CHAPTER 1

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND

HEALTH

Jerome R. Villanueva
BSME 5
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
• The field of occupational safety and health is concerned with
minimizing loss by aiding in the prevention and protection of both
human and other physical assets in the workplace.
• It primarily involves monitoring the workplace and advising
employers or management on the best way to prevent and minimize
losses.
• Final responsibility for action always rest on the shoulders of
management as they are ultimately accountable for workplace
behavior.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
MANAGEMENT:
− Stockholders or owners of the company
− Occupational safety and health administration (OSHA)
− The courts
− Public opinion
• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHAct); employers in
United States are required to provide safe and healthy workplaces.
 IMPORTANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

• Morally, legally, and economically, occupational safety and health

have become important issues. Companies are attempting to remain
profitable in an ever-more-competitive, global economy. For many
companies strong safety, health, and environmental programs may
actually mean survival.
• Thousands of employees are reportedly killed annually in the United
States as a result of on-the-job incidents, and many more are injured.
The costs associated with these losses are in the billions. Behind the
numbers of deaths and injuries are real people- mothers, fathers,
sisters, brothers, spouses, sons, or daughters. They are people like
Bob whose lives may never be the same again.
 IMPORTANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

• OSHA is the federal agency responsible for workplace safety and

health.
• OSHA may not only levy fines, but may also seek criminal prosecution
of business owners and managers who willfully neglect the safety and
health of their employees.
 EARLY HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY AND HEALTH
• Many of today’s health and safety problems were first observed over
2000 years ago.
• Greek and Roman Physicians- practicing between 400 B.C and 300
A.D.
− Includes Hypocrites, The father of medicine, Pliny the Elder, a Roman
physician and scientist.
• Galen, a Roman physician who lived during the 2nd century, wrote
about occupational diseases and the danger of acid mist to copper
miners.
 THE EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE AND THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION
• During the European renaissance, physicians and chemists began
noticing the relationship between occupation activities and workers
health and safety.
• Ulrich Ellenborg, recognize, identify, and reported on “the poisonous
and noxious vapors and fumes of metals”. He also became aware of
asbestos and lung diseases among miners.
• Bernardo Ramazzini, an Italian physician, circa 1700 published De
morbis artificum diatribe or The Diseases of Workers, the first treatise
on occupational disease.
• Dr. Percival Pott (circa 1775), identified the first form of cancer, scrotal
cancer in chimney sweeps.
 TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN SAFETY PROFESSION
• Safety professionals are concerned with the preservation of people and
company resources.
• Safety professionals are certified after successfully completing the
requirements for the designations “Certified Safety Professional” (CSP),
“Certified Industrial Hygienist” (CIH).
• Safety professionals attempt to achieve their loss prevention goals through
the systematic application of principles taken from a variety of disciplines
to include engineering, education, psychology, physiology, industrial
hygiene, health physics, business, and management.
• Safety professionals are concerned with the elimination or control of
hazards that may result in injury, illness, and property damage. They will
often use techniques referred to as loss prevention and loss control to
accomplish the goal.
 TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN SAFETY PROFESSION
• Loss prevention- describes a program designed to identify and correct
potential accident problems before they result in financial loss or
injury.
• Loss control- on the other hand, is a program designed to minimize
incident-based, financial losses.
• Loss prevention and loss control are important to the safety
professional who attempts to recognize, evaluate, and control hazards
in the workplace.
• Safety management encompasses responsibilities of planning,
organizing, leading, and controlling activities necessary to achieve an
organization’s loss prevention and loss control goals.
 TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN SAFETY PROFESSION
• One of the most important terms used in safety and health profession
is “safety” .
• For the layperson, safety means not getting injured.
• “Safety” to the professional, implies reference to the likelihood or risk
that a loss event will occur.
• Risk can be defined as the measure of the probability and severity of
a loss event taking place.
• Hazard is a workplace condition or worker action that can or has the
potential to result in injury, illness, property damage, or interruption
of a process or an activity.
 TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN SAFETY PROFESSION
• ALARP is a common term used relative to risk. It refers “as low as
reasonably practicable.” Since risk cannot be eliminated, every effort
is made to lower it to a reasonably practicable point.
• ALARA “as low as reasonably achievable”, the idea is essentially the
same. Although risk cannot be eliminated, it can be reduced to a
reasonable level.
 JOB TITLES OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACTIVITIES
• Industrial Hygienist: although basically trained in engineering,
physics, chemistry, or biology, this individual has acquired, through
study and experience, knowledge of the effects on health of chemical
and physical agents under various levels of exposure.
o Is involved in the monitoring and analytical methods required to detect the
extent of exposure and the engineering and the other methods used for
hazard control.
• Risk Manager: in an organization is typically responsible for insurance
programs and the other activities that minimizes losses resulting from
fire, accidents, and other natural and man-made losses.
 JOB TITLES OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACTIVITIES
• Safety Professional: by virtue of specialized knowledge and skill
and/or educational accomplishments, has achieved professional
status in the safety field.
o may also have earned the status of Certified Safety Professional (CSP) from
the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BSCP).
• Safety Engineer: through education, licensing, and or experience,
devotes most or all of employment time to the application of
scientific principles and methods for the control and modification of
the workplace and other environments to achieve optimum
protection for both people and property.
 JOB TITLES OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACTIVITIES
• Safety Manager: responsible for establishing and maintaining the
safety organization and its activates in an enterprise. Administers the
safety program and manages subordinates including the fire
prevention coordinator, industrial hygienist, safety specialist and
security personnel.
 THE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONAL’S ROLE AND
RESPONSIBILITY
• Accident Investigation: determining the fact and causes related to an
accident based on witness interviews and site inspections.
• Work with Emergency Response Teams: organizing, training, and
coordinating skilled employee to react emergencies such as fires, accidents
or other disasters.
• Environmental Protection: recognizing, evaluating, and controlling hazards
that can lead to undesirable releases of harmful substances into air, water,
or the soil.
• Ergonomic Analysis and Modification: designing or modifying the
workplace based on an understanding of human physiological/
psychological characteristics, abilities, and limitations.
• Fire Protection: eliminating or minimizing fire hazards by inspection, layout
of facilities and design of fire suppression system.
 THE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONAL’S ROLE AND
RESPONSIBILITY
• Hazard Recognition: identifying conditions or actions that may cause
injury, illness, or property damage.
• Hazardous Materials Management: ensuring dangerous chemicals
and other products are stored and used in such a manner as to
prevent accidents, fires, and the exposure of people to these
substances.
• Health Hazard Control: recognizing, evaluating, and controlling
hazards that can create undesirable health effects, including noise,
chemical exposures, radiation, or biological hazards.
• Inspection/Audit: evaluating/assessing safety and health risks
associated with equipment, materials, processes, or activities.
 THE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONAL’S ROLE AND
RESPONSIBILITY
• Recordkeeping: maintaining safety and health information to meet
government requirements, as well as provide data for problem solving and
decision making.
• Regulatory Compliance: ensuring all mandatory safety and health
standards are satisfied.
• Security: maintaining an environment safe from outside forces.
• Training: providing employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to
recognize hazards and perform their jobs safely and effectively.
• International Adaptability: being prepared to operate in legal and cultural
environment outside of the United States. A key consideration may be the
geographic location of the safety professional, as there are increasing
numbers of safety positions in other countries.
 BUSINESS ETHICS

• Ethics a moral thermometers of right and wrong.

• On an individual level, decisions about right and wrong was derived
from family, church, schools, community, and government.
• The real challenge for societies, companies and individuals is that
there is often no one clear definition of right and wrong.
• Social behaviors or expectations are based on the shared belief
systems of he group as a whole.
• Differences in expected social norms or ethical behavior often results
in conflicts and contrary interests that generate ethical dilemmas.
 CHAPTER 2
SAFETY LEGISLATION
Jerome R. Villanueva
BSME 5
 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

• “Eye-for-an-eye” principle dominated early attempts to legislate

safety. The government effort to encourage safer workplaces first
revolved around punishing the wrongdoer.
• Code of Hammurabi, required shipbuilders to repair defects of
construction and damage caused by those defect for one year
following delivery. Ship captains were required to replace good lost at
sea and to pay a fine equal to half of the value of any lost ships that
were refloated.
• Carelessness and neglect were considered unacceptable for skilled
workers and professionals.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT

• This act was passed by Congress “to assure so far as possible every
working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working
conditions and to preserve our human resources”
• Under this act Occupational and Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) was created within the Department of Labor to:
Encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and
implement new or improve existing safety and health programs
Provide for research in occupational safety and health to develop innovative
ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems
Establish to separate but dependent responsibilities and rights for employers
and employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

Establish training programs to increase the number of competence of

occupational safety and health personnel
Develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them
effectively
Provide for the development, analysis, evaluation, and approval of state
occupational safety and health programs.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

• As defined by the Act, an employer is any “person engaged in

a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does
not include the United States or any State or political
subdivision of a State”
The following are not covered under the ACT:
o Self-employed persons
o Farms at which only immediate members of the farm employer’s family
are employed
o Workplaces already protected by other federal agencies under other
federal satutes.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

• OSHA Standards fall into four categories: General

Industry, Maritime, Construction, and Agricultural.
• Origin of OSHA Standards:
o Consensus standards are developed by industry-wide, standard-developing
organizations discussed and substantially agreed on through consensus by
industry.
o Proprietary standards are prepared by professional experts within specific
industries, professional societies, and associations. These standards are
determined by membership vote, as opposed to consensus
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACT

• Employers are responsible for knowing the standards applicable to
their establishment.
• Any violations are subject to corrective legal action, typically
consisting of fines.
• Employees must also comply with all the rules and regulations
applicable to their own actions and conduct, but it is the employer’s
responsibility to ensure employee compliance.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACT

• Employers are responsible for following the Act’s general duty clause.
• General Duty Clause, requires every working person be provided with
a safe and healthful workplace.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS

• Examine workplace conditions to make sure they comply with
applicable standards.
• Minimize or reduce hazards
• Use color codes, posters, labels, or signs when needed to warn
employees of potential hazards.
• Provide training required by OSHA standards
• Keep OSHA-required standards
• Provide access to employee medical records and exposure
records to employees or their authorized representatives
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS

When an inspection visit occurs, the employer must:
• Be advised by the compliance officer of the reason for the
inspection
• Accompany the compliance officer on the inspection
• Be assured of the confidentiality of any trade secrets
observed by an OSHA compliance officer during an
inspection
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

INSPECTIONS
• Imminent danger situations: are inspected first. Where there
is reasonable certainly that an employee is exposed to a hazard
likely to cause death or immediate serious physical harm.
• Severe injuries and illness: second priority. Employers must
report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all work-
related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, or losses of an
eye within 24 hours.
• Worker complaints: alleging hazards or violations of standards
receive the next priority. The employee has the right to remain
anonymous to his employer.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

INSPECTIONS
• Referrals of hazards from the other federal, state or local
agencies, individuals, organizations or the media receive the
next consideration for inspection.
• Targeted inspections aimed at specific high-hazard industries or
individual work places that have experienced high rates of
injuries and illness also receive priority.
• Follow-up inspections are given last priority. These are used to
determine if previously cited violations have been corrected.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

INSPECTION PROCESS
• Opening conference, where credentials are presented by the
compliance officer why the inspection is being performed and described
the scope of the inspection, walkaround procedures, employee
representation and employee interviews.
• Walkaround, where the employer’s representative should accompany
the officer and keep careful record of everything inspected. An
authorized representative of the employees als has the right to go along.
• Closing conference, occurs near the end of the visit. During this time,
the employer or an employer’s representative should ask questions in
order to clearly understand any violations recorded by the compliance
officer. No penalties will be assigned at this time.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

CITATIONS AND PENALTIES

OSHA may issue any of four types of citations:
1. Citations for willful violations are issued when the employer either
knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful
disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safe.
2. Citations for serious violations are issued when the workplace
hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely
result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did
not know or could not have known of the violation.
3. Citations for repeated violations are issued when the agency has
been cited previously for the same or a substantially similar
condition and, for a serious violation.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

CITATIONS AND PENALTIES

4. Citations for other-than-serious violations are issued
when a situation would affect safety or health but there is
a small probability of the hazard resulting in death or
serious physical harm. There may or may not be a penalty
assessed, but the hazard must still be corrected.
5. Repeat violation conditions are issued when, upon
reinspection, a violation of any standard, regulation, rule,
or order where, a substantially similar violation is found
and the original citation has become a final order.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

APPEALS PROCESS
• Within 15 working days of the receipt of the citation, an
employer may submit a written objection to OSHA. Once
an inspection takes place, those assigned to receive the
citation in the mail for company need to watch for and turn
over any correspondence from OSHA.
• Companies ignoring the 15-day deadline, or for some other
reason failing to meet it, have also missed their right to
appeal.
• Within the 15-day period the employer may contest a
citation, a penalty, and/or abatement date.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

NOISH and OSHRC

• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
(NOISH), operates within the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), under the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) to develop occupational safety
and health standard for recommendation to the
Secretary of Labor and Secretary of HHS and to fulfill
the research and training functions of the Secretary of
HHS.
 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT (Cont….)

NOISH and OSHRC

• Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
(OSHRC) is an independent and autonomous quasi-
judicial board charged with hearing cases on appeal
from OSHA. The President, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, appoints its three members. It
meets periodically to review cases on appeal. Once
the commission hears a case, if either party is
dissatisfied, it may appeal through the federal appeal
court system.
THANK YOU,
FOLKS!