Workplace Health and Safety
What is operational health and safety
- The identification, evaluation and control of hazards associcated with the work environment.
-The goal is to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses associated with employment * Injury = any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation * Illness= any abnormal condition or disorder caused by factors
-Why only reduce and not eliminate? Because illness is unforeseeable. Accidents and the employer is not in full control of everything. Science is evolving. It is expensive.
-What does associated with employment mean? – Legal, economic and moral. Sometimes the line associated with employment and outside employement is a very tricky line to define
Why is it important to have a formal system of OH and S ?
First lets consider the alternative to a system underwritten by the state- * The market – economics believe the market will look after it self and we don’t require occupational health and safety * Voluntarism by ERS based on common law duty to take reasonable precautions
Is this acceptable ? * Economic reasons – direct and indirect costs * Moral reasons -
Stakeholders? The parties involved in occupational health in safety – employers, employees, unions, government, families and broader community, tax-payers, health and safety professionals
System Choices
What are the governments basic choices for OH and S? * Set up government policies, programs and administrative units to enforce in organizations * Provide facilitation for internal responsibility * Develop some combination of both
Which would you really recommend and why?
Some sort of state regulation and an internal stability system
Having opted for the combination what are your next choices ? * What is the governments role ....
The SK OH and S legislation
= pioneer in Canada of OH and S legislation and the IRS (1972) N.B federal- provincial jurisdictions. * Oh and s division of the ministry of
- The identification, evaluation and control of hazards associcated with the work environment.
-The goal is to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses associated with employment * Injury = any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation * Illness= any abnormal condition or disorder caused by factors
-Why only reduce and not eliminate? Because illness is unforeseeable. Accidents and the employer is not in full control of everything. Science is evolving. It is expensive.
-What does associated with employment mean? – Legal, economic and moral. Sometimes the line associated with employment and outside employement is a very tricky line to define
Why is it important to have a formal system of OH and S ?
First lets consider the alternative to a system underwritten by the state- * The market – economics believe the market will look after it self and we don’t require occupational health and safety * Voluntarism by ERS based on common law duty to take reasonable precautions
Is this acceptable ? * Economic reasons – direct and indirect costs * Moral reasons -
Stakeholders? The parties involved in occupational health in safety – employers, employees, unions, government, families and broader community, tax-payers, health and safety professionals
System Choices
What are the governments basic choices for OH and S? * Set up government policies, programs and administrative units to enforce in organizations * Provide facilitation for internal responsibility * Develop some combination of both
Which would you really recommend and why?
Some sort of state regulation and an internal stability system
Having opted for the combination what are your next choices ? * What is the governments role ....
The SK OH and S legislation
= pioneer in Canada of OH and S legislation and the IRS (1972) N.B federal- provincial jurisdictions. * Oh and s division of the ministry of