OHS Module 1

Controlling OHS hazards
and risks
28-05-2022 Dept of Civil Engg AIET 1

Key concepts
There are four important concepts that need to be understood
1. A hazard is something currently in, or may in future be in, the work
environment that has the potential to cause harm to people.
2. A risk is the chance (or likelihood) that a hazard will cause harm to
people.
3. Harm is death, injury, illness (including psychological illness) or
disease that may be suffered by a person from a hazard or risk.
4. A control is a thing, work process or system of work that eliminates
an OHS hazard or risk or, if this is not reasonably practicable,
reduces the risk so far as reasonably practicable

Controlling OHS hazards and risks
Steps in controlling OHS hazards and risks

Step 1 – Identify hazards
•Mechanical hazards : Plant, equipment and items (and parts of them)
that have the potential to cut, rip, tear, abrade, crush, penetrate,
produce projectiles or cause sudden impact.
•Chemical and biological hazards Chemicals, compounds, materials,
powders, dusts and vapours that have the potential to impair health,
have adverse effects on human reproduction, cause disease or have
explosive, flammable, toxic or corrosive properties.
•Sources of energy A range of sources of energy that have the potential
to cause harm, including electricity, heat, cold, noise, high powered
light and damaging radioactive sources.
•Body stressing or impact hazards Activities that cause stress to the
muscles and/or skeleton, including manual handling of people, animals,
goods or materials and things or circumstances that can cause a person
to slip, trip or fall at the same level.

•Gravity Activities that are carried out where a person can fall or an
object can fall onto people.
•Psychological hazards Events, systems of work or other
circumstances that have the potential to lead to psychological and
associated illness, including work-related stress, bullying, workplace
violence and work-related fatigue

Step 2 – Assess risks
Risk assessment is a process for developing knowledge and
understanding about hazards and risks so that sound decisions can be
taken about control.
Risk assessment assists in determining:
•What levels of harm can occur?
•How harm can occur?
•The likelihood that harm will occur.

Step 3 – Control hazards and risks
Arriving at appropriate controls involves:
• Identifying the options for controls.
A control option may be a single control or it may be made up of a
number of different controls that together provide protection against a
risk.
• Considering the control options and selecting a suitable option that
most effectively eliminates or reduces risk in the circumstances.
• Implementing the selected option.

Step 4 – Check controls
Common methods used to check the effectiveness of controls are:
• Inspecting the workplace
• consulting employees
• Testing and measuring
• Using available information
• Analysing records and data.

National Safety policy
The policy seeks to bring the national objectives into focus as
a step towards improvement in safety, health and
environment at workplace.
The objectives are to achieve
a) Continuous reduction in the incidence of work related
injuries, fatalities, diseases, disasters and loss of national
assets.
b) Improved coverage of work related injuries, fatalities and
diseases and provide for a more comprehensive data base for
facilitating better performance and monitoring.
c) Continuous enhancement of community awareness
regarding safety, health and environment at workplace
related areas.

d) Continually increasing community expectation
of workplace health and safety standards.
e) Improving safety, health and environment at
workplace by creation of “green jobs”
contributing to sustainable enterprise
development.

National Standards
By by developing appropriate standards, codes of
practices and manuals on safety, health and
environment for uniformity at the national level in all
economic activities consistent with international
standards and implementation by the stake holders in
true spirit.
By ensuring stakeholders awareness of and accessibility
to applicable policy, documents, codes, regulations and
standards

Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is responsible for
protecting worker health and safety, created OSHA in 1971 following its
passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to ensure
safe and healthy working conditions for workers by enforcing workplace
laws and standards and also by providing training, outreach, education
and assistance.

•OSH Act in response to annual workplace accidents that resulted in
14,000 worker deaths and 2.5 million disabled workers
annually. Since its inception, OSHA has cut the work-fatality rate by
more than half, and it has significantly reduced the overall injury and
illness rates in industries where OSHA has concentrated its attention,
such as textiles and excavation.
•The administrator for OSHA is the Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health; the position answers to the
Secretary of Labor, a member of the Cabinet.

Know Your Rights
Federal law entitles you to a safe workplace.
Your employer must keep your workplace free of known health and safety
hazards. You have the right to speak up about hazards without fear of
retaliation.
• Receive workplace safety and health training in a language you understand
• Work on machines that are safe
• Receive required safety equipment, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline
for falls
• Be protected from toxic chemicals
• Request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector
• Report an injury or illness, and get copies of your medical records
• Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses
• See results of tests taken to find workplace hazards

Accidents -Causes of Road Accidents
Main cause of accidents and crashes are due to human errors.
Some of the common behaviour of humans which results in accident.
1.Over Speeding
2.Drunken Driving
3.Distractions to Driver
4.Red Light Jumping
5.Avoiding Safety Gears like Seat belts and Helmets
6.Non-adherence to lane driving and overtaking in a wrong manner

Distractions to Driver
1.Adjusting mirrors while driving
2.Stereo/Radio in vehicle
3.Animals on the road
4.Banners and billboards.

How different factors of Roads contribute in Accidents:
Drivers: Over-speeding, rash driving, violation of rules, failure to
understand signs, fatigue, alcohol.
Pedestrian: Carelessness, illiteracy, crossing at wrong places moving on
carriageway.
Passengers: Projecting their body outside vehicle, by talking to drivers,
alighting and boarding vehicle from wrong side travelling on footboards,
catching a running bus etc.

•Vehicles: Failure of brakes or steering, tyre burst, insufficient
headlights, overloading, projecting loads.
Road Conditions: Potholes, damaged road, eroded road merging of
rural roads with highways, diversions, illegal speed breakers.
Weather conditions: Fog, snow, heavy rainfall, wind storms, hail
storms.

Preventive measures for accidents
Education and awareness about road safety
Strict Enforcement of Law
Engineering:
(a) Vehicle design (b) Road infrastructure

8 Common Causes of Workplace Accidents
•The workplace can be dangerous, even more so in an industrial
environment. Numerous factors can cause accidents, ranging from
overexertion to mishandling of hazardous materials. There are also a
multitude of variables that can contribute to or influence a workplace
incident.
Lifting
•Many employees are prone to sprain, strain or tear a muscle by virtue
of lifting an object that is too heavy for them to lift on their own.
Fatigue
•Failing to take a break is another common cause of accidents. In
order to recover from grueling manual labor, it is essential that
employees take adequate breaks.

Dehydration
• Not staying hydrated can also bring about disastrous consequences. On
exceptionally hot summer days, failing to drink adequate amounts of water
can cause heat stroke or cardiac conditions. This can be avoided by simply
drinking at least eight glasses of water per day. Management should stress
the importance of proper hydration and rest, as it maximizes the efforts of
personnel.
Poor Lighting
• Inadequate lighting is responsible for a number of accidents each year. This is
often overlooked when attempting to prevent accidents in the warehouse or
workplace.

Hazardous Materials
• Improper handling of hazardous materials or not wearing personal
protective equipment (PPE) is another common cause of accidents in the
workplace. By reading material safety data sheets and providing the
appropriate protective attire, many workplace incidents can be avoided.
Acts of Workplace Violence
• Sadly, violence among co-workers has become all too common. It is usually
brought about by office politics or other sensitive issues.
Integrating conflict resolution and peer mediation can help to reduce the
risks of such outbursts.

Trips and Falls
• Slick floors and high-traffic corridors can cause a trip or fall. Improper
footwear may also contribute to these accidents, which not only can result
in injuries but also workman’s compensation-related cases.
• Stress
• Stress is one of the leading causes of death. Stress can foster negative
effects physiologically, emotionally and mentally, as well as Weak or
distract any worker. Therefore, it is essential to encourage a supportive
team environment.

Accident investigation
WHAT IS IT?
Accident investigation is the process of determining the root causes of
accidents, on-the-job injuries, property damage, and close calls in
order to prevent them from occurring again.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Accident investigation will lead you to the real cause of why something
happened, and armed with that knowledge, you can take affirmative
steps to prevent future accidents from occurring.

WHAT IS REQUIRED?
Develop an accident investigation process that focuses on:
• fact finding, not fault finding
• determining the root causes of why the event occurred
• making changes so the event does not happen again.
Set a policy that accidents and close calls (large and small) will be
investigated with equal energy.
Provide training and tools to staff conducting accident investigations.
Audit completed investigations to ensure they are being completed on a
timely basis with an adequate level of detail.

HOW DO YOU DO IT?
Workplace accidents should be investigated as soon as possible after they occur. The goals of a timely
and thorough accident investigation should be to:
• determine the cause of the accident
• prevent the accident from happening again
• improve health and safety conditions in the workplace

• determine whether a violation of federal or state safety and
health standards contributed to the accident
• determine company or individual liability in case of future legal
action
• determine the need for repairs or replacement of damaged
items

• determine the need for additional education and training for employees.
A thorough and complete accident investigation involves several steps,
specifically
• background investigation
• site investigation
• interviews
• analysis and reporting.

Accident Investigations
Accident investigation is of prime importance in a safety program. The purpose of
investigation is to find out different causes and circumstances that contributed both directly
and indirectly, to the accident with a view of taking necessary action to prevent their
recurrence in future.
Investigations have to be taken up immediately as a delay of even a few hours may lead to
loss of important evidence. Information on why the unsafe conditions existed and why the
injured person or others acted unsafely is of great importance.

Need for Accident Investigation
1. The purpose of accident investigation is to establish how an accident
happened and how to prevent it from happening again if you’re a safety
representative.
2. Reason to investigate a workplace accident include most importantly to
find out the cause of accidents and to prevent similar accidents in the
future to fulfil any legal requirements
• To determine the cost of an accident
• To determine compliance with applicable safety regulations
• To process workers compensations claims
3. Incidents that involve no injury or property damage should still be
investigated to determine the hazards that should be corrected.

Investigation Team
Factors considered in deciding how to approach accident investigations
include the following
❖Size of the company
❖Structure of the company’s safety and health program
❖Type of accident
❖Seriousness of the accident
❖Technical complexity
❖Number of times that similar accidents have occurred
❖Company’s management philosophy
❖Company’s commitment to safety and health

Members of Investigation Team
1. Employers with knowledge of the work
2. Safety officer
3. Health and safety committee
4. Union representative (if applicable)
5. Employees with experience in investigation
6. Outside expert
7. Representative from local government

Investigating officer
The supervisor on shop floor the most suitable man for carrying out
accident investigations.
Investigations by the supervisor can be made more meaningful by:
❖Training the supervisor in the process of investigations.
❖ Having an expert check on his work from time to time to avoid any
chance of confusion.

Steps in Accident Investigation
1. Something must happen that you would define as an accident or
significant incident. The accident investigation team must be
assembled. They must agree on an investigation process.
2. Gather information: This can include visiting the site, recording
observations, taking pictures, interviewing victims, witnesses,
experts and others. Written work procedures, engineering
drawings, maintenance records, purchasing specifications and
training records may be relevant.

Steps in Accident Investigation
3. Analyse the data to try to find the causes of the accident (there are
always more than one).
4. Decide what must be done to prevent the accident from occurring in
the future, or at least mitigate the outcome if it does. Be a specific as
possible. Consider short-term measures and longer-term prevention if
appropriate.
5. Make sure the preventive measures are implemented.

Determining and analysing the key facts in
accidents
• Injury
• Part of the body
• Source of injury
• Accident type
• Hazardous condition
• Agency of accident
• Agency of accident part
• Unsafe act

Investigation Technique
•Get to the scene
•Interview injured persons if conditions warrant
•Interview witnesses to obtain their versions of the
accident
•Physical evidence may help determine the cause of the
accident
•All other evidence should be recorded regarding the
accident

• Transfer all information accurately to a standard accident
report and summary form.
• The most important outcome of any accident investigation is
the determination of cause factors and the implementation of
suitable corrective measures.
• To verify that corrective actions were taken, experience has
shown that follow-up is important

Supervisory Failure
•Failing to use simple, understandable instructions and failing to follow
up to ensure compliance
•Failing to frequently visit areas of responsibility.
•Permitting employees to enter hazardous areas or perform hazardous
tasks prior to taking the necessary precautions or without ensuring
the wearing of protective clothing and equipment.
•Failing to correct previously reported hazards.
•Giving inadequate instructions, that is, telling an employee what to
do but failing to tell him how to do it

• Permitting, and in some cases directing, unlicensed or inexperienced
personnel to drive vehicles or operate equipment.
• Failing to offer driver training (even with experienced drivers) at hire
and annually.
• Permitting new and inexperienced personnel to work on power
machinery and/or permitting machinery to be operated without proper
guards in place or proper training.

• Failing to ensure the use of proper tools and equipment for
the job at hand.
• Permitting personnel to ride on areas of vehicles or fork
lift not designed for such purposes or on loads that might
shift.

Methods of Collecting Facts
•Isolate the Accident Scene
•Record all Evidence
•Photograph or Videotape the Scene
•Identify Witnesses
•Interview Witnesses

Accident Investigation Details
•Write the accident report
•Develop a plan for corrective action
•Implement the corrective action plan
•Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of corrective
actions
•Adjust as necessary to ensure the cause of the
accident has been eliminated
•Incorporate the changes into standard operating
procedures for continual improvement of the
workplace environment

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