"Unveiling Workplace Safety: Identifying and

Mitigating Hazards"
 Contexts

 Introduction
 Understanding workplace hazards
 Risk assessment techniques
 Legal compliance and standards
 Employee involvement and reporting systems
 Case studies and success stories
 Continuous improvement and feedback loops
 Introduction

A safe workplace
is sound business
• A safe work environment is essential for both employees and
employers alike. It is the right of all employees to have safety
in the workplace.

• Workplace safety is essential regardless of the size of a

company. All companies, big or small, need to incorporate
safety in their workplaces.

• Well-implemented safety measures keep employees safe and

also protect industrial equipment. It is the responsibility and
duty of employers to protect their employees and keep them
safe.
 Introduction
• Common facts for unsafe workplace

Action or behavior that you or a co-worker

carries out that may be potentially harmful

Unsafe acts

Unsafe
workplace

SAFE WORKPLACE
Unsafe Control and elimination ofrecognizable
hazards tominimize the risk
conditions
Anything you or a co-worker
finds that is potentially
harmful
 Introduction
Common Safety Definitions
• You work at nursery and you purposely or un-purposely leave a bottle
of toxic cleaning solution out where children can find it then you have
just committed an unsafe act.

• You happen to come upon a large slippery pool of water on the floor
then you have just found an unsafe condition.
 Understanding workplace hazards

Hazard Categories
Biological

Health
Hazards
Hazard Physical

Chemical
 Understanding workplace hazards

Hazard Categories
A job hazard is anything at work that can hurt you
either physically or mentally.
 Safety hazards can cause immediate injuries
• Knives, hot grease
 Chemical hazards are gases, vapors, liquids, or
dusts that can harm your body
• Cleaning products, pesticides
 Understanding workplace hazards

Hazard Categories

 Biological hazards are living things that can cause

sickness or disease, such as influenza, West Nile Virus,
hepatitis, and tuberculosis.
 Bacteria, viruses
 Other health hazards are other harmful things that can
injure you or make you sick. Some are not obvious because
they may not cause health problems right away.
• Noise, radiation, repetitive movements, heat, cold, stress,
violence
 Understanding workplace hazards

Hazard Prevention Strategies

Remove the hazard

or build a barrier

Improve work policies

and procedures

Use protective clothing

and equipment
 Understanding workplace hazards

Common hazards in workplace

• Slips, trips and falls • Exposure to electrical

• Fall from heights current
• Struck by falling object • Exposure to harmful
chemicals
• Cut by object
• Workplace aggression
• Exposure to extreme
temperatures • Fatigue
• Fires and explosions • Noise-induced deafness
 Understanding workplace hazards

Slips, trips and falls: Slips, Trips and

Falls is a frequently occurring accident
type, leading to minor injuries (sprains,
bruises) as well as major injuries
(fractures, head injuries).

DO  Practice good housekeeping daily

 Wear anti-slip shoes if floor is usually slippery
 Report any damaged flooring
 Put up warning signs for:
 wet floors
 raised flooring
 damaged flooring
 Understanding workplace hazards

Fall from heights is one of the leading accident types. Accidents and near-misses
often involve the improper use of ladders.

DO  Wear proper footwear

 Use the correct ladder for the job
 Keep 3 points of contact with the ladder at all times
 Set up a barrier around the ladder during work
(e.g. a 2m tall ladder will need barrier at least 2m from it)
DO NOT  Use the ladder on uneven ground
Understanding workplace hazards
 Risk assessment techniques

 Identifying hazards by using the risk

assessment process is a key element
when ensuring the health and safety of
employees and customers. OSHA
requires businesses to conduct risk
assessments. According to regulations
set by OSHA, assessing hazards
or potential risks will determine the
personal protective gears and equipment
a worker may need for their job.
 Risk assessment techniques

Perform a Risk Assessment

Beyond complying with judicial requirements, the purpose of risk assessments are to
eliminate operational risks and improve the overall safety of the workplace. It is
employers responsibility to perform risk assessments when:

• New processes or steps are introduced in the workflow;

• Changes are made to the existing processes,
• Equipment, and tools; or new hazards arise.

Risk assessments are also performed by auditors when planning an audit procedure for
a company.
 Risk assessment techniques

Examples of Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are essential to identify hazards and risks that may potentially cause harm to workers.
Here are common risk assessment examples:

 Health and Safety Risk Assessment – a type of risk assessment used by safety managers to determine
health and safety risks associated with the job, work environment, and current processes.

 Workplace Risk Assessment – performed by office managers and school administrators, this tool
helps ensure that a workplace is free from health and safety threats.

 Fall Risk Assessment – performed by the nursing staff of aged care units or centers to evaluate the
possibility of falling. This checklist will ensure that the facilities, equipment, and other factors are safe
for elderly patients.

 Construction Risk Assessment – a vital assessment used in the construction site to help safety teams
implement corrective measures and stakeholders comply with safety regulations.
 Risk assessment techniques

Risk assessment matrix

A risk matrix is often used during a risk assessment to measure the level of risk by considering the
consequence/ severity and likelihood of injury to a worker after being exposed to a hazard. The two
measures can then help determine the overall risk rating of the hazard. Two key questions to ask when
using a risk matrix should be:

1. Consequences: how bad would the most severe injury be if exposed to the hazard?
2. Likelihood: how likely is the person to be injured if exposed to the hazard?

The most common types are the 3×3 risk matrix, 4×4 risk matrix, and 5×5 risk matrix.
 Legal compliance and standards

Workplace duties under the Workplace Safety and Health Act

Worker duties
As a worker, you must:
• Treat safety equipment with care and respect.
• Tell your employer if you see any broken equipment or safety problems.
• Ensure you do not use any equipment or machinery that could harm you or
another worker.
• Act responsibly in the workplace.
• Report any violations of the WSH Act to your employer.
• Let your supervisor or employer know if you do not understand the safety training
at work.
 Legal compliance and standards

Workplace duties under the Workplace Safety and Health Act

Employer and supervisor duties
Your employer or supervisor must:
• Give you the information, training and supervision you need to protect your
safety and health at work.
• Tell you about any dangers or hazards in the workplace, and take every
reasonable precaution to protect you.
• Make sure that safe work procedures are followed and that machinery and
personal protective equipment are used properly.
• Ensure that safety equipment is in good condition.
• Cooperate and work with safety and health committees/representatives.
• Employers must protect workers. It is the law!
 Employee involvement and reporting systems

The WSH Act gives workers four legal rights to help protect their safety
and health on the job:

1. The right to know about

safety and health hazards
on the job

Your employer must tell you about all

known hazards in the workplace.
This might include the types of work
you do, or the materials or chemicals
in the workplace that could hurt you
or make you sick.
 Employee involvement and reporting systems

The WSH Act gives workers four legal rights to help protect their safety
and health on the job:

2. The right to participate in 3. The right to refuse unsafe

keeping your workplace safe work
and healthy
• You can legally refuse to do work
You have the right to help make your that you think might hurt you or
workplace safer by sharing your ideas or another worker on the job.
complaints about workplace safety and
health with your employer or safety and
health representative/committee. • There is a specific way to refuse
work so that you are protected
by the WSH Act.
 Employee involvement and reporting systems

The WSH Act gives workers four legal rights to help protect their safety
and health on the job:

4. The right to protection

If you try to protect yourself or
another worker from unsafe
conditions, you cannot be disciplined
or discriminated against as long as
you believe you are acting in the best
interest of safety and health.
Employee involvement and reporting systems
 Case studies and success stories

Slips hazards case study: Dish washing area

 Staff was cleaning glasses at the

dish washing area in a restaurant
kitchen
 When lifting a tray of glasses, he
slipped on the wet floor and fell
 His neck was cut by broken glass
and he bled to death
Lesson learnt:
 Wear anti-slip shoes during work
 Use a trolley to transport fragile items between locations
 Practice housekeeping to keep work area tidy and dry
 Case studies and success stories

Fires and explosions hazards case study:

• Staff was trying to light up gas oven
• Oven suddenly exploded and the doors blew open
• The staff was struck on his head by one of the oven
doors and he died from his injuries
• Gas had likely built up in the oven when staff was trying
to light it

Lesson learnt:
 Avoid leaving the gas valve open for more than 5 seconds
 Do not leave ovens unattended when it is operating
 Ventilate the oven adequately between attempts to light it
 Case studies and success stories

Tipping hazards case study:

• Staff was pulling a loaded food trolley from a
chiller down a ramp
• While pulling, the trolley tipped and fell on
him
• He sustained multiple fractures and was
hospitalized for 5 months

Lesson learnt:
 Push, instead of pull, when handling equipment with wheels
 Work in a pair, if possible, to share the weight of heavy items
 Avoid overloading, and load heavier items on lower tiers
 Case studies and success stories

Electrical hazards case study:

• Staff was operating an electronic cash
register
• She touched the plug and sustained
electrical burns on her hand
• Power plug was found to be broken and
secured to socket using tape
• Live wiring inside the plug was exposed

Lesson learnt:
 Visually inspect electrical equipment &
installations before use
 Report any defects found
Continuous improvement and feedback loops
 Continuous improvement and feedback loops

Iterative Safety Processes

Continuous Improvement
Employee Involvement
Framework:

Data-Driven Initiatives

Closed-Loop System

Feedback Loop Dynamics: Multi-Directional Feedback

Timely Incident Reporting

Technology Integration

Driving Factors for Performance Metrics

Success

Learning Culture
Thanks for your attention!
KEEP SAFE AT WORKPLACE