BASICS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

HRT 06103

SULEIMAN H. MZUNGU
2021/2022

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 Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be familiar with the following: -
• Know and understand facts about OHS
• Define health and safety at work place
• Compare and contrast the terms health and safety
• Explain importance of management of health and safety at work place
• Define industrial hazards
• Identify types of hazards in different organization context
• Explain consequences of each industrial hazards category to
employees.
• Determine specific measures for hazard control and management
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 Facts about Occupational Health and Safety
The human, social and economic costs of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases
and major industrial disasters have long been cause for concern at all levels from
individual workplaces to the National and international levels.
Tanzania is heavily dependent in agriculture which accounts for half of the National
economy however, it is the sector responsible for the highest rates of deaths and
injuries in the Country.
The construction industry is among the fastest growing and expanding economic sector
in Tanzania and many accidents and diseases occur in the industry because of its
inherent hazardous nature. The industry accounts for 25% - 45% of fatalities.

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Facts about occupational health and safety cont..
 ILO estimates over 317 million accidents occur in jobs annually
which is equivalent to 868,493 accidents a day or 153 accidents
after every 15 minutes. Eventually, these accidents and work
related diseases claim over 2.3 million lives annually.
 Occupational health and safety services are important for
sustainable development of a country, as they reduce
occupational accidents and diseases which can have huge
economic burden to individuals, enterprises and the Nation as
whole.
 It is believed that Improving health and safety of workers will
significantly increase productivity at the workplaces to encourage
more investments, increase job creation, higher morale, and job
satisfaction.

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 Occupational Health and Safety in Tanzania
Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety encompasses provision and
maintenance at the highest degree of safe and healthy working conditions and
environment and it is a prerequisite for the facilitation of optimal social, mental and
physical wellbeing of workers at workplaces and safety of property.
The Government of Tanzania is set to strengthen workers’ health and safety at their
work places as the Country moves on to build industrial economy. This arises from
the fact that work related activities are associated with varieties of hazards which if
there are no serious measures put in place, most employees (workers) would be in
serious danger.
Various stakeholders play a vital role in ensuring occupational health and safety in
the Country. Stakeholders in OHS, are actors who are lawfully mandated to carry out
OHS issues in Tanzania. They are as follows: -

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 The legislation framework of OHS in Tanzania

Various legislations have made provisions to govern OHS in the Country which are also
backed up by other conventions participated by other Nations and international
organizations.
– The Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 5 of 2003
– The Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004
– Workmen’s Compensation Act, 2008.
– The OHS National Policy, 2010

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 Occupational health and safety terms defined
• Occupational safety and health is identified as the discipline dealing with the
prevention of work-related injuries and diseases as well as the protection and
promotion of workers’ health. It aims at the improvement of working
conditions and environment.
• Safety - operating within an acceptable or low probability of risk associated
with conditions or activities having the potential to cause harm to people,
equipment, facilities or the enterprise.
• Hazard - is a workplace condition or worker action that can result in injury,
illness, or other organizational loss.
• Risk – is the measure of the probability and severity of a loss event taking
place

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 Occupational health and safety terms defined
cont.…

• Accidents are unplanned events, often resulting in injuries or damage of property.

They are nearly always preceded by unsafe acts of employees, hazardous conditions
in the workplace, or both. When appropriate action is taken, most accidents can be
eliminated.

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 Importance of Occupational Health and Safety
The importance of occupational health and safety can be viewed Economically, morally,
and legally, occupational safety and health has become an important issue
• It ensures mental health and wellbeing of employees.
• Increases awareness and safe working culture
• Increases employee productivity
• It sets out roles, duties, responsibilities and rights

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 Occupational Hazards

• Occupational hazard is a hazard which is experienced at the work place or

that is related to an individuals work.
• Hazard – A potentially damaging physical environment, phenomenon or
human activity that may cause loss of life or injury, property damage, social
and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

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 Occupational Hazards cont.…

• Prevention of accidents, injuries or illness in the workplace starts with the

identification of all hazards within the workplace that could cause injury or illness.
• In most cases, employers are expected to undertake regular assessments to help
them identify the potential hazards that their employees are exposed to.
• All employees in an organization should be able to recognize and identify hazards in
the workplace on an ongoing basis. As work conditions change, so may the hazards.

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 Types of Occupational Hazards

An employee is exposed to five

types of hazards depending upon
the nature of the occupation he/she
is engaged in. These are: -
1. Physical hazards
2. Chemical hazards
3. Biological Hazards
4. Ergonomic Hazards
5. Psychosocial hazards

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 Physical Hazards
• Physical hazards are occupational hazards that have the potential to cause or
threaten the physical safety of employees working for an organization. They are a
common source of injuries in work places. Physical hazards can include (but not
limited to):
1. Slippery or uneven ground
2. Working at heights
3. Poor ergonomics
4. Extreme heat or cold
5. Fire and explosion
6. Noise
7. Vibration
8. Confined spaces

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 Ways to control physical hazards at workplace

• Individual assignment one.

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 Chemical hazards
• Chemical hazards are types of hazard that is caused by exposure to chemicals in the
workplace. Their exposure can cause acute or long term health problems. Chemical
hazards can practically be found anywhere around in the workplace and on the
commonly used products. There are seven different types of chemical hazards which
are: -
1. Toxic chemicals which can have a poisonous effect on an individual
2. Carcinogenic chemicals which are believed to cause cancer after exposer
3. Corrosive chemicals which cause visible destructions or alterations
4. Irritants which are chemicals that cause inflammatory effects
5. Sensitizers which are chemicals that cause allergic reactions
6. Flammable liquids that even vapors can catch fire.
7. Combustible liquids that combust after exposure to high temperatures.
These chemicals can have physical damage to the body or chronic diseases that develop
overtime, acute effects
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 Chemical hazards cont..
chemical hazards may include a vast range of commonly found substances including
– Ammonia These come in different forms such as granules, powders, solids,
– Chlorine liquids and gases and others are chemical by products such as
– Cleaning chemicals vapors, dusts and fumes.
– Disinfectants
– Gas cylinders
– Glues
– Lead
– Paint
– Pesticides
– Petroleum products
– Solvents

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 Ways in which chemicals can be exposed to the body
• The primary methods of exposure of chemicals to the bodies are: -

– Inhalation – chemical entering the body through breathing

– Absorption – when skin comes into contact with the chemical
– Ingestion – eating or drinking a chemical

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 Ways to control and manage chemical hazards at the
workplace
• When a hazard is identified in the workplace, controls need to be put in place to
manage the potential risk to workers who interact and work around the hazard.one
of the common way of controlling chemical hazards in the workplace is the hierarchy
of control which is in a form of inverted pyramid.
• The hierarchy of controls is a system that outlines a chronological order in
implementing controls to reduce chemical hazards. It ranks the effectiveness of the
methods of controlling risk from those that provide the highest level of protection
and reliability, to those that provide the least amount of reliability and protection.

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Ways to control and manage chemical hazards at the
workplace

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 Ways to control and manage chemical hazards at the
workplace
1. Elimination - This is the control measure that has the greatest level of effectiveness
before any other control measures are considered, elimination must be applied first.
Elimination is the method of totally removing a hazard or hazardous practice from the
workplace.
2. Substitution - Substitution is when you replace the use of a hazardous chemical with
another chemical that is less hazardous and presents a lower level of risk.
3. Isolation - If it’s not possible to substitute the use of a hazardous chemical with
another chemical that is less hazardous, you must then isolate the hazardous chemical
from people and other incompatible substances. This includes designs or
modifications to plants, equipment, ventilation systems, and processes that reduce the
source of exposure. These are also called engineering controls.

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 Ways to control and manage chemical hazards at the
workplace
4. Administrative controls - if a risk still remains after implementing higher order
controls, they must be reduced by implementing administrative controls. These
are written policies and procedures, shift designs, and trainings that outline the best
work practices to minimize exposure to hazardous chemicals. They mostly rely on
human behavior and supervision. Examples of administrative controls are: -
– Restricting access to a work area.
– Restricting the task to only those competent or qualified to perform the work.
– Scheduling maintenance and other high exposure operations for times when few workers are
present (such as evenings, weekends).
– Using job-rotation schedules that limit the amount of time an individual worker is exposed to
a substance.
– Using a work-rest schedule that limits the length of time a worker is exposed to a hazard.
– Signage
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– Trainings
 Ways to control and manage chemical hazards at the
workplace
• 5. Personal protective equipment PPEs – these are equipment worn by individuals to
reduce exposure to a chemical hazard. PPEs should be used as a last resort when
other more effective control measures have been used and the risk has not been
totally eliminated. Examples include; chemical resistant glasses, face shields,
chemical resistant gloves and respiratory equipment.

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 Biological Hazards

• They are also known as biohazards

• These are occupational hazards that result from workplace exposure to organisms, or
substances produced by organisms, that threaten human health.

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