Safety

Conditions at the workplace and applies to the pursuit of a state where the risk of harm has been eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level

Welfare

General wellbeing of employees at the workplace and the promotion of conditions which help to provde for their needs in respoect of health, comfort, social and personal well-being.

Not a specific concern but effective H&S contribute to the conditions which promote it

Environmental Protection

1. Work Place Environment

2.  External Environment

Workplace Env.

General conditions in the immediate area of the workplace itself eg. levels of lighting, noise, heat, etc

External Env.

Pollution or damage to air, land, water and living creatures outside the workplace but affected by workplace acitivies

Incident

An event that gave rise to an accident or had the potential to lead to an accident

Unplanned, unwanted event which had a potential to cause loss of some kind (injury, disease, death, property / equipment damage, REPUTATION...)

Accident

Undesired event, giving rise to death, ill-health, injury, damage or other loss

Unplanned, unwanted event which causes loss of some kind.

An incident can become an accident (Brick Falling..)

Some Results of Accidents

LTI   Lost Time Injury

MTC   Medical Treatment Cases

Both are reported and affect statistics depending on the way an organisation defines it

Near Miss

Any form of event which could have resulted in injury or loss but did not in fact do so

Same events withh the same causes as the accidents but with a different outcome

It is imp that lessons be learnt from NMs to prevent reoccurence & probable harm next time around

Occupational Accident

An occurence arising out of or in the course of work which results in fatal or non-fatal injury

Commuting Accident

An acident resulting in death or personal injury occurring on the direct way between place of work & :

• employees principal or secondary residence
• place where employee usually takes a meal
• place where the employee usually receives his or her remuneration

Dangerous Occurence

A readily identifiable event as defined under national laws & regulations, with potential to cause an injury or disease to persons at work or to the public.

These events usually involve some form of loss or damage to equipment

Work Related Ill-Health

• Easy to equate personal injury with accidents
• Work related ill health may also be the outcome of a type of accident
• Nobody sets out deliberately to create conditions whcih cause asbestosis or WRULDs

Main difference between Health & Safety issues are timescale and the nature of the harm

Work-related ill-health may be either physiological or psychological

Physiological

Diseases or injuries suffered as a result of long-term exposure to dangerous substances in the workplace (dusts, fumes) or to damaging practices (repetitive movements or excessive noise)

Psychological

Usually related to stress and include such illnesses as depression.  Stress may be created by short-term or even instant events where the emotional shock of a particular incident or series of incidents

Hazard

Article, substance or situation, that has the potential to cause harm or damage

Working at Heights, noise, electricity, machinery, chemicals, poor lighting, manual handling, cluttered walkways, fire, slippery surfaces, uneven surfaces

May be caused due to UNSAFE ACTS or UNSAFE CONDITIONS

Risk

Likelihood or probability or harm occurring

Degree of risk depends upon the likelihood of harm happening & the severity of outcome

ALARP

Impossible to eliminate all hazards but can be reduced to an acceptable level of risk turning into an accident

AS LOW AS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE

It is a BALANCE

between time, money and effort  against reduction of he risk

Reasons for HSE

1. Moral Reasons - Responsibility to do what is right
2. Legal - Reflection of what you should do morally
3. Economic / Financial - Uncomfortable on short term but beneficial over long term