NAME KANYAI RUTENDO S Essays - Safety, Safety Engineering

NAME KANYAI RUTENDO S REG. NUMBER R121166A PROGRAMME HAD COURSE AD222 LECTURER MR TADERERA T/A MR TINARWO QUESTION D iscuss the utility of the International Labour Organization's Occupational Health and Management System. TUTORIAL GROUP TUESDAY (9-10am) Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is a discipline dealing with the prevention of work related injuries and diseases, and the protection and promotion of the health of workers. It aims at the improvement of working conditions and environment. It is an area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work of employment. The goals of occupational safety and health programs include fostering a sa fe 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. In the United States the term occupational health a nd safety includes safety for activities outside of work . The International Labour Organization (ILO) formulated an Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OHS-MS) to facilitate the formulation, implementation and evaluation of interventions at a national policy, sector and organizational level in all countries. As the discussion here is going highlight, the significance of OSH-MS is brought out or displayed through the ILO guidelines which include po licy, organizing, planning and i mplementati on, evaluation, and action for i mprovement . These provide guidance for implementation at two lev e ls which are the organizational and national level. The ILO-OSH 2001 was developed to provide a unique international model, compatible with other management system standards and guides, towards promoting occupational health and safety (ILO, 2011; 2010). In the ILO document ILO-OSH 2001, Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems, the basic components of this system include po licy, organizing, planning and i mplementation, evaluation, and acti on for improvement. Policy contains the elemen ts of OSH policy and worker p art icipation. It is the basis of the OSH-MS as it sets the direction for the organization to follow .The employer, in consultation with workers and their representatives, should set out in writing an OSH policy, which should be specific to the organization and appropriate to its size and the nature of its activities (ILO, 2010). The OSH policy should include principles and objectives to which the organization is committed and these may include protecting the safety and health of all members of the organization by preventing work-related injuries, ill health, diseases and incidents. It should comply with relevant OSH national laws and regulations for example the Labour Act Chapter 28.01, voluntary programmes, collective agreements on OSH and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, ensuring that workers and their representatives are consulted and encouraged to participate actively in all elements of the OSH-MS and continually improving the performance of the OSH-MS. However it can be noted that very few organisations have a policy dealing with OSH-MS. In the wood sector in Zimbabwe there are no clear policies with safety and health issues. Wood workers seem not to be covered by appropriate national safety and health standards and managers are not taking keen account of the risks linked with wood processing. Worker participation is an essential element of the OSH-MS in the organization. The employer should ensure that workers and their safety and health representatives are consulted, informed and trained on all aspects of OSH, including emergency arrangements, associated with their work (Alli, 2001; ILO, 2010). Arrangements should be made by the employer for workers and their safety and health representatives to have the time and resources to participate actively in the processes of organizing, planning and implementation , evaluation and action for the improvement of the OSH-MS. It must be noted that e mployees spend most of their waking hours at work and they have a unique knowledge of work processes, which is essential in identifying hazards at work therefore are more likely to follow and abide with safety requirements if they participate in the processes of risk assessment and risk control . Worker participation is enhanced through the establishment of health committees for example the establishment of a standing committee of Safety Health and Environment (the SHE committee) by the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe. This committee 's mandate