them but also their dependants, families, friends and colleagues this is morally unacceptable. Employers provide premises and equipment and put in place the working practices which employees use to produce goods and services with which employers earn profit; thus employers have a moral responsibility to provide safe and healthy working conditions

THE FINANCIAL REASONS

Accidents and ill health cost employers money. When accident occurs there will direct and indirect cost associated with the event. Some of these losses can be insured against; many cannot. The financial impact of accidents and ill health can have significant effects on the profitability of an organization and in some cases can lead to bankruptcy

Direct and Indirect Costs

Direct Costs measurable cost arising directly from the accident Examples
First Aid treatment Employee sick pay Repair or replacement of damaged equipment Lost or damaged product Lost production time whilst dealing with the injury Insurance compensation payment to the victim Fines in criminal court

Direct and Indirect Costs

Indirect Costs those cost which arise indirectly as a consequence of the event; difficult to quantify precisely, hard to identify and in certain circumstances extremely high Examples
Loss of staff from productive duties in order to investigate the incident, prepare reports, undertake hospital visits, deal with relatives attend court proceedings Loss of staff morale; impacts on productivity and efficiency Compliance with any enforcement notice served Cost of remedial action following an investigation e.g. change of process or materials and/or introduction of further control measures Difficulty in recruiting and training staff as an indirect result of the accident Loss of goodwill of customers following delays in production and fulfilling orders Damage to Public Image and business reputation Activation of penalty clauses for failing to meet delivery dates

LEGAL FRAMEWORK REGULATING HEALTH AND SAFETY

Two types of law creates the legal framework for health and safety
Criminal law; concerned with the punishment of companies or individuals who have broken statute health and safety law Civil law ; concerned with compensation of people who have been injured in work-related accidents through no fault of their own.

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW

CRIMINAL LAW Action is brought by the State Intention is punishment CIVIL LAW Action is brought by individual Intention is compensation

Legal proceeding normally starts within 6 Legal proceeding normally starts within 3 months of offence coming to light years of offence coming to light

Insurance is not available to pay the fine Statute law is used as the source of the law Burden of proof required is normally guilty beyond reasonable doubt

Insurance is available to pay the compensation Common and Statute law is used as the source of law Burden of proof required is normally on balance of probabilities'