‘Niosh committed to OSH culture at workplaces’
SIBU: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health ( Niosh) assures of its commitment to contribute towards the achievement of an occupational safety and health ( OSH) culture at all workplaces in both the public and private sectors.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said this will be done by providing training, consultancy services, research and development as well as information dissemination.
“Through its advocacy of ‘ Bridging the OSH Gap through a Prevention Culture’, Niosh calls on managements responsible for the safety and health at the workplace to change the attitude and perception of their employees on safety and health through OSH awareness programme, effective OSH management, OSH competency, and most important, accident prevention culture.
“It is no longer adequate to merely provide work instructions to workers without supplementing them with appropriate skills and competency needed through education and training so that they would understand the rationale of minimising risks to their safety and health as well as meeting the industrial and occupational safety and health management system ( OSHMS) requirements,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
Increasingly, the promotion of safer conditions in the workplace is based on promoting a culture of risk and accident prevention that can improve the health of workers and the productivity of the enterprise, added Lee.
He stressed: “The overall responsibility for providing a safe and healthy working environment rests with the employers who should demonstrate their commitment to OSH.”
This can be done by building and maintaining a preventive safety and health culture that addresses the principles of prevention, hazard identification, risk assessment and control, information and training, he pointed out.
Workers, on the other hand, have a duty to cooperate with their employers in implementing OSH programmes.
Lee said they should observe and adhere to the procedures and other instructions designed to protect them and others present at the workplace from exposure to occupational hazards.
“All work-related accidents and ill health can be prevented if there is adequate foresight, planning, organisation and commitment to identify where the hazards are, assess the risks and take action before an accident happens or an illness is contracted.
“It is high time for employers and employees to be fully committed to workplace safety. The government, employers and employees must be committed to achieving a work culture that ensures safety and health. It must be emphasised that there should be no compromise on safety and health at the workplace.”
Ultimately, when OSH is integrated into the organisational culture and becomes a core value, involvement and commitment from top management down to the rank and file employees can be further reinforced.
“We need to emphasise effective leadership to produce better OSH management, increased productivity and enhanced performance,” Lee emphasised.
Adding on, he said leadership, through actions, systems, measures and rewards determine whether or not safety will be achieved in the organisations.
“Leading effectively means knowing how to inspire people to channel their energies towards adopting OSH best practices. The quality of leadership shown by the management is vital in developing high standards of health and safety practices,” Lee said.
Through its advocacy of ‘Bridging the OSH Gap through a Prevention Culture’, Niosh calls on managements responsible for the safety and health at the workplace to change the attitude and perception of their employees on safety and health through OSH awareness programme, effective OSH management, OSH competency, and most important, accident prevention culture. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Niosh chairman