A Methodology for Harmonizing Safety and Health Scales in Occupational Risk Assessment

Abstract

Successful implementation of Health and Safety (H&S) systems requires an effective mechanism to assess risk. Existing methods focus primarily on measuring the safety aspect; the risk of an accident is determined based on the product of severity of consequence and likelihood of the incident arising. The health component, i.e., chronic harm, is more difficult to assess. Partially, this is due to both consequences and the likelihood of health issues, which may be indeterminate. There is a need to develop a quantitative risk measurement for H&S risk management and with better representation for chronic health issues. The present paper has approached this from a different direction, by adopting a public health perspective of quality of life. We have then changed the risk assessment process to accommodate this. This was then applied to a case study. The case study showed that merely including the chronic harm scales appeared to be sufficient to elicit a more detailed consideration of hazards for chronic harm. This suggests that people are not insensitive to chronic harm hazards, but benefit from having a framework in which to communicate them. A method has been devised to harmonize safety and harm risk assessments. The result was a comprehensive risk assessment method with consideration of safety accidents and chronic health issues. This has the potential to benefit industry by making chronic harm more visible and hence more preventable.

Workplace Safety and Occupational Health Job Risks Hazards in Public Health Sector in Greece

“…The occupational risk assessment process is based on a methodological guide that is appropriately adapted to each working reality and leads to the identification of sources of risk, the identification, as well as the estimation (quantification) of exposure risks, with the ultimate goal of formulation of a final occupational risk assessment report in the working environment of employees (Ji et al, 2021).…”

“…The complete description/recording of the production process and the technological cycle provide the complete knowledge of the productive activities and consequently allow the identification of the sources of danger for the safety and health of the employees. It is advisable during this phase to take into account all available statistics for the industry in which the production process in question is included, the relevant bibliographic references, and previous experience (Ji et al, 2021).…”

“…At this stage, the expression of the labor point of view is of particular importance, not only as an element of valid information but also as a condition for effective and active participation in all phases of assessing and preventing occupational risk. The active and effective participation of employees in the protection and prevention of occupational risk is expressed not only by the "control" for the observance of each legislation but also by the expression and application of the labor point of view (Ji et al, 2021).…”

“…We must emphasize that at this stage, our attention is not so much focused on those elements of the production process, which due to their "internal dynamics" (their nature), are identified as sources of danger (machines, plants, chemicals, etc. ), as well as the risks directly related to the mode of operation, form, and organization of each productive activity, as well as to the taking or not of protection and prevention measures (Ji et al, 2021). It is also necessary to include exposure risk sources and the data resulting from the subjective assessment of employees.…”

Evaluation of a Fast Test Based on Biometric Signals to Assess Mental Fatigue at the Workplace—A Pilot Study

“…This type of fatigue is an occupational issue derived from work-related conditions, such as shift work [8], work schedule [9], and emotional distress [10]; it is further related to reduction of cognitive functions among workers, which can lead to a decrease in productivity [11]. This condition is subjective [12] and therefore, in order to properly assess it, multiple efforts have been made on translating self-assessment questionnaires [13] and harmonizing health and safety scales [14]. Alternatively, more modern, artificial intelligence (AI)-based proposals are capable of the following: improving safety in construction sites using internet of things (IoT) technology [15]; predicting injury outcomes and number of days away from work [16]; analyzing thermal protective and thermophysiological comfort performance of fabrics [17]; and protecting workers health, safety and well-being [18].…”