This document defines workplace health and safety and outlines related topics. Workplace health and safety aims to promote workers' physical, mental, and social well-being. It discusses the benefits of a safe workplace like higher productivity and lower costs. Common hazards include slips/trips/falls, eye strain, indoor air quality issues, and ergonomic risks. In an emergency, procedures ensure orderly evacuation. Employers must provide a safe work environment while employees must ensure their own and others' safety. The goals are zero accidents, fatalities, or harmful emissions.

1. Workplace Health and
Safety (WH&S)
By
Damilola Daramola

2. Outline
 Defining Workplace Health & Safety
 Terminologies
 Benefits of safe and healthy workplace
 Common Hazards in the workplace
 In case of an emergency
 Employer’s and Employee’s Responsibilities in WH&S
 Health and Safety Goals
 Safety and Hazard signs

3. Defining Workplace Health & Safety
Workplace Health and safety is the promotion and
maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental
and social well-being of workers.
This is about the effect of work on health & safety,
and the effect of good health and being safe on work.

4. Terminologies
Workplace: A place where work is done.
Health: is the state of well-being with absence of illness, injury or disease.
Safety: is the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.
Accident: An undesired event resulting in death, injury, damage to health, damage to property or other form
of loss
Incident: A generic term for those events that do not cause harm but which might have done so under
different circumstances
Hazard: A source or a situation with a potential to cause harm, including human injury or ill health, damage to
property, environment, or a combination of these
Harm: This includes death, injury, physical or mental ill health, damage to property, or any combination of
these.
Near miss: an unplanned event that did not result in injury, ill health, asset loss or damage to the environment
but had potential to do so.
Risk: A quantifiable expression of the likelihood of injury or harm resulting from a hazard
Fatality: an occurrence of death by accident, in war, or from disease.
Unsafe Act/ Condition: Any act or condition that deviates from a generally recognised safe way or specified
method of doing a job and increases the potential for an accident.

5. Benefits of a Safe and Healthy Workplace
 Higher productivity
 Increase efficiency and quality.
 Reduced medical and insurance cost.
 Lower workers’ compensation rates and payments

6. Common hazards in the workplace
Slips, Trips and Falls
wet floors, unattended spills, uneven floors,
loose rugs, clustered work areas, exposed cords,
etc.

7. Common hazards in the workplace
Eye Strain
spending a large portion of your workday staring at the
computer.

8. Common hazards in the workplace
Indoor Air quality
poor indoor air quality could lead to respiratory disorders,
allergies, etc.

9. Common hazards in the workplace
Electrical Hazards
May lead to electric shock or fire outbreak.

10. Common hazards in the workplace
Ergonomics
Incorrect use of office furniture which can lead to
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

11. In case of an Emergency
Emergency procedures can be invoked once a threat becomes visible.
Drill commands include personnel departure & actions to counter existing
danger.
Fire alarm;
 Get out of the facility as quickly and orderly as possible
 Don’t waste time collecting personal items, laptops etc.
 Never use the elevator
 Use alternative exit if stairwell is covered with smoke
 Pull off high heels
 Do not return to the facility for any reason
 Keep exits clear, once outside

12. Employer’s Responsibilities in WH&S
To maintain & provide:
 A safe working environment.
 Safe systems of work.
 Facilities for the welfare of all workers.
 Any information, instruction, training or supervision needed
to ensure workers safety.

13. Employee’s Responsibilities in WH&S
Responsible for:
 Ensuring own personal health & safety, and that of others in
the workplace.
 Complying with any reasonable directions given by
management relating to health & safety.

14. Health and Safety Goals
 Zero accident
 Zero fatality
 Zero breakdown of process
 Zero record of harmful emissions during operation
 Maximum near-miss reports per employee per month with
remedial action in place

15. Safety and Hazard Signs