intro

• Occupational safety and health (OSH)

  A cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment
• The goal of OSH is to promote a safe and healthy work environment
• OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment
• Importance of OSH


  • Protects employees from accidents, injuries, and exposure to harmful substances
  • Reduces millions of injuries each year and protects workers from serious injury
  • Improves workplace productivity
  • Helps businesses retain employees
  • Reduces the cost of injury and workers' compensation
  • Ensures the safety and well-being of employees in the workplace
  • Identifies potential hazards and risks in the workplace
  • Promotes training and education on workplace safety and health
  • Improves performance and profitability of businesses
• Factors that cause accidents


  • Unsafe conditions at the workplace
  • Unsafe acts done by a person or a group
• Examples of unsafe conditions

  • Unguarded Machines
  • Presence of toxic gases
  • Presence of flammable gases
  • Poor Housekeeping
  • Poor ventilation
  • Damaged Tools
• Examples of unsafe acts

  • Not using or improperly using personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Taking shortcuts or bypassing safety devices
  • Operating machines or vehicles at unsafe speeds or without authority
  • Adjusting or lubricating moving machinery
  • Smoking in prohibited areas
  • Using defective or improper tools or equipment
  • Standing under suspended loads
  • Performing unauthorized work or operation
• Types of hazards in the workplace

  • Chemical hazard: Gas, vapour, dust and fumes
  • Biological hazard: Bacteria, viruses, spores and blood dust
  • Physical hazard: Mechanical, electrical, noise and vibration, heat pressure and working at height
  • Psychosocial hazard: Sexual harassment, peer pressure from neighbours and family, drug abuse
• Safety


  Refers to the physical or environmental conditions of work which comply with the prescribed OSH standards and which allow the workers to perform their job without or within acceptable exposure to hazards
• Occupational Safety


  Refers to practices related to production and work process
• Health


  Means a sound state of the body and mind of the workers that enables them to perform the job normally
• Safe


  The condition of being safe from undergoing and causing hurt, injury or loss
• Hazard


  A hazard introduces the potential for an unsafe condition, possibly leading to an accident. The outcome is the harm that results from an uncontrolled hazard
• Risk


  The probability or likelihood of hazard resulting in an accident. A risk is a combination of the probability that a particular outcome will occur and the severity of the harm involved
• Incident


  Undesired circumstance that produces the potential for an accident
• Accident


  An accident is unplanned event, which could result in to persons, or in damage to plant and equipment or both
• Accident cost


  Accident cost includes medical payment, compensation, overtime for replacement workers, production delays, product of material damage, training or replacement, accident investigation cost, building or complex damages, equipment damages and business interruptions
• Evolution of OSH legislation in Malaysia

  1. 1844 British legislation - specific safety and health

  2. Piecemeal legislation and regulations- for example transporting machinery on the train

  3. 1972 Lords Roben "Committee of Inquiry" – Robens Report on OSH

  4. Factories and Machinery Act (139) in 1967 – Part II Safety, Health and Welfare – enforced 1970

  5. Occupational Safety and Health Act (514) 1994
• Factories and Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 emphasis on safety while Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 emphasis on addressing health hazards in the workplace
• OSH laws in Malaysia

  • Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 94)
  • Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA 67)
  • Electricity Supply Act 1990 (ESA 90)
  • Environment Quality Act 1974 (EQA 74)
  • Employees Social Security Act (SOCSO)
• DOSH


  The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is a department under the Ministry of Human Resources responsible for ensuring the safety, health and welfare of people at work as well as protecting other people from the safety and health hazards arising from the activities sectors
• NIOSH


  National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) carries out various training activities such as courses, workshops and seminar, and is involved in research activities on occupational safety and health
• SOCSO


  Social Security Organization (SOCSO) is responsible for registration of employer and employee, collecting contribution, processing benefit claims and making payment to the injured worker and their dependents, and providing vocational and physical rehabilitation benefits and enhancing occupational safety and health awareness of workers
• OSHA is about OSH management, and the responsibility to ensure the safety and health of the persons at work, and other people who might be affected by activities of people at work