Block 3: Occupational Health Management - Section 2: Occupational Health Programme

OHM2.1: Overview

 Overview:

The following key components are considered necessary if the objectives are to be achieved:

• A risk assessment (this sort of text could be given extra "punch" by being linked to a definition, which appears when one clicks on it, or it could be hyperlinked to a "how-to" document covering Risk Assessment. This document is available in the CD. The best one to use woul be the "HRA Guideline") to be conducted every two years and reviewed annually. All major new developments and acquisitions will similarly be assessed before final approval.
• Occupational exposure limits (OEL’s) will, at the very least, comply with South African legal standards or, where these do not exist, with standards laid down by (in descending order of preference):


• The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
• The American Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).


• All factories will abide with the agreed safety programme (currently NOSA). The intention is to reflect a continuous decrease in the disabling injury frequency rate. (I do not currently have a dcument to which to attached a hyperlink to, covering this)
• The minimum requirements for the Occupational Health Surveillance Programme will be laid out in the company’s Medical Surveillance Policy (Hyperlink to the Medical Surveillance Policy document), and also in the relevant specific programmes, for example, Chemical Safety Programme, Hearing Conservation and the Driver Health Programme.
• All employees will be inducted, including specific information on hazards and risks incurred at the workplace and safe working procedures for each job category. Employees will regularly undergo needs-driven health awareness and safety education and training as part of ongoing training and development.(I do not currently have a dcument to which to attached a hyperlink to, covering this)
• Responsibility for health, safety and environmental protection will be an objective in each employee’s job description and an important consideration in performance reviews.
• A Health Information System (HIS) (Hyperlink to the Health Information System Guideline document) will provide an annual analysis of health outcomes and, all things being equal, the statistics should show a relative reduction in the incidence of accidents and diseases.

The picture on the right can be seen clearly by clicking on it. It gives a schematic view of the Health Risk Assessment process.

The first priority of the Occupational Health Programme is to conduct a  an initial formal Risk Assessment, in which all Health, Safety and Environmental hazards are identified and evaluated. This evaluation should include the potential effects of the hazards as well as the degree to which employees are exposed, thereby enabling a quantification of their risks. Further details regarding this procedure are to found in the Health Risk Assessment Policy.

Hazardous chemical substances are a particular challenge. These should initially be listed, and documentation containing detailed information regarding their effects on health should be established. Further details regarding this procedure are to found in the Chemical Safety Policy.(hyperlink to this SOP) .