The aim of every worker is to do the job and return home safely after work. But that may be grossly jeopardized if the intended worker ends up hurting himself at the course of his work or duty which may lead to injuries. How exactly do we ensure that such injuries is averted?

Providing basic safety epuipments / amenities.

At last, FTC. Dedicated to PHOTOSHOOT.

Is there a safety policy in the company you are working for

climbing a palm tree without a rope is suicidal attempt.
welding without glasses can damage your eye.
we just break the rules here.

Ffg

Management should implement HSE best practices...

Sempumping

Forward your querry to the safety department sir..

there must b a safety policy inculcated into the company's policy and safety officer must also b on board to ensure safety of personnel,property,environment and even the reputation of the company itself..so safety so paramount..

hmm

This is important especially to the people in health care industry because of the high risk of iatrogenic harm .Let's remember Stella Adadevoh

There should be rules guiding you at work ranging from your


1. Sitting position

2 . standing position

3. Lifting heavy load

4. Work at height

5. Usage of PPE

6. Electricity usage

7. Fire extinguishers etc


E.g for engineers if u dont know how to stop a machine don't start it etc.

Inshort when recruiting and employing, employees should be made to undergo safety courses.


Safety measures should be in place.

Since workplaces differ for everyone, risks differ as well.
.
The first step is identifying potential risks.
Second, what measures have you put in place to avert such, or to cater for it when it arises?
Thirdly, are the people in that work environment aware of how to handle cases? Are they trained? Do they know where to go to, or who to call?
.
E. g. How many of us know how to use a fire extinguisher?
.
How much basic first aid do we know?
.
Are we really safety conscious?

We are no safety-conscious people.
All the companies you see placing ''safety begins from here'' signs at their gates, do it because the laws left them with no choice of treating safety with gross disdain as they would have enjoyed doing.

The most paramount issue should be HSE culture. The management needs to employ a HSE personal to create a HSE management system, Policy and planning and then management commitment to enforcing this rules.

The HSE personnel identify all Risk in the said workplace.

Assessment of risk should be carried out by the HSE personnel and reported to the management and

Suggest Control measures for all risk noticed no matter how minute it may be...

Contingency plans for recovery measures shall also be put in place in case of Accident/Incident/Fatality

Inculcate an HSE culture into your staff by always giving steady pep talks to your workers and provide basic PPE required for every available working risk. Fire fighting equipment are introduced when there's a fire rsik associated with your work which ranges from fire extinguishers to fire guns...

Work permit is another important tool in HSE management and the list goes on.

Follow the basic ISO rules when doing any simple job which is****

Plan
Do
Check
Review/Act


Wishing you all the very best in your engagement
Member, Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals

If it's not safe, don't do it.

In any office/organization, the culture of safety must start from the management and then down to the lowest staff.

When you're injured, you must definitely have to stop work.


#safetyfirst

1) Adopt Health & safety policies in the workplace

2) Organize safety training periodically for the staffs and teach them to be vigilant, to report/remove any hazards they encounter.

3) Keep records of near misses/accidents for future studies and possible hazard elimination

Also provide PPEs for jobs involving 'loads lifting', chemicals, noise etc. to avoid Musculo-skeletal disorder (MSD), posture problems, deafness etc.

You guys shld be fine with all those put in place

Safety first.

wait lemme call out the safety officers for you.

zeongeon, Greatken007, BigBiye

They will give you all the answers you seek.

Ensure there is a good safety policy and culture,

Ensure there is proper enforcement on safety compliance,

Ensure all accident cases are reported, in other to avoid reoccurrence

proper safety training should be given to all employees in the work place

Hire a competent and certified safety personnel

Regular Safety Audit and Review when necessary.
Draw a good Hazard Control plan knowing that PPE is the least way to control Hazard.

Lastly, Visit ISPON, institute of safety professionals of Nigeria, formerly (NISP)

if you want to hire a competent safety personnel check my PM.

Most employers has no business with application of safety standards and until they stop treating employees like animals, the safety of workers will always be neglected.

Do your company identify with Environmental impact assessment? if yes, i guess Environmental Audit and Risk assessment should be facilitated.. which brings about survey of your working environment, and ensure the aforementioned from incurring, if no GO asap and identify... safety of an entity should be top priority in a corporate environment.

The best way to avert injury is

"If it is unsafe, Don't do it".

As simple as that.

Allwility thanks for the mention and also thanks to everyone that has contributed, your answers are intelligent and safety oriented.

To ensure safety in the work place goes beyond having policies, safety signages, standard operating procedures and ppe etc. As we have many companys and organizations with all of those both yet we still have high cases of accidents, incidents and poor staff welfare. Why are organizations still unsafe even with there policy, standard operating procedures and PPE?. The answer is as a result of bad ATTITUDE, LEADERSHIP issues and lack of COMMITMENT to Health Safety and Welfare in the workplace.

The first step to ensuring workplace safety is by having

- Management COMMITMENT to safety, once management is committed to safety then you would have a functioning management system, enhanced safety culture, there will be decrease in accidents and incidents, there will be accountability, responsibility and the Safety professionals will be confident in carrying out his duties.

- Safety is about the people so get every one involved in safety at work place from your staffs, contractors to visitors. " People will always support the change or activity they are involved in". You delegate safety responsibilities to line managers, supervisors, staff and people have to be accountable when it comes to safety. You would need have a safety committee, hold regular safety meetings, seek opinions, suggestions and information from staffs before making changes as regards to safety, rewarding staffs for being safety proactive...Carry everyone along when it comes to safety.

- Research and be up to date with industry standards and laws. Safety has you reading most of the time. To ensure safety in workplace you will have to implement industry safety standards, know about changes or reviews in safety law. For example from June 2016 if your organization handles hazardous chemicals then you should know about the New Global Harmonized system of Hazard communication and for your audits and management system you should be ready to drop OSHAS 18001 for ISO 45001 come 2017. You should also have a good knowledge of the factories act of 1990, employee compensations act as they have guide lines to ensure your workplace is safe and welfare of staffs are catered for.

- Inspection and Supervision. You will have to inspect your work place to identify hazards so you can either eliminate them or put up necessary controls to reduce the risk. You also will supervise your staffs to ensure they are complying with laid down safety rules and work procedures and to also see how effective trainings have been.

- Risk assessment, Hazard Identification and Analysis. The workplace has lots of hazards and one way to eliminate, reduce or control these hazards is by carrying out Risk assessment, Hazard identification and analysis. Depending on your organization you can either carry out Job hazard analysis, change analysis, process analysis or phase analysis. Also note to get your staffs involved in risk assessment and hazard analysis cause you don't know the hazards better than the staffs. Doing so will ensure workplace is safe as you will get a comprehensive risk assessment and hazard analysis. Staffs would be better enlightened about the hazards and be well equipped to carry out there job safely.

- Testing of PPE. If the ppe doesn't fit then its not a ppe. Also ensure ppe is comfortable, adaptable and can allow staffs carry out there work comfortably without ppe contributing to hazard.

- Take you safety statistics serious I.e Loss time injury frequency rate, first aid cases, fatalities, permanent total disability cases, Temporary disability cases, Restricted work cases, Severity cases, etc. These will enable you bench mark, set targets and monitor your HSE performance. On the flip side one proactive way or leading indicator for HSE performance is the rate at which staffs comply to safety rules, perform there jobs as trained, report accidents and be safety proactive.

- Encourage staffs to report hazards, injuries, illness, incidents and accidents it will go along way in helping you find loop holes in your safety management system, reduce the possibility of an incident, do things better and keep your organization from making the headline news for a catastrophic accident.

- Be fast to implement your Hierarchy of Controls. which is Elimination, Substitution, Isolation, Guarding, Safe system of work, Safety work procedures, Adequate supervision, Training, Information and instruction and PPE.

- Remember to carry out inductions, drills, training and retraining. An untrained work man is a hazard on its own. the way and manner work men response to an emergency will determine if that emergency can be controlled, if there will be many injured and many deaths.

- Have safe systems of work in your work place. such as your Lock out and tag out, permits to work for confined space, crane operations, excavations, work at heights, hot works, live electrical works etc.

- Have your safety data sheets available so that work men can have necessary safety information about chemicals or substances they are working with. Safety data sheet goes along way to make our workplace safe as it tells us how best to store hazardous substances, what to do in an emergency, the hazards involved in working with such hazardous substanc, how to dispose of such substance, best way to transport it, the ppe required and more.

You can't totally rid a work place of hazards or make it totally safe cause even after doing all that is reasonably practicable you still have residue risks. Safety is a journey. However nothing should stop you from aiming at zero accidents or incidents. Perfection may not be possible but if you aim at perfection you would arrive at excellence.

All I have stated isn't all you can do to ensure a safe work place. more can still be done we have got community affairs, first aid and cpr, ergonomics, security and environment.

richesismine1:
The aim of every worker is to do the job and return home safely after work. But that may be grossly jeopardized if the intended worker ends up hurting himself at the course of his work or duty which may lead to injuries. How exactly do we ensure that such injuries is averted?

This is a timely question. Your point though seems to focus only on workplace safety that result in occupational accident or injury. In recent time, attention is shifting to occupational and health safety well-being. For instance, after spending over $300 billion on occupational stress management in a year, the US Occupation and health Safety Department (OHSD) declare Occupational stress as an occupational health hazards.

Recent studies by the Center for Disease Control shows that DIET and WORK-RELATED HEALTH HAZARDS are the two main causes of death from chronic disease in developing countries. In addition to injuries, more than 100 occupational diseases have been classified. Broadly, these include Stress Hazard, Air contaminants, Chemical hazards, Biological hazards, Physical hazards, Ergonomic hazards, Psychosocial Factors and Accident Factors. As we spend one third of our lives at work, the workplace has been identified as a key area for taking a pro-active approach to the prevention of chronic diseases.

ABOUT iCare Network
iCARE NETWORK (a non-profit organization) carry out Occupational Health Safety & Wellbeing Awareness FREE Lectures to organization and companies.

The OHSWP is designed to assist employers in implementing science and practice-based prevention and health promotion strategies that will lead to specific, measurable health outcomes to reduce chronic disease rates. The OHSWP seeks to promote good health through prevention, reduce chronic illness, disability, absenteeism, presenteeism and improve productivity outcomes that contribute to employers’ competitiveness.

No matter the size of your business or location, if you are interested in our OHSWP, email us at info@icarenetwork.org.ng

The important of safety in our work place & home can not be over emphasize

As a mata of fact, we can not completely wipe out unsafe act & practices but we can definitely minimize it to the barest minimum

Now I present to u SPDC 12 life safe saving rule, abiding by these rules will help to reduce work related injuries


1. WORK WITH A VALID WORK PERMIT WHEN REQUIRED

2. CONDUCT GAS TESTING WHEN REQUIRED

3. VERIFY ISOLATION B4 WORK BEGINS & USE THE SPECIFIED LIFE PROTECTING EQUIPMENT

4. OBTAIN AUTHORISATION B4 ENTERING A CONFINE SPACE

5. OBTAIN AUTHORISATION B4 OVERRIDING OR DISABLING SAFETY CRITICAL EQUIPMENT

6. PROTECT URSELF AGAINST A FALL WHEN WORKING @ HEIGHT

7. DO NOT WORK/WALK UNDER A SUSPENDED LOAD

8. DO NOT SMOKE OUTSIDE A DESIGNATED SMOKING AREA

9. NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS WHILE WORKING OR DRIVING

10. WHILE DRIVING, DO NOT USE UR PHONE & DO NOT EXCEED SPEED LIMIT


11. WEAR UR SEAT BELT

12. FOLLOW PRESCRIBED JOURNEY MANAGEMENT PLAN


THANK U

Accidents do and would always occur. It is for the employer to provide adequate safety precautions in the workplace. Laws should govern that but if the laws are not enforced then it is on you to look out for yourself and avoid any situation that may cause you injuries or death.

Bsc:
climbing a palm tree without a rope is suicidal attempt.
welding without glasses can damage your eye.
we just break the rules here.

Just a rope is suicidal, an unsafe act!

Wonderful thoughts here. Come on guys, we need a platform to enable us "rub minds" regarding HSE issues.
Is there any existing HSE WhatsApp group If there is none, let's put ourselves under one platform. It is very necessary. #NetworkingPays

The companies operating in Nigeria do not take Occupational health and safety serious as the laws guiding it in Nigeria are outdated and in some instances nonexistent.

The first step is to get the govt to pass a contemporary Occupational health and safety law into our statutes and then see companies fall in line.

The 7th Assembly passed the law but Ex-President GEJ did not sign it into law.

I don't know if PMB can still assent this bill or it has to be passed afresh by the 8th Assembly.

The focal point of this discussion should be how to mobilise to get PMB to assent to this bill or how to get the 8th Assembly to reconsider the bill if necessary.

Nigeria companies will never take Occupational health and safety serious unlesss if backed by strict laws and strict enforcement.

Won fun e leba on wa sibi, nkan to ye ko towobo. Them give you job you dey find safety. E be like say Na oyel or construction company you dey work because those are the only people who really bother about safety. For naija Na all man for himself.

Wow ....Great contributions. ..
Am so impressed