Human Resourece Management

Therefore, it is committed to Improve Its service to customers through the effective management of Its ISO system. The department carries out enforcement activities on industries governed by the three legislations which are Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994, Factories and Machinery Act 1967; and Petroleum Act (Safety Measure) 1984. The National Occupational Safety and Health Excellence Award, which is the highest appreciation by the government of Malaysia, is aimed at giving credit and recognition to organizations which have a good record of achievements for occupational safety and health management at the workplace through the safety and health program audit.

Audit Is used as a tool for benchmarking a firm’s safety and health efforts against accepted standards which outlined in the MS 1722:Part 1 :2005 SSH MS (Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems – Requirements). This standard was developed by Department of Standards Malaysia and with other agencies collaboration. It provides a means of measuring both documentation and implementation of the safety and health program. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 – Act 415 provides the legislative framework to promote, stimulate and encourage high standards of safety and health at work. The aim is to promote safety and health awareness, and establish effective safety organization and performance through self-regulation schemes designed to suit the particular Industry or organization.

The long-term goal of the Act Is to create a healthy and safe working culture among all Malaysian employees and employers. OSHA 1994 defines the general duties of employers, employees, the self-employed, designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of plant or substances. Although these duties are of a general character, they carry a wide ranging set of responsibilities. The Act provides a comprehensive and integrated system of law to 1 OFF the public where they may be affected by the activities of people at work. The general duties of employers, employees, the self-employed, designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of plant or substances are clearly defined under OSHA 1994.

Employers must safeguard so far as is practicable, the health, after and welfare of the people who work for them. This applies in particular to the provision and maintenance of a safe plant and system of work. Arrangements must also be made to ensure safety and health in the use, handling, storage and transport of plant and substances. Under OSHA 1994, definition of ‘plant’ includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, tool and component, whilst ‘substance’ means any natural or artificial substance whether in solid, liquid, gas, vapor or combination thereof, form. Risks to health from the use, storage or transportation of substances must be minimized.

To meet these aims, all practicable precautions must be taken in the proper use and handling of any substance likely to cause a risk to health. It is the duty of employers to provide the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision in safe practices, including information on the legal requirements. Employers need to consider the specific training needs of their organizations with particular reference to processes with special hazards. An employer employing 40 or more persons must establish a safety and health committee at the workplace. The committee’s main function is to keep under review he measures taken to ensure the safety and health of persons at the workplace and investigate any related matters arising.

An employer must notify the nearest occupational safety and health office of any accident, dangerous occurrence, occupational poisoning or disease which has occurred or is likely to occur at the workplace. Some operation, installation, maintenance and dismantling of equipment and process need competent persons. Thus, during the installation of machinery and equipment such as cranes, lifts and local exhaust ventilation systems, competent persons are compulsory to ensure safe erection, whilst a boilermaker and a steam engineer are required to operate high risk equipment such as boilers. Processes that use hazardous chemicals require competent persons to conduct the air quality and personal monitoring, and a safety and health officer and an occupational health doctor are required to ensure the proper surveillance of the workplace.