Health safety and welfare is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people

engaged in work or employment. The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe and healthy work environment. It may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment. All organizations have a duty of care to ensure that employees and any other person who may be affected by the companies undertaking remain safe at all times

Physical and mechanical hazards

These are a common source of injuries in many industries. They are perhaps unavoidable in many industries such as construction and mining.

Causes
Machines Electricity Confined spaces Noise Temperature extremes Vibrating machinery, lighting, and air pressure.

Biological hazards

Bacteria Virus Fungi Mold Blood-borne pathogens Tuberculosis

Chemical hazards

Acids Bases Heavy metals Lead Solvents Petroleum Particulates Fumes (noxious gases/vapors) Highly-reactive chemicals Fire, conflagration and explosion hazards: Explosion Deflagration Detonation Conflagration

Work-related stress, whose causal factors include excessive working time and overwork Violence from outside the organization Bullying, which may include emotional and verbal abuse Sexual harassment Mobbing Burnout Exposure to unhealthy elements during meetings with business associates, e.g. tobacco, uncontrolled alcohol.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which repealed and replaced the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 was brought in to make further provision for the safety, health and welfare of persons at work. This Act clarifies and enhances the responsibilities of employers, the self-employed, employees and various other parties in relation to safety and health at work. The Act also details the role and functions of the Health and Safety Authority, provides for a range of enforcement measures that may be applied and specifies penalties that may be applied for breach of occupational safety and health.

The main differences between the new and old Act are the following: Extended duties of employers Extended duties of persons other than employees, in the place of work (contractors, suppliers, designers, landlords etc.) New and further specified definitions Enhanced provisions on the role of safety representatives and the safety and health consultation process New penalties for breaches of health and safety legislation including larger fines, imprisonment and "on the spot" fines Clearly defined role of the Health and Safety Authority Health Surveillance & medical fitness to work Testing for intoxicants in prescribed circumstances Protection from penalization for employees and safety representatives

General duties of Employers Information to Employees Instruction, Training & Supervision of Employees Emergencies and serious and imminent dangers Protective and Preventive Measures Hazard identification & Risk Assessment Safety Statement Co-operation Health Surveillance & Medical fitness to work Safety representative Employee Consultation Penalization

comply with all relevant statutory provisions take reasonable care to protect the safety of themselves and others who might be affected by their acts and omissions ensure they are not under the influence of an intoxicant or in such a state that they might be a danger to themselves or others. submit to reasonable, appropriate testing, if reasonably required by the employer . co-operate with his or her employer so far as is necessary to enable compliance with the relevant statutory provisions not engage in any improper conduct or dangerous behavior attend training and undergo such assessment as may be necessary make correct use of any article or substance provided for use or for the protection of the employee, including protective clothing and equipment report to his or her employer as soon as practicable: Notify the employer or the employers nominated registered practitioner if they become aware that they are suffering from any disease.

Provides that where a person controls, to any extent, a nondomestic place of work, where persons, other than his or her employees are working, the person in control must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the means of access to and egress from that place of work, or any article or substance provided for use at that place of work are safe and without risk to health.

Manufacturers, importers and suppliers of equipment, machinery, articles, or substances used at work have the duty of ensuring safety and health concerning the use of the materials that they produce or supply. Users must be provided with information about the safe use of the article and updated information must be supplied if it becomes known to the supplier or manufacturer that there is any risk to health, safety and welfare. Information provided must relate to the use for which the article has been designed, manufactured or tested and must include information on its safe installation, use, maintenance, cleaning, dismantling or disposal without risk to safety or health. Designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of articles who retain a responsibility under a rental, leasing or other agreement, must maintain the article in a safe condition and in compliance with health and safety laws. Designers and manufacturers must carry out research to discover if the article gives rise to risks with a view to reducing these risks.

Duties to be complied with by persons who commission or procure construction work: must appoint in writing a competent person or persons to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the project is designed and is capable of being constructed to be safe and without risk. Duties to be complied with by persons who are appointed to design construction work: must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the project is designed and is capable of being constructed to be safe and without risk to health.
Duties to be complied with by person who carries out construction work: must ensure, so far as is reasonably

practicable, that it is constructed to be safe and without risk to health and that it complies in all respects, as appropriate, with safety and health legislation.

Employer may need to appoint one or more competent persons to assist him or her to comply with safety and health legislation. The competent person would have to advise line and senior management on health and safety, evaluate problems as they arise and suggest solutions to those problems and generally promote health and safety at the place of work. Competent persons must be given enough time, without financial cost or other loss of remuneration to perform their functions, and to be able to keep up to date with relevant information. The numbers of competent persons appointed and the time and facilities available to them must reflect the size of the place of work, the risks involved and the distribution of those risks in the place of work. The employer is obliged to give consideration first to appointing a competent person as an employee and only where this is impracticable to engaging external competence. The employer must provide the competent person with information on factors which affect (or are suspected to affect) the safety, health and welfare of the employees.

Typical basic functions of a Safety Committee may include: Review of safety audit reports (including feedback from an inspector), Seeking solutions to health and safety issues which arise, The study of information relating to accidents, dangerous occurrences and instances of occupational ill-health at the place of work, Development and implementation of safe systems of work, Review of communication and employee training procedures relating to health and safety, and Consideration of reports presented by a Safety Representative.

Improvement Directions. Improvement Notice. Prohibition Notice. High Court Order.

Section 80 provides that when an offence under safety and health legislation is committed by an undertaking and the acts involved were authorized or consented to, or were attributable to connivance or neglect on the part of either a director, manager or other similar officer in the undertaking or a person purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the undertaking will be guilty of an offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished as if the person was guilty of the offence committed by the undertaking. If it is proven in such a case that the person was a director of the undertaking concerned, or a person employed by it whose duties included making decisions that, to a significant extent, could have affected the management of the undertaking, or a person who purported to act in any such capacity, it is presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the acts which resulted in the offence were authorized, consented to or attributable to connivance or neglect on the part of that person. Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members the above provisions apply to acts or defaults of the individual member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director of the body corporate.

If a tailor makes mistake-it becomes fashion. If a scientist makes mistake-it becomes fashion. If an HR manager deploys a retention strategy it becomes a welfare measure.