Introduction to occupational health and safety

As general term, Occupational safety and health (OSH) is generally defined as the science of the
anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace that
could impair the health and well-being of workers, taking into account the possible impact on the
surrounding communities and the general environment. This domain is necessarily vast,
encompassing a large number of disciplines and numerous workplace and environmental
hazards.
A wide range of structures, skills, knowledge and analytical capacities are needed to coordinate
and implement all of the “building blocks” that make up national OSH systems so that protection
is extended to both workers and the environment.
The scope of occupational safety and health has evolved gradually and continuously in response
to social, political, technological and economic changes. In recent years, globalization of the
world’s economies and its repercussions have been perceived as the greatest force for change in
the world of work, and consequently in the scope of occupational safety and health, in both
positive and negative ways.
In this report Occupational and Health programme is studied in term of hotels Specifically
Elegant hotel.
Actually employees are required to dust, vacuum, make beds, scrub bathrooms, clean mirrors,
distribute amenities, take out the trash, and more. These may sound like undemanding, everyday
activities, but when employees must perform each of them dozens of times a day, subject to
room cleaning quotas and under various physical and psychological stressors, they can add up to
a serious risk to health and safety.
Employees suffer from the highest rates of injury of any occupation within the hotels studied and
that injury rates varied significantly by gender and ethnicity.
In particular, the study found that employees studied suffered the highest rate of musculoskeletal
disorders among all job titles studied, and ranked first (along with cooks and kitchen workers)
for the highest rates of injury due to acute trauma.
Moreover, the study found that the rate of injury varied between hotel companies, which implies
that the dangers faced by employees may be mitigated by an individual corporation’s practices
What is occupational health and safety?

Health refers to our general wellbeing. It means that we enjoy freedom from disease or infirmity
and a have a sense of mental, physical and social wellbeing. Safety is a feeling of security. We
can work without fear of danger or injury.

Actually, occupational health and safety is a discipline with a broad scope involving many
specialized fields. In its broadest sense, the main propose of it should be as the following;
  the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-
being of workers in all occupations;
 the prevention among workers of adverse effects on health caused by their working
conditions;
 the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse
to health;
 the placing and maintenance of workers in an occupational environment adapted to
physical and mental needs;
 The adaptation of work to humans.

We can say in other words, occupational health and safety encompasses the social, mental and
physical well-being of workers that is the “whole person”.
Successful occupational health and safety practice requires the collaboration and participation of
both employers and workers in health and safety programmes, and involves the consideration of
issues relating to occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, toxicology, education, engineering
safety, ergonomics, psychology, etc.

Why is occupational health and safety important?

Work plays a central role in people's lives, since most workers spend at least eight hours a day in
the workplace, whether it is on a plantation, in an office, factory, etc. Therefore, work
environments should be safe and healthy. Yet this is not the case for many workers. Every day
workers all over the world are faced with a multitude of health hazards, such as:

 Dusts;
 Gases;
 Noise;
 Vibration;
 Extreme temperatures.

Unfortunately some employers assume little responsibility for the protection of workers' health
and safety. In fact, some employers do not even know that they have the moral and often legal
responsibility to protect workers. As a result of the hazards and a lack of attention given to health
and safety, work-related accidents and diseases are common in all parts of the world.

Advantages and Disadvanges of Occupational Health and Safety

A well designed and executed occupational health and safety (OHS) program is often said to be
good for business as well as being a key legal and social obligation (making sure that employees
in any size or type of business go home in the same condition that they came to work).
 Helps maximize the performance and/or productivity of employees,
 Enhances employees’ commitment to the team/organization as a whole,
 Builds a more competent, happier and healthier workforce,
 Reduces business costs and disruption,
 Enables organizations to meet customers’ OHS expectations, and
  Encourages the workforce in general to stay longer in active life.
 Demonstrate that your business is addressing its health and safety obligations.
 Show that your business is committed to working within a set of health and safety
principles.
 Clarify functions and responsibilities in your business.
 Ensure that safe systems of work are recorded, communicated to workers and
implemented in a consistent way throughout your business.
 Help your business to manage staff more effectively by defining acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour in the workplace.
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