Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
Today, occupational health safety plays an important part in the development of employer-employee relations because the occupational health safety is crucial for the safety of employees and their protection from unreasonable risks and threats. At the same time, today, the occupational health safety is not the mere moral responsibility of employers to protect their employees from numerous risks and threats they may be exposed to during their work (Zerzan, et al., 2000). Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
Instead, employers are obliged to provide their employees with basic occupational health safety in Australia in terms of existing regulations and norms which are managed and controlled by Safe Work Australia. In this regard, some industries still remain to be vulnerable to the high risks of hazards and incidents that occur in the industry and cause serious injuries to employees. The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in Australia. In spite of numerous efforts of Safe Work Australia, public organisations, employers and employees, the risk of hazards is still high, while employees still suffer from injuries, which they receive during their work that means that more efforts have to be done to decrease the risk of hazards and make the workplace environment of professionals working in the construction industry safer (Murff & Kannry, 2001).
Perspectives contributing to the development of OHS in Australia
The development of occupational health safety in Australia has started under the growing public pressure because the public grew aware of numerous hazards, risks and threats employees working in different industries were exposed to. The public required policy makers and the government to launch new policies which could secure the position of employees and guarantee them at least basic workplace safety. In such a way, the occupational health safety movement in Australia has started.
Numerous incidents in the workplace environment that have serious consequences for employees have contributed to consistently to the further enhancement of the occupational health safety in Australia. The growing number of Australian employees suffering injuries in their workplace contributed to the formation of the negative public opinion in relation to practices and policies conducted by employers which attempted to save costs on employees’ safety. In such a situation, the public has increased the pressure on legislators and the government to enhance the occupational health safety. In response to the public pressure, the government introduced the national OHS strategy for 2002-2012, created the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), now Safe Work Australia and introduced other legislative changes aiming at the enhancement of the occupational health safety in Australia (Zerzan, et al., 2000).
High costs of hazards and employees’ injuries in the workplace environment and related social problems became important factors that also stimulated policy makers to enhance the occupational health safety. The enhancement of the occupational health safety contributed to the reduction of costs spent by employers and the government on the support of injured employees, especially those, who were disabled in the result of incidents in the workplace. In such a way, the enhancement of the occupational health safety resolved partially emerging social and economic problems associated with hazards and injuries of employees in the workplace. In fact, injuries and hazards decrease the effectiveness and productivity of employees’ performance, make them uncertain in their future and deteriorate their performance as well as organisational culture and atmosphere that leads to the overall deterioration of the organisational performance. . Instead, the enhancement of the occupational health safety in an organisation increases the confidence of employees in the employer and in their future in the organization. Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
The rise of occupational health issues dates back to the time of the industrial revolution, when the demand for employees attracted many people to cities, where employees often had to work in unbearable conditions facing the risk of the development of chronic health problems. For example, employees working in the coal mining industry faced the high risk of the development of lung diseases. But employers paid little attention to the health of their employees, because the labour force was excessive and employers often manipulated with employees to minimize the costs of the labour force, while worker agreed to work in unbearable condition.
One of the first and major acts to the enhancement of the occupational health safety was the introduction of the Factory act which aimed at the protection of employees from excessive labour and provision of employees with basic protection and maintenance of basic safety in the workplace environment. In such a way, employers became responsible for the occupational health safety of their employees. At the same time, the development of statutory and common law contributed to the further progress of the occupational health safety.
Energy-based model versus contextual model of hazards
Energy-based model focuses on the established types of energy that causes injuries or other harms to employees, facilities and environment, for instance, nuclear energy, chemical energy, thermal energy, etc. In fact, the energy-based classification of hazards basically focuses on the mechanism and mechanical source or cause of injuries employees may receive in their workplace environment or in the course of their work..This model is quite efficient, especially, when employees are exposed to diverse threats and risks associated with mechanical injuries, as is the case of the construction industry. Employees working in the construction industry often suffer physical injuries. However, this classification of hazards does not take into consideration non-physical hazards, namely hazards associated with the deterioration of the psychological condition of employees or even their mental health. Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
Contextual model differentiates different categories of hazards according to different elements of the work system, for instance, hazardous substance, hazardous activity, etc. In such a way, the contextual classification focuses on the elements of the work system which allow this classification to include broader issues and hazards that may include not only physical injuries as is the case of the energy-based classification but also stressors and non-physical issues and hazards (Paton, 2011: 7). In such a way, the contextual model offers a broader view on hazards, their sources and, thus, offers larger opportunities for the prevention of risks and threats to the health of employees.
Five most common hazards in the construction industry
The construction industry remains one of the most hazardous industries and employees are vulnerable to numerous risks and threats associated with their professional performance and their workplace environment (Zerzan, et al., 2000). At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that almost half of injuries, which employees working in the construction industry suffer, are injuries caused by body stressing, while about a third of injuries are injuries caused by hitting or being hit or cut by an object (See App. Figure 1).
At the same time, the incidence rate is high through all age groups but the older employees working in the construction industry are the higher is the risk to their health (See App. Fig. 2). Such a trend is the result of the specificity of the workplace environment and professional performance of employees working in the construction industry (Paton, 2011: 5). The almost permanent work in the stressful environment, exposure to numerous hazards and the steady deterioration of the physical shape of employees in the course of aging lead to their higher exposure to the risk of hazards and injuries, because employees grow older and cannot keep working in the construction industry as safely as they used to do, when they were younger and in a better physical shape.
Lifting and pushing
Lifting and pushing are among the most frequent hazards which cause serious injuries to employees working in the construction industry. For instance, handling heavy or awkward sized objects can cause injuries of muscles or bone fractures if the object falls, for example. At the same time, employees working in the construction industry have to perform lifting and pushing activities frequently because of the specificity of the tasks, which they perform on the regular basis. As a result, they are almost always exposed to the risk of suffering injuries because of lifting and pushing activities. This is the physical energy type of hazard that is regulated by the code of conduct of employees within each specific organization Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
Slips, trips, falls
Slips, trips and falls are also frequent hazards that occur in the construction industry because employees often work in difficult weather conditions and they use various materials which make the surface slippy increasing the risk of slips, trips and falls. In addition, employees working in the construction industry often have to perform various tasks at the height that naturally exposes them to the risk of slipping on a wet surface or falling from a ladder, especially when the building they are constructing is just beginning to be constructed. However, slip, trips and falls may be very dangerous and cause bleeding, fractures, while in the most serious cases can cause disability or even death of employees. For instance, there are cases, when employees falling from the height die because of the injuries they suffered in the result of their fall. These types of injuries are also physical and regulated by Codes of conduct of their organisations as well as include specific recommendations from the part of suppliers of construction materials.
Hazards associated with the use of hand tools
In the course of their work, employees working in the construction industry use hand tools, which are sources of hazards, especially, if they are not handled properly. For instance, such hand tools as power tools, saws, shovels and crow bars can cause serious health damages, disability or even death of employees, depending on the injuries employees suffer (Preece, 2011: 14). This is why employees have to be very careful while using hand tools but they use them almost all the time, because such tools are essential in the construction industry and they cannot perform their tasks without using those tools. This is the physical damage that may require serious treatment. Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
Noise from machinery
Another type of hazards include the noise from machinery. At first glance, such hazards are insignificant. Moreover, many employees working in the construction industry for a short time do not believe that such tools as concrete cutters, drills and saws can be hazardous as a source of noise which is actually hazardous for employees. They do not always perceive noise as hazard. However, noise actually is hazard and, in a long-run perspective, noise in the workplace environment can cause serious health problems, including hearing impairment to the extent that employees may develop disability, if they work for a long time in such hazardous workplace environment, where the level of noise is too high. This type of damages is psychological and they create the psychological pressure on employees. The noise level is regulated by the Safe Work Australia norms and occupational health safety regulations.
Atmospheric contaminants
Atmospheric contaminants, such as dust, synthetic mineral fibres and asbestos, are also hazards. This type of hazards is extremely dangerous because they can develop serious health problems, such as cancer for instance, especially if employees are exposed to their impact for a long time. However, employees may not always be aware of their exposure to the impact of atmospheric contaminants which cannot always be seen or smelled. Atmosphere contaminants are external factors, which though may affect the physical health of individuals consistently. The prevention and management of such hazards is regulated by the code of conduct of the construction company and suppliers of hazardous materials.
COP
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), now Safe Work Australia maintains the supervision and control over exercising the occupational health safety legal norms and standards in all industries, including the construction industry. The Safe Work Australia conducts regular surveys to assess major risks, identify risk groups and understand which threats employees working in different industries face. On the ground of these surveys, the Safe Work Australia can elaborate recommendations and regulations for employers to decrease risks and secure risk groups to minimize cases of injuries and hazards in the workplace environment in different industries, including the construction industry (Murff & Kannry, 2001). Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper
In addition, the national OHS strategy for 2002-2012 determines priorities in the occupational health safety and the building and construction industry has become the priority industry where the enhancement of the occupation health safety is needed. The national OHS strategy offers the plan for the steady enhancement of the occupational health safety, reduction of risks and cases of injuries of employees along with the extra training of employees working in the construction industry to make them come prepared to confront hazards they may be exposed to in the course of their work.
Conclusion
Thus, today, the construction industry of Australia was one of the priorities of the national OHS strategy for 2002-2012. In fact, the construction industry still remains among priorities in terms of the enhancement of the occupational health safety because of high risks and hazards employees are exposed to. In this regard, employers should conduct socially responsible policies, while the government and legislators introduce regulations and standards that will help to maintain the high level of the occupational health safety in the construction industry. Importance Of Occupational Health Safety Paper