HRM 5th chapter 12 safety and health

Safety and Health

Managing Human Resources
Belcourt * Bohlander * Snell

Copyright © 2008 by Nelson, a division of Thomson
Canada Limited.
All rights reserved.

5th Canadian edition

PowerPoint Presentation by
Monica Belcourt, York University and
Charlie Cook, The University of West Alabama


Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Summarize the common elements of federal and
provincial occupational health and safety
legislation.
2. Describe what management can do to create a safe
work environment.
3. Identify the measures that should be taken to
control and eliminate health hazards.
4. Describe the organizational services and programs
for building better health.
5. Explain the role of employee assistance programs
in HRM.
6. Indicate methods for coping with stress.

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12–2


Safety and Health: It’s the Law
Each year, there are over 900 workplace related
deaths.
There are over one million work related injuries.
There are 340,000 injuries serious enough that the
worker misses a day of work.
Annually, over 12 billion dollars is paid out to injured
workers and their families.

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12–3


Occupational Health and Safety
• Occupational Injury
 Any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation resulting from
a workplace accident or from exposure involving an
accident in the work environment.
• Occupational illness
 Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one
resulting from an occupational injury, caused by
exposure to environmental factors associated with
employment.

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12–4


Acts and Regulations
• Canada Labour Code
• Provincial regulations
 Every province and territory has regulations covering
occupational health and safety

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12–5


Duties of Employers
•
•
•
•
•

Provide a hazard free workplace.
Comply with statutes and regulations.
Inform employees about OH&S regulations.
Keep records and summaries.
Ensure supervisors and employees are familiar with
hazards.
• Report any accidents that cause injury and death.

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12–6


Duties of Workers
• Comply with all applicable acts and legislation.
• Report hazardous conditions and defective equipment.
• Follow all employer H& S rules, including the use of
protective equipment.
• The right to refuse unsafe work.

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12–7


Duties of Supervisors
• Advise employees of potential workplace hazards.
• Ensure that workers use or wear safety equipment,
devices and clothing.
• Provide written instruction where applicable.
• Take every reasonable precaution to guarantee the
safety of workers.

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12–8

Workers Compensation
• An injured worker can receive:
 Cash pay-outs or wage loss payments
 Unlimited medical aid
 Vocational rehabilitation

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12–9


Creating a Safe Work Environment

Safety Motivation
and Knowledge

Safety Awareness
Programs

Elements in Creating a Safe
Work Environment
Enforcement of
Safety Rules

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Accident
Investigations
and Records

12–10


Creating a Safe Work Environment (cont’d)
• Promoting Safety Awareness
 The Key Role of the Supervisor
 Communicating

the need to work safely.

 Proactive Safety Training Program


First aid, defensive driving, accident prevention
techniques, hazardous materials, and emergency
procedures.

 Information Technology and Safety Awareness and
Training

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12–11


Creating a Safe Work Environment (cont’d)
• Typical Safety Rules
 Using proper safety devices
 Using proper work procedures

 Following good housekeeping practices
 Complying with accident- and injury-reporting
procedures
 Wearing required safety clothing and equipment
 Avoiding carelessness and horseplay

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12–12


Enforcing Safety Rules
• Actively encourage employee participation in the safety
program by:
 Jointly setting safety standards with management.
 Participation in safety training.
 Involvement in designing and implementing special
safety training programs.
 Involvement in establishing safety incentives and
rewards.
 Inclusion in accident investigations.

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12–13


Investigating and Recording Accidents
• Recordable Case
 Any occupational death, illness, or injury to be

investigated.
 If the cause can be determined, then corrections must
be made to prevent it happening again.
 Employers must keep record and compile and post
summaries of work related injuries and illnesses.

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12–14


Computing the Incidence Rate
• The following equation computes the incidence rate,
where 200,000 equals the base for 100 full-time workers
who work forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year:

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12–15


Health Hazards and Issues

Proliferating
Chemicals

Indoor Air Quality

Video Display
Terminals

Communicable
Diseases

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Cumulative Trauma
Disorders

12–16


Creating a Healthy Work Environment
• Recognizing and Controlling Health Hazards Related to
Hazardous Materials and Processes
 Use substitutes for hazardous materials.
 Alter hazardous processes and engineering controls.
 Enclose or isolate hazardous processes.
 Issue clothing to protect against hazards.
 Improve ventilation.

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12–17


WHMIS
• Labels
• Material Safety Data Sheets
• Training

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12–18


Creating a Healthy Work Environment
(cont’d)
• Problems with Video Display Terminals (VDT)
 Visual difficulties, muscular aches and pains, and job
stress
 Solutions:
Place the computer screen 10 to 25 cm (4 to 9 inches) below
eye level.
Keep the monitor directly in front of you.
Sit in an adjustable-height chair and use a copyholder that
attaches to both the desk and the monitor.
Use a screen with adjustable brightness and contrast controls.
Use shades or blinds to reduce the computer-screen glare
created by window lighting.

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12–19


Creating a Healthy Work Environment
(cont’d)
• Cumulative Trauma Disorders (Repetitive Motion
Injuries)

 Injuries involving tendons of the fingers, hands, and
arms that become inflamed from repeated stresses
and strains resulting from jobs requiring repetitive
motion of the fingers, hands, or arms.
 Injuries lower employee productivity, increase
employer health costs, and incur workers’
compensation payments.

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12–20


Key Elements for a Successful Ergonomics Program

• Provide notice and training for employees.
• Conduct pre-injury hazard assessment.
• Involve employees.
• File injury reports.
• Plan and execute.
• Evaluate and assess the ergonomics program.

Figure 12.4

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12–21


Workplace Violence

• Reducing Violence in the Workplace
 Commitment to prevent violence
 Identify areas of potential violence
 Develop violence prevention policies
 Provide violence prevention training
 Evaluate program effectiveness

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12–22


Violence Indicators: Know the Warning Signs
• Direct or veiled threatening statements
• Recent performance declines, including concentration problems and excessive
excuses
• Prominent mood or behaviour changes; despondence
• Preoccupation with guns, knives, or other weapons
• Deliberate destruction of workplace equipment; sabotage
• Fascination with stories of violence
• Reckless or antisocial behaviour; evidence of prior assaultive behaviour
• Aggressive behaviour or intimidating statements
• Written messages of violent intent; exaggerated perceptions of injustice
• Serious stress in personal life
• Obsessive desire to harm a specific group or person
• Violence against a family member
• Substance abuse

Sources: Adapted from Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies, NIOSH Bulletin

#59; Gillian Flynn, “Employers Can’t Look Away from Workplace Violence,” Workforce 79, no. 7 (July 2000):
68–70; Dannie B. Fogleman, “Minimizing the Risk of Violence in the Workplace,” Employment Relations
Today 87, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 83–98.

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Figure 12.5

12–23


Terrorism
• To deter terrorist attacks:
 Heighten ID checks and baggage screening
 Increase video monitoring with threat-recognition
software to back up human surveillance
 Install blast-resistant glass to reduce casualties
 Have offsite emergency offices
 Tighten garage security with stepped-up inspections
 Stagger deliveries to reduce truck traffic
 Develop emergency evacuation procedures, including
escape routes, emergency equipment, and gathering
locations
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12–24


Crisis Management Teams
• Teams composed of both hourly and managerial

employees:
 Conduct initial risk assessment surveys
 Develop action plans to respond to violent situations
 Perform crisis intervention during violent, or
potentially violent, encounters

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12–25