Learn about the meaning of occupational health

Work accidents and occupational diseases are factors that interfere with the normal development of business activity, which negatively affects its productivity and thus threatens the solidity and continuity of business activity in the market. It also has serious repercussions in the areas of work, family, and social life.

Taking into account the above, the management and organization of each company must bear its responsibility in seeking to implement the necessary measures that contribute to maintaining and improving efficiency levels in the company’s operations and providing safe work for its workers.

To achieve this, in accordance with the provisions of the International Labor Organization and the applicable laws of the country in accordance with the occupational risk system, an occupational health program must be prepared to preserve, maintain and improve the individual and collective health of workers. .Employees in their corresponding functions, which must be developed in an interdisciplinary manner.

Occupational health programme

What does the occupational health program consist of?

It consists of planning, organizing, implementing, controlling and evaluating all those activities that want to maintain, preserve and improve the individual and collective health of workers in order to avoid work accidents and occupational diseases.

The main objective of the occupational health program is to provide safety, protection and attention to employees in performing their work.

The increase in work accidents, some more serious than others, due to, among other things, technological changes or poor training of employees, the handling of materials of delicate use, inadequate infrastructure and to some extent due to human failure, makes it essential for every company to guide It serves as a guide to reduce these risks and establishes the protocol to be followed in the event of accidents.

The occupational health program must contain the basic elements to achieve these goals, which include general statements on accident prevention, medical evaluation of employees, investigation of accidents that occur, a training program and dissemination of rules to avoid them.

Occupational health policy

As a starting point for the programme, all companies' directives should be formally announced, through a policy that reflects their interest in a job being carried out safely and their commitment to occupational health, and the following responsibilities will be defined at all levels of the company. In implementing the program and complying with all regulations that may exist for this purpose.

The occupational health policy includes the following:

• Comply with all current legal regulations in Colombia regarding comprehensive occupational health and safety.
• Maintaining the highest level of physical and mental well-being for all workers, and minimizing the generation of work accidents and risks at their origin.
• Maintaining good operating conditions in material and economic resources, achieving improvement in their use and minimizing any type of losses.
• Ensure that waste management conditions do not pollute the environment and comply with current regulations.
• All levels of management are responsible for providing a healthy and safe work environment, through appropriate equipment, procedures and programs.
• The responsibility of all workers for their safety, the safety of workers under their responsibility, and the safety of the company.
• Integrate risk control into each task.

This policy will be published and circulated to all employees, in order to obtain their cooperation and participation, following the example set and demonstrated by senior management.

Participation levels

The responsibility for the success of the occupational health program must be shared by everyone, and it is very important that all parties, employees and management do their best in this regard.

The occupational health program begins with the management of its effective development and will be achieved to the extent that it achieves a clear perception of its importance at the levels of the organization. For this reason, the following levels of participation have been proposed.

What the employer or managerial involvement should do:

The organization in which one works should provide safety equipment through which proper safety conditions for work can be obtained. In this way, the management or employer will take effective leadership of the occupational health program and will be directly involved by carrying out a series of tasks such as:

• Motivate employees on occupational health through talks, letters of recognition and attendance at formal meetings, among others.
• Prioritize occupational health when a decision must be made where something is at stake.
• Monitoring results, knowledge of the development of subprogrammes and the operation of the Medical, Health and Safety Committee through accident statistics, minutes of committees, adherence to established records, and pronouncement of the matter.

Regardless of the fact that working in different types of companies inherently involves risks, an employee cannot bear responsibility for accidents due to administrative negligence. This concept is better established when taking into account the cost of employees' medical care, disability, etc., and the deterioration of the company's image in terms of safety.

Workers' participation

Although the employee is the ultimate cause of the occupational health program and the greatest beneficiary in its development, it is necessary to emphasize that he bears most of the responsibility. It is the employee's duty:

• Strict compliance with safety standards in order to ensure safe work.
• Comply with occupational health standards and procedures established by the company.
• Inform their superiors or the Occupational Health Coordinator of substandard conditions and/or actions in the workplace or any circumstance that may cause an accident and provide suggestions for study by participating in the development of safe work standards and procedures
• Actively participate in occupational health talks and training sessions to which you are invited.

The employee's safety depends above all on his own behavior, which is conditional on the employee's voluntary action for education and motivation.

These concepts take on greater meaning when we consider that most work in companies involves teamwork and that an employee's failures can affect his colleagues and the assets of the organization. In short, everyone's safe work will benefit everyone.

Joint Committee on Occupational Health COPASO

It is the organization of participation, implementation and support in everything related to the company's occupational health program. Together with the Occupational Health Coordinator and the Emergency Brigade, COPASO members are responsible for implementing all planned activities for the development of the occupational health programme.

It must be formed at the company's facilities in a meeting in which the legal representative and his workers participate, in compliance with Resolution 2013 of 1986 and Decree 1295 of 1994 in its Article 63 and the requirements of the Occupational Health Department of the Ministry of Labour. .

The term of committee members is two years, and the employer is obligated to provide at least four hours per week during the normal work day for a member for the work of the committee.

Occupational health program coordinator

The occupational health coordinator is the first line in this program, because he is the person who is in direct contact with employees and is the direct link with management on safety matters. Among our responsibilities:

• Assume the direction of the program advising management to formulate administrative rules, procedures, objectives and problem solving in preventive medicine, labor, hygiene and industrial security.
• Report to management on occupational health activities and situations.
• Oversee compliance with the policy, by all members of their responsibility in occupational health.
• Analyze and disseminate information on each subprogramme and experiences gained through injuries, damage or losses in order to take relevant prevention and control measures.
• Maintaining an educational and promotional program for occupational health for workers.
• Establish evaluation mechanisms to verify compliance with occupational health activities.
• Interpreting laws, directives and decrees of official authorities related to occupational health.
• Establish motivational campaigns and disseminate technical standards and knowledge with the aim of maintaining an active interest in occupational health among all employees.
• Actively participate in meetings where occupational health issues are discussed.
• Investigating occupational health problems
• Integrating the activities of preventive medicine, occupational medicine, hygiene, industrial safety and ultimate control of injuries, damage or losses.
• Maintain constant contact with advisory entities on the subject and actively participate in activities scheduled by the mentioned organizations.

Overview of risk factors

It is a technique used to describe the working conditions and environment in which a company's workers find themselves, where the main goal is to make a diagnostic assessment of the company's condition by identifying the risk factors present and their location.