MEM603 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH

Chapter 4 Occupational Hazard and Control (12 hours)

i. Introduction to Industrial Hazards
ii. Mechanical Hazards (Press Machine and
others Machinery)
iii. Electrical Hazards
iv. Safe use lift and Escalators
v. Noise and Vibration Hazards
vi. Radiation, Pressurized Environment and
Thermal Stress Hazards
vii. Safety for Transport Activities and Gas
Cylinder Safety
viii. Fire Safety in Building (Fire Services Act,
Building Law)
ix. Safety at Constructions
x. Chemical Hazards and Chemical Safety
Management
 Introduction to Industrial Hazards

• Hazard is a term associated with a substance that is

likelihood to cause an injury in a given environment or
situation.
• Industrial hazards may be defined as any condition/
substance produced by industries that may cause injury or
death to personnel or loss of product or property.
• Safety in simple terms means freedom from the occurrence
of risk or injury or loss. Industrial safety refers to the
protection of workers from the danger of industrial
accidents.

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 Introduction
• Hazard is a potential of substance to cause damage
• Risk is measure of probability that harm will occur under
defined conditions of exposure hazard.
• In some industrial plants, by the nature of their activities and
the substances they use, constitute hazards which are all the
greater when they are located close to residential areas and
their residents are particularly exposed in the events for
accidents.

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 What are examples of a hazard?

Workplace hazards can come from a wide range of sources. General

examples include any substance, material, process, practice, etc. that has the
ability to cause harm or adverse health effect to a person under certain
conditions. See Table 1.

Table 1
Examples of Hazards and Their Effects
Workplace Hazard Example of Hazard Example of Harm Caused
Thing Knife Cut
Substance Benzene Leukemia
Material Asbestos Mesothelioma
Source of Energy Electricity Shock, electrocution
Condition Wet floor Slips, falls
Process Welding Metal fume fever
Practice Hard rock mining Silicosis
Workplaces can be hazardous
 Why worry about hazards?
• Accidents, or “near misses” in the
workplace lead to lessening productivity:
i. it costs time and money to retrain a
new worker
ii. new workers are not initially as
productive as more experienced
workers
iii. goods or equipment can be lost in
the accident, costing the enterprise
to replace it
iv. other workers will feel afraid or
unhappy to be working in a place
which could injure or kill them
v. this harms productivity.
Will exposure to hazards in the workplace always cause injury, illness
or other adverse health effects?

Not necessarily. To answer this question, you need to know:

 what hazards are present,
 how a person is exposed (route of exposure, as well as how often and how much
exposure occurred),
 what kind of effect could result from the specific exposure a person experienced,
 the risk (or likelihood) that exposure to a hazardous thing or condition would cause
an injury, or disease or some incidence causing damage, and
 how severe would the damage, injury or harm (adverse health effect) be from the
exposure
 The effects can be acute, meaning that the injury or harm can occur or be felt as
soon as a person comes in contact with the hazardous agent (e.g., a splash of acid in
a person's eyes). Some responses to may be chronic (delayed). For example,
exposure to poison ivy may cause red swelling on the skin two to six hours after
contact with the plant. On the other hand, longer delays are possible: mesothelioma,
a kind of cancer in the lining in the lung cavity, can develop over 20 years or more
after exposure to asbestos.
 Once the hazard is removed or eliminated, the effects may be reversible or
irreversible. For example, a hazard may cause an injury that can heal completely
(reversible) or result in an untreatable disease (irreversible).
 Workplace hazards examples

Potentially damaging hazards

 Identifying hazards at workplace
• Observe your workplace
• Investigate complaints from workers
• Examine accident and near-miss records
• Examine sickness figures
• Use simple surveys to ask your co-workers about their health and safety
concerns
• Use check-lists to help you inspect your workplace
• Learn the results of inspections that are done by the employer, the union
or anyone else
• Read reports or other information about your workplace

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 Points to remember
• Occupational hazards can be controlled by a variety of methods.
• The goal of controlling hazards is to prevent workers from being exposed
to occupational hazards.
• The most effective control measure is to control hazards at the source by
eliminating the hazard or by substituting a hazardous chemical, machine,
work process, etc., with a less dangerous one.
• It is important to recognize hazards and health and safety problems in the
workplace.
• There are five general categories of control measures: elimination,
substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and personal
protective equipment. A combination of methods usually provides a safer
and healthier workplace than relying on only one method.
• Personal protective equipment should be the last choice in control
measures.

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 Controls of hazards
Control is the elimination or inactivation of a hazard in a manner such that
the hazard does not pose a risk to workers who have to enter into an area or
work on equipment in the course of scheduled work.

• Hazard can be controlled at 3 levels: the source, path and receiver

• We can use engineering controls (modifying/isolating process),
administration controls (education/training), and control through used of
personal protective equipment.

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 Controls of hazards

At the source : At the path: At the receiver:

• Substitute with less • Housekeeping • Personal protective
harmful material (immediate cleanup equipment
of spills)
• Change the process • Rotation of workers
• Increase distance to reduce exposure
• Enclosure or
between source and duration
isolation of process
receiver
• Local exhaust • Training & education
• General ventilation
ventilation

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 Selecting a suitable control

Selecting a control often involves –

a. Evaluating and selecting short and long term controls;
b. Implementing short-term measures to protect workers until
permanent controls can be put in place; and
c. Implementing long term controls when reasonably practicable.

Example:
a. A noise hazard is identified.
b. Short-term controls might require workers to use hearing protection.
c. Long term, permanent controls might remove or isolate the noise
source.

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 Controls of hazards
Hierarchy of Controls

Elimination/Substitution

Most Requires a physical

change to the
Effective
workplace

Requires worker
or employer to do
something
Requires
worker to wear
something

Least
Effective
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Elimination/ substitution

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 Engineering controls

• Control at the source!

• Limits the hazard but doesn’t entirely remove it.

Other Examples:
Mechanical Guards
Wet Methods for Dust
Enclosures/Isolation
Dilution Ventilation

Local Exhaust
Proper
equipment Re-designed Tools
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Engineering controls

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 Administrative controls

•Aimed at reducing employee exposure to hazards but not

removing them!

 Changes in work procedures such as:

 Written safety policies/rules

 Schedule changes, such as:

 Lengthened or Additional Rest Breaks
 Job Rotation
 Adjusting the Work Pace

 Training with the goal of reducing the duration,

frequency and severity of exposure to hazards

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Administrative controls

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 Personal Protective Equipment

Control of LAST RESORT!

 Special Clothing
 Eye Protection
 Hearing Protection
 Respiratory Protection

CONTROL IS AT THE WORKER!

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