Basic Components of Occupational Health and Safety

The basic components of occupational health include:

Occupational Medicine
Industrial Hygiene and Safety
Industrial Welfare Services.

Occupational Medicine

a.) Occupational Health Medicine: This is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of occupational diseases, health examination, and assessment of work capacity and examination of rehabilitation. Health
assessment are conducted at various levels including:

Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME)
Pre-Placement Medical Examination (PPME)
Periodic Medical Examination (PME)

b.) Curative Treatment

These covers treatment of workers for occupational and non-occupational ailments to prevent low productivity occasioned by illness and to disrupt spread of diseases which are communicable in nature. It covers both prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of workers and their dependents.

c.) Preventive Health Services

Preventive Health Services in places of work is meant to control work related influences that can harm health. These include;

Environmental sanitation of the workplace including offices, warehouses.
Provision of drainage facilities
Waste disposal/management
Provision of adequate lighting
Adequate ventilation of the workplace
Avoidance of overcrowding
Enforcement of Public Health Standards Legislation
Prevention of noise pollution
Vector control services
Provision of sanitary conveniences

d.) Provision of Family Health Services

There should be provision for treatment and health care of workers and members of their family through retainership clinic or industrial clinic or hospital. This is meant to prevent employees from faking leave off duty to attend to their sick family members at the expense of the job productivity. Family Health Services is also used to determine the health status of employees and their families.

e.) Promotive Occupational Health Programmes.

Promotive health programme is aimed at inculcating those lifestyle and habits that enhance healthy living among workers. These include;

Food habits and diet selection
Health seminar/workshop to educate workers on current occupational health issues.
Safety education
Stress management
Personal hygiene
Avoidance of drug abuse e.g. smoking, alcoholism
Exercise, relaxation and sleep.

2.) Industrial Hygiene and Safety Services

Industrial Hygiene and Safety Services are concerned with the identification, measurement, and control of workplace risks. In professional practice, reviewing occupational health and safety portfolio examples can help illustrate how hazard assessment, control measures, and compliance with safety standards are documented and evaluated. This is concerned with the identification, measurement (assessment) of risk, control and prescription of acceptable safety and health standards (physical, chemical and biological) in the place of work that will enhance the health or well-being of employees and the ambient community. Specific services include:

a.) Sampling Raw Materials for Toxicity and Extrapolation/ Recognition of Hazardous Factors: This can be achieved by studying the various work processes to determine:

The nature of materials use
The product and by-products involved
The possible areas or point of release or emission of hazardous agents.
The posture and movement of the workers
The time limit or interval granted at work.
The type of protective gadgets or devices provided for workers.

b.) Engineering Control of Plants

These are carried out to improve working where deviations are detected for increased workers’ efficiency as follows:

Good housekeeping procedure
Preparation of work rest roaster in order to limit workers exposure to hazard beyond acceptable concentration.
Provision and enforcement of use of personal protective devices for and by workers
Designing ventilation systems to extract or dilute airborne contaminations through natural ventilation and artificial ventilation.
Shielding or screening of workers against hazards.
Substituting of harmful materials with less hazardous ones.
Redesigning of work process and procedural work drill.

c.) Storage of Radioactive and Industrial Toxic Substances

Radioactive materials or wastes should be handled, used and stored in a manner that shall minimize hazards to public health and the environment and in conformity to guidance issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Nigeria. No radioactive materials should be stored with 100 metres radius of any source of drinking water. When practicable, radioactive material should be stored and used in specially
designed buildings or enclosure or behind suitable shielding materials such as lead, concrete, iron or steel.

d.) Evaluation of Actual Potential Hazards

The assessment or appraisal degree of toxicity and inherent dangers associated with industrial materials
and processes is meant to;

Measure the intensity of concentration
Compare the results against known standards or research toxicological data.
Determine the human physiological effect upon workers from results of test provided by the medical or health assessment e.g. lung function test, x-ray, urine analysis, blood test etc evaluating the degree of hazards and possible intervention to satisfy workplace environmental condition.

3.) Industrial Welfare Services

This is concerned with the provision of amenities and facilities for workers’ comfort and well-being, such as portable water supply, subsidized meals, provision of canteen, transport facilities and accommodation requirements, provision of employee recreational facilities, provision of life and health insurance scheme, shift duty allowances, provision of educational facilities to children of employees.