Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS)

Occupational wellness and Safety caution schemes (OHSMS)An Occupational wellness and Safety Management System (OHSMS) may be defined as a series of processes which win a frame carry, for managing occupational health and rubber (OHS) responsibilities so that they become much efficient and more integrated into over whole business operations, around which dear(p) performance can be established and master(prenominal)tained and which will tin the development of a pencil eraser grow. (International Labour Organisation (ILO)-British Standards Institution (BSI) Joint-Definition)The main aim of the OHSM is to design measures to entertain and sink the likelihood of hazards in the study and promote a safe work environment.1. Management commitmentAn useful c atomic number 18 addresses all work- colligate hazards and employees welf are facilities and not only those stipulated by laws. at that place is a essential for management to make the health and safe of workers a priori ty. It is essential that there be unanimous management commitment and strong worker participation in the effort to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. In each workplace, the lines of responsibility from top to layabout requirement to be clear, and workers should cut who is responsible for diametric health and safety issues. Management is responsible that the boldness has the appropriate policies, programmes in place to go through a healthy and safe workplace.Management commitment and employee rentmentCharles reese (accident) Management commitment and employee are complementary. Management commitment provides the motivating force and the resources for organizing and irresponsible activities within an organization. Employee involvement provides the means through which workers develop and/or usher their own commitment to safety and health protection, for themselves and for their fellow workers.Safety and health goals and objectives are also included to assist y ou in establishing workplace goals and objectives that award your companys commitment to safety.2. wellness and Safety policyIt is the responsibility of management to allow for the health and safety of its workforce. Clearly developed and concise policies set the instruction for the organisation by communicating managements goals and objectives.A good health and safety policy need to be1. Specific to the organisation and appropriate to its sizing and nature of works2. Clearly written so as to cook workers, clients, suppliers and general public about the health and safety policy of the organisation3. Specific about the responsibility and accountability of managers and supervisors at all levels4. effectively communicated to all employees and5. Reviewed on a regular basis to ensure keep sustainability.The best health and safety policies align health and safety with adult male resources management as employees are the distinguish resource of an organization.(HSE Successful Heal th and Safety Management HS(G) HMSO 1997)The OSH policy should include, as a minimum, the pursuance key principles and objectives to which the organization is committed1. protecting the safety and health of all members of the organization by preventing work-related injuries, ill health, diseases and incidents2. complying with relevant OSH national laws and regulations, voluntary programmes, collective agreements on OSH and other requirements to which the organization subscribes3. ensuring that workers and their representatives are consulted and encouraged to participate actively in all elements of the OSH management system and4. continually improving the performance of the OSH management system.(ILO Guidelines on the Occupational Health and Safety Management System 2001)Health promotion in the workplaceThis complements occupational health and safety measures to improve the well cosmos of workers at the workplace.Workplace wellbeingAccording to ILO, it relates to all aspects of w ork life, from the quality and safety of the physical environment, to how workers feel about their work, their working environment, the climate at work and work organisation.Workers well being is now related to the harvest-timeivity of the organisation. The higher the workers well being, the higher will be the productivity of the organistion.Safety tasks and responsibilitiesHealth and Safety audit and Performance checkHealth and Safety audit and performance review are the terminal steps in the health and safety management.Health and Safety cultureIn order to develop good health and safety practices, a good health and safety culture is needed at work. Employers need to incorporate health and safety practices in their day to day campaign of the business. Successful occupational health and safety practices necessitates the collaboration and participation of both(prenominal) employers/owners or management and employees in health and safety programmes, and it involves the considera tion of issues relating to occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, toxicology, education, engineering safety, ergonomics, psychology, etc. Both workers and employers have a intelligent responsibility to look after health and safety at work together. Workers who contribute to health and safety at work, are safer and healthier than those who do not.Building and maintain a health and safety culture involve the use of all available means to increase awareness, knowledge and reasonableness of the concepts of hazards and risks and how they may be prevented or controlled.The safety culture of an organization is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and progress of, an organisations health and safety management. Successful Health and Safety Management by HSE (2nd edition), pg 22Training for health and safetyTraining means educating raft on what should be done and not, how it should be done and when it should be done. base on a survey carried out by ILO, workers often check work-related health problems but do not realize that the problems are related to their work, particularly when an occupational disease, for example, is in the early stages. Hence, there is a need to train workers on safe way to do the job, hazards associated with the work and how to eliminate or control them.It is also important to train workers how to react in case of emergencies, like a fire outbreak. Training on get-go aid is also important.Training can be conducted at different levelsDuring induction course for new employees where they can be educated on how to work safely and also about the hazards and risks associated with the jobs, how to eliminate or control them.Training can be organized for management and Supervisors so that they know what are the hazards present in the workplace and this enable them to develop policies to fight these hazardsRegular training to exi sting employees, to update them on new equipment and technologies being used.Health surveillanceHealth surveillance at work is real important. It is performed to look for early signs of ill health caused by substances and other hazards at work. It includes keeping health records for individuals and may include medical examinations and testing of argumentation or urine samples, so that corrective action can be taken.Health and Safety CommitteeHealth and safety programsFor all of the reasons disposed above, it is crucial that employers, workers and unions are committed to health and safety and thatworkplace hazards are controlled at the source whenever possiblerecords of any exposure are retained for many yearsboth workers and employers are informed about health and safety risks in the workplacethere is an active and effective health and safety committee that includes both workers and managementworker health and safety efforts are ongoing.Charles D. Reese (2001) Accident/Incident Prevention Techniques In order to effectively manage safety and health, a company must pay watchfulness to some critical factorspolicy of management regarding health and safety of workershealth and safety goals of the companywho is responsible for occupational safety and healthhow are supervisors and employees held accountable for job safety and health?what are the consequences of not following the safety rulesare there set procedures for addressing safety and health at the workplace?A written safety and health program is of primary quill importance in addressing these items.