Staying Safe at Work (Preview)

Staying Safe at Work Ho Xiaojun Chuah Chong Ken

BONUS CHAPTER by Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon, Founding President of the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology

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Staying Safe at Work

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A Guide to Occupational Safety & Health

Ho Xiaojun Chuah Chong Ken

Copyright Š 2021 by Sunway University Sdn Bhd Published by Sunway University Press An imprint of Sunway University Sdn Bhd No. 5, Jalan Universiti Bandar Sunway 47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia

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press.sunway.edu.my

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, now known or hereafter invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 978-967-5492-23-5

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

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Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

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Ho, Xiaojun Staying Safe at Work : A Guide to Occupational Safety & Health / Ho Xiaojun, Chuah Chong Ken. (Sunway Shorts) ISBN 978-967-5492-23-5 1. Industrial safety.

2. Industrial hygiene.

3. Industrial safety--Law and legislation.

4. Industrial hygiene--Law and legislation.

I. Chuah Chong Ken. II. Title. III. Series.

658.382 Edited by Sarah Loh Designed by Rachel Goh Illustrated by Ho Xiaojun Typeset by Helen Wong Printed by Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd, Malaysia

Cover image: Lera Efremova/Shutterstock.com Image used under licence from Shutterstock.com

Contents Preface

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1 The History of OSH 3 Hazards, Risks, and Controls

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4 Accident Causation Theories

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2 Legislation in Malaysia

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5 Being Proactive and Reactive

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6 Mental Health and the Workplace Bonus chapter by Alvin Ng Lai Oon

17 43 65 86 111 149

List of Abbreviations

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Further Reading

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Acknowledgements

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Index

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Appendix

Preface

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A typical organisation comprises numerous departments.

There is a sales team to sell, a marketing team to promote, and an operation team to produce. An organisation is also supported by other departments in the areas of finance, legal, and human resources. Yet, an often-overlooked area of concern in many organisations is occupational safety and health, or OSH in short.

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OSH is generally concerned with employee welfare in terms of employees’ health as well as safe working conditions and practices. OSH also looks at anticipating and preventing health or work hazards arising in or from the work environment. You can think of OSH practitioners in organisations as the goalkeeper in football. You can have the best forwards, midfielders, and defenders but without a goalkeeper, your team will be “battling” without the last line of defence.

In the workplace, not having an OSH practitioner or a proper OSH management system is similar to not having any preventive measures to safeguard your employees from possible harm and danger. If you could relate your organisation’s current OSH status as a team without a goalkeeper, then you have picked up the right book.

With profit being the main objective of many organisations, OSH activities could be seen as a longterm investment that incurs costs first without bringing in

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Preface

immediate financial gains. In smaller and medium-sized businesses, they might not have the knowledge, resources, or manpower to invest in OSH activities. There is also a negative perception that OSH-related audits and inspection by the government agencies are about finding faults in an organisation.

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There are two things we need to change in how we view OSH. Firstly, we need to prioritise OSH and see it as essential to any business. Secondly, we need to see OSH as the responsibility of everyone, from top management right down to ground-level employees. OSH personnel are there to guide organisations in the right direction by providing advice and the know-how in OSH implementation. Their plans and activities for a safe and healthy workplace, however, would not work if everyone is not onboard with their goal, particularly if the top management itself does not champion or prioritise OSH.

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From our years of experience as OSH practitioners, we believe that improving the overall safety culture begins with education and awareness—which is how this book came to be. This book aims to provide a preliminary understanding of OSH in terms of its history, theories, and principles. It also provides a brief look into the development and practice of OSH legislation in Malaysia. Ultimately, this book stresses on the importance of having a proper OSH management system in an organisation and how OSH is a responsibility shouldered by everyone in the organisation.

The final chapter in this book highlights the importance of mental health management in the workplace and what organisations can do to support their employees. It has

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been specially written by Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon, Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology at Sunway University, Malaysia.

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This book serves as an introductory reference to the field of OSH. Whether you are new to this field or have been an OSH practitioner for years, this book offers new insights into current OSH practices which focus more on improving occupational safety management activities such as learning from accident models (understanding root causes), planning (expecting and responding to the unexpected), and managing changes in the workplace effectively.

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The History of OSH

CHAPTER 1

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The History of OSH

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You might be surprised to know that occupational safety and health (OSH) measures have been around since ancient Mesopotamia (circa 2000 BC). Of course, early attempts to encourage a safer workplace revolved around punishments: an eye-for-an-eye concept. In Babylon, Hammurabi the king developed a code of law that covered everything from family laws to civil and criminal laws. Known as the Code of Hammurabi, this code of law contained clauses that protect the welfare of citizens and to deter them from harming each other. The types of punishment imposed on wrongdoers are based on their social status. Some of the clauses are as follows: • Clause 196: If a man has caused the loss of a gentleman’s eye, his one eye shall cause to be lost • Clause 199: If he has caused the loss of the eye of a gentleman’s servant or has shattered the limb of a gentleman’s servant, he shall pay half his price • Clause 206: If a man has struck a man in a quarrel, and has caused him a wound, that man shall swear “I do not strike him knowing” and shall answer (be responsible for) the doctor 1

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• Clause 213: If he has struck a gentleman’s maidservant and caused her to drop that which is in her womb, he shall pay two shekels of silver • Clause 214: If that maidservant has died, he shall pay one third of a mina of silver

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The Code of Hammurabi was just the beginning.

During 400 BC, physician Hippocrates warned employees in the mining industry about the toxicity of lead, which could result in anaemia, colic, neuropathy, nephropathy, and sterility. He also wrote about a shipmaster who suffered from the complications of tetanus after having his right index finger crushed by an anchor. The shipmaster experienced lockjaw and opisthotonos (spasm of the back muscles), and eventually passed away within two weeks.

In AD 100, Roman scholar Pliny the Elder recorded the perceived health risks faced by those working with zinc and sulphur. These are some examples of records that indicated early awareness of OSH.

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This awareness became more apparent in later years, particularly in the mining industry. In 1473, physician Ulrich Ellenborg recognised, identified, and reported on the diseases and injuries suffered by gold miners which included the toxicity of carbon monoxide, mercury, lead, and nitric acid. In 1556, German scholar Georgius Agricola published De Re Metallica (or On the Nature of Metals) in which he described the mining industry as based on his field research. For nearly 200 years the book stood as the

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authoritative text on mining engineering, which included discussions on ventilation in the mines, protection of employees, mining accidents, and diseases associated with the occupation. In the book, Agricola also described ways to improve the working conditions of the mines.

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In 1700, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (or Diseases of Workers) was published by Bernardino Ramazzini, the father of occupational medicine. This book was the first comprehensive collection on occupational diseases, outlining the health hazards of irritating chemicals, dust, metals, and other abrasive agents encountered by employees across 52 different occupations. Ramazzini saw a connection between the health of employees and their working environment, and advocated physicians to take more notice of their patients’ occupation. In addition, he realised that health issues did not always stem from poor working conditions but also the work tasks themselves (i.e., prolonged bad posture).

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These are just some examples that demonstrate how early the ideas of OSH came about and how they have progressed—from the Code of Hammurabi in 2000 BC to Ramazzini’s book in early 18th century. However, these early records were either a focus on compensation methods for affected employees or merely theoretical discussions on workplace hazards and issues. Actual law enforcement that forced entire industries to change the way they operate only came about a century later.

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Global OSH Organisations

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The direct implementation of practical OSH measures to protect employees’ health started at the beginning of the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution. Compared to agricultural activities, employees in industrial settings worked longer hours and in harsher conditions, which led to more workplace fatalities or work-related illnesses. As a result, employees were beginning to demand for safer and healthier workplaces. In 1824, Trade Unions were formed in Great Britain to improve working conditions and employees’ rights particularly those related to working schedules, the protection of female employees, and child labour. In 1840, a Royal Commission was established to investigate the working conditions of the mining industry.

The Commission’s findings published in 1842 described accidents, brutality, lung diseases, long hours, and highly dangerous and adverse working conditions to be the norm. The Mines Act 1842 was therefore introduced to address these findings.

In 1893, female factory inspectors were appointed under the provisions of the Factory Act 1833 to investigate the working conditions of female employees and enforce OSH practices. May Tennant was the firstever female inspector appointed and oversaw OSH issues that were pertinent in female-dominated trades such as laundries and small workshops. Female factory inspectors eventually grew in numbers and contributed to the improvement of working conditions for women labour in Great Britain.

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The first international scientific and professional association, the Permanent Commission on Occupational Health, was established in 1906. Now known as the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), it remains the largest, non-governmental organisation in the OSH field with 2,000 members across 105 countries.

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In 1919, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was created as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I with the aim of maintaining social justice in securing peace. Created against a background of employee exploitation among the industrialising nations of that time, the ILO is devoted to promoting social justice and recognising human and labour rights internationally. Today, the ILO is a specialised agency of the United Nations and has built the Global Database on Occupational Safety and Health Legislation (LEGOSH) to be a reliable source of information and reference regarding national OSH laws around the world.

In 1948, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was established as the global authority on all health-related matters. A specialised agency of the United Nations as well, the WHO implemented a Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health 2008–2017 endorsed by the World Health Assembly (the governing body of WHO) in 2007.

This action plan deals with all aspects of employees’ health, including the prevention of occupational hazards, the protection of employees, the promotion of health at work, the improvement of working conditions, and a better health system response to employees.

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OSH in Malaysia

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In Malaysia, the concern for OSH began with the appointment of William Givan as the first Machinery Inspector in 1878. In terms of legislation, each of the four Allied Malay States at that time—Selangor, Perak, Pahang, and Negeri Sembilan—had its own steam boiler law; the Selangor Boiler Enactment 1892 was believed to be the first one legislated in Malaysia. These laws were abolished on 1 January 1914 and replaced with the Machinery Enactment of 1913, which not only covered steam boilers but also machineries.

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The Machinery Enactment of 1913 was later replaced with the Machinery Enactment of 1932 to enforce the registration and inspection of the installation of boilers and machinery. Soon after, the Machinery Ordinance 1953 was legislated and covered all aspects of factory employees’ safety, but it had no provisions related to employees’ health.

In 1967, the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (or FMA 1967) was gazetted to include provisions related to occupational health and to replace the Machinery Ordinance 1953. By 1968, the Factory and Machinery Department was established and the posts of inspectors, which were previously held by British citizens, became fully filled by locals. Over time, the department also started establishing specialised units such as the AntiPollution Section, the Industrial Hygiene Section, the Petroleum Safety Section, and the Major Hazards 6

The History of OSH

Section. The department also enforced the Petroleum (Safety Measures) Act in 1984 and the Petroleum (Safety Measures) (Transportation of Petroleum by Pipelines) Regulations in 1985.

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At this juncture in the late 1960s, industries relied on the Factory and Machinery Department for advice and regulations pertaining to workplace risks. The responsibility of maintaining a safe workplace laid on the shoulders of the government. Yet, not all industries were subject to the Department’s regulations as FMA 1967 only covered several industries, such as manufacturing, quarrying, and construction.

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The Employees’ Social Security Act 1969 was gazetted in April 1969, introducing social security schemes to employees in the country. To govern and oversee this Act, the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) was established in 1971 as a department in the Ministry of Human Resources but became a statutory body in 1985. SOCSO oversees the administration of two social security schemes, the Employment Injury Scheme and the Invalidity Scheme, which enable payment either monetary or in some other form of benefit to employees and their dependants in the event of a contingency.

The Employment Injury Scheme covers contingencies related to occupational diseases and accidents that occur in the workplace or while travelling in the course of employment. The Invalidity Scheme, on the other hand, provides 24-hour coverage against invalidity or death due to any cause.

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Mr Simon Sathiamoorthy, a retired OSH practitioner with over 35 years of experience, shared with us his thoughts on OSH matters during the 1960s:

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I was only in primary school in the 1960s, but I did read the papers daily. As far as I can recall, workplace accidents were rarely or never reported in the papers. Only major ones like fire made the headlines. If ever there were injuries or fatalities, the companies usually compensated the workers; the quantum was at the discretion of the companies. At that time, it was only hearsay and there was no follow-up of the cases in the papers, so I’m not sure if the issues simply blew over. Insurance for workplace accidents were rarely taken up by local companies. Only the big boys covered themselves with workplace insurance. I learnt of this through talking with relatives, neighbours, and friends.

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Legally, there was no requirement to report accidents in the workplace. Usually the companies reported accidents to the police for civil case purposes and these became police cases if the police suspected negligence or foul play. The FMA was only introduced in 1967 and SOCSO in 1969. So, the reporting of workplace incidents at that time rarely made the headlines. At the [rubber] estate where we stayed for example, the management only gave medical compensation for injuries.

[I] do not think they were ever reported [as] there were no [safety and health] policy then.

Rubber tappers working in the estates would usually have injuries like snake bites, finger cuts, fractures due to a fall, etc. All these usually happened on the way to work, while at

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work, and on the way home from work. Apart from medical treatment, they were given MCs [medical certificates]. If death occurred, the family usually received a small lump sum. I suspect most companies had some form of insurance coverage, but did not provide detailed documentation to their worker or if they did, they only verbally told workers as they [the workers] were largely illiterate.

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The period from 1960s to 1980s saw the introduction of many new regulations, codes of practices, and guidelines to improve employee welfare in the country. However, it took one national disaster to push the government into taking a sterner stand on employee welfare and OSH matters.

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On 7 May 1991, the Bright Sparklers Fireworks Factory in Sungai Buloh, Selangor caught fire, resulting in a huge explosion that left 26 people dead, over 100 people injured, and more than 220 residential properties within the area damaged. The explosion was believed to have been caused by explosive chemicals that spilt during an experiment in the factory. Although of a very different scale, the devastation to the area was likened to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan with people subsequently referring to the tragedy as the Hiroshima of Sungai Buloh.

Nobody took responsibility for the tragedy and legislation were not strongly enforced at that time.

Investigations revealed the possibility that the factory was operating illegally and that the existing law, FMA 1967, was not sufficient to make the organisation fully 9

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accountable for the incident. It would take 15 years before the victims or their families were able to receive compensation for the incident: the government only made an out-of-court settlement of RM 954,685 in 2006. This national disaster resulted in the drafting of a new law that will better protect employees and place the onus of responsibility primarily on employers to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. As a result, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was established in 1992 as a governmentbacked institute that provides training and information as well as conducts research and development in areas related to OSH. This was followed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (or OSHA 1994) which was enacted on 25 February 1994.

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OSHA 1994 covers all employees across different industries except those in the armed forces and those working onboard merchant ships. While employers are responsible to formulate and implement a safe system of work, employees are expected to cooperate with employers in maintaining workplace safety. The Act was drafted with the philosophy that “the responsibility to ensure safety and health lies with those who create the risk and those who work with the risk”—a major shift from a government-regulated paradigm to a selfregulated one.

With the approval of OSHA 1994, the Factory and Machinery Department renamed itself as the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH),

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while its inspectors were redesignated as Occupational Safety and Health Officers. The National Council of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (NCOSH) was also established, a supreme body responsible for regulating OSH in the country. We will cover the content of both FMA 1967 and OSHA 1994 and their respective regulations and orders in Chapter 2.

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To further enhance OSH on a national scale, DOSH also formulated three consecutive five-year action plans beginning in 2005. DOSH aimed to shift the responsibility of OSH management and regulations from the authorities to the organisations, so that the organisations’ management will take the initiative to improve OSH in their workplaces. In the first action plan from 2005 to 2009, DOSH focused on cultivating OSH ownership in stakeholders. In the subsequent action plan from 2010 to 2015, DOSH established the Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan for Malaysia 2015 to promote self-regulation in sustaining OSH culture and mindset in the workplace. For the final action plan from 2016 to 2020, the focus is on nurturing a preventive culture in the workplace.

OSH Management Systems

The 1990s saw an increase in OSH awareness worldwide as organisations began looking into establishing their own OSH management system as a way to control and evaluate their OSH performance.

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There were numerous national standards and proprietary certification schemes that organisations could follow, but this variety meant there were different ways of evaluating OSH management systems which caused confusion and fragmentation among organisations worldwide.

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As such, the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) Project Group was formed, consisting of representatives from relevant OSH bodies, boards, and institutions with the United Kingdom’s national standards body, BSI Group, as its secretariat. In 1999, the OHSAS Project Group published the OHSAS 18000 Series, which comprises OHSAS 18001 and OHSAS 18002, based on the best of existing national standards and schemes. OHSAS 18001 became the international standard which OSH management systems in organisations can be certified and benchmarked against, while OHSAS 18002 provides guidelines on implementing OHSAS 18001.

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According to OHSAS 18001, a typical OSH management system revolves around the process of continual improvement, or more commonly known as the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. In the “Plan” stage, an organisation would firstly set up its OSH policy, assess its risks and hazards, define its objectives, and draft a plan for its OSH management system. The organisation could engage a consultation firm or certification body for assistance in planning but implementing the system would be the organisation’s responsibility (the “Do” stage).

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CHECK Figure 1 An illustration of the PDCA cycle.

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Cycle of continual improvement

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ACT

PLAN

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Once the system is in place, the organisation would need to conduct routine checks and audits to ensure the system meets the organisation’s predefined objectives and requirements (the “Check” stage). The organisation can train its own internal audit team or engage a third-party auditor. The auditors would determine the effectiveness of the system’s implementation and if a loophole is found, the auditors would then issue a non-conformance request, which can be major or minor, to the organisation. The auditors may also issue opportunity for improvement requests to the organisation, providing suggestions to improve the OSH management system.

The “Act” stage is when the organisation corrects or improves its system based on the audit results. It is compulsory for the organisation to heed the nonconformance request, if any, and take the necessary corrective action. For opportunity for improvement requests, however, it is at the discretion of the organisation to make the suggested improvements.

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This PDCA cycle is repeated continually to refine the OSH management system in the organisation.

Most workplaces are dynamic environments subject to changing trends, legal requirements, organisational direction or structure, external factors, etc. For example, the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was an unprecedented event that most likely forced many organisations to review and adapt their OSH management system accordingly. As such, key personnel overseeing the OSH management system have to be constantly vigilant and act fast to modify the system as and when needed.

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OSH management systems that meet the OHSAS 18001 standard can opt to be OHSAS-certified. To maintain this certification, the organisation would need to engage an external certification body to conduct a routine recertification audit (every three years) and a surveillance audit (yearly). The certification would be suspended if several major non-conformance requests are found during the audit process and the organisation is unable to correct the loopholes.

As OHSAS 18001 was created outside the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) framework, organisations are required to repeat similar documentation and processes to be certified by both OHSAS and ISO. Some organisations with OHSAS 18001 certification also have ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management) certifications,

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establishing three related systems known collectively as quality, environment, occupational health and safety (QEHS) management systems.

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To unify and standardise the processes, the BSI Group commenced a three-year migration period in March 2018 to replace OHSAS 18001 with ISO 45001 which was proposed by the ISO in 2013. OHSAS 18001-certified organisations are given three years (until March 2021) to meet the requirements of ISO 45001 (as of 10 July 2020, the deadline has been extended to September 2021 due to COVID-19). The shift to ISO 45001 is aimed at creating an international OSH standard that is compatible and integrable with other ISO standards and systems, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

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ISO 45001 incorporates elements of OHSAS 18001 (including the PDCA cycle) and the ILO’s conventions and guidelines, along with some modifications and new additions. This new standard is also structured similarly as other ISO standards, making integrability between these standards easier. The integration would be costsaving for organisations with multiple management systems (e.g., QEHS and food and safety management systems) as they could now combine the documentation, management, and audit processes of the different systems into one. With systems that are more compatible with one another, efficiency would be increased as there will be a standardised procedure and the systems will now be based on the same ISO framework.

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While it is voluntary to adopt an OSH management system or have it certified, we see this as an increasing trend in organisations worldwide. Having in place a proper OSH management system has become a benchmark for success in some organisations and in certain cases, it is deemed as a prerequisite to forming business collaborations or partnership between organisations. In Malaysia, organisations bidding for some projects and tenders by the government or large enterprises are required to be ISO 45001-certified.

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Although organisations adopting an OSH management system will be better prepared in managing incidents in the event they occur, it is important to note that this does not guarantee that there will be no injuries, accidents, or legal non-compliance in the workplace. No system can be entirely perfect and there is always the possibility of lapses and loopholes not detected during the audit. Some organisations may also intentionally cover up or hide evidence of non-compliance (e.g., forge reports and results) to pass the audit. In the end, true success of the system is dependent on the honesty, commitment, and teamwork of every personnel involved to ensure workplace safety and health.

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