What is health and safety in the workplace?

Workplace health and safety is all about sensibly managing risks to protect your workers and your
business. Good health and safety management is characterised by strong leadership involving your
managers, workers, suppliers, contractors and customers. In a global context, health and safety is
also an essential part of the movement towards sustainable development.

Why is it important?

It’s good to know the benefits, so we’ve listed 10 reasons why health and safety is important.

1. It is morally right to ensure your workers return home safe and healthy at the end
of every working day.
2. By protecting your workers, you reduce absences, ensuring that your workplace is
more efficient and productive.
3. Research shows that workers are more productive in workplaces that are commit-
ted to health and safety.
4. Reducing down-time caused by illness and accidents means less disruption –
and saves your business money.
5. In some countries, health and safety legislation is criminal law and you are legally
obliged to comply with it. Legal breaches can result in prosecution, fines and even
imprisonment of senior executives.
6. To attract investors and partnerships you may need to demonstrate your commit-
ment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, which will include how you
protect your workers.
7. Increasingly, customers want to buy products and services that are produced ethi-
cally – so you also need to think about the work practices throughout your supply
chain and deal only with ethical suppliers that protect their workforce.
8. More and more, job hunters – particularly Millennials and Generation Z – seek roles
with employers who share their values, so without strong corporate responsibility
and sustainability practices you may struggle to attract or retain the best employ-
ees.
9. A good health and safety record is a source of competitive advantage: it builds trust
in your reputation and brand, while poor health and safety performance will directly
affect profitability and can result in loss of trade or even closure of the business.
10. Good health and safety at work secures long-term benefits for you, your business
and the wider community.

Five things you can do to improve health and safety in your workplace

1. Find out more about risk management – you can find information on this through our web-
site or other credible sources.
2. Lead from the top. Workers are much more likely to get involved and comply with controls if
senior management make it clear that health and safety is taken seriously by your business.
Actively discourage negative behaviours such as taking risks to save time or effort.
 3. Improve health and safety competence in your business. IOSH provides training courses to
meet your needs at all levels.
4. Get your workers involved in risk assessment: this will increase ‘buy-in’ and ownership of
their own health and safety. Set up health and safety representatives, and if they are already
established, support them more visibly.
5. Implement a health and safety management system for your business. This should include
an overall policy setting out your commitment, responsibilities allocated to individuals and
your arrangements detailing how you will actually control your risks. The UK’s Health and
Safety Executive publishes its freely-available standard HSG 65 ‘Managing for health and
safety’ or there is the international standard ISO 45001.

Health and Safety:

INTRODUCTION:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of
disease. It is the out come of the interaction between the individual and his environment. He is
healthy who is well adjusted.
Health Meaning:
The term ‘health’ is a positive and dynamic concept.
In common parlance health implies absence of
disease. However, that industrial health implies
much more than more absence of disease is clear
from Health.
Definition [Health]:
The worker who is healthy is always cheerful
confident working and strength well being in any
time that is called health.
Safety Meaning:
Before discussing other issues relating to safety, it is
useful to understand the nature of safety. Safety, in
simple terms, means freedom from the occurrence of
risk of injury or loss. Industrial safety or employee
safety refers to the protection of workers from the
danger of industrial accidents. An accident, then is
an unplanned and un-controlled event in which an
action or reaction of an object a substance, a person,
or a radiation result in personal injury.
Definition [Safety]:
Safety means prevention to danger or risk injury or
loss. Industrial safety or employee safety to
protection of workers from the danger of Industrial
accidents.

Working conditions affecting health:

1. Cleanliness:
Hygiene is essential of health dirt should be removed
daily from the workplace, furniture, staircases etc.
properly cleaned and his infected spittoons must be
provided at convenient places.
2. Lighting:
Adequate and proper lighting is essential for higher
efficiency and good quality of work. Poor lighting on
the other hand causes eye strain mental fatigue,
accidents and spoilage of materials.
3. Temperature and Ventilation:
Flow of fresh air with right temperature and
humidity is necessary for protection of health in hat
and humid climate employees feel tired and sleepy
ventilation fans coolers, heaters, air conditioners help
to maintain right temperature and humidity.
4. Freedom from Noise:
Too much noise inside and outside the work place
causes disturbance. It does not allow workers to
concentrate on the work and their efficiency declines.
5. Working space and Seating arrangements:
Adequate space should be provided for free
movement of persons machines etc. over crowding
should be avoided as it spoils health and efficiency.
OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS AND DISEASES:
1. Chemical substances:
Carbon di oxide, sulphuric acid, limes and alkalise
cause injury when they are absorbed through skin and
inhaling.
2. Biological Hazards:
Bacteria, fungi, viruses, insects malnutrition
excessive drinking and job stress affect employer
health.
3. Environmental records :
These include radiation, noise, vibrations shocks
etc. X-rays are radio active exposure may cause eye
train genetic disorders and cancer.
4.Atmospheric conditions :-
Ventilation improper lighting extrane
temperature etc., effect health and efficiency of
employees.
Under the factories act 1948. hazardous process
to defined as “any process or activity in relation to
are industry specified in the first schedule. Where
unless special care taken raw material used there in or
the intermediate are finished products.
Protection against health hazards :-
The types of measure can be taken to protect
employee health against occupational hazards.
1. Preventive measures
2.Curative measures
The former category includes
a) Pre-employment and periodic medical
examination.
b)Removal of health hazards to the maximum
possible extent.
c)Check over women and alter workers exposed to
especial risks.
d)Training of first aid staff.
e)Education workers in health and hygiene etc...
The curative measures consist of treatment for
the effect workers. Use of less toxic materials,
providing protecting devices, controlling dust, fumes
gases etc.. are some of the convenient and
inexpensive measures that can be taken by the
employers to prevent health hazards to employees.
Statutory provisions concerning health:
The factories act 1948 says down the following
provisions concerning employees health.
1. Cleanliness :-
a) Every factory shall be kept clean and free from
effluvia arising from any drain.
b) Privy are other nuisance. The flavour of every
work room shall be cleaned at least once in every
week by washing.
c) Where a flavour is likely to become wet increase
of any manufacturing process to such an extent as
is capable of being drained effective means of
drainage shall be provided.
d) Walls partitions ceiling doors, windows etc... shall
be painted varnished, white colour washed in the
prescribed manner.
2. Disposal of waste and Effluents:-
Effective arrangement shall be made in every
factory for the treatment of wastes and effluents due
to manufacturing process carried on there in, so as to
render them innocueres and for their disposal.
3. Ventilation and Temperature :-
a. The every factory for securing and maintaining
in every work room the circulation of fresh air
and such a temperature as will secure to workers
there in reasonable conditions of comfort and
prevent injury to health.
b) The process which provides high temperature
shall be separated from the work room by
insulating the hot parts or by alter effective
means.
4. Artificial Humidification :-
In any factory in which the humidity of the air is
artificially increased, the water use for the
purpose shall be taken from a public supply are
other source of drinking water or shall be
effectively purified before it is so used.
5. Over Crowding :-
There shall be in every work room of a factory at
least 9.9 cubic metres [for the factories existing
before this act] and 14.2 cubic metres [for factories
built after this act] of space for every worker. In
calculating such space, no account shall be taken of
any space which is more than 4.2 metres above the
level of the room’s floor.
6. Lighting :-
a) In every part of the factory where workers are
working are passing there shall be provided and
maintained sufficient and suitable lighting
material are artificial or bath.
b) All glazed windows and sky lights used for
lighting shall be kept clean and free from
obstructions.
7. Drinking :-
a) In every factory effective arrangement shall be
made so provided and maintain at suitable points
conveniently situated for all workers.
b) All such points shall be marked “drinking water”
in a language understand by a majority of
workers employed in the factory.
8. Latrines and urinals :-
a) In every factory :- Sufficient latrine
accommodation of prescribed type shall be
provided conveniently situated and accessible to
workers at the time while they are at the factory.
b) In every factory where in more than two hundred
and fifty workers are ordinarily employed. All
latrine accommodation shall be of prescribed
sanitary types
9. Spittoons :-
a) In every factory there shall be provided a
sufficient number of spittoons at convenient
places and they shall be maintains in a clean and
hygienic condition.
b) No person shall spit within the premises of a
factory except in the spittoon provided for the
purpose.
Safety, Health and Environment (SHE)
The SHE Department was established to provide safety, health and environmental services to the
National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS).The Department is comprised of a safety, an occupa-
tional health and waste assurance sections.

The team includes SHE Managers, Safety Professionals, Occupational Health Practitioners and Waste
Assurance Professionals. The team services the NHLS which comprises a workforce in excess of 8375
employees working in approximately 360 laboratories located nationally.

The scope of services includes but is not limited to:

 SHE policy and procedure formulation

 Risk assessment
 Health and safety audits
 Incident management and investigations
 Training
 SHE training
 Medical surveillance
 Cradle to grave management of waste
 OHASIS implementation and management