What is Occupational Health and Safety?

Occupational health and safety are of great importance in the whole world and in Turkey. The objectives of occupational health and safety include protecting employees, ensuring production and operational safety. Occupational health and safety are of utmost importance in order to maintain a cautious and orderly business life. Occupational health and safety are also known as “OHS” for short. Occupational health and safety cover all occupational groups. Occupational safety can be achieved with conscious employees and quality equipment. Safety equipment needs to be high-quality and robust. Occupational safety covers not only the physical health of the employees but also their mental health.

Occupational Health and Safety Directive 89/391/EEC issued in 1989 has been accepted as a framework directive in the field of occupational health and safety. In the following years, many different individual directives were issued based on this framework directive. Occupational health and safety in Turkey, the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, which entered into force in 2012, started to exist during the harmonization period of the European Union. Occupational health and safety is extremely important all over the world and in Turkey.

What is Occupational Safety?

The concept of occupational safety is used extensively in business life. Occupational health and safety are known by the abbreviation “OHS”. “What is occupational health and safety?” The answer to the question is curious. Scientific and systematic studies carried out in order to protect from conditions that may harm health caused by various reasons during the execution of work in the workplace are called “Occupational Safety and Health”. The phenomenon of occupational health and safety has started to be discussed in the European Union since the 1980s. The Occupational Health and Safety Directive 89/391/EEC issued in 1989 has been accepted as a framework directive in the field of occupational health and safety. In the following years, many different individual directives were issued based on this framework directive. The Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, which came into force in 2012, has started to exist during the European Union adaptation period. Occupational health and safety are extremely important all over the world and in Turkey.

Operational safety is ensured when the measures to be taken in the workplace, such as machine malfunctions and shutdowns, explosions, and fire, which may result from work accidents or an unsafe and unhealthy working environment, are eliminated.

What are the Occupational Health and Safety Purposes?

Occupational health and safety objectives are primarily to ensure the safety of employees. The main purpose of occupational health and safety studies is to ensure the safety of employees. The main goal is to protect the employees against any possible work accidents and occupational diseases and to ensure their physical and mental integrity. One of the purposes of occupational health and safety is to ensure production safety. Ensuring production safety in a workplace brings with it the result of increased productivity. Therefore, job security is extremely important from an economic point of view. It is also extremely important to ensure operational safety, which is one of the objectives of occupational health and safety. Operational safety is ensured when the measures to be taken in the workplace, such as machine malfunctions and shutdowns, explosions, and fire, which may result from work accidents or an unsafe and unhealthy working environment, are eliminated.

What is Occupational Health and Safety Specialist?

In the context of occupational health and safety, the duties of the occupational health and safety specialist are a matter of curiosity. Occupational health and safety specialist is the person who develops procedures to eliminate or prevent diseases and injuries caused by chemical, physical and biological factors within the workplace. Occupational health and safety specialist has some duties and responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities of the occupational health and safety specialist include suspending activities that pose a threat to worker health and safety, determining the causes of accidents and conducting research to determine how such incidents can be prevented in the future. This includes examining workplace environments, equipment and practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and regulations. Taking samples of dust, gas, and all other potentially toxic substances for analysis and investigating the competence of conditions such as exhaust equipment, ventilation, lighting that may affect the comfort, health and performance of the employee are also among the duties of the occupational safety specialist.

Taking samples of dust, gas, and all other potentially toxic substances for analysis and investigating the competence of conditions such as exhaust equipment, ventilation, and lighting, which can affect employee comfort, health, and performance are also among the duties of the occupational safety specialist.

What is Occupational Health and Safety Certificate?

Within the scope of occupational health and safety, what is the occupational health and safety certificate is among the topics that are curious. Occupational health and safety certificate, also called OHS certificate, is a certificate that indicates that the work done and the organization performing the work are in compliance with the laws and regulations. Occupational health and safety certificate must be obtained from an institution approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. It is a legal obligation for every organization to take the necessary measures within the framework of occupational health and safety. Penal sanctions are imposed on organizations that do not comply with the measures. The measures to be taken are implemented in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331.

What is the Importance of Occupational Health and Safety?

Occupational health and safety are extremely important. As can be understood from the objectives of occupational safety and health, occupational health and safety requires a multi-faceted study. During the studies, different branches of science such as physics, medicine, mathematics, statistics, chemistry, psychology, sociology, economics and ergonomics are benefited. The field of work of occupational safety covers all business lines. This is why there are differences in every business. Occupational health and safety and occupational diseases are reduced. The damages suffered by the people working in the business lines in dangerous situations are minimized. As risky situations are minimized, employee injury and death rates are reduced. In this way, the efficiency of both workplaces and production is increased. Employees who feel more comfortable and safe show maximum efficiency. Electric shock, poisoning, skin diseases, cuts, injuries, organ losses, fractures, deaths and mass deaths resulting from occupational accidents are reduced.

What are Occupational Health and Safety Materials?

The safety of employees in workplaces is extremely important and the health of employees is among the factors affecting the country’s economy. Therefore, occupational health and safety rules must be followed. Occupational safety can be ensured by conscious employees and quality equipment. In this regard, the importance of occupational health and safety materials emerges. Protective materials that should be used to prevent injuries and deaths as a result of workplace accidents are called “work safety materials”. It is extremely necessary to use materials suitable for the job in order to ensure the safety of life and property of employees in the work environment. In addition, the use, maintenance and repair of employees’ materials are also important. Care must be taken to protect the equipment correctly. Occupational safety materials must be of good quality.

Occupational safety materials can be specified as follows: 

• Head Protection Equipment
• Body Protection Equipment
• Eye Protection Equipment
• Face/Respiratory Protection Equipment
• Ear/Hearing Protection Equipment
• Hand Protection Equipment
• Foot Protection Equipment
• Electrical Equipment
• Lifting Equipment
• Traffic Equipment
• Ladders
• Fall Protection Equipment
• Environmental Safety and Warning Signs
• First Aid and Rescue Equipment