The research is aimed at the management of Safety and Health at Work in the Hydraulic Utilization Company of Las Tunas; based on NC 18000: 2015 "Vocabulary", NC 18001: 2015 "Requirements", NC 18002: 2015 "Guidelines for the Implementation of NC 18001" and NC 18011: 2015 "Audit Process". It was also governed by the Quality Management System of the Las Tunas Hydraulic Utilization Company; based on NC ISO 9001: 2015 “Requirements for Quality Management Systems. With the design of this procedure, it is possible to provide the organization with the necessary tools to implement the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, activities are proposed that allow the control and feedback of the proposed procedure,as well as actions to improve the Management of Safety and Health at Work.
KEY WORDS: Human Capital, Safety and Health at Work, Occupational Risks.
KEYWORDS: Human Capital, Health and Safety at Work, Occupational Hazards.
INTRODUCTION
The current approach to Safety and Health in the world, the priorities given by international organizations and the need to reduce and eliminate the negative effects in terms of accidents, incidents and occupational diseases, based on their importance for achieving the strategic objectives of the organization and the increase in the quality of life of workers. The development of human resources in the business environment today becomes an inescapable need not only for social and technological reasons, but also for economic reasons, in an increasingly demanding production and service system within the competitive and turbulent framework in the that unfolds.
The adoption of an OH&S management system is intended to provide a framework for managing OSH risks and opportunities. The objective and expected results of the OSH management system are to prevent work-related injuries and health impairment to workers and to provide safe and healthy workplaces; consequently, it is critically important for the organization to eliminate the hazards and minimize the risks to OSH by taking effective prevention and protection measures. When the organization applies these measures through its OH&S management system, they improve its OH&S performance. An OSH management system can be more effective and efficient when it takes early action to address opportunities for improving OSH performance.
The need to offer guarantees of safety and confidence to human resources has led to the evolution of business management evolving the management of safety and health at work (OSH), as this constitutes a fundamental pillar to maintain the strength of Satisfied and motivated work, so it is necessary to identify and assess the risks present in the workplace to avoid work accidents and occupational diseases. These actions are taxed to comply with the provisions of the Guidelines of the VII Congress of the PCC regarding the saving of the State Budget in material, financial and human resources, guaranteeing an efficient and quality service.But to achieve such ends, it is essential to guarantee adequate and safe working conditions where the worker performs his duties with the least possible risk.
Cuba has begun its insertion in everything related to management systems, according to the world trend, within the Business Improvement Process. As part of this phenomenon, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) activity has evolved and continues to evolve towards a management system for the prevention of occupational risks, whose support is based on the principles of comprehensive and integrated, scientific safety, interdisciplinary and participatory. All this is complemented and should contribute to the development of actions in the country in the field of Occupational Safety and Health that contribute to the fulfillment of the precept contained in article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic under current conditions. The State guarantees the right to protection, safety and hygiene at work,by adopting adequate measures for the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases, applying biological, environmental and dynamic ergonomic criteria; with the sole purpose of avoiding damage to third parties, the environment and the company's resources. The implementation and certification policy has been established by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) in all the NC family organizations: 18000: 2015, which cover the entire field from the vocabulary, requirements, implementation, and audit process.. At the moment it is moving towards NC ISO 45001 and NC ISO 45002, both from 2018,which specify the requirements for an occupational safety and health management system (OSH) and enable organizations to provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing work-related injuries and health deterioration as well as improving proactively their OSH performance.
These Standards are applicable to any organization that wishes to establish, implement and maintain an OSH management system to improve safety and health at work, eliminate hazards and minimize risks to OSH (including system deficiencies), take advantage of opportunities for OSH and addressing non-conformities of the OSH management system associated with its activities. Helps the organization achieve the expected results of its OH&S management system consistent with the organization's OH&S policy, the expected results of an OH&S management system, including continual improvement of the OH&S performance OSH, compliance with legal and other requirements and the achievement of the objectives of OSH. They apply to risks to OSH under the control of the organization,taking into account factors such as the context in which the organization operates and the needs and expectations of its workers and other interested parties.
The general purpose of identifying hazards and assessing risks in Occupational Safety and Health is to understand the dangers that can be generated in the development of activities, so that the organization can establish the necessary controls, to the point of ensuring that any risk is acceptable. Risk assessment is the basis for proactive Health and Safety management, led by senior management as part of comprehensive risk management, with the participation and commitment of all levels of the organization and other interested parties. Regardless of the complexity of assessing the risks, it is a systematic process that guarantees the fulfillment of its purpose. Safety and Health at Work has the mission of guaranteeing the safety and health of workers,seek the biopsychosocial well-being of the same and protect the assets of the entity and the environment; by eliminating, controlling or minimizing risks. It is aided by science and various disciplines such as safety, hygiene, occupational medicine and ergonomics; It has a close relationship with the effectiveness and efficiency of companies since a healthy worker, in a safe environment, both for their physical and emotional integrity, motivates their active participation in achieving their social objective.It has a close relationship with the effectiveness and efficiency of companies since a healthy worker, in a safe environment, both for their physical and emotional integrity, motivates their active participation in achieving their social objective.It has a close relationship with the effectiveness and efficiency of companies since a healthy worker, in a safe environment, both for their physical and emotional integrity, motivates their active participation in achieving their social objective.
The management of Safety and Health at Work of the Hydraulic Exploitation Company of Las Tunas; based on NC 18000: 2015 "Vocabulary", NC 18001: 2015 "Requirements", NC 18002: 2015 "Guidelines for the Implementation of NC 18001" and NC 18011: 2015 "Audit Process". It was also governed by the Quality Management System of the Las Tunas Hydraulic Utilization Company; based on NC ISO 9001: 2015 "Requirements for Quality Management Systems". Updated through NC ISO 45001 of 2018, which specifies the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system (OSH).
In the Company, the procedure that has been applied for the identification and evaluation of occupational risks is insufficient, with the application of interviews and through observation, it was found that according to approaches made by the workers and in conversations held between them, there are difficulties related to OSH, which have not been included in the risk prevention plan, so that workers are not involved in the identification of occupational risks, there is insufficient control of risks in the different areas of the company and there is no exhaustive control of them, inspection levels are not carried out, constant complaints from workers regarding physical discomfort and working conditions and an increase in rejections in certain jobs.
All the aforementioned causes that the Management of Safety and Health at Work is limited.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
A procedure for the identification and evaluation of occupational risks is designed and based on the Las Tunas Water Resources Utilization Company, aimed at achieving the implementation of the system through concrete actions, in addition to characterizing the current management situation Occupational Safety and Health and its implementation with the main results, in addition to a social economic assessment.
When making an inspection by the different areas of the Las Tunas Hydraulic Resources Use Company and taking into account the requirements of each job, it was determined that in the areas the identification and evaluation of occupational risks is not carried out with the quality that it requires, in addition, the workers are not involved in this decisive task to develop the different jobs. This situation influences the motivation of the workers, results reflected in the survey carried out.
So it can be said that the identification and evaluation of occupational risks in the Company for the Use of Hydraulic Resources in Las Tunas are not satisfactory for its workers.
Procedure to achieve the identification and evaluation of occupational risks in the Company for the Use of Hydraulic Resources of Las Tunas
Taking into account the provisions of Law No. 116 of 2014, Labor Code, CN 18 000/2015 Occupational Safety and Health, Management System for Safety and Health at Work; the MTSS recommendations for the implementation of the Integrated and Integrated Safety Management System (August, 1999), Diagnostic Guide and Procedures (MTSS); Among other documents consulted, a procedure was developed for the identification and evaluation of occupational risks in the Company for the Use of Hydraulic Resources in Las Tunas. This procedure is in accordance with 2018 ISO NC 450001 Standards, which provides the OH&S management system with a reference framework to manage OSH risks and opportunities,which aims to prevent work related injuries and health deterioration to workers and to provide safe and healthy workplaces; consequently, which is of critical importance to the organization by eliminating the hazards and minimizing the risks to OSH by taking effective prevention and protection measures. It is necessary that all workers have initial and periodic training in OSH and are aware of the importance of this identification process in their workplace to take the appropriate measures and prevent their occurrence. Once the workers are trained, they and their direct managers will be in a position to identify existing hazards.They must also have command of the processes that are carried out and have knowledge of the legislation and regulations applicable to them, as well as the fundamental aspects related to occupational health and safety. It is intended to continuously identify hazards and perform the risk assessment of each area and workplace of the organization, in order to propose controls to prevent work accidents, occupational diseases, material losses and environmental damage, it is intended to be used in situations where hazards may affect safety or health and there is no certainty that existing or planned controls are adequate, in principle or in practice,to achieve continuous improvement of the Integrated Management System and compliance with legal requirements and in situations prior to the implementation of changes in its processes and facilities.
All workers should identify and communicate to their employer the hazards associated with their work activity. Employers have a legal duty to assess the risks arising from these work activities.
The procedure used for risk assessment shall be structured in such a way as to help the organization and its occupational health and safety specialists identify the hazards associated with activities in the workplace and assess the risks arising from these hazards, In order to determine the control measures that should be taken to establish and maintain the safety and health of its workers and other interested parties, make decisions regarding the selection of machinery, materials, tools, methods, procedures, equipment and organization of work. based on the information collected in the risk assessment, check whether the existing control measures in the workplace are effective in reducing the risks,prioritize the execution of improvement actions resulting from the risk assessment process and demonstrate to stakeholders that all the hazards associated with the work have been identified and that the criteria have been given for the implementation of the necessary control measures to protect the safety and health of workers. It consists of 15 steps.
Results obtained with the application of the procedure
The procedure for identifying and evaluating occupational risks developed in this investigation, after the entire process of preparation, approval, and training; developed in the months of July to December 2017, it comes into force in the company from January 2018, allowing to evaluate the results achieved with its application in the management of safety and health as well as the main indicators of safety and health with which the operation of the occupational health and safety management system is measured in the company. So far, the company has carried out the risk survey in January of this year, with the following results:
Step 1: Aspects to consider when developing hazard identification and risk assessment.
The members of the working groups were designated to carry out the risk survey in all areas of the organization, who were trained to publicize knowledge in this area, the methodology to be used to identify hazards or dangerous situations and evaluation of the risks associated with these, according to the conditions of each work area, how they are classified. Once the training is done, the different working groups meet with the workers to train them in the methodology for the identification of hazards and dangerous situations, in routine, non-routine activities, as well as an activity where there is access by outsiders. to the entity in their jobs.The objective of this process is explained to you, which is the basis for effective health and safety management, a key factor in reducing accidents and occupational diseases.
Step 2: Activities to identify hazards and assess risks
The instrument to collect the information was defined, processes, activities and tasks were classified where a list of work processes and each of the activities that compose it was prepared and classified where facilities, people and procedures were included.. Hazards related to work activity were identified and considering who, when and how may be affected. In this step, the controls that the organization has implemented to reduce the risk associated with each hazard were identified; the risk associated with each hazard was assessed, including the existing controls that are implemented. The action plan for risk control was prepared in order to improve existing controls, approved in February of this year by agreement of the Board of Directors.The monitoring of the implementation of the controls established in the action plan was documented, which includes those responsible, dates of programming, execution and current status, as part of the traceability of the management of occupational health and safety.
Step 3: Define the instrument to collect information
The Occupational Health and Safety Specialist of the company and the Hydraulic Complexes, as well as the Maintenance UEB, used the tool designed in the procedure, recording the identification of hazards and the assessment of risks, which should be updated periodically.
Step 4: Classify processes, activities, and tasks
A list of work activities was prepared, grouped in a rational and manageable way and the necessary information about them was gathered taking into account the description of the process, activity or task (duration and frequency), interaction with other processes, activities and tasks. The organization develops, the number of workers involved, other interested parties (such as visitors, contractors, the public, neighbors, among others).
Step 5: Identify the dangers
- Description and classification of hazards
For the description and classification of hazards, the Hazard Table associated with the organization's activities was taken into account. Where it was taken into account if it was necessary to include other hazards detected in the course of carrying out the risk survey and the places where the work is carried out.
The guide was also used for the qualitative determination of the level of deficiency of hygienic hazards.
5.2 Possible effects
In this regard, it was taken into account that the described effects reflect the consequences of each identified hazard, that is, the short-term consequences such as safety (work accident), and the long-term consequences such as diseases. (Example: hearing loss).
The level of damage that can be caused to people was also taken into account.
Step 6: Identify existing controls
Existing controls for each of the hazards identified by source, environment, and individual. The administrative controls that the organization has in place to reduce risk, such as inspections, adjustments to existing procedures, were also considered.
Step 7: Assess the risk
When evaluating the risk, the risk assessment was included, taking into account the adequacy of the existing controls, the definition of the risk acceptability criteria and the decision of whether they are acceptable or not, based on the defined criteria.
Step 8: Definition of risk acceptability criteria
In order to determine the acceptability of the risk, compliance with the applicable legal requirements and others, the occupational health and safety policy, the objectives and goals of the organization, the operational, technical, financial, social and other aspects and the opinions were taken into account. from interested parties.
Step 9: Risk assessment
Risk assessment corresponds to the process of determining the probability of specific events occurring and the magnitude of their consequences, through the systematic use of available information.
Step 10: Decide if the risk is acceptable or not
Once the level of risk was determined, it was decided which risks are acceptable and which are not. However, with semi-quantitative methods such as the risk matrix, the organization established which categories are acceptable and which are not.
To do this, the acceptability criteria were established, in order to provide a basis that provides consistency in all its risk assessments.
Step 11: Criteria for establishing controls
To establish risk controls, the number of exposed workers was taken into account, that the implemented control always avoids the worst consequence when exposed to risk and that the organization could establish whether or not there is a specific legal requirement for the task being carried out. evaluating to have prioritization parameters in the implementation of the intervention measures.
Step 12: Intervention measures
Once the risk assessment is completed, the organization is able to determine if the existing controls are sufficient or need to be improved, or if new controls are required.
If new or improved controls are required, whenever feasible, they should be prioritized and determined in accordance with the hazard elimination principle, followed by reduced risks (i.e., reduced probability of occurrence, or the potential severity of injury or damage), according to the hierarchy of controls.
Step 13: Prepare the risk control action plan
The Director of Human Capital presented to the board of directors the Program of measures for the prevention of occupational risks where those responsible were determined, the dates of compliance with each measure and it is approved by the general director of the company with the approval of the general secretary of the union section.
Step 14: Review the appropriateness of the action plan
The organization generated a review process of the selected action plan on a monthly basis with internal expert personnel, guaranteeing that the risk assessment and criteria establishment process is correct and the process execution is effective.
Step 15: Review continues.
Internal audits will be the framework for this ongoing review. Regular reviews can help ensure consistency in risk assessments carried out by different staff at different times. New risk assessments do not need to be carried out when a review can demonstrate that existing or planned controls are still effective.
The organization will keep the different update versions of the hazard identification and risk assessment, in order to see their progress and traceability to the process.
CONCLUSIONS
- The conceptual theoretical elements referring to occupational health and safety management addressed in this work show that the proper management of occupational risks contributes to the improvement of occupational health and safety management, influencing management efficiency In general, the characterization of the safety and health management in the company allows us to affirm that it has a defined structure and responsibilities to deal with the activity, however, the procedure for managing occupational risks contemplates insufficiencies in the method of identification, limiting the actual evaluation.The proposed procedure, the proposed solutions and its action plan, based on the results obtained so far, have been favorably validated by experts,from the management perspective, which allows its application in companies of the Business Group for the Use of Hydraulic Resources, as well as the risk assessment described is intended to continuously identify the hazards and perform the risk assessment of each area and workplace of the organization, in order to propose controls to prevent workplace accidents, occupational diseases, material losses and environmental damage.in order to propose controls to prevent accidents at work, occupational diseases, material losses and environmental damage.in order to propose controls to prevent accidents at work, occupational diseases, material losses and environmental damage.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Apply the procedure proposed in the investigation, as part of the phase of control of occupational risks. According to the results obtained with the application of the action plan, the study is shared with other companies of the Business Group for the Use of Hydraulic Resources The company must guarantee that all workers receive theoretical and practical training, in relation to the risks that have been detected regarding the protection and prevention measures that must be adopted to control risk factors in the workplace; This will be done at the time of hiring and periodically, when job modifications occur.
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