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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY NOTES Part 1
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY NOTES Part 1
Introduction
Occupational Health is a science concerned with health in its relation to work or working
environment. This involves four main concepts to ensure total care of the individual and these
are;
surveillance of working environment
surveillance of workers health
information, education and training and advice
treatment and health programmes
emergency preparedness - response planning (first aid etc.)
It is therefore the maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of
workers in all occupations. The hazardous human work factors include;
chemicals
ergonomics
physical hazards
mechanical/electrical
biological
psychological
Defination of Terms
ii) Safety – Practical certainty that injury will not result from exposure to the hazard
under defined conditions or high probability that injury will not result.
iii) Occupation – a job, profession, livelihood, career or employment.
iv) Health – a state of complete physical, social and mental well-being and not merely
the absence of diseases or infirmity
v) Occupational health and safety – safety issues related to the workplace OR the
discipline concerned with preserving and protecting human facility resources in the
workplace.
vi) Risk – probability or frequency of the occurrence of a particular hazard or event and
some measure of severity of the consequence OR the potential harm that may arise
from some present processes or from some future events. It is often mapped to the
probability of some event which is seen to be undesirable.
vii) Accident – an unplanned event that interrupts the completion of an activity and may
not include injury or property damage OR anything that happens by chance without
an apparent cause OR an unforeseen, unexpected and unintended event.
viii) Incident – an occurrence or event OR a single distinct event OR an occurrence either
human caused or by natural phenomenon.
Organisation of Occupational Health and Safety in Zimbabwe
National level - NSSA is responsible for occupational health and safety and workers
compensation
Purpose of the OHS division in NSSA is to assure the creation and maintenance of ideal work
environments, which are free from occupational hazards, that may cause injury or illness to all
employees in work environments.
Zimbabwe Occupational Health and Safety Council (ZOHSC) drives the tripatite arrangement.
All parties agreed position is implemented.
Approach is in line with the ILO convention and reccomendations.
National Pensions and other Benefits Scheme S.I. 393 of 1993 (NSSA)
The Pension and Other Benefits Scheme is for every working Zimbabwean above the age of 16
years and uncer the age of 65 who is in permanent employment, seasonal contract and/or
temporary employment (excluding domestic workers and the informal sector). It is a legal
requirement for all Zimbabweans to contribute to the scheme. The benefits offered by the
scheme include;
retirement benefit
invalidity benefit
survivor's benefit
funeral grant
Other Legislation
Foods and Food Standards Act Chapter 15:04
Environmental Management Act Chapter 20:27
Mines and Minerals Act Chapter 21:05
Hazardous Substances and Articles Act Chapter
Labour Relations Act etc.
Duties/Role of employers
provide a safe and healthy working environment i.e. ventilation, exits, sanitary facilities
etc
provide training and awareness to employees on hazards and control measures as well as
operating procedures/working instructions
provide PPE for use in areas where hazard can not be completely eliminated
investigate the cause of all accidents and /or incidents encountered
report to NSSA any fatalities and or accidents in the workplace to enable workers to be
compensated
dispose of waste such that there is no harm to the employees
comply with the set OHS standards and regulations.
ensuring that information, instructions,training and supervision is provided to support the
safety of employees etc.
Hierarchy of Control
Elimination
Substitution
Isolation/Separation
Engineering Controls
Administration controls
Personal Protective Equipment
Elimination - the most satisfactory method of dealing with a hazard. Once the hazard has
been eliminated, the potential for harm has gone.
Substitution - this involves substituting a dangerous process or substance with one which
is not as dangerous. This may not be as satisfactory as elimination as there may still be a
risk even if it is reduced.
Isolation/Separation - separate/isolate the hazard from people. This method has its
problems in that the hazard has not been removed. The guard or separation device is
always at risk of being removed or bypassed.
Engineering Controls - this includes the designing of the machine so as to ensure that it is
safe for use as well as the modification of the machine such as putting guards over
rotating or moving parts.
Administration controls – usually involves the modification of the likelihood of an
accident occurring and this can be done by reducing the number of people operating the
machine, danger signs, lock out and tag out systems etc.
Personal Protective Equipment - this is the least desirable control option. When it is not
feasible to render the work environment completely safe, it may be nescessary to protect
the workers from hazards with personal protective devices.
Monitoring and review - review is an important aspect of any risk management process. It is
essential to review what haas been done to ensure that the controls put in place are effective and
that they have not introduced new hazards.