Health and safety at work is based on an understanding of the causes of accidents and other
events at the workplace which lead to harm to workers and others who may be close by. In
general terms, though, this is perhaps not as easy as may at first be thought.
The Multi-Disciplinary Nature of Health and Safety
The roots of a systematic approach to health and safety lie in the development of large-scale manufacturing operations. In the past, factory machinery was operated with little or no regard to the safety of workers and it was far from uncommon for factory staff (including young children) to suffer bodily injury from unguarded machines. Reacting to these effects, the causes were addressed by concerned factory owners and politicians, allied to increasing pressure from workers themselves, by putting in protective measures (such as machine guards) and developing safer working practices.
As scientific knowledge has grown and political and social concern over workplace health and safety has broadened, the effects of work have been studied extensively. The range of issues identified, which started with those clearly identifiable physical injuries such as losing fingers or arms, has widened to include less apparent injuries (such as deteriorating eyesight and bad backs) and illnesses (both physical and psychological), which very often build up over time, rather than being caused by a single incident. The causes of these problems themselves are often not easily identifiable.
Occupational health and safety today, then, has moved a long way from its engineering roots and brings together a wide range of subject specialities to investigate what the ill-effects of work are and what causes them. It draws on the study of both the physical world – chemistry, physics, biology, etc. – and the social world, of how and why people behave as they do. As a health and safety practitioner, you would not expect to be familiar with the detail of all these subjects, but should be aware of the range of different disciplines which contribute to knowledge and understanding of health and safety issues. These include:
• Chemistry and physics, which explain the properties of different substances and the ways in which they behave in different circumstances – for example, electricity, explosive or
flammable materials, acid, etc.
• Biological sciences (including toxicology, hygiene and medicine), which explain the composition and processes of living organisms – for example, the effects of harmful organisms on people, the responses and reactions of the human body when under physical stress, etc.
• Engineering, which is responsible for the construction of buildings and mechanical processes – for example, the safe design of machinery and vehicles,
fireproofing buildings, etc. • Psychology, which attempts to explain the behaviour of the individual – for example, the effects of stress on the mind, the motivation behind the behaviour of individuals and groups at the workplace, etc.
• Sociology, which attempts to explain the behaviour of people in groups – for example, management processes, patterns of work, communication in organisations, etc.
• The law, which contains the rules and regulations of society – for example, the mass of law which deals with workplace activities.
