OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY(OHS)

The concept of Health and Safety in the workplace has many facets. It is incredibly significant that you treat H&S as an integral part of your business. You need to manage it in a proportional way to the level of risk you face every day. There are resources available on this page that can be used by learners at all skill levels.

What is the meaning of Occupational Health and Safety?

Health and safety in the workplace are one aspect of occupational health, which focuses on preventing hazards from occurring. Occupational health and safety are a multidisciplinary field of healthcare focused on enabling an individual to perform the duties of their occupation in the least harmful manner to their health. Health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease.” Health and safety at work emphasize preventing harm to workers from hazards on the job.

The vast majority of occupational health and safety efforts are directed toward three main objectives:

(1) maintaining and enhancing workers’ health and working capacity; (2) improving work environments and work practices in a manner that ensures safety and health at work; and (3) developing work structures and working cultures in a way that promotes health and safety at work and thus, in turn, promotes a positive social climate as well as smooth operation and may enhance productivity.

In meeting the health and safety legislation the guidance is simple:

• Health and safety are everyone’s responsibilities
• It is imperative to make everyone’s responsibilities clear
•  The goal should be to reduce work-related risks.
• It is up to those who create a risk to reduce it.
• Employees should be empowered to take an active role in health and safety by the employers.
• Health and safety risks can be managed in a flexible manner.