Fundamentals of safety hazards: A scientific perspective.

Elriza Esterhuyzen,Leonie B Louw

doi:10.4102/jamba.v11i1.675

Elriza Esterhuyzen, Leonie B Louw

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v11i1.675

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Abstract

Current theory on safety hazards and the origin of safety risk is often unstructured, misleading and ambiguous. Essentially, it is ambiguous, as definitions and descriptions refrain from stating a formal common basis upon which one can rely to fundamentally and rightfully conclude what a safety hazard is. As a result, it is quite an effort to set a scientifically valid base for precisely what safety hazards are. The objective of this study was to outline the questionable bases of current views on safety hazards and identify the real nature of safety hazards. The characteristics of safety hazards inform the verification of the scientific nature of the different perspectives on safety hazards. Through a quantitative survey, an assessment was performed regarding the cognisance of South African small business owners and managers related to safety hazards. This study found that safety hazards need to unambiguously remain safety hazards under all circumstances in life. Small business owners and managers require further education to develop their cognisance of safety hazards in order to manage the related safety risk. This research has indicated that not all small business owners or managers are compliant with this legal responsibility and that assistance should be provided to small business owners or managers to assist them in realising the importance of safety hazards in the workplace. Proper cognisance of safety hazards leads to enhanced compliance with legislative requirements.

Highlights

The Group of Twenty (G20), as the forum for international cooperation, with South Africa constituting one of the member countries, indicates in its ‘Statement on Safer and Healthier Workplaces’ that the identification of safety hazards in the workplace is a core component of preventing injury and loss (G20 2017)
Research has shown that even though South African small business owners or managers do recognise the importance of safety hazards in the workplace, their cognisance in this regard is not at the desired levels
Anything that does not have a matter base, and which would not come in contact with other substances or objects cannot be regarded a safety hazard

Summary

Introduction

The Group of Twenty (G20), as the forum for international cooperation, with South Africa constituting one of the member countries, indicates in its ‘Statement on Safer and Healthier Workplaces’ that the identification of safety hazards in the workplace is a core component of preventing injury and loss (G20 2017). Current theory on safety hazards and the origins of safety risk is often unstructured and misleading. It is ambiguous, as definitions and descriptions refrain from stating a formal common basis upon which one can rely to fundamentally and rightfully conclude what a safety hazard is. Postulations about what real safety hazards constitute are confusing and do not present a solid framework that can lead to a clear, uniform and scientifically acceptable understanding of the real nature of safety hazards. Research has shown that even though South African small business owners or managers do recognise the importance of safety hazards in the workplace, their cognisance in this regard is not at the desired levels

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Conclusion