Occupational Safety And Health Implementation Research Articles

Assessment of barriers to establish OSH: a country report.

In addition to its merits, industrial growth is associated with many issues and problems, including occupational injuries and diseases. The adverse effects of industrialization are function of economic, social, cultural, political and geographical condition of a country, and therefore it varies widely between different countries, especially, developed and developing countries. Establishment of occupational safety and health (OSH) is one of the important solutions to predict, prevent, reduce and harness of the related harms. Despite many relevant protocols and guidelines for establishment of OSH and decades of efforts, still, there are debates and lack of success on different approaches towards implementation of OSH, especially in developing countries. Iran has experienced industrialized growth and has gained some advancement in establishment of OSH in the region. The purpose of this study was to reach to a consensus among Iranian experts about barriers to establish OSH in developing countries, using Delphi technique. 48 experts participated in this study. Two rounds of Delphi were conducted and main barriers were identified, then the identified barriers were prioritized and weighted by the experts. Among all barriers, 17 barriers which were reported by 15 experts or more were selected and categorized as structural, managerial and implementation barriers.

Legal Framework as a Determinant of Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Programmes in the Manufacturing Sector in Kenya.

Recent trends in the organization of work have increased the risk of occupational safety and health (OSH) in Kenyan industries through exposure to hazardous substances, work related accidents and increased stress-related illnesses. According to International lab our organization (ILO) everyone is entitled to the right to safe and healthy working conditions and therefore the corpus of law in Kenya dealing with occupational safety and health should be embedded in the international OSH legal instruments. Specifically the occupational health and safety Act (2007) is expected to provide for safety, health and welfare of workers and all persons lawfully present at workplaces. The purpose of this study therefore was to investigate legal framework as a determinant of implementation of occupational health and safety programmes in the manufacturing sector in Kenya. It focused on six legal areas predicted as affecting implementation of OSH. These factors were national OSH policy, OSHA (occupational safety and health Act) familiarity with OSHA, government OSH inspections and audits, ease of implementation of OSHA, Government support in the implementation of OSH and OSHA implement ability. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey design but however intended to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 257 OSH officers drawn randomly from 735 manufacturing industries registered by Kenya manufacturers association. 252 questionnaires were received back and analyzed with the help of SSPS window version 21. Both correlation and regression analysis were conducted and the results showed that there was a positive significant relationship between legal framework and implementation of OSH programmes.

The opportunities and obstacles to collaboration between the developing and developed countries in the field of occupational health.

The 2.4 billion working people in the developing countries often have to endure employment conditions, which do not meet even basic occupational safety and health (OSH) standards. The lack of work safety, excessive work loads, and occupational physical, chemical and biological exposures result in occupational diseases, injuries and as many as 1.2 million fatalities each year. Furthermore, as little as 15% of workers in the developing countries have access to occupational health and safety services. Some collaboration between the industrialized and developing countries in the field of OSH has been practiced for 30 years but its volume has been modest compared to other sectors of development assistance. The lessons learned from 30 years of experience are that the most important OSH improving factors in developing countries include legal and policy instruments, national OSH programs, infrastructure for OSH implementation, and OSH services. The establishment of OSH expert human resources, centers serving as engines for research, training, as well as information and registration systems can also be considered as key factors in any such collaboration. A convincing government OSH policy, and close cooperation between social partners and the government are also critical factors that guarantee sustainable OSH programs in a developing country over a long-term basis.