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| Block 3: Occupational Health Management - Section 2: Occupational Health Programme |
| OHM2.3: A 10 step approach to establishing an Occupational Health Programme (Part 2) |
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| Block 3: Occupational Health Management - Section 2: Occupational Health Programme |
| OHM2.3: A 10 step approach to establishing an Occupational Health Programme (Part 2) |
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This step is conducted by an approved inspection authority and includes measurement of environmental exposures. This includes exposures to hazards such as noise, dust, illumination and air-borne contaminants (organic compounds, vapours, fumes, etc). The hazards identified in the HRA (Step 1) are now formally evaluated by means of measurements A report is submitted to the company including suggestions for controlling the hazards that pose significant health risks to employees. This information is channelled to Step 9, at which corrective measures are contemplated.
This component includes a wide variety of safety interventions, including safe working procedures, safety controls (such as permits to work etc), and safety mechanisms on equipment, (such as guards, railings, lockout procedures etc). These processes are largely the responsibility of line management and, possibly, the Risk Officer. Other components include incident investigation, housekeeping and the general organisation of the Safety Programme (such as the functioning of the Health and Safety Committee and the Health and Safety Representatives etc.). Periodic inspections and audits (internal and external) are used to measure progress and these reports are fed into Step 9, at which corrective measures are contemplated.
(See the Medical Surveillance Guidelines document)IS THIS THE RIGHT DOCUMENT? Good pick-up!! Should be Medical Surveillence, as correctly recorded now. Medical screening & surveillance means a planned programme of periodic examination (which may include clinical examinations, biological monitoring or medical tests) of employees by an Occupational Health Practitioner or in prescribed cases by an Occupational Medicine practitioner. Biological monitoring simply measures the levels of the toxic substance in the body (thereby providing a more accurate indication of target organ exposure than simple air-borne monitoring). Biological effect monitoring comprises medical examination and testing, which seeks to identify early adverse health effects of exposure to the hazard. These tests might include x-ray changes, audiometric changes, lung function changes or other clinical findings. lINK ALL THE FOLLOWING TO BOOKMARKS IN THE DOCUMENTATION The key elements of this step include L test selection, setting required test L standards, and determining test frequencyL . These are described in detail in the reference on Worker-Allocated Surveillance Programmes ("WASP's"). (See the document) .Other important objectives of Medical Screening and Surveillance include L suitability assessment (ensuring that employees meet the inherent requirements of their occupations), progress evaluation L of rehabilitating employees, and assistanceL in their return to suitable work. Results of these interventions (outcomes) are fed into Step 9 (see below). IMPLICATIONS OF DISABILITY PROVISIONS OF EEACT WHERE DISABILITY RESULTS FROM WORK-RELATED CAUSES?? This should be addressed later, in the approprate section.
(See the Health Information Guidelines document) This step brings together the outcomes of Steps 6, 7 and 8. The objective is to identify critical findings in the Occupation Health Programme as a whole, including:
These three components should be highlighted and appropriate recommendations issued in a composite report.
The recommendations drawn from the report (Step 9) should be listed in an Action Plan L with appropriate time deadlines and accountabilities. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A TABULAR SCHEDULE WITH TIMELINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. I guess I could construct one. The checklist tool that we will give them (actually have already done, in previous blocks), includes these fields (timelines, and responsibilities). A blank sample is attached to the WREPs SOP, but also stands alone as a document (spreadsheet, actually), which is referenced on the cd in the HRA section. A WORKED EXAMPLE WOULD BE GOOD HERE. Overall responsibility for this should be at the highest level in the company in order to drive the implementation of the recommendations effectively. As these corrective measures are instituted and completed they actually change the health risk profile of the company, which ultimately requires a re-visitation of the Health Risk Assessment (Step 1). This cycle should occur at least every two years as prescribed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
