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Health and Safety in the Workplace

Effective Health and Safety management in the workplace is an important element of every organisation. Every year, accidents at work cost the Irish industry billions of euros. The effects of the injuries sustained vary from minor to major injuries. In some cases, employees will be needing an extended period of time off work. In other cases they will never be able to work again. Unfortunately, in some cases they will receive injuries that would be fatal. The fact is, many of these accidents are avoidable and should have not happened.

Much of Health and Safety relies on ensuring that the appropriate risk precautions are in place. Additional information about workplace hazards are available in our blog entry from 21 April 2023 Workplace Accidents and Their Prevention. If individuals are aware of potential hazards and adopt safe working practices, they can control the risks and reduce the number of accidents and injuries.

Workplace Fatalities from 2017 to 2022

The work-related injuries include any injuries incurred by workers in the course of their work. These injuries can range from minor injuries to the most serious injuries that resulted in death. According to the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland and the Health and Safety Statistics they publish, the following is workplace fatalities statistics for years 2017 – 2022:

2017 – 47 fatalities.
2018 – 39 fatalities.
2019 – 48 fatalities.
2020 – 54 fatalities.
2021 – 38 fatalities.
2022 – 26 fatalities.

There have been 230 fatalities in Ireland since 2017.

Health and Safety in the workplace is an important aspect of any organisation. All work related fatalities are preventable through vigilance and effective Health and Safety management. All employees and persons affected by business activities deserve to go home after their work day has ended.

Common Causes of Accidents in the Workplace

Whilst not all workplace accidents result in death, the majority of them will result in an injury. Common causes of accident in the workplace are often:

Slips, trips and falls.
Poor lifting and carrying.
Being struck by vehicles or moving objects.
Falls from height.
Misuse of machinery.
Incorrect use of harmful substances.

Work related activities can also be responsible for diseases and ill health. These, in some cases, can have long term, irreversible effects. For example:

Hearing loss from noisy workplaces.
Stress
Skin disorders.
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
Back pain.
Asbestosis and cancer as a result of asbestos exposure.
Work-related lung diseases and cancers.

These hazards can be controlled by assessing risks and putting in effective controls. Effective health and Safety practices will not only minimise the pain and personal consequences to individual employees, but also reduce the financial impact on employers and services funded by the taxpayer.

Business and Human Costs of Ineffective Health and Safety in the Workplace

The costs on the business for ineffective Health and Safety in the Workplace can be significant:

Legal advice and insurance costs.
Legal action, possibly resulting in compensation.
Sick pay.
Lost production and sales.
Equipment and stock losses and damage.
Time and money spent on investigations and improvements.
Recruitment and payment of cover/replacement staff.

These, however, can fade into insignificance when weighed against the human cost:

Pain and suffering.
Disability, possibly long-term.
Health care and rehabilitation.
Loss of earnings.
emotional and financial burden on family.
Potential loss of life.

Safe working conditions are a prerequisite for a healthy and productive workforce.

Ineffective Health and Safety in the Workplace – From the Press

The Health and Safety Authority reported on 26th June 2023 that the company was fined €750,000 after fatal fall from height in workplace. The fatal incident occurred when a worker stepped onto a fragile surface. The fragile surface that sealed a vertical service duct which gave way and the worker fell from a height.

Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, commented, “Where there is a known risk in a workplace, in this case working from height, employers in control of that workplace have a duty to ensure that the appropriate precautions are in place. This will protect employees and others who may be carrying out work activity at the place of work under their control. Failure by the employer in this case has led to the tragic death of a worker. We urge employers to carry out risk assessments and engage with their employees and others to ensure that incidents like this one are prevented.”

Online Health and Safety Training

Proactive Health and Safety training is critical to ensure a safe workplace. An effective training program can reduce the number of worker injuries and deaths. It can also reduce instances of property damage, legal liability, illnesses, and missed time from work.

Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

This is why we have established Myelearsafety school. We pride ourselves in how we guide, support and mentor our students. They receive support throughout their learning experience and into their working lives. Our staff have extensive training experience and also have many years industry experience. We understand the challenges that exist within Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Our priority is to ensure that all learners are fully prepared to differentiate themselves in the workplace after completing our Health and Safety courses.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment, or short PPE, is according to the Hierarchy of Risk Controls the last control method used to control risk. According to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA):

“Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) means any device or appliance designed to be worn or held by an individual for protection against one or more health and safety hazards. Respiratory Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is a particular type of Personal Protective Equipment, used to protect the individual wearer against inhalation of hazardous substances in the workplace air.”

In other words, PPE includes any equipment or clothing intended to be held or worn by people at work to offer protection against identified problems.

Where more than one item of PPE is required to be used simultaneously, e.g. hearing defenders and safety helmet, the items must be compatible and must not interfere with the level of protection offered by the individual items. Many manufacturers offer integrated systems which might be used provided they abide to certain rules.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE ) must be provided free of charge by employers – employers cannot pass on to employees any financial costs associated with duties relating to safety, health and welfare at work.

Personal Protective (PPE) Rules

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 , Part 2 Chapter 3 covers Use of Personal Protective Equipment at work. Broadly speaking all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must:

Be suitable to protect against the risk and fir properly.
Give adequate protection.
Be compatible with other equipment worn.
Carry a CE mark.
Be cleaned and maintained regularly and be replaced if worn or broken. This includes changing filters, eye shields, etc. as necessary.
Be thoroughly cleaned or washed, before removal if contaminated to avoid accidental contact by user.
Be correctly stored in a well ventilated and clean area.
Be worn (employers may take disciplinary action against employees who do not wear required PPE).

Personal protective Equipment (PPE) must meet certain EU requirements and standards which confirm it meets specified safety and various test criteria. Generally PPE that carries CE mark will meet these criteria.

European Union (Personal Protective Equipment) Regulations 2018 provide that PPE may not be placed on the market or brought into service unless it complies with basic health and safety requirements. It is deemed to be in conformity with the Regulations if it bears the CE mark”.

It should always be remembered that PPE does not change the hazard in any way. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) offers protection for the wearer only.

Types of Personal protective Equipment (PPE)

When a Risk Assessment indicates that PPE should be used, it is important to choose the right type to protect different parts of the body.

Some of the types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are:

Helmets – protects head. Usually used in construction, mining and other groundwork or work where there are risks of falling objects.
Visors and face shields – protects face. Usually used by welding and foundry workers (molten metal splashes).
Goggles and glasses – protects eyes. Usually used for welding work with lasers, woodwork, or all these activities where there is a risk of flying fragments or chemical splashes.
Plugs, muffs and helmets – protects ears. Usually used for work in noisy environments, e.g. heavy duty drilling and/or hammering and noisy machine rooms.
Gloves (rubber, chain mail) – protects hands. Used for work involving the handling of hazardous substances, chainsaws, knives saws, hot/cold items, rough wood, etc.
Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) – used to protect respiratory system. Work in unhealthy atmospheres and/or involving exposure to hazardous substances and work producing substantial quantities of dust. Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) not worn or selected appropriately is totally ineffective. In addition, it may give the user a false sense of protection. For further guidance or RPE see Health and Safety Authority – Respiratory Protective Equipment.
Clothing (high visibility/thermal, cut resistant, safety harness, etc.) – protects the body. Usually used for work involving risks of splashing or other contamination. It is also used for work with chainsaws (arms and legs) or ionising radiation, etc. It is also used for work where there is a risk of falling.
Safety boots and gaiters (toe protectors, insulating footwear) – usually used for work where there is a risk of splashing or of falling objects. In addition, it is used for work with live electricity.

Personal protective Equipment (PPE) should only be used if the hazard cannot be controlled any other way.

Training in Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

All employees required to use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be provided with suitable information, instruction and training (including training in the use, care or maintenance of PPE) to enable them to make proper and effective use of any PPE provided for their protection.

Further Guidance on the Requirements of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations

For additional guidance on the requirements of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations, please refer to the relevant Personal Protective Equipment Guidance to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007.

For online Health and Safety training solutions, please check our Online Health and Safety Training portal!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Occupational Health

Occupational Health is the promotion and maintenance of physical and mental wellbeing of all staff. Health problems directly related to a person’s job are defined as an occupational illness.

Some hazards, such as skin contact with chemicals causing short-term irritation and/or rashes are known as acute illnesses. For more information try our fully online Chemical Safety course. Chronic illnesses develop gradually and their effects may be irreversible, e.g. loss of hearing. Some may even appear years after the time of employment, e.g. asbestosis. For more information try our fully online Asbestos Awareness course.

Specific Health Hazards

Physical damage from noise, heat and radiation, e.g. hand arm vibration syndrome by machine operators using vibrating machinery such as strimmers, soil compactors and drills. For more information try our fully online Workplace Safety course.
Chemical problems from harmful dust, liquids and/or fumes, e.g. dermatitis causing severe irritation and cracking of the skin in occupations such as cleaners or hairdressers. For more information try our fully online Chemical Safety course.
Ergonomic problems from poorly designed work areas, e.g. work-related upper limb disorders, back pain or repetitive strain suffered by keyboard operators and tool operators. For more information try our fully online VDU/DSE course and Manual Handling Awareness course.
Biological hazards from infectious diseases and agents, e.g. hepatitis caused by needle stick injuries to hospital staff. For more information try our fully online Infection Prevention and Control course.

General Health Hazards

As well as specific health hazards there are some general things that may affect all workplaces:

Smoking

Smoking and passive smoking have been linked to lung cancer, irritation to the respiratory system and other harmful effects. The Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2004 (No. 6 of 2004) placed a ban on smoking at all enclosed places of work from 29/03/04 to protect persons at work from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. This includes office blocks, aircraft, trains, company vehicles, health premises, schools, colleges, cinemas, theatres, licensed premises and clubs, if any of these places is your place of work. The smoking ban also applies to common areas within buildings. This means, for example, that corridors, lobby areas and reception areas of buildings such as apartment blocks and hotels are also covered. For more information, please consult Citizens Information service. In addition, try our fully online Workplace Safety course.

Alcohol

Alcohol increases the time it takes to react to situations, affects behaviour and reduces performance. For more information try our fully online Behavioral Safety course.

Drugs

Substance abuse may cause health problems and can cause safety hazards in the workplace. Many drugs are particularly dangerous because they cause mood changes and alter people’s perceptions. Even prescribed drugs may have a detrimental effect. As with alcohol, the condition must be addressed. For more information try our fully online Behavioral Safety course.

Violence

Verbal abuse, threats, bullying or assault can cause stress and concern as well as physical injury. Staff should be encouraged to report all occurrences to their supervisors who should record and objectively investigate the details and if necessary report to the relevant authority. For more information try our fully online Bullying Awareness course.

Stress

A large percentage of sick leave is due to stress, either due to personal reasons or the physical or emotional pressure of the job. Stomach and skin conditions, heart disease and depression have been linked to stress. Factors influencing stress in the workplace include poor working conditions, overwork, job insecurity, peer pressure including harassment, unrealistic targets and poor management.

Employees should be encouraged to report stress and management should be trained to recognise the symptoms and causes of stress such as inability or reduced ability to cope with normal tasks and situations, increased sick leave and/or poor time-keeping. For more information try our fully online Workplace Stress Awareness course.

It is very important to have an effective occupational health management system in place. There are sound economic reasons for reducing work-related accidents and ill-health, as well as ethical and regulatory reasons. Businesses that manage safety and health successfully invariably have a positive safety culture. Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

For online Health and Safety training solutions, please check our Online Health and Safety Training portal.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Workplace Hazards

Workplace hazards are anything even remotely that has the potential to cause harm to a person.

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 an employer is required to carry out risk assessments, prepare a safety statement and implement what it contains. Health and Safety Authority inspectors visiting workplaces will want to know how safety and health is being managed. If they investigate an accident, they will scrutinise the risk assessments, safety statement, and the procedures as well as the work practices.

The Purpose of the Risk Assessment

The Risk Assessment should identify all workplace hazards, quantify the risks and introduce control measures to reduce the risk of injury or illness to the workforce. Some additional legislation also requires employers to conduct specific risk assessment for specific common hazards such as manual handling, hazardous substances, display screen equipment and fire safety.

What is Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is simply put a careful examination of workplace hazards and what could cause harm to people. This is so you can consider whether you have taken enough precautions or should you do more to prevent harm. Risk Assessment will help identify what could go wrong, how likely it is to happen and how serious the result could be. The employer then needs to put control measures in place to prevent the problem occurring.

What are Hazard and Risk

Hazard and Risk have two quite distinct meanings.

Hazard – means something that has the potential to cause harm or damage.
Risk – means the likelihood of the harm or damage being realised. The risk is a combination of chance (or likelihood) and severity, and how likely is that something is going to happen.

For example, a bottle of bleach at work falls under category of workplace hazards. If the bottle contains hazardous liquid, bur locked in the cupboard it does little harm. The risk increases when the bottle is used. When people are working safely there is less chance that an accident will occur.

Chance is a measure of how likely it is that an accident could happen.

Severity is a measure of how serious an injury or health effect could be, as a consequence of unsafe working or of an accident. The severity can be influenced by the following:
• the environment,
• the number of people at risk, and
• the steps already taken to control the hazard.

Five Steps of a Risk Assessment

Generally speaking, identifying and managing risks can be done in five steps:

1. Identify the Workplace Hazards

For example:

Slips and Trips – consider floor surfaces, housekeeping and different floor levels.

Working at Height – e.g. decorations using ladders and construction workers on scaffolding.

Fire Hazards – e.g. flammable substances and sources of ignition.

Moving Vehicles – e.g. forklift trucks and reversing lorries.

Dust – such as wood dust in a sawmill or flour in a bakery.

Hot Liquids – e.g. pans of hot water or oil in a kitchen.

2. Decide on who may be harmed and how

It is not just person conducting the task that may be affected but anyone nearby. For example, builders working on scaffolding above a public walkway may inure pedestrians if equipment or materials are dropped. Some employees will need a separate Risk Assessment, e.g. those who are more vulnerable, such as pregnant workers and young, inexperienced staff.

3. Evaluate the risk and decide on precautions

Consider the consequences of injury or harm. Could someone be seriously inured or even killed? Could lots of people be affected. How likely is it to occur? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then these hazards should be addressed as a priority and further controls put in place to reduce the risk to an acceptable level, using the hierarchy of control (see below).

4. Record your significant findings and implement them

It is a legal requirement that businesses formally record their significant findings. It is important not only to implement the controls you identified, making sure staff are trained in the new procedures, but to check to make sure they are followed correctly. Some health and Safety training can be delivered on-line. For solutions, please check our Online Health and Safety Training portal myelearnsafety.com

5. Review and update Risk Assessments as necessary

Reviews should take place when:

Procedures are revised.
Workplace layout is reorganised.
New machinery is installed.
An accident or near miss occurs.
The law changes.

Reviews should also take place on a regular basis, possibly annually, just to make sure nothing has been missed and to identify new techniques or scientific developments that could be introduced to improve safety.

Hierarchy of Control

When considering control measures there is a scale of preference. the higher up the chart, the better or more preferable the method. Some measures will work for some tasks or activities and some for others, but not all will be suitable.

The following is a hierarchy of controls:

1. Eliminate.

If something is hazardous, the most effective option is to remove the hazard altogether if possible.

2. Substitute.

If hazard cannot be eliminated, can it be substituted for something safer?

3. Implement Engineering Controls.

For example;

Equipment – using work equipment as a preventive measure, e.g. to prevent falls from height.
Guards – placing or replacing guarding controls.
Insulation – an excellent method of noise control.
Ventilation – removing hazardous dust and fumes from the workplace using additional machinery if necessary.
Maintenance – making sure all equipment is well serviced and maintained.

4. Administrative Controls.

Procedures needed to work safely, e.g. limiting the amount of time the worker is exposed to a hazard, increasing safety signage, conducting risk assessments.

5. personal protective Equipment (PPE)

Equipment or clothing provided to protect an employee against risks to their health and safety. Must only be used once all other measures have been tried and found unsuitable.

Some hazards are obvious, such as unguarded moving parts of machinery, dangerous fumes, electricity, working at heights, moving vehicles or moving heavy loads. Less obvious, but at the root of many accidents, are hazards presented by untidy workplaces and poor maintenance. In the case of other hazards, such as excessive noise or exposure to chemicals, it may take months or even years before ill health materialises.

When deciding on the controls, you should consider the general principles of prevention. These are a hierarchy of controls that set out how to manage hazards. The focus should be to get rid of the hazard, so that people are protected. If this is not possible then you should work through the principles until you have made it as safe as reasonably practicable. Your reliance on personal protective equipment (PPE) should be one of the last steps in the process (not the first).

Always consider give training and instruction. Once you have assessed the risks and decided on your controls in line with the principles above, you will need to tell your employees about them and to make sure that they are competent to comply with them.

A Guide to Risk Assessments and Safety Statements

A guide to Risk Assessment and Safety Statements is a very useful publication by the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland (HSA), national body in Ireland responsible for the enforcement of workplace health and safety law, the implementation of a number of chemicals regulations, and accreditation. The information contained in the Guide can help an employer or self-employed person to manage safety and health in their workplace(s) by preparing risk assessments and a safety statement.

For online health and Safety training solutions, please check our Online Health and Safety Training portal.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Health and Safety Myths

Health and Safety

There are so many health and safety misconceptions out there. Employers and employees are not aware of how important health and safety is in the workplace. Here are five myths about health and safety in work.

Myth 1

“HSA inspectors are just looking to catch people out and issue fines”.

Myth 2

“Health and safety will cost me and my business money”.

Myth 3

“Health and safety is just more red tape hindering business”

Myth 4

Manual handling? You mean spending a day being told how to lift a box? What a waste of time”

Myth 5

“So many things to get banned because of health and safety. It’s the state gone mad”.

We all have a responsibility to protect and be protected in the workplace. These myths are not true and health and safety in the workplace is to safeguard you and is your legal right. Contact us for more details about all of our courses.