History of Safety and Health

Work… why work?

  Noun – exertion directed to produce something Verb – the act of doing or exerting oneself

What is safety… related to work?

 Identifying, assessing, and eliminating or controlling workplace hazards  …free from danger…

Safety and Health History  Safety and health has a long history. hunting… shaping of spears made of quarts (lead to silicosis), early mining…  As time wore on began to recognize the hazards of working with lead, silver, mercury…

Safety and Health History  Industrial Revolution  Substituting inanimate for animal sources of power  Substituting machines for human skills and strength  Inventing new methods for transforming raw materials  Organizing work in large units  Appearance of mass manufacturing

Safety and Health History  What are the safety impacts as a result of the IR?  Created hazards never before created – such as…  As a result, there was a greater need for hazard control

Children in the Workplace 1900 consensus showed:  1,750,178 working children between 10 and 15 years  25,000 in mines and quarries  12,000 in making chewing tobacco and cigars  5,000 in sawmills,  5,000 at or near steam driven planers and lathes   7,000 in laundries 2,000 in bakeries  138,000 as servants and waiters in hotels and restaurants

Safety and Health History  Tracking injuries and illnesses  Occupational disease cases  Pittsburgh Survey (20 th century)

Safety and Health History  Major events  Triangle Shirtwaist Fire  Gauley Bridge, WV  Love canal

Safety and Health History  Enactment of Major Legislation  Workers’ Compensation – 1911 Wisconsin  OSHAct 1970

Safety and Health History  More on the OSHAct  Why implement the OSHAct?

 Goal?

 Who is responsible for instituting OSHA?

 Major components… later…

How Big is the Problem?

2002:  Fatalities: 4,900 in 2002 (injuries)   3.7 million suffered disabling injuries Average cost for worker death was $1.1 million  Cost per disabling injury was $33,000 *source: 2002 NSC statistics  Workers Compensation paid out 49.4 billion in 2001 Other Information:  Injury pattern   <10% women <10% older workers are injured

Accidents

Accidents are the fourth leading cause of death in this country after heart disease, cancer, and strokes:

*This list includes work-related and non-work-related incidents.

Accident Costs  ~150 Billion in the U.S. or $420 per worker  Costs associated with accidents  Lost work hours  Medical costs  Insurance premiums and administration  Property damage  Fire losses  Indirect costs

Changing Workplace    Workforce – 56% of employers have less than 100 employees Age – by 2010 the majority of workers will be >54 years Gender – Females increasing to estimated 46% in 2010 (with 35% as mothers)

Workplace Current Trends  Current trend is that only construction and service industries adding new jobs  Manufacturing and mining jobs decreasing  Substantial number of workers now holding multiple jobs

Trends Continued  Union representation decreasing  Working at home increasing  Alternate employment  Help agencies  Contingent workers  Independent contractors  On-call workers

Trends Continued  Multiple and part-time jobs  Technology used more  Hours and pace of working  Work arrangements (e.g., team work)

Violence in the Workplace

Drugs in the Workplace

Safety and Health Terms  What is risk?

 The possibility of loss or injury to people and property  Contributing factors for risk:  Frequency  Severity  Unit of exposure

Risk  Types of Risk?

 Societal and individual risk  Residual risk  The risk remaining after the risk management strategies have been implemented.

 Perceived risk  The level of risk that each individual acknowledges in a particular risk assessment.

Safety vs. Risk  Acceptable Risk?

 The risk associated with the best of the available alternatives  Laws of Acceptable Risk  Acceptable risk is proportional to the amount of benefit  The public will accept a higher level of voluntary risk than involuntary risk  People take more risk when it is controllable than when it is not controllable

So… why is safety and health important?

 Legal obligation… from whom/what??

 Potential for criminal charges

Responsibility for Job Safety

The Charlie Morecraft Story