General Concepts on

OSH
Session Objective:

At the end of the session, the participants

will be able to define and discuss the
general concepts of OSH towards effective
OSH implementation in the workplace.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Unsafe and Unhealthy
Acts and Conditions
ACCIDENT
An occurrence or event  loss; damage
that is unexpected/
unforeseen, unplanned  injury
and unwanted.
 death
Common Reasons for Accidents

Layman’s version:
• ‘Oras na kasi niya, hayaan na siyang mamahinga!’
• ‘Ang malas naman niya!’
• ‘T**** kasi niya!’
• ‘Kasama sa trabaho yan!’

These are not real causes - - -

only EXCUSES

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Accidents
Accidents
Accidents
Accidents
Accident causation

PEOPLE
Workforce
Management of the workforce
Policies People
Behavior

ENVIRONMENT
Physical surroundings
Natural environment
Environment Equipment
Community, social &
legal influences
MATERIALS
Used, worked or made
EQUIPMENT
Tools and Machinery
Materials
Accident causation refers to the factors that are the primary reasons behind an accident. For
occupational health and safety professionals, determining causation factors in any workplace injury
or accident is the key.
Department of Labor and Employment
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Accident Theory

People

Environment Equipment

Materials

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
H. W. Heinrich, Domino Theory
 Study of Accidents
• 98 – Preventable
» 88% - Unsafe Acts
» 10% - Unsafe Conditions
• 2% - Non-Preventable

 Domino Theory, “Accident” is one factor in a sequence that

may lead to injury.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Immediate Causes of accidents

• Unsafe / Unhealthy ACTS

• Unsafe / Unhealthy CONDITIONS

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Unsafe / Unhealthy ACT
• A human action that departs from a
standard or written job procedure or
common practice, safety rules,
regulations, or instructions.
• A violation of a commonly-accepted safe
procedures and or processes.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
What will you look for as
safety officers?

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Examples of Unsafe Acts
• Operating equipment without authority
• Removing safety devices
• Using Defective equipment
• Improper/Non-use of PPE
• Horseplaying
• Working while under the
influence of alcohol or drugs

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Department of Labor and Employment
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Department of Labor and Employment
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Factors Contributing to Unsafe Acts

• Improper Attitude

• Physical Limitations

• Lack of
Knowledge or
Skills

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Unsafe Condition
• The physical or chemical property of a material,
machine or the environment that may result in injury
to a person, damage or destruction to property and
other losses;
• could have been guarded or prevented.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
What will you look for as
safety officers?

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Examples of Unsafe Conditions

• Inadequate guards/protection
• Defective tools, equipment
• Congested / blocked exits
• Inadequate warning systems
• Slippery floors
• Hazardous atmospheric condition
• Excessive noise
• Extreme temperature
• Inadequate illumination/ ventilation

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Department of Labor and Employment
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 ACCIDENTS / ILLNESSES

US / UH US / UH
Acts Conditions

• Unaware
• Unnoticed
• Unable
• Uncorrected
• Unmotivated
• As safety officers, you need to:

-correctly identify unsafe &

unhealthy acts, conditions in your
workplaces
-address/control these to
prevent accidents from happening

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Let’s practice!

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
A fatal accident is just the TIP of the iceberg

1 Death
10 serious accidents
100 minor injuries
1,000 hazardous occurrences
10,000 unsafe acts or conditions
Definition of Terms
Hazard
• Hazard: Any source of potential damage,
harm, or adverse health effect on people.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Workplace Hazards
Safety / Direct Hazards
• The harm results in some kind
of injury to the worker
• Working conditions where
harm to the workers is of an
immediate & violent nature
• Result in broken bones, cuts,
bruises, sprains, loss of limbs,
etc.
• Associated with poorly
guarded or dangerous
equipment & machinery
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Health Hazards
• Working conditions which
result in an illness
• Often, latency between
exposure & disease
• Exposure to dangerous
substances or conditions such
as chemicals, gases, dusts,
noise, etc.
Department of Labor and Employment
34
Safety / Direct Hazards
Safety Hazards
• Hazards from poor housekeeping
• Fire hazards
• Machine-related / mechanical hazards;
Hazardous motions

• Hazards associated with materials

handling

• Electrical hazards Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Health Hazards
Health Hazards
Physical
noise, vibration, radiation,
defective illumination,
temperature extremes
Chemical
dusts, gases, vapors,
fumes, mists, etc.
Biological
viruses, bacteria,
Ergonomic
fungi, parasites,
insects, etc.
exhaustive physical exertions, excessive
standing, improper motions, lifting heavy
load, job monotony, workplace stress,
etc.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Chemical Hazards
Chemical Hazards

These arise from excessive airborne

concentration of …
– Vapors
– Mists
– Fumes
– Gases
– Dusts

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Phyiscal Hazards
Physical Hazards

1. Noise
2. Vibration
3. Illumination
4. Extreme temperature
5. Extreme pressure
6. Radiation

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 1. Noise
• Unwanted and excessive sound
• A form of energy caused by the vibration of air

Arm’s Length Rule

“If two (2) people with no
hearing impairment have to raise their
voices or shout to be heard in a distance
of less than arms length from each other,
the sound level is potentially hazardous.”

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 2. Vibration
• is a physical factor that acts on man by transmission of
mechanical energy from sources of oscillation.
 Low frequency or whole body
– weaving looms, harvester-thresher, tractors
 High frequency or segmental
– hand driven power tools such as
chain saw, portable grinder and polishers

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 3. Illumination
• is the measure of stream of
light falling on a surface
Natural Artificial
Types of Workplace Lighting
1. General lighting 2. Local lighting

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
4. Extreme Temperature
• Extremes of temperature (low or high)
affect the amount of work that man can
do and the manner in which they do.
Factors affecting Heat Exposure:
Thermal factors
• temperature & humidity

Physical Workload
• light, moderate, heavy & very
heavy

Work-Rest Regimen Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 5. Extreme Pressure
• Change in the altitude or atmospheric
pressure

6. Radiation
• Is the emission or transmission of energy as
waves or moving particles (ionizing, non-
ionizing)

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Biological Hazards
Biological Hazards
• Microbiological
 Bacteria, viruses, molds,
fungi and protozoa

• Macrobiological
 Insects, parasites, plants
and animals, soil

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Ergonomic Hazards
 Ergonomics - fitting the task to the worker

Examples:

Improperly designed tools or work areas

Static posture
Forceful exertion
Improper lifting or reaching
Poor visual conditions
Repeated
motion/Repetitive
movement in awkward Department of Labor and Employment

position OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER

Risk and Risk Classification
Risk

• Risk: A combination of the probability of

occurrence of a hazardous event and the
severity of injury or damage to the health of
people caused by this event.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Risk Assessment

- process of identifying workplace hazards,

evaluating risks to workers’ safety and health
and control the relevant hazards.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 Classification of Risk

Low risk establishment – refers to a workplace where there is

low level of danger or exposure to safety and health hazards and not
likely or with low probability to result in accident, harm, injury, or
illness.
Medium risk establishment – refers to a workplace where
there is moderate exposure to safety and health hazards and with
probability of an accident, injury or illness, if no preventive or
control measures are in place.

High risk establishment – refers to a workplace where there is

high level of exposure to safety and health hazards, and probability
of a major accident resulting to disability, death or major illness is
likely to occur if no preventive or control measures are in place.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
 The following are workplaces commonly associated with
potentially high-risk activities:

1. Chemical works and chemical 11. Power generation, transmission and

production plants; distribution in the energy sector;
2. Construction; 12. Storage and distribution center for toxic
3. Deep sea fishing; or hazardous chemicals;
4. Explosives and pyrotechnics 13. Storage of fertilizers in high volume;
factories; 14. Transportation;
5. Firefighting; 15. Water supply, sewerage, waste
6. Healthcare facilities; management, remediation activities;
7. Installation of communication 16. Works in which chlorine is used in
accessories, towers and cables; bulk;
8. LPG filling, refilling, storage and
and 17. Activities closely similar to those
distribution; enumerated above and other activities as
9. Mining; determined by DOLE in accordance with
10. Petrochemical works and existing issuances on the classification of
refineries; establishments.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Review

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Review questions

1. Differentiate between unsafe/unhealthy

acts and unsafe/unhealthy conditions.
2. Give five (5) examples of safety hazards.
3. Enumerate the all the health hazards
discussed in this module.

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
Clear Points

Department of Labor and Employment

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER
• Accidents and injuries result to losses
of lives, limbs, time and property

• Most accidents at work could have been

prevented. Unsafe and unhealthy acts and
conditions in the workplace must be addressed.

• Every workplace has different hazards,

risk, levels of exposure. Tailor fit your OSH
response to your risk classification.
 Lahat tayo
pwede maging
maging
OSH
CHAMPIONS!