Editorial

Healthier and happier workers needed! OSH UPDATE + FIRE is here to help!

September 2015
Sheila Pantry OBE

All workers are entitled to work in environments where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Under health and safety law, the primary responsibility for this is down to employers. Employers have a duty to consult with their employees, or their representatives, on health and safety matters.

Primary care centres could also provide some essential interventions for protecting workers’ health, such as advice for improving working conditions, detection of occupational diseases and health surveillance of workers, though in most countries the focus is still on medical treatment rather than prevention.

Economically active people spend on an average about one third of their time at the workplace. Employment and working conditions have powerful effects on health equity. Good working conditions can provide social protection and status, personal development opportunities, and protection from physical and psychosocial hazards. They can also improve social relations and self esteem of employees and lead to positive health effects. The health of workers is an essential prerequisite for household income, productivity and economic development. Therefore, restoring and maintaining working capacity is an important function of the health services.

Health risks at the workplace, such as heat, noise, dust, hazardous chemicals, unsafe machines and psychological stress, cause occupational diseases and can aggravate other health problems. Conditions of employment, occupation and the position in the workplace hierarchy also affect health. People working under stress or with precarious employment conditions are likely to smoke more, exercise less and have an unhealthy diet.

In addition to general health care, all workers – and particularly those in high-risk occupations – need health services to assess and reduce exposure to occupational risks, as well as medical surveillance for early detection of occupational and work-related diseases and injuries. Chronic respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, noise-induced hearing loss and skin problems are the most common occupational diseases. Yet only one third of countries have programmes in place to address these issues. Work-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as well as cardiovascular diseases and depression caused by occupational stress result in increasing rates of long-term illness and absence from work. Occupational NCDs include occupational cancer, chronic bronchitis and asthma caused by air pollution in the workplace and radiation.

Despite these diseases, in the majority of countries physicians and nurses are not adequately trained to address work-related health problems and many countries do not offer postgraduate education in occupational health.

Further information: www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs389/en

FOCUS

This month’s OSHWORLD FOCUS is entitled Train and keep young workers safe and healthy.

OSH UPDATE + FIRE

To help organisations – managers, directors, supervisors and workers and especially those teaching in colleges and universities there is OSH UPDATE + FIRE – an electronic collection of 26 databases of full text and bibliographic authoritative and validated information on all aspects of working life. OSH UPDATE + FIRE is constantly updated with worldwide information.

If you need information on all aspects of workplace health and safety and much more – then have a look at OSH UPDATE + FIRE which is a unique collection of information sources collected together in one place.

Information seekers will find a wealth of authoritative and validated advice from these global sources. Full text documents and references on research results, best practices, case studies, journal articles, reports, advice and guidance, legislation and much more are in OSH UPDATE + FIRE.

Why not try OSH UPDATE + FIRE for yourself? Take a 15-day free trial. Why be without quality OSH and fire information?

Contact Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd. for 15 day FREE trials for all services that are very cost-effective and easy to use. Why pay more for information? Go to: www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html

You will also find examples of good practices, information, guidance and advice, research reports, leaflets and much more in OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com – THE key tool to all your health, safety and fire information requirements:

OSH UPDATE + FIRE is easily searchable by keywords, titles, journal names, standard number, authors, organisations, and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as air pollution, workplace health risks, the health risks of nanotechnology, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, management of road risks, all aspects of fire and related fire topics, workplace health and safety and much more.
Long established from mid 1990s
Arguably the largest electronic collection in the world in these very wide subject areas from worldwide sources. There is a special collection of OSH legislation, guidance and advice within OSH UPDATE + FIRE!
The databases and contents are from worldwide class organisations such as the US NIOSH, the UK Health and Safety Executive, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and many more similar organisations in the world

This time of the year is a good time for all organisations worldwide to review their health and safety goals and decide on the training or re-training that is needed for all levels of staff and update their information resources.

Check out these successful efforts that are in OSH UPDATE + FIRE and introduce them into your workplace!

It is always good to keep researching and finding out if there are services and other ways of keeping up-to-date in this fast changing world of ours. Time is precious and many people are really stretched in their jobs and find it difficult to keep ahead in current knowledge that they should have for their jobs. So help is at hand for those working in health, safety and fire and fire related industries which are brought together in an easy to use web service entitled OSH UPDATE + FIRE www.oshupdate.com that is constantly updated.

Then try these long established Practical, Affordable Solutions for your health, safety, fire and environment information needs from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd.

For a 15 DAY FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | email: sp@sheilapantry.com | or fill in the Interest form www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html

OSHWORLD – your portal to some of the best OSH web sites in the world

It is always good to review health, safety, chemical, fire and environment procedures on a regular basis. It is also important that the practices and systems in the workplace are constantly reviewed and if necessary, improved. This review may also indicate training requirements and updates and re-thinking how systems and services can be improved. This is where the free-of-charge OSHWORLD can help you.

In these days of tighter budgets perhaps training may be put on the “back-burner” – but think again how you can keep up with the latest techniques and training opportunities. So look at the latest additions to the Diary of Events and you will see plans have been made already worldwide up to the end of 2015 and beyond in 2016 to have training courses, symposiums and conferences in many places in the world on a wide range of subjects.

Remember that even if you cannot attend these many events, speakers and organisers are often willing to share their knowledge. Look at the details – where possible, we add in the web sites of these events so you can request further information.

And do let me know if you are organising any OSHE events so that I can add them to the Diary.

Resources

In addition to the above we hope that you find the information in OSHWORLD useful in your daily work. Globally there are continually new titles, news items, new products so remember to look at the News to find the latest information from a number of worldwide sources.

Use OSHWORLD as your portal to many hundreds of validated and authoritative web sites that you can find in the Country and Subject links we offer. New subject topics are constantly brought together on web sites, e.g. avian flu and the workplace.

Most information services have a reference shelf where you can quickly check the reference sources – so OSHWORLD brings you a collection of Reference sources and also teaches you how to Search the Internet.

Click onto the various Bookshops to order any new document as they are being published. Many of these Bookshops have a constant stream of new titles available.

Please send any suggestions or comments about OSHWORLD – your portal to validated and authoritative information. Remember also to look at our other really useful sites – www.sheilapantry.com and why not make a free entry about your company’s products in www.shebuyersguide.com.

Don’t work harder – work smarter! Be ahead of the game.

Are you aiming to have a zero accident, incident-free and healthy year in 2015 in your workplace? Some would argue that this is not possible! But keep on trying in 2016!