ACCIDENT PREVENTION,

INVESTIGATION AND WOMEN

AT THE WORK PLACE

Ngabirano Monica
Facts

■ Work place safety can easily be taken for granted

■ Its impossible to prevent accidents completely

■ The work place should be able to handle an accident

should one occur
 Accident Prevention
■ Should have First Aid kits placed in highly trafficked and communal locations
throughout the work place.

■ They should be serviced regularly by trained people who are educated in their
contents

■ Defibrillators can be used and staff members should be aware of its location

■ Train operating personnel to be aware of the hazard and to follow safe job
procedures to avoid it

■ Prescribe personal protective equipment for personnel to shield them from the
hazard e.g. coats ,masks

■ Provide advisory services on safety and health problems and other matters related to
accident prevention
 Accident prevention cont….

■ Work closely with the enginnering,industrial hygiene, medical and purchasing

departments to ensure that only safe tools, equipment and supplies are purchased

■ Guide operating supervision in accident investigation to determine accident

cause and prevent reoccurrence

■ Ensure education and training of employees in general as well as specific health

and safety principles and techniques

■ Keep informed of changes in legislation and safety codes and communicate such

information to management
First Aid Box

Contents

Sterile gauze

Hydrogen peroxide

Hand sanitizing gel

Eye wash solution

Adhesive bandages

Sterile saline solution

Disposable medical gloves

Types of work place Hazards

■ Accidents

■ Fire

■ Repetitive motion

■ Electrical Hazards

■ Accidental Falls and falling objects

Accident investigation

The process of determining the root causes of accidents, on-the-job injuries,

property damage and to prevent them from occurring again.

Work place accidents should be investigated as soon as they occur

Goals of a timely and thorough Accident
investigation should be

■ Determine the cause of the accident

■ Prevent the accident from happening again

■ Improve health and safety conditions in the workplace

■ Determine the need for repairs or replacement of damaged items

■ Determine the need for additional education and training for employees
Accident Investigation

A complete accident investigation involves several steps, specifically:

■ Background investigation

■ Site investigation

■ Interviews

■ Analysis and reporting

 Accident investigation

■ Back ground investigation

 review the employment and injury records of any injured employee

 review reports of any injuries or damage to

equipment,machines,building or property

 compile a list of witnesses to the accident

■ Site investigation

 arrive at the scene of the accident as soon as the accident has occurred

 restrict the accident scene to non authorized people during the site
investigation

 ensure that movable evidence is secured to prevent tampering or other

Site investigation
 Site investigation cont….

 Sketch or draw parts of the accident scene where equipment or machinery

involved in the accident is located

 Take photographs of the overall scene before any adjustments occur to the

scene of the accident

■ Interviews

 Prepare a list of witnesses and other individuals to be interviewed

 Interviews should be conducted before 24 hours elapse

 Interviews cont….

 Conduct interviews in a private setting to avoid interruptions and

distractions

 Prepare questions in advance for any interview and use questions that

require narrative answers

■ Analysis and reporting

After all fact finding efforts are complete, analyze the data to determine all

causes of the accident

cont…

Then prepare a comprehensive report outlining the identified causes and describing

corrective measures to prevent similar future accidents.

Causes

The cause of an accident is any behavior, condition, act, omission without which the

accident may not have occurred or the severity of the injuries would have been less

Causes can be chacterized as direct, indirect or contributing

Causes….

■ Direct causes are acts or omissions that directly relate to the accident, these
can be workers or individuals who operate equipment in an unsafe manner,
do not follow safety precautions or procedures

■ Indirect causes are conditions that contribute directly to the occurrence of

a direct cause e.g. defective conditions of the equipment, unusual
conditions of weather

■ Contributing causes are conditions which are not directly related to the
accident but may contribute to a direct or indirect cause e.g. inadequate
training programs, safety programs and supervision
 Analysis

■ Collect and correlate data

■ Review data and pose Hypothetical causes, all potential direct, indirect and

contributing causes are listed

■ Test potential cause, review the pertinent data again looking for specific

data that affirm or reject each potential cause, connect related direct,

indirect and contributing causes

Investigation….

Reporting

A written report should be generated and contains the following sections;

■ Statement of the problem

o a review of the incident and

o a summary of injuries, lost equipment, property

■ Review of the data

o summary of witness statements

o a summary of relevant findings concerning the incident

o a story board with photographs and sketches

Reporting….

■ Causes

This section should list the direct, indirect and contributing causes that have

been affirmed by the data and a reference should be made to the data that

support each cause

■ Recommendations

These should be based directly on each of the noted causes

Women in the work place

■ Know the impact of occupational hazards on working women's health

■ Have appropriate training on primary health care for women

■ Be acquainted with the reproductive health problems of working women

in various occupations

■ Know the preventive health measures that will have an impact on

working women's health
 Occupational Hazards

■The number of working women has increased all over the world

■Working women are subject to numerous risks e.g. fatigue,malnutrition,undue

mental stress and exposure to various hazards in their work places

■Domestic work exposes women to many hazards which may undermine their

health e.g. accidents,burns,backache from bending and chemical exposure from

detergents which may cause skin problems like dermatitis

■Female workers are subject to specific stressful conditions which are peculiar to

them e.g. menstruation ,pregnancy ,lactation e.g. increased respiratory ventilation

during pregnancy may lead to increased intake of inhaled chemicals from the air
 OCCUPATIONAL
HAZARDS
Physical Agents
Biological Agents
Chemical Agents
Ergonomic problems
Psychosocial problems
 Hazards cont…..

 Physical agents

Women working in industries are exposed to noise, vibration and heat stress, noise causes
vasoconstriction which may lead to low birth weight of babies

Whole body vibration may also damage the reproductive system

 Biological agents

Women are exposed to tuberculosis, hepatitis B,HIV in the medical field

 Ergonomic problems

Industrial machinery are designed for male workers making it difficult for female workers to
operate as a result develop back pain, also sitting for long hours in improper position.
 Hazards cont…..

 Chemical agents

Women in Agricultural activities are exposed to pesticides and fertilizers which may cause
reproductive damage, organic dust like cotton can cause byssinosis.

Due to higher content of body fat in women ,toxic substances like organic solvents are retained
more easily by women and may cause menstrual disturbances, metals like Lead also cause
spontaneous abortions

 Psychosocial problems

Stress related issues are encounted in nearly all jobs held by women e.g. office and factory
workers have demanding and repetitive jobs which cause stress, nurses experience stress
because their work is heavy and hectic.
 Occupational health services for working
women
Occupational health services should be established at all work places to ensure
that total health and safety needs of working women are met and should
include:
■ Special health education
Occupational health inspectors, employers, health policy makers should receive
special training in health education for female workers e.g. reproductive
risks for women

■ Regulations to safe guard working women

Regulations and standards applying to labor force should be reviewed for their
relevance and adequacy to female workers especially pregnant women

■ Environmental monitoring
Occupational health service cont…

■ Pre-placement medical examination

These should be used to help in proper placement of women in jobs appropriate to their
physical, physiological, psychological capabilities

■ Periodical medical examination

Working women should undergo medical examination especially those at particular risk

■ Women's rights

Working women should be informed of their rights in connection with health, maternity
and child care
 Occupational Hazards

■ Infertility

■ Spontaneous abortion

■ Malformation

■ Perinatal mortality

■ Low birth weight

■ Developmental impairment

■ Childhood cancer
 Risk factors identified in certain occupations

■ Ethylene oxide

■ Organic solvents

■ X-rays

■ Heavy metals

■ PCBs

■ Pesticides

■ carbon monoxide

■ noise
REFRENCES

■ Occupational health for women and children: World

Health Organization 2001,module12

■ Occupational Health. A manual for primary Health care

workers, World Health Organization

■ www.dir.ca.gov/.../Incident-investigation. Walter-
Gonzales.pdf