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Occupational Health & Safety

In: Business and Management

Submitted By alevkocak
Words 647
Pages 3
REASONING FOR CHOICE Occupational Health and Safety is a requirement between employers and employees, the public and witnesses that could be affected by poor work habits and the equipment. It is the employer’s obligation to provide a safe working environment and safety equipment for the staff.
The reasoning behind the chose to implement Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is due to the fact that employees are aware but not in great depth. Promoting OHS is not only an advantage for the employees but also the management staff. The aim of legislations and obligations are to minimise the chance of an injury. As the employer there are certain obligations that are enforced to minimise the chance of an injury occurring.
(Work Safe Victoria) mentions that in Victoria, workplace health and safety is governed by a system of laws, regulations and compliance codes which set out the responsibilities of employers and workers to ensure that safety is maintained at work.
All the employees and management staff implement the OHS through The Act which sets out the key principles, duties and rights in relation to occupational health and safety.
The main focus was by educating how to prevent injuries from arising in a workplace environment. Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 33% of all workplace injuries and illnesses in 2011; sprains, strains and tears accounted for 38% of injuries (Gupta, 2013). Typically, injuries resulted from repetitive motion. Risk management is a four step process whereby you identify hazards in the workplace, then assess the risk of those hazards and then implement control measures, which will eliminate or minimise the risk of injuries. Hazard identification plays an important part in any field, as there are always safety issues. This can include purchasing equipment, carrying out physical and psychological demands of a task, repetitive movement, air quality and even a lengthy period of time in the same position. By identifying these hazards through workplace inspections, reporting, consultation & feedback from the employees it reduces the chances of any risks of injuries. A Risk Assessment decides how likely and serious the effects will be on the workers that are exposed to a hazard. The assessment works out which hazards are most serious in order to deal with them first. Risk Control involves recognising the needs to eliminate or control the risks to health and safety. This is very important as the significance of a severe injury is always thought to be unrealistic. By recognising and eliminating a risk it could not only save the company but also save a life. Reviews of control measures and risk assessments should be constantly conducted. This can be accomplished via regular workplace inspections, consultation with employees, safety audits and by reviewing & recognising incidents. The type and source of advice will depend on the workplace and its hazards. However it’s important that all employees and employers are aware of the importance of injury prevention and OHS as this i why we chose this topic, hoping for changes and awareness.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, supporting and promoting Occupational Health & Safety will forever be a bonus in a work place environment, for not only the employees but also for the company. Unfortunately injuries happen on a daily basis, due to lack of care and knowledge. Our aim was to improve and make workers aware of their rights and how to minimise injuries. Through implementation of posters, continuous programs, training and comfortably speaking up will minimise the rate of injuries. It is important to recognise the importance of health especially in a work place, the importance of your existence and the importance of your life, as it can all change with one wrong move.

Bibliography
Gupta, J. (2013). Prevention of Work-Related Shoulder and Neck Injuries.
Work Safe Victoria. (n.d.). Retrieved 04 20, 2014, from Work Safe Victoria: http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/occupational-health-and-safety

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