HEALTH RISK MANAGEMENT

AT WORK

PRINCE C.I. EWEKA Reg. Engr(COREN), MISPN. 1

• Course outline
• Definitions - Hazard, Risk
• Categories of Risks
• Analysis of Risks
• Control measures
• Conclusion

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Course Objectives
• At the end of the course, participants will
– Be able to define hazards & risks
– Know how to identify work place health hazards &
risks and categorize them
– Be able to carry out assessment & evaluation of
health risks
– Know how to control risks at the work place

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Introduction
• Some Industry & Business owners in America,
engaged the services of a Consulting firm – Benefit
Solutions Group in 2011 to proffer solutions to the
rising cost of providing health care for their workers.
In a White Paper that was published thereafter, the
amount of money spent on health care nationwide
are as follows;
– 1989 = $253B
– 1990 = $750B
– 2009 = $2.50T

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• Some of the several factors that contributed to the
astronomic increase in spending cost were identified
as follows;
– Employers lacked sufficient involvement in health
& well being of employees
– Involvement of employees in Health Risk
Management was not encouraged
– Poor work environment & conditions
– Improper health risk identification, evaluation,
control & management

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 Hazard & Risk
• In every work place, job or environment there
are inherent hazards with varying degrees of
risks
• Hazard - something (situation, condition or
structure/object) that has the potential to
cause harm, ill health or injury, damage to
equipment, property, products or
environment – leading to production losses
and increased liabilities
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• Risk - the chance or likelihood that a hazard
will cause harm in combination with the
severity of injury, harm, loss or damage that
might occur.

– Mathematically,

• Risk = likelihood of harm x severity of harm, injury

or damage

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 Health Risk Management
• The five step approach to health risk
management in the work place is as follows;
(E) Review
and update
as necessary (A) Identify
the Hazard

(D) Record
(B) Identify the
significant findings
people who might
e.g. Risk rating and
be harmed and
implement control
how
measures
(C)
Categorize,&
Evaluate risk
and decide
precaution 8
 Risk evaluation
Likelihood Severity
1. Extremely 1. Very minor/slight injury/illness – no treatment required
unlikely
2. Unlikely 2. Minor injury/illness resulting in First aid treatment

3. Possible 3. Major injury/illness leading to Lost time at work

4. Likely 4. Major injury/illness leading to Hospital Treatment & lost

time at work
5. Very Possible 5. Disabling Injury – permanent & permanent total
disability

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• Risk = likelihood of harm x severity of
harm, injury or damage
• By assigning a score to each, it is possible to
calculate a risk rating of a particular hazard.
• For example, the risk generated by dangerous
atmosphere in a confined space can be calculated as
• 5 x 5 = 25 (Very Possible x disabling/fatal injury).
• Similarly, the risk of head injury to a worker
wearing a hard hat in a machine shop can be
calculated as
• 1 x 4 = 4 (Extremely unlikely X Hospital
Treatment).
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– A worker suffers severe burns following an
explosion in a confined space
– Company pays compensation @ #5M
Calculate the Risk value in the above scenario
Risk = Probability of accident X Severity of
injury
Risk = 5 x 5 = 25
Risk value/cost = Risk X Compensation cost
= 25 X #5M
Risk value = #125M

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 Risk Assessment Matrix

Very High Risk High Risk Medium Risk Low Risk

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 Risk Action Timescale
Rating
15 and above Unacceptable.
Work may not start and additional control introduced to
reduce below 9

9 to 14 Tolerable
Additional control must be introduced immediately and
not later than 24 hours after assessment

5 to 8 Tolerable
Must be reduced to below 5 within one week

4 or below Acceptable
If simple action can reduce further then it must be done
within one week

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• Health hazards can be categorized as
follows;
– Physical – risk of heat, cold, noise, vibration, etc
which can have direct, immediate and noticeable
effect on a person
– Chemical – risk of inhalation, ingestion through the
mouth & skin, of vapors, dust, fumes, liquids, gases
etc.
– Biological – risk of infection by pathogenic agent(s)
such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites that
may be present in food, water and the work place.
• The spread of the Ebola virus across West Africa is a
typical reference point.
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• Psychosocial/psychological – risk of employee
developing hypertension, cardiac failure etc,
resulting from stress, work overload, poor salary,
lack of job security, pressure from the home front
• Ergonomic – risk of musculo-skeletal disorders
resulting from work place equipment and
furnishing that are not tailored to meet
individual’s body features.
• The degree of effect of these risks
depends largely on;
– Intensity/magnitude of the risk
– Duration of exposure
– Frequency of exposure
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• The harmful effects of risks can be
classified as;
– Slight injury/illness – resulting from very low
exposure level
– Minor injury/illness – Low exposure level
– Major injury/illness – medium to high exposure level
– Permanent total disability (e.g. loss of limb by
employee) – very high level of exposure
– Multiple disabilities (e.g. collapsed building affecting
many people) – very high level of exposure

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Implementation of Health Risks
Control measures
• Most risks can be effectively controlled by;
– Elimination
– Substitution of work material with a less
hazardous type
– Engineering – redesigning (e.g. constructing a
guard to shield an exposed moving part)
– Administrative – put adequate operating
procedures in place e.g. effective PTW systems
– Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – last line of
defense for the worker when these control
measures are impracticable 17
• Employee involvement in Health Risk
Management;
– Employee Training – competency
– Teaching Injury Reduction Techniques – safety
awareness
– Employee Health Education – individual health care
• General Individual Employee Wellness - introduce
feeding for employees
• Lifestyle Management - encourage employees to
exercise to reduce obesity etc
– Disease Management - discourage harmful habits –
smoking, drinking etc 18
Conclusion
• A healthy environment, work place &
workforce is a panacea for increased
productivity and hence profit
• All risks in the work place must be identified,
assessed, categorized and eliminated or
controlled.

THANK YOU
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 Answer all Questions
1. Give two reasons why the cost of health care is high in
most Industries
2. a) Define Hazard & Risk (include the mathematical
expression)
b) If probability = 4
Severity = 3
Cost of Medical = #2M
i) Calculate the Risk
ii) Calculate the Risk Value
3. List the 5 steps approach to health risk management
4. Name 4 categories of hazards
5. Name 4 risk control measures
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