YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK:
Adopting the necessary measures and complying with the laws regarding health and safety at work is one of the most important responsibilities of companies.
In addition to preventing penalties and labor liabilities, this care concerns the concern that a business has with the people who are part of it.
But what exactly does occupational health encompass? What rules regulate it, who are the professionals responsible for it and what are its most important measures? Discover the answers to these and other questions on the subject throughout this article.
What is occupational health and safety (IOSH)?
Firstly, occupational health and safety (IOSH) policies refer to the procedures and standards that the law requires from companies and their employees.
Therefore, its objective is to minimize the risks of the appearance of diseases that occur due to work activities or accidents during the fulfillment of professional duties.
Therefore, by adopting the necessary precautions, organizations can prevent themselves from financial losses, increase their income and guarantee a better quality of life for their employees.
The body responsible for monitoring workers’ health is the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.
Thus, it is a segment of the Ministry of Labor and Employment that operates in the inspection of the conditions that companies offer to their contractors and in encouraging the creation of public policies for the prevention and minimization of risks.
What is the importance of occupational health?
Their importance lies precisely in the fact that they provide the basis for occupational health and safety in the country and guide all policies on the subject.
They also protect companies against possible penalties. That is, they are relevant to everyone involved in the labor chain.
In this way, its benefits go further and may also encompass issues such as:
- Well-being and quality of life of professionals;
- Reduction of absences and absences;
- Increased organizational productivity;
- Improved business image in the market.
What standards govern health and safety at work?
The Regulatory Norms are diverse and undergo changes at all times. Therefore, it is not valid to mention all of them in detail in this article.
Who can act in occupational health and safety?
Now that you know what workers’ health is, its legal provisions and the rules that regulate it, let’s move on to another extremely important point on the subject.
In this sense, five functions are foreseen to act in the provision of services in the area, which include:
- Occupational Physician;
- Security technician at work;
- Work Safety Engineer;
- Work nurse;
- Occupational Nursing Assistant.
The focus of their work is to create preventive measures against accidents, illnesses and other work-related problems.
In addition, they act in the preparation of disaster response plans, which serve to fight fires, provide emergency care to victims of accidents and other events of this nature.
Main health and safety measures at work
As you can see, work safety is a very comprehensive topic and has several legal provisions.
If you have difficulties, a good alternative to adapt is to seek help from the specialists I mentioned in the previous item, consultants in the area or even professionals from occupational health clinics.
Therefore, it is important to know where to start and what measures to consider. For example:
This may be related to the nature of the functions, the particularities of the place, the risks of accidents, the lack of ergonomics and the way in which personal relationships occur. It can also occur due to the manipulation of chemical, biological or physical agents, and so on.
Therefore, these factors, when not properly managed, can lead to problems such as illness, injury and, in extreme situations, even death. For IOSH Course click here
Therefore, to analyze and minimize the risks, they are classified in three ways:
Environmental risks:
Environmental hazards, as the name implies, are those related to workplace conditions. They can be physical, chemical or biological.
In the first case, physical factors are those that, in some way, can affect people’s health. For example, the presence of excessive noise, heat or cold, vibrations, humidity, irregular pressures, among others.
Chemical risks, on the other hand, are related to contaminating substances that can affect the integrity of employees, both physical and mental. For example, dust, gases, vapors, mists, specific compounds, smoke, among other harmful products.
In turn, biological agents can also pose risks in segments where there is a greater predisposition for people to come into contact with bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, protozoa and other microorganisms.
Accident Risks:
In this case, the risks can be several and relate to the situations that contribute to the occurrence of accidents.
This ranges from the poor arrangement of environments to the use of incorrect materials, the presence of uneven floors, the use of unprotected machinery, the likelihood of fire, the wrong handling of products, inadequate lighting and many other cases.