Occupational Health and Safety E-Book
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- Herausgeber: Bentham Science Publishers
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
This comprehensive handbook delves into the essence of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), exploring the dynamic interplay between regulations, practical methodologies, and the broader impact of OHS on organizations. The goal of the book is to help readers understand OHS practices in the workplace and how to implement a plan.
Chapter 1 establishes the conceptual framework of OHS and provides a foundational understanding of the subject. Moving forward, Chapters 2 and 3 dive into the international and national legal requirements, giving a comparative overview of OHS legislation in the EU and specific regulations in Romania, Italy, and Spain. Chapter 4 introduces readers to risk assessment tools and the OHS management process, while Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance of performance monitoring and measuring. Chapter 6 presents a step-by-step risk assessment methodology. Finally, Chapter 7 explores the significant impact of OHS on overall company performance, integrating ergonomics and organizational resilience.
Key Features:
Combines theoretical insights with practical applications for academics and OHS professionals.
Offers an up-to-date analysis of OHS regulations, with a focus on EU guidelines and specific regulations for Romania, Italy, and Spain.
Provides knowledge on risk assessment tools and performance monitoring methods for effective safety measures.
Highlights the essential relationship between OHS and company performance with real-world examples and a systems approach.
The book is ideal for a wide range of readers, including OHS trainees, professional safety managers, policymakers, researchers and students studying OHS practices, safety regulations and its organizational impact.
Readership
OHS trainees, professional safety managers, policymakers, researchers and students studying OHS practices, safety regulations and its organizational impact.
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FOREWORD
Marcin ButlewskiWriting on Occupational Health and Safety is a difficult task for a number of reasons. This is because, on the one hand, it is an area that is well described by regulations and standards, which must be referred to and taken into account in further analyses, which may seem redundant with previous publications. On the other hand, the task of the researcher is to seek methods to better understand and describe the laws governing reality, and sometimes to doubt the effectiveness of those used so far. Thus, it is necessary to analyze and try to improve the existing state of regulations, principles, and approaches in Occupational Health and Safety. This combination of the description of the normative-legal state with the need to constantly seek new methods is therefore also unfamiliar to the authors of the Occupational Health and Safety, 2024 monograph. This requires, as the authors themselves write, an approach - unavoidably broad, including a wide range of professions, which is another difficulty of a comprehensive approach to the subject of OHS, and which was achieved by the authors.
Nowadays in Europe, OHS activities have been structured by European Union regulations, so chapter two describes the framework for safety and health and discusses the influence of the European Union on OSH, identifying the key sources of health and safety information sources. Even a very universal approach to OHS requires reference to specific legal environments and cases, so the authors cited regulatory national legislative aspects from Romania, Italy, and Spain. This combination is intentional - these countries are united by cultural proximity on the one hand, but at the same time are characterized by different levels of development, which makes it possible to draw unified conclusions on issues affecting the state of OHS around Europe. Such issues addressed include for example, minimum training requirements in the field of occupational safety and health. Effective problem-solving in the field of occupational safety and health requires tools, which are characterized in Chapter 4 of the monograph. A valuable element here is the characterization of tools by the scope of application, which are: analytical approach, accident model, and required expertise level. This approach facilitates the selection of the right method, from a long list of risk analysis methods such as Fault Tree Analysis - FTA, Event Tree Analysis - ETA, or Management Oversight Risk Tree - MORT.
Very often, considerations in the area of OHS are undertaken without considering their performance, but the authors of the monograph do not make this mistake by addressing these issues in the chapter on health and safety performance monitoring and measuring. These issues are addressed both at the level of national legislation on occupational health and safety (OHS) as well as of ISO 45001:2018 standard. Practical aspects regarding audit and evaluation of compliance and a checklist-based method for evaluation of compliance with legal requirements are also presented here.
To ensure that the issues raised are not left at too high a level of vagueness, Chapter 6 presents a comprehensive risk assessment that includes the steps: description of the system to be analyzed; identification of risk factors in the system; assessment of occupational injury and illness risks; the ranking of risks and the establishment of prevention priorities; the establishment of preventive measures. The next one, on the other hand, refers to a very important issue from the point of view of occupational safety, which is explosion prevention and explosion protection in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Finally, the extremely important aspect of the impact of occupational health and safety on companies' general performance was addressed. This is a very important factor in today's economy, where management through ergonomics is proving to be an increasingly effective tool for bringing about changes in workplaces. For many decades, these two areas were treated separately, while the right combination of the two makes it possible to achieve an effective apparatus for influencing the work environment and business environment. This bottom-up approach and focus on ergonomic prevention and in the area of occupational hazards allow for an increase in the involvement of employees in the implementation of changes and significantly increase the likelihood of successful implementation of projects. The authors provide examples of successful programs in this regard.
Thus, it can be summarized that the monograph authored by eleven authors from 7 academic and research institutions dealing with occupational safety and health issues for years is cross-cutting and scientifically useful. Certainly, a strong point of the publication is the coverage of the latest issues applicable to OSH such as organizational resilience, management by ergonomics, and systems approach - VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) in organizational environment. The reader of the publication who is interested in the area of OSH will certainly find a point of interest and will be able to verify his or her knowledge on the OSH subject.
PREFACE
Occupational Health and Safety is defined as the science of anticipating, identifying, evaluating, and controlling hazards that may arise in or from the workplace and endanger workers' health and well-being, while also considering the potential impact on surrounding communities and the general environment. Hazard identification and risk assessment must be done for each component of the respective work system, employee, job responsibilities/ workload, means of work/work equipment, and environmental factors that are identified and evaluated including risk-sensitive groups such as pregnant women, women who had recently given birth or are breastfeeding, young people under 18 years old, and persons with disabilities. This topic is unavoidably broad, including a wide range of professions as well as various occupational and environmental risks. That is why it is always carried out by a team of HS experts, employees, employers and labour physicians. The book includes information on the main legal requirements presenting the legal framework of Health and Safety in the EU, the definition of hazard, hazard identification and evaluation, risk assessment by the INCDPM method, causes of accidents (Human Factors, Situational Factors, and Environmental Factors), and major components of a Safety and Health Program. The proposed book is to help readers understand and apply the basic terminologies used related to occupational health and safety in the workplace, explain the difference between risk and hazard, and conduct a risk assessment using the INCDPM method.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Erasmus+ Programme, SafeEngine project, contract no 2020-1-RO01-KA203-080085. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the National Agency and Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
List of Contributors
Conceptual Framework of Occupational Health and Safety
Lucian-Ionel Cioca1,Mihaela Rotaru1,*Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the conceptual framework of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). It examines the legal framework for safety and health, focusing on the key features and significant historical changes of both old and modern legislative OSH frameworks. The chapter presents a variety of legal instruments with different jurisdictions and legislative orders, and it concentrates on the offender of the omission who has created a risky condition that has made it easier for the consequence to arise by earlier action or inaction. In addition, the active subject of the offense is recognised as the individual who must adopt legal safety and health measures at work, as well as patrimonial culpability when the employer fails to comply with legal obligations to guarantee health and safety at work. After reading this chapter, the reader should be able to outline the legal framework for safety and health and to describe the influence of the European Union on OSH, identifying the key sources of health and safety information.
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH
This section supports communities and relevant stakeholders in comprehending Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards and regulatory measures. It also seeks to help users distinguish between outdated and actual regulatory regulations by analysing the primary characteristics and major historical transitions of both old and new legislative OSH frameworks. It also aims to assess the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of OSH Agency’s regulations [1].
The composition of occupational health and safety (OSH) legislation is a multifaceted and intricate ensemble of legal instruments. These instruments exhibit a remarkable diversity in terms of jurisdiction and legislative order, as
illustrated in Fig. (1). This comprehensive framework encompasses a wide spectrum of laws and regulations, ranging from fundamental OSH statutes to intricate hazard-based regulations. It also includes oversight of the manufacturing of products, equipment, and chemical substances, each governed by distinct legal frameworks. Moreover, the landscape of OSH legislation extends to encompass detailed regulations, technological safety standards, as well as codes of practice and recommendations, which serve to provide invaluable guidance and best practices for compliance, even though they may not be legally mandatory. Thus, this intricate web of legal provisions forms the cornerstone of safeguarding the health and well-being of workers across various industries and jurisdictions.
Fig. (1)) Hierarchy of legal instruments.OSH rules can also be found in other sectors of legislation, such as social security, and public health.
In different nations, the terminology used to delineate various legal instruments and their associated attributes may exhibit variations. These distinctions encompass critical elements such as the adoption procedure, competent authority, legal hierarchy, and scope, each of which contributes to the unique characterisation of every legal instrument.
At the foundation of each nation's legal system lies its constitution, establishing the overarching framework for legislative governance. Within this framework, the legal provisions pertaining to occupational safety and health find their grounding firmly rooted in the principles enshrined in both the Declaration of Human Rights and the respective national constitutions. These principles uphold the fundamental rights of individuals, including 'the right to life and the right to bodily and mental integrity' as stated in the Declaration of Human Rights [2].
Legislation governing occupational safety and health can be categorised in three ways, as illustrated in Fig. (2).
Fig. (2)) Types of legislation. 1) According to the subject of regulation Fundamental law - with specific reference to actions pertaining to occupational safety and health.Related legislation - legislation providing restrictions on occupational safety and health.2) In terms of the required application and regulatory nature Primary legislation - which establishes the general framework, principles, and fundamental rules for occupational safety and health.Secondary legislation - legislative provisions that detail the provisions of primary legislation and include regulations that are mandatory for all economic agents for an activity or only for a certain category of persons. This category includes government decisions, orders, and methodological guidelines for their implementation.Tertiary legislation - comprises the workplace safety and health guidelines published by each organisation. These are solely legally binding for the issuing organisation [3].3) Depending on legal liability for occupational safety and health Civil liabilityCriminal liabilityPatrimonial liabilityFig. (3) illustrates the dynamic landscape of Employer and Employee Responsibilities in Health and Safety at Work. It exemplifies how violations of legislation governing health and safety at work can lead to a spectrum of legal consequences, including employee disciplinary actions, civil liability, criminal charges, or misdemeanor penalties. These legal responsibilities are determined based on the specific criteria outlined in relevant areas of law and the resulting legal consequences.
Fig. (3)) Employer and employee responsibilities in health and safety at work.Within this framework, employers play a pivotal role in safeguarding their employees' well-being across various legal domains. This responsibility extends not only to direct employees but also encompasses any third parties employed or contracted by the employer. Importantly, employees' duties do not absolve employers of their own responsibilities, emphasising the shared commitment to workplace safety.
Moreover, businesses bear the duty of ensuring a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. This obligation necessitates proactive planning and the implementation of suitable safety measures. It is worth noting that this duty remains intact even when employers engage external parties, agents, organizations, or companies to oversee employee health and safety within their business operations
Civil Liability
One of the fundamental purposes of civil culpability is to repair the harm caused by a specific act and, in doing so, to put the victim back in a position as similar as feasible to what they were in before the harm was done.
In cases when an employee has experienced substantial or non-material harm as a result of an employer’s negligence while performing his obligations, the employer must provide restitution under the laws and principles of civil responsibility. Additionally, the employer is responsible under civil law for any harm brought on by occupational illnesses or accidents, to the extent that the harm is not entirely compensated by state social security payments. Therefore, this obligation is limited to the difference between the victim’s actual damages and any monetary or social security benefits awarded in line with the law.
