Occupational Health and safety. Workplace Romance as hazard.

1. Polycarpe Feussi 257 644 89

2.  The purpose of this assignment is to observe our working
environment, take pictures of a hazardous object and report to
the management for removal and compliance. As an office
bound employee, the example that will be studied here will be
an office workstation in an open plan office.
 The task will identify all the hazards and reporting to the
management. But before that the context of risk, hazard and
danger will be explored to give a better understanding of the
assignment.

3.  It can then be deduced that risk is the extent to which we are
exposed to the hazard.
 An example of risk in this picture is the likely hood of having
a health issue.
 An example of danger in this situation is the injury.
 An example of hazard is the positioning of the workstation and
the type of monitor.

4. Health & safety act Compensations act Labour law with health and
safety
OHSA,
covers health
& safety in
general
MHSA,
covers
health and
safety in
mining
COIDA.
Covers
compensation
for accidents
and diseases in
sectors outside
the mining and
injury in
mining.
ODMWA
covers
compensation
for diseases
in the mining
sector.
BCEA,
covers basic
conditions of
employments
LRA
regulates
labour
relations
between
employer and
employee.
Dept. of
labour
Dept. of
mineral
and
energy
Dept. of labour Dept. of
labour
Dept. of
labour
Dept. of
labour

5.  OHSA-Occupational Health and Safety Act
 MHSA-Mine Health and Safety Act
 COIDA – Compensation for Occupational Injuries and
Diseases Act
 ODMWA- Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act
 BCEA-Basics Conditions of Employment Act
 LRA- Labour Relation Act.

6.  Risk = Hazard x Exposure
 While Hazard means the potential to cause harm, injury or
illness, Risk is the probability of something bad happening, is
the probability of a danger, the likelihood that it will happen
 Safe Work Australia (2011) describe hazard as a situation or
thing that has the potential to harm a person, included but not
limited to noisy machinery, a moving forklift, chemicals,
electricity, working at heights, a repetitive job, bullying and
violence at the workplace.

7.  For the purpose of this assignment hazard should be
considered as any object, substance or conditions found in the
workplace capable of causing injury or death of personnel, or
a loss of product or property.

8.  The assessment helps to analyse and take appropriate action
that will either lead to removing the risk or at least mitigate.
This process determines whether there are any risks associated
with the identified hazards
 Working out how severe the harm could be,
 Working out how the hazards may cause the harm,
 Working out the likelihood of the harm occurring;

9. This is how the risk will be dealt with. There are few methods
that can be used to mitigate the risk,
The risk control starts with the stratification of the risk in levels,
1 being the highest, 2 medium and 3 lower risks.
 At level 1, the hazard should be eliminated, for example, if
chemical they should be disposed.
 At level 2, the substitution, the isolation or the engineering
control mechanism can be used appropriately.
 At level 3, one can rely on administrative tools such as
procedure manual, the use of personal protective equipment

10.  The substitution. This consists of using a less hazardous material;
it can be a change in the process, or a change of the tools or
equipment. Substitution is the best way of dealing with the CRT
monitor; it can be replaced by the LCD or LED, with little harm on
the user. This implies that the risk of using the computer can be
classified as level 2.
 Isolation. This method is the limitation of the exposure to those
employees who are working with the hazard. This can be
implemented by enclosing them into a structure or issue a warning
that those without the specialized skill should not come closer.

11.  The ventilation. This helps control the airborne hazard. This
remove or replace the contaminated air with a fresh one, an example
can be the toilet that should have a ventilation system.
 Human resources policies. Where people interact, it is important to
have a regulation which governs their interaction. The basic
conditions of employment prescribe the acceptable framework that
should be utilised in the workplace. This ensures that workers are
not exploited by working without leave or rest. On top of the basics,
every organisation is encouraged to have its code of conduct and
harassment, smoking policies

12. Depending on the level of risk and the practicability, an
appropriate control method will be chosen.

13.  Because businesses evolve in a different environment, it is
therefore logical that every industry or workplace has its own
specific hazard and required a specific method of identifying,
removing or lessening the impact.
 In terms of the natures, hazard can be classified in six
categories as follow:

14.  :Safety hazard,
 Safety hazard which is the most common type of hazard is found in
almost every workplace. An example can be: electrical, working
with a ladder, wet floor, unprotected machinery etc...
Biological hazard,
 The biological hazard is found in the environment where people
come in contact with plant, animal, people, infection: examples are
viruses, insect bite, animal…….

15.  :Physical hazard,
 The physical hazard, which is factors that can harm us without us been in
contact with them. These are radiation, ultraviolet light, sunlight, loud noise,
extreme temperature hot or cold just to name a few.
Ergonomic hazards
 The ergonomic hazards are related to the type of work, body position at work,
working conditions that might put strain on the body, leading to injury. This
type of hazard is not always identified immediately; the consequences might
have a long term effect on the health. Some examples are frequent lifting, poor
working positions, vibrations, or excessive use of force.

16.  :Chemical hazards
 The chemical hazards are those which occurred when one comes in contact with
chemical either in preparation or usage, in the liquid, solid or vapour form. An example
can be cleaning products, paints, acid, solvents, gases, flammable, and pesticides.
Work organisations hazard or psychosocial.
 This is the most difficult one to identify and even to prove. These are hazards associated
with workplace issues that manifest in the form of stress, burnout and many other forms.
People who are victims of this hazard are not always speaking out, hence the hazard
might be the unhealthy relationship at work, it might either be perceived as they are not
fit for the job and will therefore be relieved from their duty or it might cause the harm to
others

17.  :The most practical examples ( work organisation hazards) are
workload, harassment in all the forms, violence at the
workplace. One can think of an office romance with a colleague
that might go wrong, creating and unhealthy work environment,
which the consequences are more psychological

18. To conclude,the type of industry or working environment,
determine the type of hazard that is more dominant, and the
method for mitigating the risk or removing the hazard. That is
why OHS specialist always prescribes the fire fighting
equipment, the code of conduct based on the assessment of the
workplace and the industry standard. However, one place can be
subject to many categories of hazard, for example the work
organisation, which is the result of interacting in the workplace
can be found in any industry. It can therefore be concluded that,
the occupational health and safety is all about the hazard
identification, the risk assessment and the risk control and
management.

19.  The hazard identification is the first step toward providing a safe
working environment; this is the process of identifying all situations
or events that could give rise to injury or illness.
 The hazard identification can be done through the following steps:
 The regular inspection of the workplace
 The consultation with the workers as they might have experienced
some risk working with the tools or in the environment,
 The review of the available info such as safety data sheet or
instruction manual in the case of a workshop with machinery

20.  Ergonomic hazards
The effect of the computer use as hazard. .
Firstly the computer, which is a Cathode Ray Tube CRT. According to
Workesafe (2006:51-53), working with computers involves health and
safety issues directly related to sitting in front of screens, which have
potential physical, visual and psychological impacts on human beings..
It went further to pinpoint the Computer screens based on CRT
technology, which emit visible radiation (light) with a brightness that
is adjustable by the operator

21. In creating the display, small amounts of other types of
electromagnetic radiation (EMR) are also generated at extremely
low frequencies, including radio waves, infrared (heat),
ultraviolet and X-rays. The use of a computer, then is a hazard
for the workplace, especially the CRT design; the employer
should then take the necessary step to reduce the risk by
replacing the CRT with the LCD or LED which uses the liquid
or light, with less negative effect on the employee.

22. The absence of sunlight.
Secondly, the workstation situated in the middle of an open plan
office, with no daylight exposure. It also has been reported that
the absence of sunlight in the office can result in occupational
injury. National Institute of General Medical Sciences (2012)
found that the exposure to light turns the genes that control an
organism’s internal clock "on" and "off."

23. Circadian rhythms dictate: sleep-wake cycles, hormone release,
body temperature and other important bodily
functions. Disruptions of circadian rhythms are directly linked to
sleep disorders. Abnormal circadian rhythms have also been
associated with obesity, diabetes, depression., so not having a
light in the office is a hazard that can lead to serious injuries
mentioned above. The removal of this hazard consist of moving
the where day or sunlight can be found.

24.  Work organization hazards.
This type of hazard is those that are the result of employee
interaction with colleagues. A workload, pressure or even
romance with a superior can lead to stress and burn out. The
build-up of stress has tremendous effect on human life, and can
therefore result in serious injury

25.  It is important to review the control mechanism from time to time
and keep the risk register for compliance purposes. This will ensure
that the health and safety is not taken lightly at the workplace
 To achieve an effective and efficient control measures
implementation, there should be a clear accountability for the health
and safety, the preventive maintenance should carry out regularly or
at least as per legal prescription, importantly the up-to-date training
and competency assessment, the up-to-date hazard information
check and the regular review or consultation if required.

26. The non-compliance can bear a high cost, especially when something goes
wrong. All will depend on the severity of the offense. Deloite (2012; 1)
reported that the risks that may stem from non-compliance with the OHS
legislation is costly, depends on the industry, the nature of the organisation.
Some of the penalties can be fines that the organisation will pay, in the form
of fine of guilt, imprisonment of executive for negligence, the withdrawal of
licenses, lawsuit and reputational risk. In our case, the environment might
comply with the regulation, however, it should be noted that the cost of the
hazard such as the CRT come in very high.

27.  The excess use of power in comparison to the LCD,
 The radiation that might increase breaks, reduce productivity,
 The contingency liability that a worker might sue the
organisation should he experience eye problem or any sort of
injury mentioned earlier on.

28. All things considered, the legislator has provided the guidelines in the
form of acts, that enable the employer if implemented to provide a
safe working environment, however, the nature of the workplace, the
industry dictate the most appropriate mechanism or tools that will be
efficient to reduce workplace injuries. According to Deloite (2012:7),
the current business landscape, which is highly characterised by
changes in legislation and increase requirement in business
compliance, it is advisable that every organisation implement an
adequate structure to embed the culture of compliance, given the high
cost of noncompliance.

29.  The onus is then on the employer to use those tools and the employee to
blow the whistle should he experience or found a hazard that might be
detrimental to his health. This will only be made possible when the
organisational culture promotes fairness, transparency or else employee
will fear victimization and therefore not reporting hazardous elements.
 It is then recommended that the management should replace CRT monitors
with the LCD or LED. This will save the company some electricity, while
at the meantime increasing productivity as the workers will focus more. No
headache or eye strain from the CRT radiation.

30.  The second recommendation is that, the management should
offer workers a better working spot, where they can enjoy
natural sunlight. That will also avoid any sort of contingency
liability as the result of occupational injury.
 This has identified the hazard in the workplace as per picture
above, reported to the executives with the alternative
recommendation

31.  Burton, j, 2010, WHO healthy workplace, framework and model, background
and supporting literature and practices, . 45 Center Drive MSC 6200 Bethesda,
MD
USA.http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Pages/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms
.aspx
 Deloite, 2012, Ensuring Regulatory Compliance, Integrating Risk Advisory
and Assurance.
 http://www.who.int/occupational_health/healthy_workplaces/en/index.html
 National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 2012, Circadian Rhythms Fact
Sheet,
 Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand: NOHSAC: Technical Report
7, http://employment.govt.nz/publications/nohsac/techreport7/031_content.asp
 Safe Work Australia, 2011, how to manage work health and safety risks code of
practice, www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
 WORKSAFE, 2006, office wise –,a guide to health & safety in the office, 222,
Exhibition Street, Melbourne 3000,