Occupational Health and Safety in Plain Terms
What the subject covers, why injury and ill health are treated equally, and who counts as a worker.
8 min
Activities: 0 of 1
Occupational health and safety is about preventing people from being hurt or made ill by their work. "Occupational" means "related to work". The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO 45001 as the international standard for an occupational health and safety management system. In this course you will learn what the standard asks for and what it looks like on a real site.
Injury and ill health
Usually sudden and visible: a cut, a burn, a broken bone after a fall, a crushed hand. The cause and the effect are close together in time.
Why ill health deserves equal attention
Injuries are easy to count, so many organisations focus on them. Ill health is harder to see, so it is often missed. The standard treats both equally. It defines injury and ill health together as an adverse effect on the physical, mental or cognitive condition of a person.
Example: a bakery
The bakery records two minor burns a year. It does not record that several workers have developed asthma from flour dust. The burns are visible; the asthma is the bigger harm. A good system looks for both.
Example: a contractor in the warehouse
A contractor electrician is repairing lights in a warehouse. The warehouse controls the area, the forklift routes and the working hours. The electrician is doing work under the warehouse's control, so the warehouse must consider his safety in its planning, even though he is not on its payroll.
Which of these is an example of work-related ill health rather than injury?