OHS and Copyright

VDIS10021
WORKING IN DIGITAL DESIGN
SANGEETA JAIN

Occupational Health and Safety
(OHS)

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS)
• Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) or workplace health and safety
(WHS), is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and
welfare of people at work. The enjoyment of these standards at the highest
levels is a basic human right that should be accessible by each and every
worker. Regardless of the nature of their work, workers should be able to
carry out their responsibilities in a safe and secure working environment, free
from hazards.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health

OHS ISSUES
Working as a photographer and graphic designer is relatively low risk occupation however
there are some aspects of health and safety that can be considered for best practice.
Ergonomics
• Taking care of your body ensures you will be able to retain long term efficiency in your work
environment. You should consider ergonomics as a fundamental element in your workflow. The
goal should be to establish a working environment that promotes safety and increases
productivity. We can do this by focusing on how we use our bodies. Posture, movement, and
taking the time to set up a functional, ergonomically correct work environment will ensure
repetitive strain injuries are avoided.

Fig14.4 Example of utilizing a dropped keyboard
and a pressure-sensitive tablet. Digital
Photography Best Practices and Workflow
Handbook: A Guide to Staying Ahead of the
Workflow Curve. P. Russotti & R. Anderson.

Consider the seat length of your chair in relation to your height
and size. If you sit cross legged or with one leg crossed over the
other, be sure that your back is straight and that you have
proper support for your spine. If you have two or more monitors
you will need to consider how your head and neck move.
Fig 14.8 An easy solution is to prop up the laptop with something as
simple as a three-ring binder. Digital Photography Best Practices and
Workflow Handbook: A Guide to Staying Ahead of the Workflow
Curve. P. Russotti & R. Anderson.

OHS ISSUES
Patricia Russotti & Richard Anderson, authors of the book ‘Digital Photography Best Practices and
Workflow Handbook: A Guide to Staying Ahead of the Workflow Curve’ ergonomic “must dos” are:
• Use common sense.
• Ensure that the top of your monitor is at eye level and directly centered in front of you.
• Position the monitor at arm’s length in front of you.
• Check that the level of your desk is approximately at your belly button.
• Have your elbows fall at a 90-degree angle, slightly below the desk surface, when you type. Ideally, your
arm should be supported from fingertip to elbow.
• Make sure your chair armrests are level with your keyboard.
• Keep your feet flat on the floor.

OHS ISSUES
WORKSPACE CHECKLIST
What is the pattern you use for moving your head?
Does the current setup force you to angle your head and neck?
What is the relationship between your back, spine, neck, and head movements?
Then add your keyboard, mouse, and pressure-sensitive tablet.
Pay attention to your movements and how you feel after a long work session.
Adjust elements until you can work without pain, twinges, and annoyance
Some have keyboards that drop down from their desk. These allow for height adjust ability,
depending on the kind of work you are doing.

OHS ISSUES
Office Environment
• There are health and safety risks for office spaces that house printing, copying, and computer
equipment. Discomfort or health effects may arise if machines are poorly sited, inadequately
ventilated, poorly maintained or used by operators continually for long periods.
• There have been a number of recent studies on laser printer emissions showing they emit
paper fibers, organic vapors and inorganic gases. Excessive dry heat can also build up if too
many machines are placed in a small area, or where their use is frequent and ventilation
insufficient. This can cause discomfort to the eyes, and the workplace can become too dry and
hot. Excessive noise may also be experienced in such circumstances, or where the machines are
old or poorly maintained.
http://www.ohsrep.org.au/hazards/ohs-reps-@-work-plant-/office-hazards-photocopiers,-printers-etc#action

OHS ISSUES
• Clearing paper jams in printers and other duplicating machinery will expose users to hot or
moving parts, sharp edges, pinch points, or exposed electrical parts. Modern machines should
have such risks designed out and should turn off automatically upon opening of the machine.
However, a machine must always be disconnected from the power supply before opening.
Handling paper or collating copies are manual handling risks.
• Office workers may also experience headache and fatigue, and nasal, eye, throat and skin
symptoms; chronic respiratory symptoms (cough, phlegm production, chronic bronchitis,
wheezing); and respiratory infections (common colds, tonsil infections, sinus infections,
pneumonia) as a result of exposure to carbon-less copy paper (CCP), paper dust, and fumes
from photocopiers and printers (FPP)

OHS ISSUES
Chemicals
• Employers must carry out assessments on all hazardous chemicals used in the
workplace. If a hazard is identified, controls must be put in place according to
the preferred order. That is to eliminate the hazardous substance, or where
this not practicable, substitute it with a less hazardous substance. If this is not
practicable, control methods such as local exhaust ventilation, and as a last
resort personal protective equipment must be used. Employers must meet the
exposure limits set for any substance used in the workplace.

• Ozone: Photocopiers produce small amounts of ozone (an unstable form of
oxygen). This odorous gas is irritating to the eyes, the lungs, the throat and
nasal passages. Severe exposure can result in lung damage.
• Selenium and cadmium: The photo-conductive material in photocopiers is
usually selenium. Cadmium sulphide, zinc oxide and organic polymers are also
used. Trace amounts of these materials can become airborne. However, under
normal operation, the concentrations of these pollutants are well below those
associated with health effects.
OHS ISSUES

• Toner materials: The main ingredient in the toner is carbon black. This is mildly toxic -
though some impurities in toners may be carcinogenic. As currently manufactured,
carbon blacks contain extremely low levels of impurities and do not warrant concern
regarding health effects.
• Liquid toners: Some modern toners are in a liquid form and so rarely irritate the skin,
but exposure to solvents within them can dry and crack the skin, and mildly irritate
the eyes. The same hazards apply to the various solvents used for cleaning
duplicating machines. They also pose a fire risk if not stored adequately. Frequent
contact with toner or other solvents may cause dermatitis or asthma.
OHS ISSUES

• UV Radiation: Ultra-violet radiation may also be released through the glass
plate, but at very low levels. Modern equipment does not present a bright
light hazard beyond short-term discomfort to the eyes, but it is recommended
that the photocopier lid be kept down.
• Other EMR: Electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) are produced by electronic
equipment. It is recommended that workers should not stand by the
photocopier when doing long runs (e.g. 15 minutes). If it is necessary to stand
by, then at the distance should be at least 1 metre from the photocopier.
OHS ISSUES

• Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work
exclusive rights for its use and distribution. It is a form of protection provided by the law to the authors
of “original works of authorship.”
• The 1886 Berne Convention first established recognition of copyrights among sovereign nations, rather
than merely bilaterally. Under the Berne Convention, copyrights for creative works do not have to be
asserted or declared, as they are automatically in force at creation: an author need not "register" or
"apply for" a copyright in countries adhering to the Berne Convention.
• As soon as a work is "fixed", that is, written or recorded on some physical medium, its author is
automatically entitled to all copyrights in the work, and to any derivative works unless and until the
author explicitly disclaims them, or until the copyright expires.
COPYRIGHT

COPYRIGHT
• By virtue of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, works are
protected in all 160 countries that are party to the Convention, as well as various other laws such
as the US copyright act. The Copyright Law defines the legally enforceable rights of a creators
creative and artistic works under Australian law.
• The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the Australian Copyright Act. Designs may be
covered by the Copyright Act (as sculptures or drawings) as well as by the Design Act. Copyright
is free and automatic upon creation of the work and belongs to the first creator of an original
work. Under Australian law, when an employee is the creator of original work and is paid for
their time, the first owner of copyright is the employer. If the creative work is completed by a
freelancer or contractor the first copyright will belong to the creator.

COPYRIGHT > STOCK IMAGES
• As a designer you have access to photos you have taken yourself, stock imagery you
can purchase or photography that you have commissioned. Stock images can be
purchased from various stock libraries like Shutterstock and iStock Photo and are
broken down into two main types, royalty-free and rights-managed.
• Begin your selection process by considering legal restrictions. Is the material
restricted because of privacy, content, or donor concerns? Is it copyright protected? If
so, do you have the right to create and disseminate digital reproductions?

• For royalty-free images, you get nearly unlimited use. You can use the image in
virtually any application, for as long as you like, in as many different projects
as you like, as long as you comply with the terms of the license agreement.
The image is available to use from when you purchase a license. Following
payment of the license fee, no additional royalty payments are owed.
• With rights-managed images, your right to use the image is typically restricted,
with limitations placed on things such as duration of use, geographic region,
industry, etc., as established by your license agreement.

• Q: I’m using an image I found through a Google Image search. If it’s
on the internet, doesn’t that mean it’s free?
• A: No. Just because an image is on the internet, it doesn’t mean the
image is free to use. You may still need the correct license to use it.
There is a difference between an image being online and an image
being “in the public domain” (the term given to content that is not
owned or controlled by anyone).

OHS and Copyright

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