COSH: Occupational Safety & Health Standards

Responsibility

Is having to answer to higher management for activities and results.

Secretary of Labor

is hereby authorized to promulgate and enforce rules, regulations, and orders to establish safety standards and otherwise to promote and increase the safety of laborers and employees in mines, quarries or metallurgical operations and other industrial enterprises, against danger of injury, or disease.

Occupational Safety and Health Standards

Adopted through the tested democratic machinery of tripartism

Occupational Safety and Health Standards

Considered as a landmark in Philippines labor and social legislation

Occupational Safety and Health Standards

Amended in 1989, to provide all establishment with better tool in

promoting and maintaining a safe and healthful working environment

Accredited organization

means any organization duly accredited by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) delegated or authorized to perform functions relatedto improvement of occupational safety and health in the form of training, testing,

certification, safety and health auditing or any other similar activity

Certified first-aider

means any person trained and duly certified or qualified to administer first-aid by the Philippine National Red Cross or by any organization accredited by the same.

Construction project manager/consultant

means a person or entity who is hired by the project owner, to act in the owner's behalf concerning supervision and monitoring of all matters related to the overall execution of a construction project. The construction project manager shall be a separate entity from the general constructor or any subcontractor of the construction project.

Construction safety and health committee

means the general safety and health committee for a construction project site that shall be the overall coordinator in implementing OSH programs

Construction safety and health officer

means any employee/worker trained and, in addition to their regular duties and responsibilities, tasked by his employer to implement occupational safety and health programs in accordance with the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS).

Construction safety and health program

refers to a set of detailed rules to cover the processes and practices that shall be utilized in a specific construction project site in conformity with the OSHS including the personnel responsible and the penalties for violations thereof

Construction safety signage

refers to any, but not limited to, emergency or danger sign, warning sign or safety instruction, of standard colors and sizes in accordance with the specifications for standard colors of signs for safety instructions and warnings in building premises as described in Table II of the OSHS.

Constructor

is deemed synonymous with the term "builder". It refers to any person or organization who undertakes or offers to undertake or purports to have the capacity to undertake or submits a bid to, or does himself or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway,

road, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement, or

to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works

in connection therewith. The term constructor includes subcontractor and specialty

contractor.

Emergency health provider

means any person or organization who is certified or recognized by the Department of Health and who can provide the same or equivalent

emergency health services as an emergency hospital, including emergency treatment of

workers on site, emergency transport and care during transport of injured workers to the nearest hospital, with adequate personnel, supplies and facilities for the complete immediate treatment of injuries or illnesses.

General constructor

means a constructor who has general supervision over other constructors in the execution of the project and who directly receives instructions from

the owner or construction project manager (if one is appointed by the owner).

General safety and health inspection

refers to inspection of the work environment, including the location and operation of machinery other than those covered by technical safety inspections, adequacy of work space, ventilation, lighting, conditions of work environment, handling, storage or work procedures, protection facilities and other safety and health hazards in the workplace

Heavy equipment

refers to any machine with engine or electric motor as prime mover used either for lifting, excavating, leveling, drilling, compacting, transporting and breaking works in the construction site, such as but not limited to crane, bulldozer, backhoe,grader, road compactor, prime mover and trailer, with minimum operating weight and horsepower rating of 1,000 KG and 10 HP, respectively.

Imminent danger

means a condition or practice that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm before abatement under the normal enforcement procedures can be accomplished.

Occupational health personnel

refers to a qualified first-aider, nurse, dentist, or

physician, engaged by the employer to provide occupational health services in the establishment/undertaking.

Project manager

means overall technical personnel of the general contractor and/or the subcontractor in charge of the actual execution of a construction project.

Resident engineer

means a duly licensed engineer who shall be tasked to be present at the construction site at all times, whenever work is being undertaken, and shall have the responsibility of assuring the technical conformance of all designs, materials, processes,work procedures rendered for the execution of the construction project, including safety and health of all persons within the construction site.

Safety and health committee

means a group tasked with the authority to monitor, inspect, and investigate all aspects of the construction project pertaining to health and

safety of construction workers

Safety personnel

refers to any person engaged by any constructor, trained, accredited by DOLE and tasked to provide occupational safety and health services for the

workers/employees in any construction project.

Tool box/gang meeting

refers to daily meeting among workers and their respective supervisors for the purpose of instruction, discussion and proper briefing on the planned work, the assessment of past work, the possibility or actual occurrence of

accidents at the site, tips and suggestions on how to prevent possible accidents and other related matters.

Responsibility

Is having to answer to higher management for activities and results.

Authority

Is the right to correct, command, and determine the courses of action.

Delegation

Is sharing the authority and responsibility with others. Even though we delegate responsibility, we cannot completely relieved from it.

Accountability

Is an active measurement taken by management to ensure compliance with standards.

Construction

a major cause of death and disabilities

Safety

▪ State of freedom from risks, usually achieved through all measures and arrangements

set to protect workers from injury or ill health.

▪ Freedom from accidents; Freedom from harm, injury and loss

▪ It is the control of Hazards and Accidents in the workplace

Accident

Usually the result of contact of man with a source of energy above the threshold limit of the body or structure.

Accident

An occurrence that interrupts the normal and orderly progress of any activity

Accident

Results in physical harm, damage to property, delay in operation

Unsafe Conditions, Act

Causes of Accidents are classified as:

Unsafe Act

a violation of safe procedure

Unsafe Condition

seen as a physical or chemical property in the material

act of omission

act of commission

2 categories of Unsafe act

Hazard

Anything (source, situation, act) with the potential to cause harm

Risk

the combination of the likelihood of an incident to happen and the severity of the consequences of such an incident.

Identify, Evaluate, Correct

Three Steps to Control Hazards and Accidents

Inspection

Investigation

Identify the hazard:

Inspection

Before the accident occurs

Investigation

After the accident occurs

Evaluate

Determine if what you identified complies with safety standards, by means of Occ. Health & Safety Standards, OEL, TLV, PEL, NIOSH, others.

Engineering Methods

- eliminate or reduce the hazard through

▪ Initial design specification

▪ Substitution

▪ Isolation (Place)

▪ Ventilation

▪ Change the process

Administrative Methods

control of employees exposure

▪ Scheduled reduced work hours,

▪ Increased breaks,

▪ SOP's

▪ Isolation (Time),

▪ Medical Exams,

▪ Workplace monitoring

Personal Protective Equipment

Use of a protective barrier to protect the worker from the hazard

Red

Fire protection. To call attention to fire protection equipment apparatus and facilities;

Green

Safety , Designating "Safety"

White

Traffic, White, black, or a combination of these are the basic colors for the designation

of traffic and housekeeping marking.

Yellow

Caution. To designate caution and for marking physical hazards, such as striking, against stumbling falling, tripping and "caught in between".

Orange

Alert. To designate dangerous parts of machines energized equipment. Electrical hazards.

Blue

Precaution. To designate caution, limited to warning against starting use of or the movement of equipment which is under repair.

Purple

Radiation. To designate hazards. Yellow is used in combination with purple for markers, such as tags, labels, signs.

Seiri

Clearing up

Suriin

Seiton

Organizing

Sinupin

Seiso

Cleaning

Simutin

Seiketsu

Standardizing

Siguruhin

Shitsuke

Training/Discipline

Sariling kusa

Industrial hygiene

science of identifying, evaluating, and controlling workplace conditions that could cause injury or illness

Stiff and Firm Soils

solid soils with substantial cohesion and no water table present. (i.e. good clay, stiff clay till, medium till)

soils likely to crack or crumble

soil that can be excavated by hand tools, show signs of cracking after excavating, and possess a low to medium moisture content (i.e. heavily seamed silty clays, compacted clayey fill, and mixtures of clays and silts)

soft and loose soils

- soils easily excavated by hand with little or no cohesion (i.e. sand, gravel, silt, organic soil, soft and wet clay, and loose fill)

Emergency rescue equipment

is required when a hazardous atmosphere exists or can reasonably be expected to exist.

Hand Tools

are non-powered. They include anything from axes to wrenches

Power Tools

tools that can be hazardous when improperly used.

Electric Power Tools

are tool that is powered by electricity; also, these require observing electric safety guidelines.

Pneumatic Tools

are powered by compressed air and include chippers, drills, hammers and sanders.

Powder-Actuated Tools

operate like a loaded gun and should be treated with the same respect and precautions. In fact, they are so dangerous that only specially trained

employees must operate them.

Hydraulic Power Tools

The fluid used in such must be an approved

fire-resistant fluid and must retain its operating characteristics at the most extreme temperatures to which it will be exposed.

Jacks

must have a device that stops them from jacking up too high.

Voltage

The difference in potentials between points (measured in volts)

Voltage

The force or pressure that causes electrical current to flow.

Current

The movement or flow of electric charges (measured in amperes).

Resistance

The property of material which opposes the flow of electric current (measured in ohms).

Ohm's Law

The current flowing in a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance.

Conductor

Permits electrons or electric current to flow through it

Insulator

Used to provide barrier around a conductor (to prevent accidental contact).

Insulator

Non-conductors, things that resist the flow of electrical current; dry wood, glass, ceramic, dry concrete, fiberglass

LOCKOUT

is blocking the flow of energy from the power source to the equipment - and keeping it blocked out.

Circuit

The path that current follows; wires, components, people, etc.

Electric Shock

is electrical current flowing through the body.

Arc Flash Hazards

Extremely high temperatures are generated during such.

Ground-fault circuit-interrupters (GFCI)

a supersensitive, rapid-action power switch, which breaks a circuit when there is more than 5 milliamps difference between the hot wire and the neutral or grounded conductors

Emergency

A sudden, unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action. A potential life- threatening situation.

Disaster

a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss or destruction

Rescue

the removal of human being from a place of danger and convey them to the place of safety.

Evacuation

the removal of personnel, materials and equipment from a place of danger to a safe zone/area

Extrication

the removal of the victim from difficult situation or position;or the removal of a patient from a wrecked car or other place of entrapment

Man-made emergency

events caused by man's negligence in handling his technology

Natural Emergency

events that are caused by the forces of nature.

Fire

Is a rapid self-sustaining oxidation process accompanied by the evolution of heat and light

Fire

Combination of combustible materials(fuel) with oxygen in the presence of enough heat

Oxidation

the act or process of combining with oxygen

Incident Commander

Prepare and Implement a fire safety program/planed incident and other

Fire Safety Inspector

Shall conduct a monthly maintenance inspection on all firefighting appliances and apparatus

Communication Team

Notify the fire marshal, members of fire brigades and the fire dept. of any fire incident and other emergencies.

Evacuation Team

Guide and control the evacuation line through the shortest predetermined route

Search and Rescue/Salvage team

Shall conduct a systematic search of all areas of the building for person who may be trapped, injured or unaware of the emergency

Fire Fighting/Extinguishing Team

Respond to all fire alarms and suppress fire in a

coordinated and efficient manner with the use of fire extinguisher and fire hose