Occupational Health And Safety Service Research Articles

Implemented disability-related policies and practices and sustained employment of partially disabled employees: evidence from linked survey and register data.

This study examined the associations between implemented disability-related policies and practices (DPP) and sustained employment among partially disabled employees in The Netherlands. Employer survey data on implemented DPP were linked to register data on employment outcomes of partially disabled employees (N=6103 employees from N=366 employers). DPP included six domains based on 48 elements: sick leave policy, occupational health and safety services (OHS), prevention policy, reintegration policy, reintegration practices within the current employer and reintegration practices towards another employer. DPP domains were standardized on a 0-1 scale. Separate logistic regression models were estimated for DDP domains on one-year sustained employment adjusted for employee characteristics, firm size, and sector. Almost all organizations implemented at least one element of DPP on prevention policy, OHS, sick leave policy, and reintegration practices within the current employer, and two-thirds on reintegration policy and reintegration practices towards another employer. Implemented DPP on prevention policy [odds ratio (OR) 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-4.0], OHS (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.2), and sick leave policy (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.3) were positively associated with sustained employment. No significant results were found for reintegration policy and both reintegration practices domains. Stratified analysis showed that DDP domains were particularly associated with sustained employment in larger organizations and in the private sector. Implemented DPP related to sick leave policy, OHS and prevention policy are associated with sustained employment among partially disabled employees, in particular in larger organizations and in the private sector.

Disability-related policies and practices and sustained employment: A survey and register data study

Abstract Background Many OECD countries implemented reforms to promote sustained employment of employees on long-term sick leave. Still, sustained employment remains low, which is worrying as it may affect the health and well-being of this vulnerable group of workers. This study aimed to examine the extent to which a firm's disability policies and practices increase the likelihood of sustained employment of long-term sick-listed employees with remaining work capacity. Methods Survey data on firms’ disability policies and practices was obtained from the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and linked to register data covering the employment outcomes of all employees that applied for disability benefits between 2006 and 2010 (N = 6103 employees from N = 366 employers). The dependent variable was sustained employment one year after the disability assessment. Implemented disability policies and practices were measured across seven domains: sick leave prevention, absenteeism management, reintegration management, occupational health and safety services (OHS), reintegration activities with the current/another employer, and positive workplace culture. Multilevel multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Sick leave prevention policies (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-4.0), absenteeism management policies (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.3) and OHS (OR = 1.8, 95 CI 1.1-3.2) were positively associated with sustained employed one year after the disability assessment. No significant results were found for the other domains. Conclusions Employees with remaining work capacity in firms with the most comprehensive absence management policies, prevention policies, and OHS are about twice as likely to continue working one year after the disability assessment than firms with the least comprehensive policies. Legislation that encourages firms to invest more in absence management and prevention policies may result in better employment opportunities for this vulnerable group of employees. Key messages • Firm's prevention and absence management policies could be highly effective in fostering sustained employment of employees on long-term sick leave. • Legislation that encourages firms to invest more in disability policies and practices may result in better employment opportunities, health, and well-being of people with partial work disabilities.

A spatial data integration and visualization approach for occupational health and safety risks management: Application to Algerian electricity and gas company

AbstractIn the safety 4.0 era, occupational health and safety (OHS) related data has become one of the most valuable assets for organizations. Risk Management in the OHS field is a data‐driven process. However, geospatial data has not been fully considered and few works have used visualization for decision‐making purposes. Our research was conducted using a design science research methodology. It is a methodology for creating and evaluating IT artifacts to solve identified organizational problems. We used Wang's safety intelligence framework and the recommendations of the ISO 45001 model from extant literature to inform the Design. While creating our artifact, we chose to make an inventory of occupational risk prevention practices in Algeria. A qualitative study using interviews with experts in the field consolidated the requirements for such a system. The key findings from the analysis of collected data state that the development of safety data‐driven decision‐making requires top management support and involvement, which is in line with previous studies. A second concern is the availability of spatial data. The designed artifact is an approach called spatial data integration and visualization approach for occupational health and safety management systems (SDIVA‐OHSMS). SDIVA‐OHSMS provides a practical approach for organizations in charge of OHS services to implement OHS data‐driven decision‐making solutions highlighting spatial and semantic dimensions. The evaluation was performed through a representative case study within the Algerian electricity and gas company (Sonelgaz), employing expert opinion and software implementation. As a result, experts concluded that such systems could provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of occupational health issues and guide further prevention policies.

Occupational Health and Safety Receptivity towards Clinical Innovations That Can Benefit Workplace Mental Health Programs: Anxiety and Hypnotherapy Trends.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions experienced by people in Australia during their working years according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and employers recognising that mental health impacts their organisation’s bottom line are increasingly interested in programs to promote better mental health, well-being, and productivity. Beyond management concern for productivity, statutory protection is necessary to safeguard mental health, under the Australian Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, organisations have a duty to eliminate or minimise risks to psychological (mental) health by designing effective workplace systems and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) practitioners are central to the design and responsibility in managing these systems. Despite literature indicating the benefits of OHS workplace mental health initiatives, such as improved overall health, reduced absenteeism, increased job satisfaction and morale, there remains a lack of empirical research around program measurement, and their effectiveness in this area has been brought into question. The OHS function is interested in improving research around the relationship and connection between work performance and mental health but: there are few studies regarding performance outcomes of mental health OHS services within management journals and insufficient information around the prevalence of psychological morbidity in the workplace and its impact. The purpose of this study was to assess OHS perception regarding anxiety and reveal perceptions and receptivity towards alternative therapies and solutions being used in clinical practice to deal with anxiety such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a focus on Hypnotherapy.

Implementation of the Behavioural Observation Programme as Part of the Work Safety Strategy

Aim: The purpose of this article is to present the implementation of the behavioural observation programme in a large manufacturing company belonging to a global concern in the household appliances industry. The purpose of the programme was to increase the awareness of the employees regarding the risks and health and safety rules. This awareness helps to minimize the number of accidents and potential accidents. Introduction: Occupational safety includes technical, organisational and economic measures to protect employees against threats that may occur in the work environment. Popularisation of the subject of occupational health and safety and action in the field of accident prevention is one of the obligations of the employer and employees of the occupational health and safety service (OHS). Project and methods: The research used the method of covert observation of employees’ behaviour while performing work at particular positions and moving around the plant. The research tool was a free interview. Results: The results of the conducted research made it possible to answer the question how behavioural observation programmes improve work safety. As a result of the analysis of the collected data, it can be concluded that the implementation of the behavioural observation programme increased the level of operational safety, increased safety culture in the organisation and raised the number of safe behaviours among employees. The results of behavioural observations constitute the source of data and the basis for taking further corrective actions in the area of occupational health and safety. Conclusions: In case of the workplace described in the article, it would be advisable to extend the programme to other locations of the factory, including laboratories, maintenance area and offices. Behaviour-based safety (BBS) could also be used in other areas of the organisation’s activities, e.g., during exercises of the factory rescue staff (fire protection and evacuation) or audits in the field of quality and environmental protection.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on Occupational Health and Safety, Worker's Compensation and Labor Conditions.

The “fourth industrial revolution” (FIR) is an age of advanced technology based on information and communication. FIR has a more powerful impact on the economy than in the past. However, the prospects for the labor environment are uncertain. The purpose of this study is to anticipate and prepare for occupational health and safety (OHS) issues.In FIR, nonstandard employment will be common. As a result, it is difficult to receive OHS services and compensation. Excessive trust in new technologies can lead to large-scale or new forms of accidents. Global business networks will cause destruction of workers' biorhythms, some cancers, overwork, and task complexity. The social disconnection because of an independent work will be a risk for worker's mental health. The union bonds will weaken, and it will be difficult to apply standardized OHS regulations to multinational enterprises.To cope with the new OHS issues, we need to establish new concepts of "decent work” and standardize regulations, which apply to enterprises in each country, develop public health as an OHS service, monitor emerging OHS events and networks among independent workers, and nurture experts who are responsible for new OHS issues.

Study on the Influence of Government Intervention on the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Services of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The OHS services of SMEs are still in their start-up stage in China. As such, there is an absence of mature market norms, which in turn makes it difficult to guarantee the quality of OHS services. The government, as the “night watchman” of the market, is supposed to not only involve itself in the regulation of OHS service quality, but also introduce and implement proper regulatory strategies. This paper employs a computational experiment approach to construct an experimental platform based on multiagent interactions. By simulating the OHS service transaction activities of SMEs, this paper takes the perspective of dynamic evolution. From this perspective, we probe into the optimal regulatory strategy covering the positive influence of government punishment, policy supports, and service quality ratings of the OHS services of SMEs. These strategies should be built on the foundation of proper punishment standard and intensity, proper support standard and intensity, and quality rating information disclosure.

Evaluating occupational health and safety service quality by SERVQUAL: a field survey study

The adverse impact of occupational accidents and occupational diseases on the society have recently increased a lot since the industrial-oriented society is getting more and more widespread. Although attempts regarding occupational health and safety (OHS) increase in Turkey, they are still at an inadequate level. OHS experts prepare employees for a healthy and safer working environment, so that work accidents can be eliminated and employees can be healthy psychologically and physically. At the same time, the worksites can be prevented from being financially damaged and productivity can be improved. The aim of this study is to measure OHS service quality by the evaluations of OHS experts from various sectors and workplaces. In this way, the OHS performance is measured, the difference between perceptions and expectations of the OHS experts is determined and deficiencies are revealed. In the study, the OHS activities are examined in five dimensions using the SERVQUAL scale; tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The questionnaire is carried out using a Likert-type five-point scale among 81 OHS experts from different sectors. In conclusion, SERVQUAL analysis is introduced as a useful tool for employers to better understand what they need to know about OHS services.

Occupational health and safety network in Thai medical schools: new paradigm of strengthening practice for health care workers

BackgroundOccupational health and safety network in Thai medical schools (OHNMS) deal with occupational injury prevention and occupational health and safety (OHS) promotion network for health care workers (HCWs). It is...

HACCP and OHS: Can each one help improve the other in the catering sector?

The hotel and catering sector is an important source of employment in the services sector and contributes to Portuguese economic growth. Some of these organizations have little experience in dealing with Occupational, Health and Safety (OHS) and devote more attention to issues related to HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) and the prohibition of smoking. Although it is a complex subject, Food Safety and OHS should then be seen not only as a burden, but also as means of sustainability, expansion and social responsibility. The aim of this study is to verify if HACCP and OHS can each one help improve the other in the catering sector. Using a methodology that followed three steps: data collection, data processing and data analysis in 35 kitchens of different types of catering establishments, it was found throughout this research that HACCP contributes to internal improvements in prevention of occupational risks and also that through some control and prevention measures taken by the OHS services, one is contributing to the defense of food safety.

Occupational health crossing borders part 2: Comparison of 18 occupational health systems across the globe

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is considered one of the most important factors for a sustainable development; however, it is often considered a luxury by decision-makers. This article compares OHS systems of 18 countries at different stages of development. In an international summer school, structure of the national OHS system, definition of occupational accidents and diseases, procedures for compensation claims, outcome (expressed as incidence of occupational accidents) and training opportunities were presented. National OHS systems ranged from non-existent to systems implemented almost 200 years ago. Priorities, incidence of occupational accidents and training opportunities varied. Common problems included the lack of OHS service for small enterprises and in rural areas. International training programs like this summer school might enhance the exchange about OHS opportunities around the globe and contribute to improved workers health.

"No-man's-land" between occupational health and safety legislation and the disability service sector

The aim of this paper is to draw attention to a significant and growing tension that exists between the application of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation and the obligations of disability service providers under disability legislation and funding agreements with governments. Our purpose in highlighting this tension is to seek a body of knowledge to inform the courts and judicators of the complexities of implementing OHS and disability service work, and to gain a sound understanding of the synergies already in existence with OHS practices and the disability sector. We also need to keep in mind that we don?t compromise the rights of people with disabilities, nor the health and safety of the people who work with them.