Role, Trends, and Challenges of Occupational Health in China’s Marine and Heavy Engineering Industry

Abstract

The past 30 years have witnessed dramatic social and economic shifts in China, a rapidly developing country. However, these shifts have resulted in an explosion of work-related illnesses. For instance, workers on ships face a wide range of potential dangers to their health. As a basic human right, a secure workplace is expected of all employees. However, despite the widespread adoption of basic safety precautions, poor working conditions persist, especially in underdeveloped nations. Workers’ health is largely determined by the level of occupational health and safety provided in each workplace. The rapid industrialization, technological innovation, and globalization over the past few years have created complex work environments that expose workers to classic and novel occupational hazards. For instance, manufacturing involves a broad spectrum of chemical, physical, and psychological risks. Problems with occupational health also affect people on all levels of society. The state, management, company, and worker each have duties to provide a safe workplace through medical, engineering, and legislative measures. In China, the general condition of occupational health remains critical. This paper will further discuss the role, trends and challenges within China’s marine and heavy engineering industry. In the future, the technology-dominated strategies to occupational safety in China should start involving people at the company and administrative levels in occupational health planning and in promoting occupational health education and awareness. Keywords: heavy engineering industry; occupational health challenges; marine; China