17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Peshawar

Industrial Health and Safety- MIDS

Names: Mohammad Hamza Awan

Registration No: 17PWMEC4279

Section: “A”

Department: Mechanical

Subject: Industrial Health and Safety

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17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

Question # 1:
a) Difference between Health and Safety:
Following are some of the differences between Health and Safety:
Health Safety
Health is the measure of how much efficient an Safety refers to a condition in which one’s
individual’s body is in terms of doing the task body is safe from all potential dangers while
assigned or for normal functioning of the body. working in an industry.

If a potential health hazard is affecting a Safety hazards are quite obvious, and they can
worker, it usually isn’t palpable for him/her to be very clearly stated and defined.
realize the hazard as the health hazards
doesn’t show its colors immediately.
Health hazards are the illness and disease- Safety hazards are accident causing agents
causing agents. and can endanger the life of the workers with
an immediate effect.
Health hazards have variations from person to Safety hazards are things are almost the same
person as a health hazard for one person might for everybody as these hazards effect
not be as much of a health hazard for another everybody in the same way.
person.
Example: Respiratory Hazards from dust, Example: Fires and Explosions, Height related
exposure to harmful rays such as UV rays, etc works include hazards of falling, etc.

b) Benefits of Safe Work Environment in Workplace:

Workplace Safety has become one of the paramount concerns for companies and
industries now-a-days. There are many reasons and benefits of maintaining a safe work
environment and that is why this area has brough huge attention to it. Following are some
of the factors of why a safe work environment is important in a workplace:
• People now-a-days consider workplace safety as rudimentary before opting for
working in a workplace. More people are attracted towards working in a place
that is free some potential health and safety hazards.
• The life of a person can never be replaced by another person as a worker is not
only important to a firm but also to his family and friends. Having workplace
safety for employees is one of the prime duties of all employers and the staple
right of every employer.
• A safe work environment can produce better results in terms of productivity and
the amount of work being done in a workplace. Happier and healthier employees
are generally more productive than despondent and ill workers.

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17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

• Avoiding Safety hazards can also help a firm save a lot of the money that goes in
after an accident happens. The cost for replacement of equipment damaged, cost
of life, cost of worker’s compensation and other miscellaneous cost cause heavy
monetary losses to a firm or a company.

Question # 2:
a) What is an Accident?
An accident is a fortuitous event that happens or is caused due to unplanned or
unintentional actions and results in some kind of harm, injury, or an illness. In most cases,
the cause of the accidents is not very apparent, and they are often unforeseen in most
circumstances. There are many theories of accidents which are described below:
• Domino Theory of Accident Causation
o Injuries result from a series of factors,
o Five factors in series leading to an accident. These are ancestry and social
environment, fault of a person, unsafe act, accident, and injury.
• Human Factors Theory of Accident Causation
o Chain of events ultimately that cause accidents and are due to human
errors.
o 3 main factors; overload, inappropriate response, inappropriate activities.
• Accident/Incident Theory of Accident Causation
o Extends the Human Factors theory by including ergonomic traps, and
system failures.
• Epidemiological Theory of Accident Causation
o Described the relationship between environmental factors (disease
causing) and accidents.
• Systems Theory of Accident Causation
o Accidents caused by three components- Person, machine, environment.
• Combination Theory of Accident Causation
o A single accident causation theory can’t fully explain an accident.

b) Costs incurred by accidents:

All accidents are very costly for any industry, company or a firm. When an accident
happens, a lot of money is wasted and that is exactly why accidents should always be
avoided. Just in the United States, $150 billion are costs incurred by accidents in a year.
The costs incurred by accidents include:
• Worker’s Compensation Cost (one of the major contributors)
• Medical Expenses given to the injured employees.
• Replacement of damaged equipment in an accident.

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17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

• Costs due to other property damaged like infrastructure, etc.

• Lost Employees will require new workers that are unskilled. It will cost to get them
trained for the required work.
• Corrective Measures:
o Every job should be analyzed first, and all the safety and health hazards
should be researched.
o Providing safety trainings and getting workers educated should be the first
corrective measure.
o Devising a proper safety program and a plan that describes all safety
related polices, rules and regulations.
o Enforcing all safety regulations in a strict manner will help improve
workplace safety.
o Ensuring that every employee is doing the job in safe working conditions.
o Ensuring that every employee is doing the job that he is required or
expected to do.

Question # 3:
a) Worker’s Compensation:
Worker’s compensation is a way of allowing injured employees to be compensated
appropriately and adequately in an unforeseen and an unfortunate incident. The concept
developed to give worker’s their right without them taking their employers to court for
what they rightfully deserved. Rehabilitating the employees in a way that is beneficial for
not only the employees but also employers is what worker’s compensation today is all
about.
• Different Kinds of Worker’s Compensation:(Four Types of Injuries to which
Worker are compensated for)
o Temporary Partial Disability (Medical Treatment Only)
o Temporary Total Disability (Medical Treatment with Lost Time from Work)
o Permanent Partial Disability (Medical Treatment & Injuries That
Prevent Employee from Returning to Their Pre-Injury Job.)
o Permanent Total Disability (Medical Treatment & Injuries That Prevent
the Employee from Returning to Any Type of Work.)

b) Legal Aspects of Legislations related to Worker’s Compensation:

• In the United States, the first legislation related to worker’s compensation was not
passed until 1908 and US was particularly slow in devising and adopting these
laws.

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17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

• Before the Worker’s compensation, the employers had an easy way to avoid giving
worker’s compensation incase of an unfortunate incident by somehow proving
that the accident was due to contributory negligence, negligence of a fellow
worker, or the assumption of risk before a job. Even if one of these factors were
present, the worker’s compensation was denied back then.
• Other than this, worker’s compensation was termed as unconstitutional for the
longest time.
• As of now, all the 50 states of the US have worker’s compensation laws. Almost all
the countries of the world also have some variations of the worker’s
compensation laws.

Question # 4:
a) Safe Working Environment for Construction Industry:
Construction industry is sometimes considered as one of the most dangerous professions
and it is imperative for workers working in a construction industry to follow all safety
protocols and regulations. Following are some of the best practices to follow to maintain
a safe working environment in a construction industry:
• Providing Safety training to all construction workers before entering the
construction site is one of the first steps in maintaining a safe working
environment for the worker. All workers should be educated about all the possible
safety and health hazards present at the site.
• Construction sites are often filled with leftover materials. Implementing and
improving good housekeeping practices will help making the site safe for the
worker.
• Redesigning the work area so that every worker is doing his own work without
hindering other workers.
• Removing broken equipment and tools on site is also very important as it will help
keep the site clean off all potential dangers.
• Large construction sites should limit the access of certain areas so that no
unauthorized personnel can visit those dangerous areas.

Personal Protective Equipment:

Personal Protective Equipment, or most commonly referred to as the PPE’s, is the
equipment that a worker is required to wear while working in a hazardous
environment so as to remain safe potential health and safety hazards including
workplace injuries and other illnesses. PPE’s may include helmets, gloves, safety
goggles/glasses, hats, full body suits, ear plugs, etc. PPE’s can protect us from many
health and safety hazards by:

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17PWMEC4279-Mohammad Hamza Awan Industrial Health and Safety

• Reducing the exposure to harmful chemicals,

• Reducing the exposure to fire, water, other potential life harming things,
• Head protection from either things falling on you, or you falling from
someplace,
• Eye and face protection from many dangers at a workplace,
• Respiratory protection at environments where dangerous and poisonous
gases are present.

b) Various Categories that Cause Most Accidents:

Following are some of the categories that cause the most accidental deaths in the US:
• Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Falls
• Poisoning
• Drowning
• Fire-related Injuries.
Apart from this, following are the industries that are most dangerous as most of the
accidents happen in these industries:

• Mining/Quarrying
• Agriculture
• Construction
• Transportation/Public Utilities
• Government

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