Workplace Safety involves the implementation and maintenance of various techniques and methodologies in the workplace to ensure a healthy and safe workplace for everyone who has occasion to visit or work in the workplace.
As a discipline Workplace Safety, may be referred to as Safety Engineering Technology, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Health Nursing, Health and Safety Management or a host of other names, depending upon its major focus. It utilizes a combination of engineering, physical and behavioral sciences to reduce and eliminate losses. It frequently focuses upon the recognition, evaluation and control of hazards to people, facilities, equipment and the environment.
Gaps that once separated the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment disciplines, and in many organizations the Quality Management function, have narrowed significantly. Security and Fire Protection which were once a part of the Health and Safety function are now frequently separate functions. Occupational Health, Safety and Environment and the Quality Management function are now often under the umbrella of the ‘Health and Safety Professional’. This has evolved in part due to heightened awareness in today’s society and especially the workplace regarding occupational health and environmental issues.
The increasing level of adoption of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and 14001 standards’ specifications globally, in combination with more stringent occupational health, safety and environmental legislation, has led to increased emphasis on effective management of these disciplines. It is expected that further streamlining of these disciplines will continue going forward.
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