Welding Safety Notes 2014

1. HEALTH & SAFETY DIFFERENCES,

EXAMPLES

Health - Health is a state of physical and mental

well-being - including the absence of disease or

infirmity.

Safety - Safety relates to the absence of physical or

psychological injury or harm and often extends to

the absence of damage to property.

Example of Health

- Do not smoking at the work place.

- Beware of chemical hazards like poisonous

materials and gases.

Example of Safety

- Wear personal protective equipment.

- Place the equipment at the right place after use.

2. MAJOR REASON IN ORDER TO PREVENT

THE ACCIDENT

- The main purpose is to gain insight in the

(underlying) causes in order to prevent accidents in

the future and to improve the safety of the workers.

A. Legal Reason for Accident Prevention

- The legal argument is based on the statutory

requirements of the HSW, FA, and other related

legislation.

- The HSW imposes a general duty on employers to

ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the

health, safety and welfare of his employees.

- The term „reasonably practicable‟ involves

balancing the cost of preventing the accident

against the risk of accident occurring.

B. Humanitarian Reasons for Accident Prevention.

- Based on the notion that it is the duty of any man

to ensure the general wellbeing of his fellow men.

- The common law of duty of care, to provide a safe

and healthy working environment for all his

employees.

C. Economic Reasons for Accident Prevention

- For utilizing the economic argument in the

promotion of accident prevention is the fact that

accidents cost an organization money.

- In order to press the economic argument,

knowledge is needed of the cost to the organization

of all types of accidents.

- 2 types of accident cost; insured costs and

uninsured costs.

- Insured cost; covered by the Employer‟s Liability

Insurance premium.

- Uninsured cost; medical treatment, cost of lost

time of injured person, cost of replacement labor,

cost of loss of production and business interruption,

cost of repair to damaged plant.

3. PRINCIPLE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE

EQUIPMENT.

A. What is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (the

Act) defines personal protective equipment as

“Any clothing, equipment and substance designed

to:

- Be worn by a person; and

- Protect the person from risks of injury or illness”.

Examples of personal protective equipment include:

- Hearing protective devices, such as ear muffs and

ear plugs;

- Respirators;

- Protective eyewear, such as goggles;

- Safety helmets and wide brim sun hats.

If personal protective equipment has been identified

as one of the control measures to minimize

exposure to a risk, the employer must make sure

such equipment is provided.

• The availability of the equipment;

• Whether the item can generally be used outside

work, such as sunglasses or boots;

• The need for personal fit;

• Provisions in the relevant industrial award

regarding provision.

Training should be provided and instruction in the

use of personal protective equipment to ensure that

workers receive the desired level of protection from

the equipment.

To make sure that the item of personal protective

equipment will provide the level of protection that it

is designed to, make sure that:

• The appropriate item is selected;

• Workers (and others at the workplace) are

instructed how to use it;

• Workers (and others at the workplace) wear and/or

use it in accordance with instruction received;

• It fits correctly; and

• It is properly maintained and stored.

Limitation of PPE

• Be uncomfortable to wear;

• Make working difficult. For example, it can be

difficult to do fine or detailed work when wearing

certain types of gloves;

• Create a secondary risk not identified in the

original assessment. For example, some items of

personal protective equipment can hinder the body‟s

natural cooling mechanisms by preventing

evaporation of perspiration; and

• It can also be difficult to monitor the level of

protection provided by the personal protective

equipment.

Further, the use of personal protective equipment is

often an expensive option in the long term when the

costs of maintenance, supervision and (potentially

more) injuries are taken into account.

4. EAR MUFFS AND EAR PLUG

IDENTIFICATION.

A. Earmuffs/Ear defender

- Which enclose the ear lobes and prevent the entry

of harmful objects or substances as well as

affording protection against impact noise, and high

intensity and high frequency noise.

Ear defenders protect the wearer from extreme

noises. The head-band and outer covering is usually

made from a hard thermoplastic or metal. The

protection usually comes from acoustic foam – this

absorbs sound waves by increasing air resistance,

thus reducing the amplitude of the waves. The

energy is transformed into heat.

B. Earplugs

- Which may be in a reusable pre-shaped form;

individually molded in rubber or plastic; or

disposable types made of compressible plastic foam

or glass down.

5. LIST OF SCOPES OF WORK OF THE

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH ACT 1994

OFFICER.

1. Assessor (Chemical Health Risk Assessor)

2. Authorized Gas Tester

3. Hygiene Technician

4. Indoor Air Quality Assessor

5. Lift Competent Person

6. Major Hazard Competent Person

7. Noise Competent Person

8. Occupational Health Doctor

9. Responsible Person

10. Safety and Health Officer

11. Site Safety Supervisor (SSS)

12. Steam/Internal Combustion Engine Engineer

6. SALIENT PROVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL

SAFETY & HEALTH ACT 1994.

Introduction

OSHA was enforced in Malaysia on the 25th February 1994, to secure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work and for protecting other person against risks to safety or health in connection with activities of persons at work.

OSHA 1994 is based on the SELF REGULATION approach, that is the primary responsibility to ensure safety and health at work lies with those who create the risks (employer) and those who work with the risks (employees).

The concept of self-regulation encourages consultations, cooperation and participation of workers and management in efforts to upgrade the standard of safety and health at the workplace.

Employer Responsibilities

OSHA requires you as an employer to provide the following: (Section 15)

1. Safe machine, equipment, tools and substances

2. Safe place and environment to work such as good lighting; good ventilation; clean and tidy work area;

3. Safe systems of work such as SOP; work instruction & procedure; safety rules;

4. Adequate welfare facilities such as toilets, meal rooms and first aid.

5. Information, instruction, training and supervision

Penalty for failure to comply is: RM 50,000 or 2 YEARS IMPRISONMENT or BOTH

6. Safety & Health Policy (Section 16) Formulate safety and health policy :

To prepare the written statement;

Appropriately revise a written statement;

The organization and arrangements for carrying out that policy;

Revision of policy; and

Notify the employees.

7. Medical Surveillance (Section 28) Arrange for medical surveillance or examination for employee who are at risk of injury to the health due to the nature of the process or other conditions of work.

8. Safety & Health Officer (Section 29) Employ a competent person to act as a Safety & Health Officer (SHO) at the place of work.

9. Safety & Health Committee (Section 30) Established a safety & health committee at the place of work, if :

there are forty or more persons employed at the place of work; or

Instruction from the Director General of DOSH.

10. Notification of Accidents & Dangerous Occurrence (Section 32) Notify to DOSH of any :

accident,

dangerous occurrence,

occupational poisoning, or

Occupational diseases, which has occurred or is likely to occurred.

Employee Responsibilities (Section 24) The Act requires you :

To take reasonable care at work for the safely of yourself and other persons.

To cooperate with the employer or any other person in the in charge of any duty, under the act or regulations.

To wear or use any protective equipment and clothing.

To comply with any instruction or measure on occupational safety and health as required under the Act or regulations.

Penalty for failure to comply is: RM 1,000 or 3 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT or BOTH