Occupational Safety| Information Training and Certification

WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY?

Safety is defined as “Freedom from risk that is not tolerable. Everyone has a right to a safe and healthy environment. Occupational safety refers to safety at the workplace. Other terms for this are called Occupational Health and Safety, Workplace Safety and Workplace Health and Safety. All of them refer to having a workplace that is safe for workers. As you already know, many workplaces, especially in the manufacturing industries may have several hazards present.

The discipline of Occupational Safety is all about protecting workers from these. Abhisam has several Occupational Safety courses.

HOW TO ENSURE WORKPLACE SAFETY & HEALTH FOR EMPLOYEES

Workplace safety is not just the responsibility of the employer or of the worker alone. Both have to ensure it. Firstly, especially in industry, the basic design has to be inherently safe. For example, a building that does not follow local building codes and regulations, may not be safe to start with. For example it may be structurally weak. If tomorrow some beam breaks and falls, then no amount of personal protective equipment can save the workers who occupy the building. Thus  to ensure occupational safety the basic design engineering and construction guidelines, codes and standards must be followed strictly.

Similarly in case of the process industry, we must follow process safety guidelines and standards, to ensure that the basic process is safe to operate. If we are using automated equipment or machinery, or a control & automation system, then we need to ensure that Functional Safety standards such as IEC 61508 are followed. In case hazardous areas are part of the workplace, then all applicable rules for hazardous areas must be followed. This includes Area Classification and using only explosion protected equipment and instruments in such places. In case this location is in the EU then ATEX directives are also applicable.

After all these guidelines, codes and standards, good engineering practice is followed, only then can we talk about Occupational Safety. Here we then ensure that workers are made aware of the residual hazards of the workplace, hazard communication guidelines are followed and appropriate PPE is supplied to them, with vetted SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) being followed. The principles of Industrial Hygiene must also be followed, to ensure that workplace hazards are anticipated, identified and controlled in a manner that will ensure the health and safety of workers in the workplace.

All of these steps ensures that workplace safety is ensured.