Introduction to Occupatio

nal Safety and Health

Prepared by:
Engr. Mohd Shaharom Bin Idris
JKE, PTSS

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Chapter Outline

• Introduction
• Concept of OSH
• OSH history
• Why safety is important in workplace?
• Major safety terminologies.
• Types of accident.

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Introduction

• Definition of OSH by ILO and WHO

– occupational health should aim at:
• the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical,
mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations;
• the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused
by their working conditions;
• the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting
from factors adverse to health;
• the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational envi
ronment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilitie
s; and,
• to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to
his job.

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Definition from scholar

• Occupational safety and health (OSH) is an interdiscip

linary field which encompasses among others, the dis
ciplines of industrial hygiene, occupational medicine,
occupational nursing, engineering, epidemiology, and
toxicology (Levitt and Samelson, 1993).

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OSH definition by Wikipedia

• Occupational health and safety is a cross-disciplinary

 area concerned with protecting the safety, health an
d welfare of people engaged in work or employment.

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OSH concept

• Giving priority to safety in the workplace.

• The act of handling work
• The healthy environment.

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OSH history

• 1878- started with the appointment of boiler surveyo

rs followed by boiler inspectors. Each state under the
Federation of Malay States at that time had its own b
oiler legislations.
• After the Second World War, the states in the Malaya
n Peninsular enforced legislation which was uniform i
n the respective states with the passing of the Machi
nery Ordinance in 1953.
• This department was known as the Department of M
achinery replacing the Department of Boiler and Mac
hinery under the Department of Minerals
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5 eras of OSH in Malaysia
– The occupational safety and health in Malaysia could be su
mmarised by five eras (DOSH, 1994a). The eras were parall
el to the transitional development of Malaysia’s economy.
The first three eras ranged from commodity based econom
ic activities in 1900 to industrial based economic activities i
n 1970.
– During the third era, the nation received continuous inflow
of direct foreign investments which were concentrated in t
he manufacturing sector. This gave an enormous impact on
the national economy. The approach to occupational safet
y during this era was engineering interventions based on p
hysical aspects of safety such as machine guarding and raili
ngs.

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• The fourth era began with the merging of industrial hygi
ene into safety in 1970.
• During this era, the Department of Minerals’ name has c
hanged to Factories and Machinery Department. Four di
visions were introduced into the department. There wer
e: Major Hazards, Petroleum Safety, Pollution and Natio
nal Centre for Safety and Health Information (CIS) Divisio
ns. The Factories and Machinery Act and its eight regula
tions were enforced in 1970.
• This era also marked the first collaboration of the depart
ment with the ILO in seeking outside expertise.
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• The fifth era began with the introduction of the OSHA in 1994. A review
and upgrading of legislation was adopted through the introduction of thi
s act as one of the key step towards the improvement of national occup
ational safety and health systems.
• In line with the gazetting of the OSHA, the name of the department onc
e again changed to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health
(DOSH). The OSHA 1994 has expanded the safety and health protection
to all employed persons from the limited scope of coverage of the previ
ous FMA of 1967. It also emphasises the establishment of a national trip
artite advisory body; a clear definition of employers to protect their em
ployees; responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of a
plant; establishment of safety and health committees; and requirement
of safety and health officers. According to Jamal Khan (2003), the fifth er
a actually marked the first time in Malaysia‘s history of occupational saf
ety and health towards integrating human and organisational factors int
o the management of occupational safety and health.

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Why safety is important in workplace?

• protects employees and the employer from death or

injury. 
• teaches workers how to work in a safe environment.
• keeps everyone feel safe and happy. 
• teaches the workers to pay attention to their surroun
dings.
• prevents companies from law suits.

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Safety terminologies
• Safety: The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury.
• Accident: An unplanned unexpected event which may result in loss, injury, or d
amages.
• Danger: A state of condition in which personal injury and/or asset damage is re
asonably foreseeable.
• First Aid: The skilled application of accepted principles of treatment on the occ
urrence of an accident using facilities or material available at the time.
• Hazard: a situation which poses a level of threat to life, health, property or env
ironment.
• Near Miss: An incident which does not show a visible result, but had a potenti
al to do so.
• Risk Assessment: A process where hazards are identified and risks evaluated,
with the objective of eliminating or reducing the risks as low as is reasonably p
racticable.

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• ERGONOMICS (a): The study of the relationship between workers and
their occupation, equipment and environment and particularly, the ap
plication of anatomical, physiological and psychological knowledge to t
he problems arising there from.
• ERROR: Mistake; error of judgement leading to action resulting in an ac
cident and its subsequent effects. ERROR RATE PREDICTION: A forecast
of the possibility of error based on statistical data.
• FIRE PRECAUTIONS: The measures taken and the fire protection featur
es provided in a building (e.g. design, systems, equipment and proced
ures) to minimise the risk to the occupants from and outbreak of fire. 
• FIRE PREVENTION: The concept of preventing outbreaks of fire, of red
ucing the risk of fire spreading and of avoiding danger to persons and
property from fire.
• HSC: Health and Safety Commission
• HSE: Health and Safety Executive
• MISTAKE: A human action that produces an unintended result.
• NARCOTIC: Agent that depresses brain functions eg. organic solvents.

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• PERMIT TO WORK: A formal written or verbal authority to op
erate a planned procedure, which is designed to protect pers
onnel, working in hazardous areas or activities. Authority for a
safe system of work.
• POLICY: A statement of corporate intent, which will be adopt
ed and pursued as advantageous or expedient.
• QUALIFIED WORKER (a): One who is accepted as having the n
ecessary physical attributes, who possesses the required intell
igence, training and education, and has acquired the necessar
y skill and knowledge to carry out the work in hand to satisfac
tory standards of safety, quantity and quality.
• QUANTIFIED RISK ASSESSMENT: Resulting from calculations a
llied to error rate predictions.
• WORKPLACE: The workplace may be described as any place
where people are at work.

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Types of accident
• Trauma disaster while on location. This could include: construction,
assembly work, or operating heavy machinery, especially if your em
ployer did not provide standard training.
• Muscle strain or fracture due to your work in: Shipping and receivin
g, loading and unloading at a warehouse or lifting of heavy objects,
especially if your employer did not provide proper safety equipment
.
• Pain due to carpel tunnel or chronic back pain caused from not rece
iving proper breaks.
• Slip and fall or trip incident due to an unsafe work environment. (O
ver 1/3 of all workplace accidents are slip and fall accidents!).
• Prolonged exposure to a harmful or hazardous material or chemica
l, resulting in respiratory or breathing problems.
• Injured because you were not provided with adequate safety and pr
otective clothing, goggles, gloves, helmets, harnesses, etc.
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Q n A?

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Thank you !

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