Safety of Work Environment

Work Hazard

Although work provides many economic and other benefits, a wide array of workplace hazards also present risks to the health and safety of people at work. These include chemicals, biological agents, physical factors, adverse ergonomic conditions, allergens, a complex network of safety risks and a broad range of psycho-social risk factors. Personal protective equipment can help protect against many of these hazards.

Physical hazards 
Affect many people in the workplace. Occupational hearing loss is the most common work-related injury in the United States, with 22 million workers exposed to hazardous noise levels at work and an estimated $242 million spent annually on worker's compensation for hearing loss disability. Falls are also a common cause of occupational injuries and fatalities, especially in construction, extraction, transportation, healthcare and building cleaning and maintenance. Machines have moving parts, sharp edges, hot surfaces and other hazards with the potential to crush, burn, cut, shear, stab or otherwise strike or wound workers if used unsafely.

Biological hazards 
Include infectious microorganisms such as viruses and toxins
produced by those organisms such as anthrax. Bio-hazards affect workers in many industries; influenza, for example, affects a broad population of workers. Outdoor workers, including farmers, landscapers, and construction workers, have higher risk exposure to numerous bio-hazards, including animal bites and stings, urushiol from poisonous plants, and diseases transmitted through animals such as the West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Health care workers, including veterinary health workers, risk exposure to blood-borne pathogens and various infectious diseases, especially those that are emerging.

Chemical Hazard
Dangerous chemicals can pose a chemical hazard in the workplace. There are many classifications of hazardous chemicals, including neurotoxins, immune agents, dermatology agents, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, systemic toxins, asthmagens, pneumoconiotic agents, and sensitizes. Authorities such as regulatory agencies set occupational exposure limits to mitigate the risk of chemical hazards. An international effort is investigating the health effects of mixtures of chemicals. There is some evidence that certain chemicals are harmful at lower levels when mixed with one or more other chemicals. This may be particularly important in causing cancer.

Psychosocial hazards 
Include risks to the mental and emotional well-being of workers, such as feelings of job insecurity, long work hours, and poor work-life balance. A recent Cochrane review - using moderate quality evidence - related that the addition of work-directed interventions for depressed workers receiving clinical interventions reduces the number of lost work days as compared to clinical interventions alone. This review also demonstrated that the addition of cognitive behavioral therapy to primary or occupational care and the addition of a "structured telephone outreach and care management program" to usual care are both effective at reducing sick leave days.


Laws (click on the law for details)

• Law No 1 of 1970 concerning Occupational Safety.
• Government Regulation No. 19 of 1973 concerning the Regulation and Supervision of Safety in the Field of Mining.
• Government Regulation No. 11 of 1979 concerning Work Safety on Oil and Gas Purification and Processing.
• Ministry Regulation No 3 Year 1978 regarding Appointment and Authority and Obligation of Employee Safety and Health Supervisory and Occupational Safety Expert.
• Ministry Regulation No 1 Year 1979 on Obligation of Hygiene Exercise Company Health and Safety for Paramedical Power Company.
• Ministry Regulation No. 1 Year 1980 on Work Safety on Building Construction.
• Ministry Regulation No 2 Year 1980 on Labor Inspection of Labor In Operation of Safety.

Factor that affect work environment

Safety and health professionals are responsible for aiding management in anticipating, identifying, evaluating, and controlling hazards in the workplace. Responsibilities include advising the management team of the risks the facility faces. The professional then calls upon management to eliminate the hazards associated with those risks before losses occur. Knowledge of the factor that affect work environment permits the professional to more thoroughly recognize and communicate information regarding safety problems. 

Workplace - these Regulations apply to a very wide range of workplaces, not only factories, shops and offices but also, for example, schools, hospitals, hotels and places of entertainment. The term workplace also includes the common parts of shared buildings, private roads and paths on industrial estates and business parks, and temporary worksites (except workplaces involving construction work on construction sites). 

Work - means work as an employee or self-employed person. 

Premises - means any place including an outdoor place. 

Domestic premises - means a private dwelling. These Regulations do not apply to domestic premises, and exclude homeworkers. However, they do apply to hotels, nursing homes and to parts of workplaces where ‘domestic’ staff are employed, such as the kitchens of hostels.

There are many factors associated with the causes of accidents, ranging from simple to complex. Some focus on employees and how their action or lack thereof contributes to accidents. Others focus on management and its responsibilities for preventing conditions leading to accidents. Theories are not facts; they are tools predicting relationships that may exist in the future. 

Accidents are not events happening by chance; they have specific causes. Nor are they random events; they are usually predictable and preventable. By knowing the factors, the professional is more likely to predict accidents and initiate activities preventing their occurrence or recurrence. Accidents represent failures in the system or management problems in the organization. Management controls all the variables surrounding accidents. It creates the work environment. It advertises for, hires, places, trains, and supervises workers. Management can reward for work it wants done and punish when procedures are violated. If the worker makes a fatal error, both OSHA and the courts will likely hold management responsible. Public opinion rarely favors management in accident situations.

1. Human factor 

According to a definition shared by the World Health Organization, human factors “refer to environmental, organizational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics which influence behavior at work in a way which can affect health and safety. This factors occur when:

•  Lack of control over the way work is done

Worker undertake a task without proper training. Anyone using work equipment must have received adequate training, instruction and information for the particular equipment to enable them perform their work easily. This will help them perform to the best of their ability and be proud of their achievements.

•  Work overload 

Employee having too much work to do. Overtired employees distracted by personal or work-provided mobile devices are a particularly deadly combination.

•  Stress

The modern workplace is full of demands, deadlines, etc. There are employees who sustain and perform under pressure while there are employees who succumb to this rising pressure. Thus, an aggressive environment where the stress levels are high will prove detrimental to employee performance.

•  Lack of support from managers

A manager motivates his subordinates confidence, and evokes enthusiasm with regard to their work. But if the same manager engages in aggressive and punitive behavior, it results in harassment at the workplace.

•  Conflicting or ambiguous roles

Employee discrimination can have a negative effect on the organization’s bottom line. It hampers the main components of employees’ behavior which are directly associated with job performance. This might also result in a higher incidence of grievances among employees.

•  Poor relationships with colleagues (including bullying)

There are cases where bosses or colleagues threaten an employee for no reason or pass offensive remarks against the employee. This leads to the creation of a hostile environment in the workplace. It also disturbs the sense of belonging among employees.

•  Poor management of organisational change

Badly-conducted appraisals can create a lot of problems for the organization as well as its employees. If a hard working employee is under-rated, besides being unfair, it creates an inferiority complex in the mind of the employee, while being over-rated may create egoism.

•  Make errors and unintentional mistakes.

Errors are made when the employee believes that they are doing the right thing when they are not. Violations are intentional errors or mistakes that come from employees taking shortcuts or skipping steps to save time or from a general noncompliance. 

•  Poor judgment and bad decision making.

Decision-making is strongly influenced by beliefs which may have only a tentative link to reality. Poor judgement occurs, for example, when an employee detects a hazardous condition but does not correct it, or removes a safeguard from a machine to increase productivity.

•  Disregard for procedures

Employee genuinely forgets to follow a safety procedure. Failure to implement this particular safety protocol was a common practice among all staff and was not implemented by any other team leader at the workplace led to a serious problems affecting everyone safety.

•  Employees come to work when they are sick

This happened because they don’t have available time off or don’t want to use those hours for illness. Every business regardless of industry can fall prey to this safety issue and cause the spreading of virus and diseases.

Most workplaces are adept at identifying obvious hazards and providing basic safety training upon hiring new employees. However, the evaluation of human factors should be an ongoing effort that involves all employees. Only by understanding human factors, can an occupational safety professional seek out ways to mitigate risk with stopgap measures that prevent accidents before they occur.

2. Layout and dimension of work place

Workrooms should have enough free space to allow the worker to move about with ease. The volume of the room when empty, divided by the number of people normally working in it, should be at least 11 cubic metres. All or part of a room over 3.0 m high should be counted as 3.0 m high. 11 cubic metres per person is a minimum and may be insufficient depending on the layout, contents and the nature of the work.

Worker also should be able to leave workstations swiftly in an emergency. Ergonomics (the study of people's efficiency in their working environment) allow people to work comfortably and in safety.  For example, for office workers, the height and orientation of computer screens, chairs which provide postural support. If work can or must be done sitting, seats which are suitable for the people using them and for the work they do should be provided. Seating should give adequate support for the lower back, and footrests should be provided for workers who cannot place their feet flat on the floor.

3. Equipment 

Powered hand tools etc can cause ‘vibration syndromes’, and vibration from a machine or passing through the seat of a vehicle can cause or aggravate whole back pain.  Noise can damage hearing, but it can also be a serious nuisance affecting concentration and physiological parameters.

Choose equipment that is suitable for its intended purpose. Correctly selecting equipment will reduce the chances of loss, damage or injury to plant, equipment and people. It is important to note that items suitable for home may be unsuitable for use as work equipment. Some hand or power tools that would be acceptable for occasional DIY use will not be robust enough to be used on a construction site. Indeed, most power tools for home use will be 240v but should be 110v for use on a site.

Work equipment should be maintained in a safe condition. This includes any routine or preventative maintenance and or repairs carried out to equipment. It is important that records are kept of all maintenance.

4. Materials 

Many work environments contain sources of hazardous substances (chemicals, dust, fumes, biological agents), which may cause exposure by inhalation, dermal absorption, splashing into eyes, or ingestion. Industrial employees can experience long-term physical damage from repeated exposure to chemicals of various types. Lead, asbestos, benzene and similar toxins that have been proven to cause cancer and other diseases.

5. Lighting

Lighting should be sufficient to enable people to work and move about safely. If necessary, local lighting should be provided at individual workstations and at places of particular risk such as crossing points on traffic routes. Lighting and light fittings should not create any hazard. Automatic emergency lighting, powered by an independent source, should be provided where sudden loss of light would create a risk.

6. Temperature

Environmental factors (such as humidity and sources of heat in the workplace) combine with personal factors (such as the clothing a worker is wearing and how physically demanding their work is) to influence what is called someone’s ‘thermal comfort’. Individual personal preference makes it difficult to specify a thermal environment which satisfies everyone. For workplaces where the activity is mainly sedentary, for example offices, the temperature should normally be at least 16 °C. If work involves physical effort it should be at least 13 °C (unless other laws require lower temperatures).

The risk to the health of workers increases as conditions move further away from those generally accepted as comfortable. Risk of heat stress arises, for example, from working in high air temperatures, exposure to high thermal radiation or high levels of humidity, such as those found in foundries, glass works and laundries. Cold stress may arise, for example, from working in cold stores, food preparation areas and in the open air during winter.

Assessment of the risk to workers’ health from working in either a hot or cold environment needs to consider both personal and environmental factors. Personal factors include body activity, the amount and type of clothing, and duration of exposure. Environmental factors include ambient temperature and radiant heat; and if the work is outside, sunlight, wind velocity and the presence of rain or snow.

7. Ventilation

Workplaces need to be adequately ventilated. Fresh, clean air should be drawn from a source outside the workplace, uncontaminated by discharges from flues, chimneys or other process outlets, and be circulated through the workrooms. Ventilation should also remove and dilute warm, humid air and provide air movement which gives a sense of freshness without causing a drought. 

If the workplace contains process or heating equipment or other sources of dust, fumes or vapours, more fresh air will be needed to provide adequate ventilation. Windows or other openings may provide sufficient ventilation but, where necessary, mechanical ventilation systems should be provided and regularly maintained. Open able windows, skylights and ventilators should be capable of being opened, closed or adjusted safely and, when open, should not pose any undue risk to anyone.

From 1 July 2007, it has been against the law to smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces in England. Similar legislation exists in Scotland and Wales. Most countries have some enforcement of bans on smoking.

The Benefits of a Good Work Environment

OSH defines the work environment as the establishment and other locations where one or more employees are working or are present as a condition of their employment. The work

environment includes not only physical locations, but also the equipment or materials used by the employee during the course of his or her work.

A good work environment is one of the significant influences for how employees and workers feel about their occupational safety and health besides the work itself. Thus, an industry should concern on this factor in order to obtain the most efficient and productive work environment for employees and workers.

Establishing safety and health programs to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses is not only a right thing to do, it is also the profitable thing to do. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested in safety and health, employers can expect up to 6 times return on their investment. Safety and health management planning at work environment is good for workers and business. 

When it comes to managing your employees and workers, you should set the right tone at work. A good work environment gives motivation and positive vibes to the employees and workers to come working and sustain them throughout the day thus this will lead to as many as benefits that can be found.

The benefits of a good work environment affect:

1. Workers: Persons who do specified type of works or who work in specified ways.
2. Unions: Societies or associations formed by people with a common interest or purpose.
3. Employees: Persons employed for wages or salary, especially at non-executive level.
4. Industry: Economic activities concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factory.
5. Occupational safety and health (OSHA): A multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work.

1. Workers

• Fewer injuries, illnesses and lost restricted cases

An injury and illness prevention program (occupational safety and health) is a proactive process to help employers find and fix workplace and environmental work hazards before workers are hurt. We know that this program can be effective in reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

• Safer work environment

Whether you choose to take a few more minutes to encourage safety practices in a training class or spend a few more dollars on office-proofing, both signifies you’re looking out for the protective interests of you and your staffs.

2. Unions

• Labor management cooperation sets tone (for improved cooperation in other areas)

Labor management cooperation is a state of relations where labor and management work hand in hand to accomplish certain goals using mutually acceptable means. It is the outcome of a continuing process of enhancing mutual trust and respect through information sharing, discussion, consultations and negotiations.

3. Employee

• Lower work related cost

It is as to ease workers from paying their compensation costs due to a good work environment.

• Increase moral

Regardless of their industry, workers who feel empowered by their employers have higher morale.

• Increase productivity

The workday can be a daunting prospect if you do not approach it correctly. Most people start their days with hopes of achieving benchmark levels of productivity, but end up exhausted. By applying occupational safety and health in environmental work, one can simply begin to be productive at work and can streamline and improve one approach to the whole work.

4. Industry

• Partnership with employees & OSH

In a partnership, OSHA enters into an extended, voluntarily, cooperative relationship with groups of employees in order to encourage, assist and recognize their efforts to eliminate serious hazards and achieve a high level of worker safety and health.

5. Occupational safety and health (OSH)

• Establish cooperative relationships

This in an ongoing process. It begins in the early stages of team development and continues throughout the life of the team. Collaboration implies a willingness on the part of organizations to change the way services are delivered by introducing occupational safety and health.