SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT, EARLIER AND NOW
In this lesson, you will learn:
Analyze the development of the security movement and how it has helped improve working
conditions.
Understand the significant changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in how things were
produced.
Discover essential laws, like the OSH Act, that have influenced the history of the security
movement.
Gain an appreciation for the role of unions in advocating for worker safety and explore different
perspectives on their involvement.
Safety and health management in the workplace have come a long way since the early days of
industrialization. In the past, safety was often seen as an afterthought and workers were often put at
risk due to poor working conditions and inadequate safety procedures. However, over time, there has
been a growing awareness of the importance of workplace safety and there have been significant
improvements in safety standards and practices.
The security movement has grown steadily since the early 1900s. At that time, industrial accidents
were common in this country. Legislation, precedents and public opinion are in favor of management.
There was little protection for the safety of the workers. The working conditions of industrial workers
have improved significantly today. The probability of a worker dying because of an industrial accident
is less than half what it was 60 years ago.
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Until now, safety improvements have been the result of:
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Legislative pressure to ensure environmental safety and health: This includes laws and
regulations that set minimum safety standards for workplaces.
Costs of accidental injuries: The financial costs of accidental injuries can include medical
expenses, lost wages, and legal fees.
Improving occupational safety as a profession: This includes the development of new
safety technologies and procedures, as well as the training of safety professionals.
Future improvements are likely to come from:
Increased awareness of profitability and therefore, competitiveness achieved
through a safe and healthy workforce. This means that businesses are starting to realize
that a safe and healthy workforce is more productive and profitable.
The prospect of improving safety in the workplace is both practical and promising.
This means that there is a real opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of
employees and the company as a whole.
Security professionals better understand both their roots and their future. This means
that security professionals have a deep understanding of the history of safety and the
challenges that lie ahead.
The Industrial Revolution always changed the way goods were produced. Accordingly, the changes
produced by the industrial revolution can be summarized as follows:
The introduction of inanimate energy (for example, the power of steam) instead of the energy
of humans and animals.
The replacement of machines by men for the introduction of new methods of processing raw
materials.
The organization and specialization of work, lead to the division of labor.
In the 1960s, several laws promoting occupational safety were passed. The Service
Contract Act of 1965, the federal Metal and Non-Metallic Mine Safety Act, the federal Coal
Mining and Safety Act and the Contract Workers and Safety Standards Act were all
enacted in the 1960s. As their name suggests, these laws apply to a limited group of workers.
These were the main reasons for implementing the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH
Act) of 1970 and the Federal Mining Act of 1977. These federal laws, especially the OSH Act, are
the most important laws in the history of the security movement.
In the 1990s, the concept of Total Safety Management (TSM) was introduced and adopted by
companies that were already practicing Total Quality Management (TQM). TSM encourages
companies to take a holistic approach to safety management that considers the safety of employees,
processes and products while determining safe and healthy work practices.
The Role of Unions in the Development of Workplace Safety
Unions have played a key role in the development of security. Since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution in this country, unions have struggled for safe working conditions and adequate
compensation for injured workers. Many of the early developments in the security movement were
the result of long and intense fighting through organized labor. Although the role of trade unions in
promoting security is widely recognized, one school of thought is quite the opposite. Their view is that
unions allow the demands of better working conditions to be combined with the demands of their
working conditions. As a result, they faced resistance from the administration. Regardless of this
perspective, there is no doubt that working conditions in the early years of the security movement
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reflect the administration's insensitivity to security concerns.
One of the most important unions' participation in the safety movement was to repeal anti-labor laws
on workplace safety. These laws were the concept of cooperative negligence and risk-taking. For
example, if worker X slipped and fell, breaking his back in the process because worker Y threw oil on
the floor and left it there, the employer's liability has been lifted. In addition, the employer is exempt
from any liability if the actions of the employees contributed to their injury. This was the principle of
complicity in negligence. The concept of risk-taking is based on the theory that people who accept a
job take the risks associated with it. It says that workers who work voluntarily must bear the
consequences of their actions in the workplace, rather than blaming the employer.
This understanding has long been an essential incentive for employers to begin taking an active role
in creating and maintaining a safe workplace. This, in turn, led to the development of organized,
management-sponsored security programs. The first safety programs were based on the safety
of the three E's: Engineering, Education and Enforcement.
The engineering aspects of a safety program include design improvements in both production and
process. By changing the design of a product, the processes used for its production can be simplified
and become less risky as a result. In addition, product production processes can be designed in a way
that minimizes the potential risks associated with the processes. The enforcement aspect of a safety
program ensures that employees know how to work safely, why it is important to do so, what is
expected of them and safety management. Safety education generally covers the following:
What: The specific safety procedures that employees need to follow
When: When and where these procedures need to be followed
Why: The reasons why these procedures are important
Safety: The importance of safety and how it can benefit employees, the company and the
community.
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Reference:
SAFETY AND HEALTH MOVEMENT, THEN AND NOW. Available at:
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/1/3/4/0134678710.pdf
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