Risk Assessment Knowledge Relating to Occupational Health and Safety Risks: A Case Study of Five Finnish Companies

2021 ◽  
pp. 163-168
Author(s):  
Minna Rantala ◽  
Maria Lindholm ◽  
Sari Tappura ◽  
Noora Nenonen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

scholarly journals Employers' and Employees' Understanding of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Small Businesses: A Case Study

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikram R Pandy ◽  
Ian S Laird ◽  
Kirsten B Olsen ◽  
Peter Hasle ◽  
Stephen J Legg
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks ◽  
Organizational Element

Many small businesses have hazardous work environments and exposures to significant occupational health and safety risks. Differences in understanding of risks by employers and employees are one of the factors leading to the hazardous work environment and risk exposures in small businesses. Employees generally describe “the tools of the trade” as the sources of risks of accidents and injuries, whereas employers generally identify “bad employees” or “bad luck” as the cause of accidents. It seems that employer and employees having the same or a shared understanding of occupational health and safety problems, their causal relations and the course of action is essential to remedy the work environment problems in the workplace. This paper describes a study that explores owner/managers’ and employees’ understandings of occupational health and safety risks in small business workplaces within the framework of the Local Theory of Work Environment. A case study of an independently operated restaurant and café in New Zealand employing 6­19 employees was undertaken.. Data was collected using participant­as­observer ethnographic observation of the workplace followed by semi structured interviews of the owner, a manager and more than fifty per cent of employees employed in the business. Preliminary findings based on interview data are reported in this paper. The results suggest that the owner/manager and employees mainly consider physical safety problems experienced by employees or food safety problems affecting the customers as the key work environment problems. The owner/manager and employees generally link common sense and breach of norms with the causal relation behind these problems. Social exchange and external certification, among others, are found to be prominent reasons for bringing to attention the perceived problems in the wider work environment context. Implicit individual element of action and explicit organizational element of action are recognised as the two courses of action remedying the occupational health and safety problems. Further studies can be directed at finding how a shared understanding of the OHS risks occurs and what influences this process.

scholarly journals Relevant occupational health and safety risks in the Portuguese food processing industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro D. Gaspar ◽  
Tânia Lima ◽  
Mariana Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Food Processing Industry ◽  
Processing Industry ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Work Accidents ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

The Agrifood Industry is the largest Portuguese Industry, constituted mainly by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is noted that more than any other type of organization SMEs have their own speci?cities that make it particularly appropriate to develop tools to facilitate communication and knowledge sharing for employers and workers. To this extent, identifying critical success factors is the key to increase SMEs productivity. Likewise, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in SMEs have their own characteristics, which dif?cult the prevention strategies implementation and aggravate the problematic of work accidents. This study analyses a ?eldwork in 60 food processing companies in Portugal, related to the dairy, meat processing, bakery and horticultural subsectors. The analysis of the results allowed to identify that, at the national and regional level, the main failures are concerned with (1) lack of risk assessments regarding occupational noise, lighting, thermal environment and vibrations; (2) safety signaling, the circulation ways are not identi?ed with appropriate safety colors; (3) general lighting, with too many shade areas and finally (4) complementary presence of associated risks to falls at the same level, falling of objects, thermal burns, the use of machines and equipment, ?re, mechanical, ergonomic hazards and incorrect body postures. This study assesses the most relevant occupational health and safety risks in the Portuguese food processing industry to contribute to the improvement of OSH management and prevention of work accidents.

scholarly journals Research on psychosocial risks in the context of intervention and rescue activities in toxic / flammable / explosive environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 342 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Izabella Kovacs ◽  
Andrei Lucian Gireadă ◽  
Alin Irimia ◽  
Laurenţiu Munteanu
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Work Related Stress ◽  
Psychosocial Risks ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks ◽  
Related Stress

Work implies interaction of several components such as equipment, work environment, work load and human factor. Prevention of work accident and occupational diseases is mainly based on knowledge and assessment of occupational risks associated with each workplace. Psychosocial risks are usually caused by stress, thus being greatly influenced by individual perceptions. Identifying psychosocial risks is based on the analysis of individual reactions to external factors and activities. Worldwide, work related stress is seen as a major present-day challenge, faced by occupational health and safety specialists. Considered at organizational level and not as individual issues, psychosocial risks and stress can be managed to the same extent as any other occupational health and safety risk. The growing issue of protecting emergency workers against occupational health and safety risks has been highlighted as a priority by many experts. Demands on intervention and rescue personnel, as well as occupational health and safety risks will increase as they face larger events both in number and magnitude and severity. The current paper will summarize key issues related to work-related stress and will discuss how stress at work can be best managed in the context of intervention and rescue activities in toxic / flammable / explosive environments.

scholarly journals Occupational health and safety risk management

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 04012
Author(s):  
Ioan-Florin Oarga ◽  
Mariana Rațiu ◽  
Ioan-Tudor Oarga
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Organization Management ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

The ongoing industrial revolution also includes the health and safety domain, which assists this development process. The participants and beneficiaries of this revolution don’t have to endure a lowering of the protection levels from the beginning of it. Consequently, the health and safety domain needs to play its role in this historical stage. The risks of injury and illness are managed from the beginning, when the technological processes are being developed, on each production stage, until the end of every technological process. In order to achieve this, the professional risks must be identified, quantified, ranked and evaluated such that, the elaborated measures will eliminate or decrease the risks from the source. This control process of occupational health and safety risks of injury or illness uses documents which are applicable to any organization. These documents are legally required in each state, being instruments of the organization management, working like a system along with all other documents.

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