Module I - Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety
Learning Content:
a. OHS and the BOHS Framework
• Overview of the BOHS and the importance of health and safety
• OHS and its three major fields
• Work hazards and risks and recommend control measures to reduce or
eliminate work-related accidents and illness
• Basic knowledge & skills on OHS, such as safe work practices, that will enable
you to plan/develop your company’s Safety and Health program.
b. OHS Situation in the Global and Local Levels
• OHS situation, both local and international
• Problems, issues and challenges associated with OHS conditions in the
country
c. Unsafe / Unhealthy Acts and Conditions
• Different unsafe and unhealthy acts and conditions in your workplace
• unsafe/unhealthy acts from unsafe/unhealthy conditions
• relationship between unsafe/unhealthy acts and unsafe/unhealthy
conditions
• Filipino traits and characteristics in the workplace which result in unsafe/
unhealthy acts and conditions accident and its causes and ways to
promote safety consciousness
Learning Outcomes:
• Discuss OHS situation
• identify the problems, issues and challenges associated with OHS conditions
in the country
• Identify the different unsafe and unhealthy acts and conditions in your
workplace
• Differentiate unsafe/unhealthy acts from unsafe/unhealthy conditions
• Explain the relationship between unsafe/unhealthy acts and
unsafe/unhealthy condition
• Identify Filipino traits and characteristics in the workplace which result in
unsafe/ unhealthy acts and conditions
• Define accident and its causes and enumerate ways to promote safety
consciousness
A. Occupational health and safety
− the discipline concerned with preserving and protecting human resources in the
workplace.
− encompasses the social, mental and physical well-being of workers, that is, the
“whole person”.
− is a cross - disciplinary area and it interacts with other disciplines such as:
• occupational medicine,
• occupational or industrial hygiene,
• public health,
• safety engineering,
• ergonomics,
• toxicology,
• epidemiology,
• health physics,
• environmental health,
• industrial relations,
• public policy,
• industrial sociology,
• medical sociology,
• social law,
• labour law, and
• occupation health psychology
Three Major Fields of Occupational Health and Safety
• Occupational safety deals with understanding
the causes of accidents at work and ways to
prevent unsafe act and unsafe conditions in
any workplace.
• Occupational health is a broad concept which
explains how the different hazards and risks at work may
cause an illness and emphasizes that health programs
are essential in controlling work-related and/or
occupational diseases.
• Industrial hygiene discusses the identification,
evaluation, and control of physical, chemical,
biological and ergonomic hazards.
“In its broadest sense, OHS aims at:
• the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical,
mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations;
• the prevention of adverse health effects of the working conditions
• the placing and maintenance of workers in an occupational environment
adapted to physical and mental needs;
• the adaptation of work to humans (and NOT the other way around).
Objectives of Occupational Health and Safety
The prime objective of OHS at a global level is to ensure that health and safety is
accessible to every worker employed in any sector across the economy. The World
Health Organization (WHO) since its inception has included elements of occupational
health in its policy. The need to protect the worker from occupational health hazards
and promote safety of all at the workplace has been emphasized in key documents of
WHO - the Constitution of the WHO, Declarations of Alma Ata Declaration, Global
Strategy on Occupational Health for All, WHO General Programmes of Work and several
resolutions of the World Health Assembly.
Principles of Occupational Health and Safety
Occupational health and safety are a multi-disciplinary field, covering issues
related to law, medicine, technology, economics and industry specific concerns.
The core occupational health and safety principles put forth by the ILO are as
follows:
▪ All workers have rights. Workers, as well as employees and government, must
ensure that these rights are protected and foster decent conditions of labour.
As the International Labour Conference stated in 1984:
- Work should take place in a safe healthy environment;
- Conditions of work should be consistent with workers‟ well-being and
human dignity;
- Work should offer real possibilities for personal achievement,
selffulfillment and service society1.
▪ Occupational health and safety policies must be established. Such policies
must be implemented at both the governmental and enterprise levels. They
must be effectively communicated to all parties concerned.
▪ There is a need for consultation with the social partners (that is, employers and
workers) and other stakeholders. This should be done during the formulation,
implementation and review of such policies.
▪ Prevention and protection must be the aim of occupational health and safety
programmes and policies. Efforts must be focused on primary prevention at
the workplace level. Workplaces and working environment should be planned
and designed to be safe and healthy.
▪ Information is vital for the development and implementation of effective
programmes and policies. The collection and dissemination of accurate
information on hazards and hazardous materials, surveillance of workplaces,
monitoring of compliance with policies and good practices, and other related
activities are central to the establishment and the enforcement of effective
policies.
▪ Health promotion is a central element of occupational health practice. Efforts
must be made to enhance workers‟ physical, mental and social well- being.
▪ Occupational health services covering all workers should be established.
Ideally all workers in all categories of economic activity should have access to
such services, which aim to protect and promote workers‟ health and improve
working conditions.
▪ Compensation, rehabilitation and curative services must be made available to
workers who suffer occupational injuries, accidents and work-related diseases.
Action must be taken to minimize the consequences of occupational hazards.
▪ Education and training are vital components of safe, healthy working
environments. Workers and employers must be made aware of the importance
and the means of establishing safe working procedures. Trainers must be
trained in areas of special relevance to different industries, which have specific
OHS concerns.
▪ Workers, employers and competent authorities have certain responsibilities,
duties and obligations. For example, workers must follow established safety
procedures; employers must provide safe workplaces and ensure access to
first aid; and the competent authorities must devise, communicate and
periodically review and update occupational health and safety policies.
▪ Policies must be enforced. A system of inspection must be in place to secure
compliance with occupational health and safety and other labour legislation.
(ALLI 2001, p17-19)
Hazard and Risk
The terms hazard and risk are often interchanged.
Hazard – a source or situation with a potential to cause
harm in terms of injury, ill health, damage to
property, damage to the environment or a
combination of these.
Risk – a combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with
specified period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or
damage to the health of people, property, environment or any combination
of these caused by the event.
The hazards affecting the workplace under each major area should be
detected, identified, controlled and, at best, prevented from occurring by the safety
and health officer of the company. Occupational safety and health should be
integrated in every step of the work process, starting from storage and use of raw
materials, the manufacture of products, release of by-products, use of various
equipment and ensuring a non-hazardous or risk-free work environment.
B. OSH Situation in the Global and Local Levels
Global OSH figures
The International Labour Organization (ILO) Safework Introductory Report in 2008
showed that close to 50% of work-related deaths occur in Asia. In developing
countries, fatality rates are five to six times higher than in industrialized nations and in
developing countries where, every year, around 170,000 agricultural workers and
320,000 people die from exposures to biological risks such as viral, bacterial, insect or
animal related risks.
The latest ILO figures reveal that,
“Every 15 seconds, 160 workers have a work-related accident. Every 15 seconds, a
worker dies from a work-related accident or disease.
Everyday, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related
diseases – more than 2.3 million deaths per year. Over 337 million accidents occur
on the job annually; many of these resulting in extended absences from work. The
human cost of this daily adversity is vast and the economic burden of poor
occupational safety and health practices is estimated at 4% of global Gross
Domestic product each year.
The safety and health conditions at work are very different between countries,
economic sectors and social groups. Deaths and injuries take a heavy toll in
developing countries, where a large part of the population is engaged in hazardous
activities such as agriculture, fishing and mining. Throughout the world, the poorest
and least protected – often women, children and migrants – are among the most
affected.” (Safety and Health at Work, International Labour
Organization, accessed September 6, 2011
http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/lang-en/index.htm )
Philippine Labor and OSH statistics
According to the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) of the National Statistics Office
(NSO), the Philippine labor force/ economically active population, which refers to
persons 15 years old and above who are employed or underemployed, totals
38.905M in October 2010.
“Of the estimated 36.0 million employed persons in 2010, more than half (51.8%)
were engaged in services and about one-third (33.2%) were in agriculture. Most of
those who worked in the services sector were into wholesale and retail trade, repair
of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods (19.5% of the
total employed).
Of the total employed persons, the laborers and unskilled workers comprised the
largest group (32.3%). This was followed by farmers, forestry workers and fishermen
(16.0%); officials of government and special interest organizations, corporate
executives, managers, managing proprietors and supervisors (13.8%); and service
workers, shop and market sales workers (10.6%). The rest of the major occupation
groups each comprised less than 10 percent ranging from 0.4 percent to 7.7
percent.
The majority (54.4%) of the employed were wage and salary workers, most of
whom were in private establishments (40.4% of the total employed). Thirty percent
were self- employed without any paid employee, four percent were employer in
own family- operated business or farm while nearly 12 percent worked without pay
in own family- operated farm or business.
More than half (63.5%) of the total employed were full time workers or have
worked for at least 40 hours per week. On the average, employed persons worked
41.7 hours a week in 2010.
The number of underemployed workers in 2010 was 6.8 million, representing an
annual underemployment rate of 18.7 percent. Underemployed workers are
persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in the present job,
or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours. The
lowest underemployment rate was observed in Central Luzon (9.1%) while the
highest was noted in Bicol Region (36.8%).
About 2.9 million Filipinos were unemployed in 2010 representing an
unemployment rate of 7.3 percent for the year. The unemployed persons who have
attained high school accounted for 45.2 percent of all unemployed. The proportion
of unemployed males was greater than that of their female counterparts (63.3%
compared to 36.7%).” (2010 ANNUAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS, released
February 8, 2011, http://www.census.gov.ph/data/press
release/2011/pr1111tx.html)
According to the July 2011 Current Labor Statistics of the DOLE Bureau of Labor
and Employment Statistics (BLES), there are 8M OFWs with 1.47M deployed in 2010.
Of the OFWs deployed in 2010, 1,123,676 are land based and 347,150 are sea-
based.
After knowing these statistics, the question that comes to mind is “how many
Filipino workers are protected from accidents and illnesses while they work?”
Taken in 2007-2008 and released in 2010, the latest Bureau of Labor and
Employment Statistics (BLES) Integrated Survey (BITS)
on cases of occupational injuries and diseases that
affected private sector establishments covered
6,460 sample non-agricultural establishments with 20
or more workers. It has expanded its coverage 65
industries including building and repairing of ships
and boats (manufacturing industry); bus line
operation (transport, storage and communications);
accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities;
tax consultancy, architectural, engineering and
related technical consultancy; call center activities,
medical transcription and related outsourcing
activities (real estate, renting and business activities); and animated films and
cartoons production (other community, social and personal service activities)
industries.
The BITS results reveal that a total of 44,800 occupational accidents occurred
in 4,600 non-agricultural establishments employing 20 or more workers in 2007, a
figure lower by 14.7% than the 52,515 accidents that affected 4, 824 establishments
in 2003. Occupational injuries resulting from workplace accidents declined by 20.7%
from 58,720 in 2003 to 46,570 in 2007.
Cases that required absence/s from work stood at 23,265 in 2003 and 20,386 in
2007 or a reduction of 12.4%. Almost all cases with workdays lost in 2007 were
temporary disabilities (20,109). This is 12.4% lower than the caseload of 22,964 in 2003.
Figure 2 Fatalities decreased by 31.8%
(from 170 in 2003 to 116 in 2007.
However those permanently
incapacitated increased by
23.7 % (from 131 in 2003 to 162 in
2007).
Contributing factors to
occupational accidents and
injuries include machines,
equipment, hand tools,
materials, buildings,
structures and chemical
substances.
On the other hand, training on the proper handling and correct operation of
machines, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) precautions and carefulness
in work prevent accidents and promote safety in establishments.
The largest caseload of injuries with workdays lost in 2007 was recorded in
manufacturing establishments at 61.0% (12,427). This industry also posted the biggest
share at 61.9% four years earlier. The rest of the industries had lower shares ranging
from 0.2% (financial intermediation) to 9.2% (hotels and restaurants) in 2007 and
from 0.3% (mining and quarrying) to 11.6% (wholesale and retail trade) in 2003.
(Table 1).
Relative to their specific industry totals, private education injury cases with
workdays lost had multiplied by as much as three times its 2003 level (from 132 in
2003 to 436 in 2007). Other noticeable percentage increases were recorded in
mining and quarrying at 58.3% (from 60 in 2003 to 95 in 2007) and in hotels and
restaurants at 57.1% (from 1,195 in 2003 to 1,877 in 2007). On the other hand,
remarkable decreases were noted in other community, social and personal service
entities at 66.1% (from 546 in 2003 to 185 in 2007) and in financial intermediation
activities at 52.0% (from 100 in 2003 to 48 in 2007).
Definition of Terms:
Occupational accident - an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including
acts of violence arising out of or in connection with work which results in
one or more workers incurring a personal injury, disease or death. It can
occur outside the usual workplace/premises of the establishment while the
worker is on business on behalf of his/her employer, i.e., in another
establishment or while on travel, transport or in road traffic.
Occupational injury - an injury which results from a work-related event or a single
instantaneous exposure in the work environment (occupational accident).
Where more than one person is injured in a single accident, each case of
occupational injury should be counted separately. If one person is injured
in more than one occupational accident during the reference period,
each case of injury to that person should be counted separately. Recurrent
absences due to an injury resulting from a single occupational accident
should be treated as the continuation of the same case of occupational
injury not as a new case.
Temporary incapacity - case where an injured person was absent from work for at
least one day, excluding the day of the accident, and 1) was able to
perform again the normal duties of the job or position occupied at the time
of the occupational accident or 2) will be able to perform the same job but
his/her total absence from work is expected not to exceed a year starting
the day after the accident, or 3) did not return to the same job but the
reason for changing the job is not related to his/her inability to perform the
job at the time of the occupational accident.
Permanent incapacity - case where an injured person was absent from work for at
least one day, excluding the day of the accident, and 1) was never able to
perform again the normal duties of the job or position occupied at the time
of the occupational accident, or 2) will be able to perform the same job
but his/her total absence from work is expected to exceed a year starting
the day after the accident.
Fatal case - case where a person is fatally injured as a result of occupational
accident whether death occurs immediately after the accident or within
the same reference year as the accident.
Frequency Rate (FR) – refers to cases of occupational injuries with workdays lost per
1,000,000 employee-hours of exposure.
Incidence Rate (IR) – refers to cases of occupational injuries with workdays lost per
1,000 workers.
Severity Rate (SR) – refers to workdays lost of cases of occupational injuries resulting
to temporary incapacity per 1,000,000 employee-hours of exposure.
Average Workdays Lost – refer to workdays lost for every case of occupational injury
resulting to temporary incapacity.
Emerging issues in OSH
• Aside from the problems already identified, participants should also be
aware that there are emerging OSH issues – such as women workers’ issues,
OSH and child labor, OSH in the informal sector, agriculture, in schools and
lifestyle diseases such as AIDS and diabetes, and many others.
• Women are often faced with multiple burdens. They have take on the
burden of the home they perform the role of a wife and a mother. These
may also affect her performance at the workplace and add to the stresses
that come with the job. The hazards that a women worker is exposed to while
at work to can affect her reproductive health and for a pregnant worker,
her unborn child.
• There are 250 million child laborers around the world of which 3.7 million are
found in the Philippines. Of these, 2.2M are in hazardous jobs. Employing
children in these types of work greatly affects the quality of their life and in
serious cases, may even cause serious disabilities or death. The OSHC
researches on the footwear industry, fishing, mining, and agriculture, helped
in the formulation of policies, in advocacy campaigns to take children out
of hazardous work.
• The use of pesticides in farms is also another issue. Farmers or farm workers
who handle pesticides may be unaware of the hazards that they are
exposed to. Constant exposure of a worker, has enormous adverse effects
his or her health. Workers handling pesticides may even bring home residues
of the chemicals and, affecting their families and the community.
• There is also little mechanism on OSH for the informal sector considering that
they represent more than half of the total workforce and is the sector badly
in need of OSH information since they have the tendency to ignore such
concerns just to get their daily incomes.
• In schools, students are also exposed to hazards such as chemicals and
electricity, while bullying and hazing (both psycho-social issues) are
becoming more common. Many school buildings are also risks themselves.
Although the number of work-related accidents and illnesses has decreased in
the recent years here in the Philippines, cases of occupational injuries and diseases
continue to occur. We at the OSHC subscribe to the principle that “one life lost is one
too many.” Everyone must therefore be involved in the effort to contain OSH
concerns to enhance one’s working life. After all, most of us work mainly for economic
purposes - “ang hanap-buhay ay para ikabuhay, hindi para ikamatay.”
C. Unsafe / Unhealthy Acts and Conditions
What are unsafe/unhealthy acts and conditions?
To be able to define this, let us first go back to the work system composed of
various elements: workers, raw materials, tools and equipment and the work
environment. The interplay of these elements results in the performance of specific
tasks like production of goods. But when an accident happens, the task/s will not be
accomplished or will be delayed.
Accidents
- is an unexpected, unforeseen, unplanned and unwanted occurrence or event
that causes damage or loss of materials or properties, injury or death.
Common types of accidents:
fall from height and fall from the same level (slips and trips)
struck against rigid structure, sharp or rough objects struck by
falling objects caught in, on or in between objects
electrocution
fire
Costs of accidents
Corollary to accidents are costs that companies have to bear whether
directly or indirectly. The cost of accidents can be best explained by the Iceberg
Theory. Once an accident happens, money has to be spent for medical expenses of
the injured worker/workers, insurance premiums and, in some cases, for penalty and
litigation expenses. Companies also spend huge amounts to replace damaged
equipment and wasted raw materials. These are what we consider as the direct costs
of accidents. But these are just the tip of the iceberg.
The larger and more dangerous part of the iceberg however is the part that
lies beneath the water. This represents the indirect costs of an accident which have a
more damaging impact to the worker, their families, the company and the community
in general. Indirect costs include:
1. Lost or lesser productivity of the injured – workers lose their efficiency and
income due to work interruption on the day of the injury.
2. Loss of productivity among other employees due to work stoppage when
assisting the injured worker, inspection or merely out of curiosity. The
psychological impact of the accident reduces the workers’ productivity. 3.
Loss of productivity among supervisors because instead of focusing on
managing people and the work flow, they spend their time assisting the
injured, investigating the accident and preparing inspection reports.
4. Hiring and training replacement workers
5. Downtime due to equipment damage
Apart from these are humane aspects of accidents such as sorrow due to loss,
hardships and inconveniences, physical pain and discomfort and psychological
problems.
Accident causation
After knowing what accidents are and the costs that will be incurred when these
happen, we will now look at the primary causes of accidents. Understanding this topic
will help you identify appropriate measures to prevent accidents from happening.
Are these phrases familiar to you?
– "Oras na niya"
– "Malas niya lang"
– “Tanga kasi”
– “Kasama sa trabaho”
People usually utter the abovementioned phrases or statements when someone
gets injured or dies in an accident. However, these are not the real causes of
accidents but mere excuses of people who do not understand the concepts of
occupational safety and health. Accidents are primarily caused by unsafe and
unhealthy acts and conditions.
Unsafe/unhealthy Act: the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defines
this as “any human action that violates a commonly accepted safe work procedure
or standard operating procedure.” This is an act done by a worker that does not
conform or departs from an established standard, rules or policy. These often happen
when a worker has improper attitudes, physical limitations or lacks knowledge or skills.
Examples of unsafe acts:
− horse playing,
− smoking in non-smoking areas,
− using substandard/defective tools,
− non - wearing of goggles/gloves,
− driving without license,
− reporting to work under the influence of liquor or drugs, and
− improper storage of paints and hazardous chemicals among
others.
Unsafe/unhealthy Condition: ANSI defines this as the physical or chemical property of
a material, machine or the environment which could possibly cause injury to people,
damage to property, disrupt operations in a plant or office or other forms of losses.
These conditions could be guarded or prevented.
Examples of unsafe conditions:
− slippery and wet floors,
− dusty work area,
− congested plant lay-out,
− octopus wiring, scattered objects on the floor/work
area,
− poor storage system,
− protruding nails and sharp objects,
− unguarded rotating machines/equipment, etc.
