Occupational Workplace Health Safety Policy

The company strongly believes that every employee has a right to feel safe and secure at the workplace. The policy is implemented to provide guidelines in safety, precautionary measures and care to be taken while performing risky tasks. The company is committed to follow legal standards and safety compliances.

This policy template is available for download in Word format.

Occupational Workplace Health and Safety Policy

Objective

The Occupational Workplace Health & Safety Policy aims to create a safe and healthy work environment for all its employees. The policy defines safety rules at the workplace to protect employees while executing hazardous activities if any. The approach ensures that health and safety measures are available and accessible to all employees.

Scope & Applicability

The policy focuses on procedures and safety measures that employees must adhere to, especially while handling hazardous and dangerous materials or machinery or any incidences that pose a threat to self or other employees’ health and life and company property and assets. The policy applies to all employees, either full-time or part time, and any authorised person working on the company’s premises or at designated workplaces.

Policy / Process

Policy Definition

The Policy defines “healthy workplace” & “occupational hazards”. The organization’s definition of a “healthy workplace” aligns with WHO’s definition of a healthy workplace, i.e., a place where employees collaborate and promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees at the workplace. “Occupational hazards” are a condition that may adversely affect the well-being or health of the exposed employees. The aim is to promote and maintain the highest degree of physical and mental well-being of employees and prevention of employees from risks resulting from factors adverse to health. The Policy is directed towards developing a healthy work environment, healthy workplace practices and health promotion.

The principles are as follows:

• All workers have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment.
• where conditions of work are consistent with employees’ well-being and dignity.
• where their Work offers real possibilities for personal achievements and self- fulfilment. where there are measures to prevent and protect employees health and well-being, i.e. actions will be taken to minimize occupational hazards.

Procedures

The Policy aims to build a healthy and safe workplace by following procedures.

Occupational Hygiene

Hygiene, also referred to as Occupational Hygiene, involves the identification of hazardous agents (chemical, physical and biological) in the workplace that could cause disease and/or discomfort, evaluating the extent of risk due to exposure to hazardous agents and control of these hazardous agents to prevent ill-health in the long and short run.

Occupational Hygiene practices as per the Policy are as follows:

The recognition of possible health hazards in the work environment. The evaluation of hazards in the work environment for assessing the exposure and reaching conclusions regarding the level of risk to human health. Prevention & control of hazards via developing & implementing strategies to eliminate and/or reduce, to acceptable levels, the occurrence of harmful agents and factors in the workplace while also accounting for environmental protection.

Ventilation

Ensuring adequate local ventilation at the workplace (with filtration and mitigation arrangements as may be required) in connection with all types of work involving any activity that may lead exposure to hazardous dust or gas or lead to exposure of employee/s to close areas that may lead to suffocation and/or breathlessness. Ventilation arrangements are to be made before the initiation of activities. The ventilation and/or air conditioning shall be as per international standards.

Visibility

Adequate illumination shall be provided by the organization at the workplace to ensure the safe conduct of work. Further, the lights and light fittings should avoid dazzle and glare and shall be positioned in such a manner that does not cause hazards. Employees are exposed to danger in the event of failure of artificial lighting, and hence emergency lights should be provided.

Handling of Electrical equipment and Portable tools

Every employee and/or supervisor and/or project manager shall be responsible for the effective and efficient handling of portable tools and electrical equipment. All portable tools and electrical equipment should be placed at the site so that the same do not cause harm or injury to health.

• Electrical hand tools to be connected to only appropriate safe voltage outlets.
• The selection of handheld power tools should be based on
  • operations and/or work to be performed
  • suitability to the environment in which they are used
  • employee's capability to handle them.
• The wires of all electrical tools and handheld power tools should be properly insulated.
• Electrical Equipment and Portable tools should be maintained in good repair and efficient working condition.
• Handles and/or hammers hand tools should be firmly in position before use.

Identification of Occupational hazards and/or hazardous agents

As per the definition of Occupational Hazards, the identification of hazardous agents and groups of employees potentially exposed to the said hazards are essential to maintain overall health and safety within the organization.

Occupational hazards can be of two categories:

• safety hazards that cause accidents that physically injure employee/s, and
• health hazards that result in developing a disease.

The occurrence or severity of occupational disease is related to the exposure of employees to factors on the job or in the work environment, and the organization is aptly committed to preventing harm or danger to employees by extending them relevant uniforms and PPE kits or by formulating of work execution strategies that do not pose a challenge to employee's physical and mental health.

The work situations employees shall be prevented from are the following:

• Physical – heat, noise, radiation, vibration and cold
• Chemical – solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, dust
• Biological – tuberculosis, hepatitis-B virus, HIV
• Psychosocial stressors – lack of control over work, inadequate personal support
• Mechanical – causes of work accidents and injuries.

Risk Assessment & Identification of hazardous work

According to the Organization's Health and Safety policy, the assessment of hazardous activities and/or operations shall have to be done in advance. The supervisor and/or Project manager and/or Safety Officer shall assess any hazardous operations or threats to employees' health due to the operation and take necessary steps to avoid any hazardous incidence or accident. Risk assessments should also be specific to the particular activity in operations and have an emergency plan in case of a life-threatening situation during the work-related operation.

Safe System of Work

Development and implementation of a safe system of working is related to risk assessment specific to a particular activity that is identified as hazardous. The main components of a safe work system are Supervision, Communication, Training of employees to handle hazardous activities and evacuation plans. Effective communication and training shall ensure awareness among the employees at work to manage hazardous job operations and undertake necessary safety measures and steps related to evacuation of the site or workplace.

First Aid

The organization's workplace premises or project sites should provide adequate first-aid facilities with at least one trained first aider during working hours. Ensuring the same shall be the duty of the Project manager and/or Safety officer. In the absence of the same, the Safety officer and/or Project manager possesses the right to stop the work. The responsibility of the Project manager and/or Safety officer is to ensure that first-aid equipment and facilities are adequate and appropriate in the identified hazardous circumstances for enabling first aid to be rendered.

Safety Audit

Safety audits are mandatory for ensuring that effective and efficient steps are taken that correspond to the principles of a safe work environment at the workplace or project sites. The audit should be done on the basis of defined audit criteria for workplace safety.

No Smoking policy

No Smoking policy must be adopted and enforced at the workplace or project sites. Smoking shall be prohibited at or in the vicinity of hazardous operations.

Reporting Accidents/incidents at the workplace and/or site

Accident prevention measures should be given maximum importance, which may be achieved by regular safety audits or risk assessments. It is the duty of the supervisor/project manager/safety officer to report any fatal accidents or incidences to the national emergency number for immediate action, along with keeping the management of the organization notified of the same. All the accidents must be investigated as the same shall extend an insight towards the improvement of operations of work.

PPE

Personal Protective Equipment or PPE refers to a range of items one should wear to protect themselves against various hazardous conditions. It is essential as the same shall provide protection from health and safety risks and extends employees with extra protection in the event of an accident.

In the event the job of employees requires visiting hazardous sites or if employees' job profile exposes them to hazardous activities or life-threatening situations, then wearing PPE equipment for head protection/ eye protection/hand protection/foot protection/fall arrest protection/breathing protection/hearing protection or protection such as knee protection and overall body protection shall be mandatory.

PPE in times of Covid19 pandemic refers to masks and gloves. Wearing PPE at all times is mandatory.

Safety department and deployment of safety officer

The safety department of the organization is responsible for ensuring adherence to the Occupational Workplace Health & Safety Policy. The Safety officer shall be deployed at the workplace or site to ensure that employees and workers adhere to the said Policy. Preparation of the accident records and maintenance of records for assessments of gaps in safety standards and undertaking corrective measures so hazardous incidences or accidents are not repeated.

Compensation for fatalities/work injuries and/or diseases – Employees who have been victims of an accident at work shall be reimbursed by medical health insurance.

Safety Officer and/or Safety Supervisor and /or Project Manager and/or HR Department and/or Manager and/or Supervisor/Procurement Manager Responsibility:

• The Safety Officer and/or Safety Supervisor and/or Project Manager should be vigilant at the workplace and/or project sites in terms of assessments of safety standards related to the workplace and/or project.
• The Safety Officer and/or Safety Supervisor and/or Project Manager should conduct safety audits at regular intervals.
• The Safety Officer should be responsible for first aid within the workplace and project sites.
• The procurement Manager should assist in the arrangement of safety equipment and first aid necessities in a timely manner.
• The Safety Officer should maintain a record of any accidents and incidences and undertake necessary actions in consultation with the management to avoid future mishaps.
• Risk assessments should be done by the Safety officer, Supervisor, and project manager to formulate an efficient plan for any hazardous incident.
• The Supervisor and/or Manager's responsibility is to maintain that the employee/s adheres to the Occupational Workplace Health Safety Policy.
• Manager HR's responsibility is to notify and undertake disciplinary action if any aberrations are observed in following the set Policy.
• The Procurement Manager should ensure the supply of PPE to employees at all times for jobs that pose hazardous challenges to their lives.
• The Procurement Manager should be able to supply the first aid equipment and PPE to the requisite employees in time and as per the schedule shared by the project manager/supervisor/safety officer.
• The project manager/supervisor/safety officer should submit the PPE Requisition Form and Uniform Requisition form to the Procurement Manager to arrange for PPE and other safety equipment in time.

Non-compliance and consequences

In the event of non-compliance with Occupational Workplace Health & Safety Policy, employees shall be extended with a warning before being subjected to disciplinary action. The disciplinary action may include termination in the event of irreversible damage in terms of loss of a client/employee/property due to non-compliance with the Policy and/or if employees repeatedly violate the same.

Special Circumstances and Exceptions

If any of the parties, i.e. project manager/supervisor/safety officer, cannot abide by Occupational Workplace Health & Safety Policy, the concerned party shall give in writing the reasons for the delay to the Management within a reasonable time. An Investigation committee shall be formulated to investigate the case of non-compliance with the Occupational Workplace Health Safety Policy and take appropriate decisions.