Tamat Kursus

Pada tarikh 28.12.2008 tamatlah sudah kusrus Pegawai Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan untuk SHO9 tahun 2008

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HIRARC

We need to know about OSH because:

1. It is a requirement under the law (OSHA and its Regulations);
2. We need to make provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of our colleagues;
3. We need to make provisions for protecting our clients against risks safety or health in connection with our trade and activities.


In order for us to achieve the objectives of OSH we need to look into HIRARC which is the basis of occupational safety and health. HIRARC is a compound word which is made up of three consecutive activities running one after the other. The activities consist of Hazard Indentification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control. Hazard indentification is the recognising of things which may cause injury or harm to a person. Risk assessment is the looking at the possibility of injury or harm occuring to a person if exposed to a hazard. The introduction of measures which will eliminate or reduce the risk of a person being exposed to a harzard is known as Risk control.

We need to know about HIRARC because:

. it is the core business of all OSH personnel, safety committee members, supervisors...etc.
. it is a DIRECTIVE from the Chief Secretary of the government service to all government departments and agencies through its letter of directive: UPTM 159/267/50 Klt.4 dated 20th of August 2004.


Before the proccess of identifying any hazards begin, it is necessary to know how to classify what is hazard, risk and danger.

Hazard - anything that can cause harm.
Risk - a probability of harm actually being done.
Danger - the relative exposure to a hazard.

Hazards can be sub-classified into health or safety hazards.

Examples of health hazards are:

1. Physical (noise, heat, radiation, vibration, pressure, machinery, electricity ... etc.);

2. Chemical (gases, vapours, acids, alkali, poisons, aerosols, irritants ... etc.);

3. Biological (pathogens, fungi, other micro organisms ... etc.);

4. Psychosocial (stress, social problems, accidents at workplace/home, fear of failure, retrenchment ... etc.);

5. Ergonomic (workplace design, layout of workstation, excessive manual handling, design of tools ... etc.)

Examples of Safety hazards are:

a) Mechanical (cuts, entanglement ... etc);
b) Heights (falling objects ... etc);
c) Electrical (shock, burns ... etc);
d) Fire/Explosion (burns, injury, death ... etc);
e) Confined space (poisoning ... etc)

Hazards can be identified through the means:

1. Risk analysis
2. Workplace inspection
3. Safety audits
4. Job safety analysis
5. Feedback from workers
6. Observations
7. Advice from specialists
8. Accident records
9. MSDS/CSDS ... etc.

Risk assessment can be achieved by:

1. Gathering information about each hazard identified
2. Using of the information to assess the likelihood and consequence of each hazard
3. Producing a qualitative or quantitative risk table

Hierarchy of risk control:

Elimination
Substitution
Isolation
Engineering control
Administrative control
Personal protective equipment

Do you know that it is the duty of our employer under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 0f 1994 to:

a) Ensure our safety, health and welfare at our workplace by:

1. the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health;

2. making of arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use or operation, handling, storage and transport of plant and substances;

3. the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the safety and health at work;

4. maintaining the workplace in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of the means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks;

5. the provision and maintenance of a working environment which is safe, without risks to health and adequate as regards to facilities for our welfare at work.


b) Formulate safety and health policy:

1. as often as may be appropriate revise a written statement of his general policy with respect to the safety and health at work;

2. arrangements for the time being in force for carrying out the policy;

3. to bring the statement and any revision of it to the notice of all of his employees.

c) Employ a competent person to act as a Safety and Health Officer at the place of work exclusively for the purpose of ensuring the due observance at the place of work of the provisions of the OSHA and its regulations and the promotion of a safe conduct of work at the place of work.

d) Establish a Safety and Health Committee at the place of work if there are 40 or more persons employed at the place of work.

e) Consult the Safety and Health Committee with a view to the making and maintenance of arrangements which will enable him and his employees to co-operate effectively in promoting and developing measures to ensure the safety and health at the place of work of the employees and in checking the effectiveness of such measures.

f) Notify the nearest Occupational Safety and Health Office of any accident, dangerous occurrence, occupational poisoning or occupational disease which has occurred or is likely to occur at the place of work.


Nevertheless, it is our duty as employees to:

a) Take reasonable care for the safety and health of ourself and of other persons who may be affected by our acts or omissions at work;
b) Co-operate with our employer or any other person in the discharge of any duty or requirement imposed on our employer or that other person by OSHA;
c) Wear or use at all times any protective equipment or clothing provided by our employer for the purpose of preventing risks to our safety and health;
d) Comply with any instruction or measure on occupational safety and health instituted by our employer or any other person by or under OSHA or any regulations made thereunder.

How to create a safe workplace

1. Anticipate the hazard
2. Identify the hazard
3. Assess the risk
4. Implementing control measures
5. Reviewing of control measures

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HAZARD IDENTIFICATION, RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK CONTROL

Flow Chart for Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control
A) HAZARD GROUPS

Ø Physical
Ø Chemical
Ø Biological
Ø Psychological
Ø Electrical
Ø Mechanical
Ø Machinery
Ø Ergonomics
Ø Radiation
Ø Material depreciation, failures and changes
Ø Human error
Ø Environmental factor


Description of likelihood

Ø Very likely : Could happen frequently
Ø Likely : Could happen occasionally
Ø Unlikely : Could happen but only rarely
Ø Highly unlikely : Could happen but probably never will

Description of consequences

Ø Fatality
Ø Major injuries : Normally irreversible injury or damage to health
Ø Minor injury : Normally reversible injury or damage to health
Ø Negligible injury : First aid

C) HIERARCHY OF CONTROL MEASURES

Ø Elimination
Ø Substitution
Ø Isolation
Ø Engineering control
Ø Administrative control
Ø Personal protective equipment

D) RECORD AND REVIEW

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Health Tips

1. What is Chikungunya?

Chikungunya is an acute febrile infectious condition transmitted to humans by the bite of specific mosquitoes. This disease was first detected in 1953 in Tanzania. Since then it has emerged as one of the main causes of disease outbreaks among human populations in African and Asian countries and of late affecting several locations in Europe. It is currently endemic in most countries in the Sub Saharan region in Africa, India, South East Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. This is not an unknown mysterious disease.

2. What is the causing agent?

Chikungunya is a febrile illness caused by a virus from the genus Alphavirus in the Togaviridae family.

3. Is the disease infectious ?

Yes. The Chikungunya virus spreads through the bite of an Aedes albopictus or Aedes aegypti mosquito infected with the virus. The Aedes mosquito also transmits the dengue virus.

4. What is the incubation period for Chikungunya ?

The incubation period for Chikungunya can range from 3 to 12 days but usually it is about 3 to 7 days.

5. What are its signs and symptoms?

The usual symptoms include:
· Sudden high fever
· Severe joint pains
· Redness with rashes occurring on the body
· Headache The fever can occur for a period ranging from 1 to 7 days (usually
about 5 days). Chikungunya is commonly mistaken for Dengue Fever their similar clinical symptoms.

6. Can it cause death?

In Malaysia, Chikungunya has never been reported as causing haemorrhage (bleeding) or death. However, some patients experience prolonged symptoms. Aged patients could suffer from recurrent joint aches ranging from several months to a year.

7. What is the treatment for this disease?

As in other viral infections there is no specific treatment for Chikungunya infection. Usually, it is treated symptomatically (treatment for specific symptoms as experienced by the patient). Most patients need only outpatient treatment. There is no vaccine available to prevent this disease.

8. What you need to do if you are infected

If you experience signs and symptoms of Chikungunya infection, please seek immediate medical advice from the nearest clinic or hospital.

9. Prevention

· Keep your house and surrounding clean, free from Aedes mosquito breeding. This can be done through community-based activities, gotong-royong. There is evidence of no new case reported in areas where gotong-royong is carried out.
· Check your house and surrounding at least once a week to ensure no Aedes breeding.
· Seek immediate medical attention from the nearest clinic or hospital if you experience signs and symptoms of Chikungunya.

10. Can my area be affected?

Possible, due to the wide spread presents of this disease vectors (mosquitoes), namely Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in this country.

11. Current situation

Please refer to the press statement.

12. Actions taken by Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health has taken several proactive measures to effectively contain and manage this disease:

· Active case detection
· Aedes survey
· Adult mosquito destruction by fogging and ULV
· Gotong-royong
· Health promotion As a result, the outbreak has been contained and restricted only to the affected localities.

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Job Hazard Analysis

Job Hazard Analysis
How do you address the concern of repeated motion trauma? Our organization wrestled with that question for a long time. We finally decided to study each job and operation to determine what motion or activity could be changed or eliminated. We conducted a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). This killed two birds with one stone: safety and production. The project not only helped identify the potential hazards of a job, it was and is a valuable training tool for both the supervisor developing the JHA and an employee new to the operations.

Developing a JHA for each operation and job within each operation was an extensive project that took well over a year to complete. But it was well worth the effort. Our work related injuries, including repeated motion trauma, were reduced approximately forty percent in the past three years. Here’s how we approached the process. There’s also a Model JHA form that SafetyXChange members can download from the Tools section.
Identify Each Step

To conduct a JHA you must first take a good look at each individual production step. A thorough examination reveals hidden hazards, as well as provides both the supervisor and the new employee with a detailed overview of the job. Often there are many more steps than originally expected. You need to know who does what and when they do it. In our organization, this included all aspects of:

Procuring the raw material
Production
Assembly
Packaging
Preparing for delivery of product to the stores.


No step in the process is too small when developing a JHA.
Spot the Hazard

Once you’ve identified each production step, you must consider every potential hazard and how you can eliminate it. Employ “Murphy’s Law” and identify anything that could possibly go wrong. Put these questions to each step:

Is a guard needed?
Can we remove the human element and automate the function?
Is a new line layout needed?
Where is the power source?
Are other employees in the area who could be in the path of danger if something goes wrong?
Is PPE needed? If so, what type? Will PPE training be required? How about certification?
Is the job a two-person operation? If so, what does each person do, especially when the other person is performing a task?

Get a Second Opinion
Once you’ve completed the first draft of your JHA, it’s important to have a knowledgeable second person review it. They might discover something you’ve missed. For best results, have the JHA reviewed by someone who is very familiar with your operations, such as a long-time employee.

Send in the Engineers
The JHA having been completed and reviewed, it’s time to send in the experts. Have an engineer examine the JHA while observing the complete cycle of the operation. If your organization doesn’t have an in-house engineer, contact your local workers’ compensation carrier and ask if a representative would be willing to assist you (usually they are more than willing to help).

Once your experts have reviewed your JHA, you’ll need to address any changes they’ve identified and revise your JHA. This may have a major impact on the efficiency of the operation. In our case, we were happy to oblige, since safety was our primary concern; efficiency was a by-product.

Conclusion: It Never Ends
And what’s the last step? There is no last step. Don’t think that you can sit back and relax once you’ve prepared a JHA for each operation and job function in your organization. Change is a constant. Whether it’s a new piece of equipment, a modification to existing equipment, or the production of a new item on the same equipment, each situation requires us to go back to the drawing board to determine how this change affects the production steps. Sometimes changes occur without us realizing it. To be safe, each JHA should be reviewed at least annually, preferably by someone other than the person who conducted it originally.

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