Promoting Safety and Health

2. chapter 17 Promoting Safety and Health

3. Safety Hazards • Aspects of the work environment that have the potential of causing immediate and sometimes violent harm or even death • Examples of safety hazards: • poorly maintained equipment • unsafe machinery • exposure to hazardous chemicals

4. Health Hazards • Aspects of the work environment that slowly and cumulatively lead to deterioration of health • The person may: • develop a chronic or life threatening illness • become permanently disabled • Typical causes are: • physical and biological hazards • toxic and carcinogenic dusts and chemicals • stressful working conditions

5. Background (1 of 2) • About 15 workers are killed in American workplaces each day • In 2000, 5915 people died as a result of work-related injuries in all sectors of the economy • Highway fatalities were the leading cause of death • Falls experienced on the job were the second most common cause of death • Homicide was the third leading cause of death

6. Background (2 of 2) • In 1999, workers’ compensation costs were over $1.2 trillion (includes cost of replacement wages) • In 2000, a total of 1.7 million injuries and illnesses in private industry forced workers to be away from work • In 2001, OSHA identified 13,000 worksites as having higher-than-average lost workday injury and illness rates

7. Causes of Work-Related Accidents and Illnesses Tasks Working conditions Nature of the employees

8. Who is Involved with Safety and Health? • Top management must support safety and health with an adequate budget • Managers must give it their personal support • Employees and managers must follow and comply with safety rules and regulations • Safety committee • Government inspectors

9. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 (1 of 2) • Provides job safety and health protection for workers through the promotion of safe and healthful working conditions throughout the nation • Administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor

10. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 (2 of 2) • Enforced by federal inspectors or in partnership with state safety and health agencies • Encourages the states to assume responsibility for developing and administering occupational safety and health laws

11. Employers Must furnish to each employee employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees Employees Shall comply with all occupational safety and health standards, rules, regulations, and orders issued under the Act that apply to his or her own actions and conduct on the job Responsibilities Under OSHA

12. Key OSHA Requirements for Employers • Meeting safety standards set by OSHA • Submitting to OSHA inspections • Keeping records and reporting accidents and illnesses

13. Employee Rights Under OSHA • Right to request an OSHA inspection • Right to be present during the inspection • Right to protection from reprisal for reporting the company to OSHA • Right to access his or her company medical records • Right to refuse to work if there is a real danger of death or serious injury or illness from job hazards

14. Organizational Responses to Safety and Health Issues Prevention and design Inspection and research Training and motivation

15. Key Inspection Questions • Are safety rules being observed? • How many near misses have occurred? • Are safety guards and protective equipment being used? • Are there potential hazards in the workplace that safety redesign could improve? • Are there potential occupational health hazards?

16. Key Accident Research Statistics OSHA formula:Injuries per 100 full-time employees per year =

17. Key Factors Contributing to the Sharp Rise in Health Benefits Costs • Aging of the workforce (older employees have more chronic illnesses) • Competition among health insurance carriers that raises instead of lowering the cost of care • Shifting of cost from the government to the private sector • Inefficiency of health care providers • Increasing malpractice litigation • Failure of employers to respond to these factors

18. Preventive / Wellness Approach to Employee Health • Encourages employees to make lifestyle changes through: • better nutrition • regular exercise programs • abstinence from smoking and alcohol • stress counseling • annual physical examinations

19. Support and direction by the CEO Wellness as a stated priority in the company’s policy statement Inclusion of family members as well as the employee Accessibility of the program to the whole family Employees’ input into programs Needs assessment before each phase of the program Periodic in-house evaluation to be sure objectives being met Ongoing communication of goals and components of the program HRM monitoring of related issues such as AIDS, etc. Community involvement Qualified program staff Separate program budget Adolph Coors Company: Key Elements of a Successful Wellness Program

20. Safety and Health Issues • Stress Management • Violence in the Workplace • Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) • HIV-AIDS in the Workplace • Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) and Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs)

21. Stress Management • Stress costs U.S. employers $200-$300 billion a year in increased workers’ compensation claims, lost productivity, higher health care costs, and turnover • Job-related stress has been associated with a vast array of diseases • Stress management programs have met with variable success

22. Violence in the Workplace • 25 percent of all workers claim that they have been harassed, threatened, or attacked on their jobs each year • OSHA does not have a specific standard for workplace violence • Several states have developed standards or recommendations

23. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) • Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) – refers to the quality of the air in a business environment • Sick-building syndrome – covers a wide range of symptoms employees believe can be caused by the building itself

24. A company can choose one of three approaches when dealing with AIDS: • Categorizing AIDS under a comprehensive life-threatening illness policy • Forming an AIDS-specific policy • No policy

25. Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) and Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs) • Many companies see the common sense of designing computer work stations, assembly line tasks, and other jobs that require repetitive motion in a way to minimize the risks of repetitive motion disorders • The result is substantial savings and higher levels of worker productivity

26. Summary (1 of 2) • Health and safety programs have begun to receive more attention in recent years • The consequences of inadequate programs are measurable: • increased workers’ compensation costs • increased lawsuits • larger insurance costs • fines from OSHA • pressures from unions

27. Summary (2 of 2) A safety management program requires: • Establishment of indicator systems • Development of effective reporting systems • Development of rules and procedures • Rewarding supervisors for effective management of the safety function • Support from top management • Participation by employees