scholarly journals Research on psychosocial risks in the context of intervention and rescue activities in toxic / flammable / explosive environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 342 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Izabella Kovacs ◽  
Andrei Lucian Gireadă ◽  
Alin Irimia ◽  
Laurenţiu Munteanu
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Work Related Stress ◽  
Psychosocial Risks ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks ◽  
Related Stress

Work implies interaction of several components such as equipment, work environment, work load and human factor. Prevention of work accident and occupational diseases is mainly based on knowledge and assessment of occupational risks associated with each workplace. Psychosocial risks are usually caused by stress, thus being greatly influenced by individual perceptions. Identifying psychosocial risks is based on the analysis of individual reactions to external factors and activities. Worldwide, work related stress is seen as a major present-day challenge, faced by occupational health and safety specialists. Considered at organizational level and not as individual issues, psychosocial risks and stress can be managed to the same extent as any other occupational health and safety risk. The growing issue of protecting emergency workers against occupational health and safety risks has been highlighted as a priority by many experts. Demands on intervention and rescue personnel, as well as occupational health and safety risks will increase as they face larger events both in number and magnitude and severity. The current paper will summarize key issues related to work-related stress and will discuss how stress at work can be best managed in the context of intervention and rescue activities in toxic / flammable / explosive environments.

scholarly journals The Wicked Character of Psychosocial Risks: Implications for Regulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Helbo Jespersen ◽  
Peter Hasle ◽  
Klaus T. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Safety Management Systems ◽  
Psychosocial Risks ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

Psychosocial risks constitute a significant problem in most workplaces, and they are generally considered more difficult to regulate than many other occupational health and safety risks. This article investigates the challenges of regulating psychosocial risks in the workplace. The difficulties lie in the particular nature of psychosocial risks: their complexity, uncertainty, value, and power divergences. Psychosocial risks therefore resemble ‘wicked problems’, typically characterized by unclear cause-effect relationships and uncertain solutions. We use the ‘wicked problems’ concept to show how workplace regulation, and particularly the enforcement in the form of inspection and audits of certified occupational health and safety management systems, face challenges in assessing psychosocial risks and the strategies used by regulators to overcome these challenges. While regulation has become more effective in several countries, a better understanding of the nature of the challenges is still needed. It is necessary to accept the uncertain nature of psychosocial risks in the search for more efficient regulation. Achieving more effective regulation should involve stakeholders in the workplace who deal with the prerogatives of management, and should help develop the competencies of the inspectors and auditors in the field.

scholarly journals Relevant occupational health and safety risks in the Portuguese food processing industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro D. Gaspar ◽  
Tânia Lima ◽  
Mariana Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Food Processing Industry ◽  
Processing Industry ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Work Accidents ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

The Agrifood Industry is the largest Portuguese Industry, constituted mainly by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is noted that more than any other type of organization SMEs have their own speci?cities that make it particularly appropriate to develop tools to facilitate communication and knowledge sharing for employers and workers. To this extent, identifying critical success factors is the key to increase SMEs productivity. Likewise, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in SMEs have their own characteristics, which dif?cult the prevention strategies implementation and aggravate the problematic of work accidents. This study analyses a ?eldwork in 60 food processing companies in Portugal, related to the dairy, meat processing, bakery and horticultural subsectors. The analysis of the results allowed to identify that, at the national and regional level, the main failures are concerned with (1) lack of risk assessments regarding occupational noise, lighting, thermal environment and vibrations; (2) safety signaling, the circulation ways are not identi?ed with appropriate safety colors; (3) general lighting, with too many shade areas and finally (4) complementary presence of associated risks to falls at the same level, falling of objects, thermal burns, the use of machines and equipment, ?re, mechanical, ergonomic hazards and incorrect body postures. This study assesses the most relevant occupational health and safety risks in the Portuguese food processing industry to contribute to the improvement of OSH management and prevention of work accidents.

scholarly journals Occupational health and safety risk management

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 04012
Author(s):  
Ioan-Florin Oarga ◽  
Mariana Rațiu ◽  
Ioan-Tudor Oarga
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Organization Management ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

The ongoing industrial revolution also includes the health and safety domain, which assists this development process. The participants and beneficiaries of this revolution don’t have to endure a lowering of the protection levels from the beginning of it. Consequently, the health and safety domain needs to play its role in this historical stage. The risks of injury and illness are managed from the beginning, when the technological processes are being developed, on each production stage, until the end of every technological process. In order to achieve this, the professional risks must be identified, quantified, ranked and evaluated such that, the elaborated measures will eliminate or decrease the risks from the source. This control process of occupational health and safety risks of injury or illness uses documents which are applicable to any organization. These documents are legally required in each state, being instruments of the organization management, working like a system along with all other documents.

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