Keeping the workplace safe

Despite all the benefits which Occupational Health and Safety has to offer, many companies are not yet fully compliant with its regulations.

The perception of many employers and employees of OHS is limited to personal protective equipment. But there is certainly much more in Occupational Health and Safety than providing personal protective equipment.

OHS encompasses not only the physical well-being of a worker but also his/her mental and social status. Its aim is to prevent and protect workers in their employment from adverse health effects.

And also to promote and maintain the highest degree of well-being in all occupations and placing and maintenance of workers in an environment adapted to both their physical and mental needs. Having a safe system programme not only makes the job safer for both employees and equipment in use but also more productive.

Unfortunately many companies still see OHS as a financial burden. Regulations are practically non-existent, within the boundaries of certain companies and employers still work in an unsafe workplace without even a competent person/persons in the field of health and safety to monitor and supervise them.

If you are a company which looks at health and safety as a financial burden, then ask these simple questions:

¤ Will insurance cover a business with frequent workplace accidents?

¤ Or if they do, how much would the cost be?

¤ What if just one fatal accident occurs on site?

Such a company will not look so attractive on the market.

There are many misconceptions about accidents and some companies think accidents cannot be prevented. Another misconception is that since a company never had any accidents, than it is immune to all sort of accidents.

If you are a company and think that health and safety is expensive, reflect:

¤ How much does it cost to replace a skilled and experienced worker?

¤ How much will it cost you to retrain an injured worker or his/her replacement?

Then also add the time wasted and the loss of production.

How will the other workers be affected when seeing a fellow co-worker injured? Workers are human beings, not machines; surely they will be affected psychologically. Who will be motivated and work with a safe state of mind in an unsafe environment? In many cases, when an accident occurs, equipment is also damaged.

Compensation to injured workers is nowadays much higher than in previous years and increasing rapidly too. There is no point in a company risking so much by not complying with health and safety regulations.

Not only risking a fine and compensation but also a damaged reputation, when all this can be easier tackled with less money and hassles involved.

What are the duties of employers towards their employees?

According to Maltese law (Act No. XXVII of 2000), the employer is responsible for the physical, psychological and social well-being of all workers.

It is also the duty of the employer to safeguard the health and safety of all persons may be affected by the work being carried out for such employer (Act No. XXVII of 2000, Part II, section 6 (1)).

Section 6 (2) also states the measures that need to be taken by an employer to prevent any type of ill-health. The general principles of prevention are a risk assessment that includes avoidance of the risk, identification of hazards and evaluation of hazards. Control at source, collective protection, adapting technical progress, taking all measures to reduce risks, adapting the work to the worker, providing information, instruction, training and supervision.

It is also the duty of the employer to ensure that a workers' health and safety representative is present whom the employer shall consult in advance and in good time on matters affecting occupational health and safety.

There is quite a drastic change when comparing the new Health and Safety Act with the Factories Ordinance of 1986. Whereas in 1986 health and safety in Malta was restricted to physical needs in certain workplaces only, now it affects all employers and employees in all fields of work.

Nowadays an employer has also to safeguard the mental and social state of each worker.

It is the duty of the employer to carry out a risk assessment in every workplace to identify risks and hazards previously unknown. In simple words a risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm and deciding what measures are to be taken to prevent or reduce the chances of an accident occurring.

There are various steps when conducting risk assessment. Obviously the first step is to look for hazards, which are classified into six groups - Physical hazards (heat, noise, lighting, radiation, vibration, pressure); Mechanical hazards (machinery, hand tools); Ergonomic hazards (manual handling, workstation layout, repetitive movements); Chemical hazards (gases, dusts, vapours, fumes, liquids, fibres); Biological hazards (viruses, bacteria, insects), and Psychosocial hazards (shift pattern, job rotation, work pressure).

When identifying hazards always use your common sense. In a large company, a health and safety officer or safety representative can perform such task. Whether a risk assessment is carried out in a small or large company, a competent person should always be responsible for such a task.

In both cases communication within all levels is important. Employees can notice things that might not look so obvious. But it should be noted that if a person who works every day with a too close hazard might not see such hazard. One must not plan a risk assessment and ignore hazards for the reason that nobody has been harmed for years by it, so there is no risk.

When conducting a risk assessment one should keep in mind that:

¤ A risk assessment should be planned carefully.

¤ It should be carried out by a competent person.

¤ Manufactures instructions and info sheets, such as 'Material safety data sheets' can help a lot, and should never be ignored.

¤ In certain cases a specialist advice would be required on particular hazards.

The person carrying out a risk assessment must decide who might be harmed and how. Young persons, mostly due to lack of experience may be more vulnerable. Pregnant women should never carry out tasks such as handling of loads, or work in extreme heat or cold, or work in an environment where chemical agents are in use.

One must also be informed of the state of health of workers - for example, if there are workers who suffer from respiratory problems. An emergency route make look good for an ordinary person but could not satisfy the needs of a wheelchair-bound person. Certain tasks may also be beyond the physical abilities of certain persons, or particular tasks may be too stressful for another. Not everyone has the same abilities when faced with stressful conditions.

An employer has the duty to safeguard the health and safety of all people (employees or not) that may be affected directly or indirectly by the company's work activities.

When carrying out a risk assessment, one must decide if existing precautions are adequate or if more needs to be done. Be realistic when considering the severity of harm. Consider the number of people that might be affected. What would be the ill effect - death?

Or which body parts are going to be affected? Make sure that you have conformed with any legal requirements relating to that particular hazard. When carrying a risk assessment keep in mind that you have the duty to keep the workplace safe and that the risks are either non-existent or tolerable.

A record of findings should be made and should show that a proper check was made. These should be kept for future references in case a company is asked to show what precautions it had taken or in a case involving an action for civil liability. Review the assessment to ensure that precautions are still in place and working effectively.

An employer is in duty bound to take all measures to reduce the risk. The most effective method is to eliminate the risk completely or to remove a worker from the risk. Unfortunately in certain cases this is not possible. Either it could be too costly or the technology to eliminate that particular risk completely is not yet fully available.

In many cases it could also be impossible to remove a worker from a particular hazard, although the employer is in duty bound to adapt any technological advance available to improve the health and safety standards within the work environment.

When it is not practical to eliminate a risk completely, then the risk should be reduced considerably.

Here are some examples:

¤ Reduce exposure to chemicals
¤ Dangerous machine parts should be properly guarded
¤ Handling materials of smaller size
¤ Installing equipment with lower noise level
¤ Substitute the toxic with less toxic
¤ Shielding
¤ Dilution ventilation
¤ Job rotation.

Employers should opt for personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort. It is impracticable to give first priority to PPE, for the simple reason that PPE does not prevent accidents, it is just a barrier between the worker and environment, and may reduce accident and exposures to ill-health effects.

According to the Act the employer shall supply PPE to his workers after other measures to protect the health of workers are impracticable or insufficient. Also keep in mind that most work-related jobs are totally different from each other, thus requiring a totally different type of PPE for each use.

The employer also has the duty to instruct employees on the use of such equipment and also to clean and maintain it regularly.

One should also keep in mind the disadvantages of using PPE. Definitely PPE reduces mobility and one should be aware when working in limited spaces or with a narrow escape route.

One of the major disadvantages, especially here in Malta, is the heat PPE generates. Not only do we have months of non-stop scorching heat, try to imagine a worker with full PPE gear carrying out a task. Any employer should keep in mind that any PPE that does not match a task is simply not effective at all.

This is certainly not a detailed guide on how to tackle risks and hazards in a workplace, but I have attempted to give an overview and some ideas on how to tackle workplace hazards.

Each workplace, whether a construction site or an office, has different needs and attention. If you are an employer and are not sure what to do or what the legal requirements are, ask a competent person.

Keep in mind that after upgrading your premises to all the requirements of health and safety standards you have the duty to maintain such standards. Information, training and supervision are fundamental for keeping a safe system of work at all levels.

Christopher Zarb is a graduate in occupational health and safety (e-mail: ohscrs@hotmail.com)