Occupational Health Could be the New Normal Challenge in the Trade and Health Cycle: Keywords Analysis Between 1990 and 2020

Kiran, Sibel Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2021 Safety and health at work Vol.12 No.2

This brief report aims to establish the keyword content of studies on occupational health and safety-the key framework of the world of work in the trade and health domain. Data were collected from the SCOPUS database, focusing on articles on occupational health and safety and related keywords, with an emphasis on abstracts and titles. Data were analyzed and summarized based on keywords included from the MeSH database. There were 24,499 manuscripts in the domain and 1,346 (5.40%) occupational health-related keywords, including those that overlapped. The most frequently referenced occupational health-related keyword was "occupational health" (452 articles), followed by "occupational safety" (141 articles). There were fewer keywords on occupational health in the trade and health literature. As the world of work has been prioritized because of the recent new normal of work life since the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the focus of occupational health priorities within the global perspective is crucial.

Evaluation of the Quality of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Based on Key Performance Indicators in Certified Organizations

Mohammadfam, Iraj,Kamalinia, Mojtaba,Momeni, Mansour,Golmohammadi, Rostam,Hamidi, Yadollah,Soltanian, Alireza Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2017 Safety and health at work Vol.8 No.2

Background: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems are becoming more widespread in organizations. Consequently, their effectiveness has become a core topic for researchers. This paper evaluates the performance of the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 specification in certified companies in Iran. Methods: The evaluation is based on a comparison of specific criteria and indictors related to occupational health and safety management practices in three certified and three noncertified companies. Results: Findings indicate that the performance of certified companies with respect to occupational health and safety management practices is significantly better than that of noncertified companies. Conclusion: Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001-certified companies have a better level of occupational health and safety; this supports the argument that Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems play an important strategic role in health and safety in the workplace.

Factors Influencing Implementation of OHSAS 18001 in Indian Construction Organizations: Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Rajaprasad, Sunku Venkata Siva,Chalapathi, Pasupulati Venkata Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.3

Background: Construction activity has made considerable breakthroughs in the past two decades on the back of increases in development activities, government policies, and public demand. At the same time, occupational health and safety issues have become a major concern to construction organizations. The unsatisfactory safety performance of the construction industry has always been highlighted since the safety management system is neglected area and not implemented systematically in Indian construction organizations. Due to a lack of enforcement of the applicable legislation, most of the construction organizations are forced to opt for the implementation of Occupational Health Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 to improve safety performance. Methods: In order to better understand factors influencing the implementation of OHSAS 18001, an interpretive structural modeling approach has been applied and the factors have been classified using matrice d'impacts croises-multiplication $appliqu{\acute{e}}$ a un classement (MICMAC) analysis. The study proposes the underlying theoretical framework to identify factors and to help management of Indian construction organizations to understand the interaction among factors influencing in implementation of OHSAS 18001. Results: Safety culture, continual improvement, morale of employees, and safety training have been identified as dependent variables. Safety performance, sustainable construction, and conducive working environment have been identified as linkage variables. Management commitment and safety policy have been identified as the driver variables. Conclusion: Management commitment has the maximum driving power and the most influential factor is safety policy, which states clearly the commitment of top management towards occupational safety and health.

Occupational Health Management in the Lead Industry: The Korean Experience

Lee, Byung-Kook Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2011 Safety and health at work Vol.2 No.2

In 1967, the problem of occupational lead exposure came to public attention in Korea. Since then, regular progress has been made in lowering workplace lead exposures, instituting new workplace controls, and implementing health examinations of exposed workers. Past serious lead poisoning episodes made it possible to introduce biological monitoring programs on a voluntary basis in high-lead-exposure facilities in Korea. Industry-specific occupational health services for lead workers in Korea during the last 22 years can be categorized into three phases. During the first phase (1988-1993), efforts were directed at increasing awareness among workers about the hazards of lead exposure, biological monitoring of blood zinc protoporphyrin began, and a respiratory protection program was introduced. During the second phase (1994-1997), a computerized health management system for lead workers was developed, blood-lead measurement was added to biologic monitoring, and engineering controls were introduced in the workplace to lower air-lead levels to comply with air-lead regulations. Finally, during the third phase (1998-present), a new biomarker, bone-lead measurement by X-ray fluorescence, was introduced. Bone-lead measurement proved to be useful for assessing body burden and to demonstrate past lead exposure in retired workers. Occupational health service practice for lead workers, including the industry-specific group occupational health system, has brought considerable success in the prevention of lead poisoning and in reducing the lead burden in Korean lead workers during the last several decades. The successful achievement of prevention of lead poisoning in Korea was a result of the combined efforts of lead workers, employers, relevant government agencies, and academic institutes.

How Much Does My Work Affect My Health? The Relationships between Working Conditions and Health in an Italian Survey

Ronchetti, Matteo,Russo, Simone,Di Tecco, Cristina,Iavicoli, Sergio Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2021 Safety and health at work Vol.12 No.3

Backround: Working condition surveys are widely recognized as useful tools for monitoring the quality of working life and the improvements introduced by health and safety policy frameworks at the European and national level. The Italian Workers' Compensation Authority carried out a national survey (Insula) to investigate the employer's perceptions related to working conditions and their impact on health. Methods: The present study is based on the data collected from the Italian survey on health and safety at work (INSULA) conducted on a representative sample of the Italian workforce (n = 8,000). This focuses on the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and self-reported health using a set of logistic and linear regression models. Results: Working conditions such as managerial support, job satisfaction, and role act as protective factors on mental and physical health. On the contrary, workers' risk perceptions related to personal exposure to occupational safety and health risks, concern about health conditions, and work-related stress risk exposure determine a poorer state of health. Conclusions: This study highlights the link between working conditions and self-report health, and this aims to provide a contribution in the field of health at work. Findings show that working conditions must be object of specific preventive measures to improve the workers' health and well-being.

Safety-II and Resilience Engineering in a Nutshell: An Introductory Guide to Their Concepts and Methods

Ham, Dong-Han Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2021 Safety and health at work Vol.12 No.1

Background: Traditional safety concept, which is called Safety-I, and its relevant methods and models have much contributed toward enhancing the safety of industrial systems. However, they have proved insufficient to be applied to complex socio-technical systems. As an alternative, Safety-II and resilience engineering have emerged and gained much attention for the last two decades. However, it seems that safety professionals have still difficulty understanding their fundamental concepts and methods. Accordingly, it is necessary to offer an introductory guide to them that helps safety professionals grasp them correctly in consideration of their current practices. Methods: This article firstly explains the limitations of Safety-I and how Safety-II can resolve them from the four points of view. Next, the core concepts of resilience engineering and Functional Resonance Analysis Method are described. Results: Workers' performance adjustment and performance variability due to it should be the basis for understanding human-related accidents in socio-technical systems. It should be acknowledged that successful and failed work performance have the same causes. However, they are not well considered in the traditional safety concept; in contrast, Safety-II and resilience engineering have conceptual bases and practical approaches to reflect them systematically. Conclusion: It is necessary to move from a find-and-fix and reactive approach to a proactive approach to safety management. Safety-II and resilience engineering give a set of useful concepts and methods for proactive safety management. However, if necessary, Safety-I methods need to be properly used for situations where they can still be useful as well.

Workplace Employees' Annual Physical Checkup and During Hire on the Job to Increase Health-care Awareness Perception to Prevent Disease Risk: A Work for Policy-Implementable Option Globally

Hakro, Saifullah,Jinshan, Li Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2019 Safety and health at work Vol.10 No.2

Background: Increasing workplace health-care perception has become a major issue in the world. Most of the health-related problems are faced because of the lack of health management instruments. The level of health care can be improved through workplace health well-being regulations. The aim of the present study is to formulate a conceptual model of physical checkup. Methods: This study applied conceptual theories and figures and used secondary data from articles and relevant websites for evaluating the validity of the study. Results: Annual health checkup increases health-care awareness perception of states, organizations, employees, and their families and manages the annual health record of employees, organizations, and states. Conclusions: Health care and awareness perception of states, organizations, employees, and families improves with annual health checkup, and annual health checkup also prevents unhealthy acts.

Health Promotion at Work: A Comparison of Policy and Practice Across Europe

Verra, Sanne E.,Benzerga, Amel,Jiao, Boshen,Ruggeri, Kai Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2019 Safety and health at work Vol.10 No.1

Background: Promoting healthy lifestyles at work should complement workplace safety programs. This study systematically investigates current states of occupational health and safety (OHS) policy as well as practice in the European Union (EU). Methods: OHS policies of EU member states were categorized as either prevention or health promotion provisions using a manifest content analysis. Policy rankings were then created for each prevention and promotion. Rankings compared eight indicators from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks-2 data on prevention and promotion practices for each member state using Chi-square and probit regression analyses. Results: Overall, 73.1% of EU establishments take preventive measures against direct physical harm, and about 35.4% take measures to prevent psychosocial risks. Merely 29.5% have measures to promote health. Weak and inconsistent links between OHS policy and practice indicators were identified. Conclusion: National OHS policies evidently concentrate on prevention while compliance with health and safety practices is relatively low. Psychosocial risks are often addressed in national policy but not implemented by institutions. Current risk assessment methods are outdated and often lack psychosocial indicators. Health promotion at work is rare in policy and practice, and its interpretation remains preventive. Member states need to adopt policies that actively improve health and well-being at the workplace.

Review of Qualitative Approaches for the Construction Industry: Designing a Risk Management Toolbox

Zalk, David M.,Spee, Ton,Gillen, Matt,Lentz, Thomas J.,Garrod, Andrew,Evans, Paul,Swuste, Paul Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2011 Safety and health at work Vol.2 No.2

Objectives: This paper presents the framework and protocol design for a construction industry risk management toolbox. The construction industry needs a comprehensive, systematic approach to assess and control occupational risks. These risks span several professional health and safety disciplines, emphasized by multiple international occupational research agenda projects including: falls, electrocution, noise, silica, welding fumes, and musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the International Social Security Association says, "whereas progress has been made in safety and health, the construction industry is still a high risk sector." Methods: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 80% of the world's construction workers. In recent years a strategy for qualitative occupational risk management, known as Control Banding (CB) has gained international attention as a simplified approach for reducing work-related risks. CB groups hazards into stratified risk 'bands', identifying commensurate controls to reduce the level of risk and promote worker health and safety. We review these qualitative solutions-based approaches and identify strengths and weaknesses toward designing a simplified CB 'toolbox' approach for use by SMEs in construction trades. Results: This toolbox design proposal includes international input on multidisciplinary approaches for performing a qualitative risk assessment determining a risk 'band' for a given project. Risk bands are used to identify the appropriate level of training to oversee construction work, leading to commensurate and appropriate control methods to perform the work safely. Conclusion: The Construction Toolbox presents a review-generated format to harness multiple solutions-based national programs and publications for controlling construction-related risks with simplified approaches across the occupational safety, health and hygiene professions.

Repeat Auditing of Primary Health-care Facilities Against Standards for Occupational Health and Infection Control: A Study of Compliance and Reliability

Cloete, Brynt,Yassi, Annalee,Ehrlich, Rodney Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2020 Safety and health at work Vol.11 No.1

Background: The elevated risk of occupational infection such as tuberculosis among health workers in many countries raises the question of whether the quality of occupational health and safety (OHS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) can be improved by auditing. The objectives of this study were to measure (1) audited compliance of primary health-care facilities in South Africa with national standards for OHS and IPC, (2) change in compliance at reaudit three years after baseline, and (3) the inter-rater reliability of the audit. Methods: The study analyzed audits of 60 primary health-care facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Baseline external audits in the time period 2011-2012 were compared with follow-up internal audits in 2014-2015. Audits at 25 facilities that had both internal and external audits conducted in 2014/2015 were used to measure reliability. Results: At baseline, 25% of 60 facilities were "noncompliant" (audit score<50%), 48% "conditionally compliant" (score >50 < 80%), and only 27% "compliant" (score >80%). Overall, there was no significant improvement in compliance three years after baseline. Percentage agreement on specific items between internal and external audits ranged from 28% to 92% and kappa from -0.8 to 0.41 (poor to moderate). Conclusion: Low baseline compliance with OHS-IPC measures and lack of improvement over three years reflect the difficulties of quality improvement in these domains. Low inter-rater reliability of the audit instrument undermines the audit process. Evidence-based investment of effort is required if repeat auditing is to contribute to occupational risk reduction for health workers.