Basic Occupational Safety and Health and Its Importance to Business Sustainability

Pila, Laguna — To continuously provide its information and advocacy services to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Department of Trade and Industry - Laguna Provincial Office (DTI-Laguna) through the Negosyo Center Pila conducted a webinar on Basic Occupational Safety and Health via the Zoom conferencing platform last March 19, 2021. The webinar was attended by twenty-two (22) potential and existing MSMEs.

Engr. Edelyn Aireen P. Muñoz, a licensed Electronics and Communications Engineer and a Senior Business Counsellor assigned in Municipality of Pila, served as the resource speaker for the said event. She introduced the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) by showing demographics of the Global and the Local Scenario of OSH Situationer.

To broaden the webinar participant’s idea of OSH, Munoz discussed the Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC) Process. She provided the participants with details of the step-by-step process in conducting the HIRAC Process. Muñoz further discussed thoroughly the different health and safety hazards found at work and the possible adverse effects on the health and well-being of the workers. More so, she explained the Risk Assessment Process by giving participants samples of Likelihood Matrix and Consequence Matrix then how to select controls depending on the level of risk found during the Risk Assessment Process. She also provided the participants with a sample of documentation of HIRAC Process.

As the program continued, Muñoz explained the common types of accidents at work, accident causation, and the cost of accidents. Through these topics, she was able to give an idea to the participants on why seminars and training on OSH are important to the business’ sustainability.

The webinar concluded as Muñoz explained the following OSH points to ponder: (1) every worker has the right to a safe and healthy workplace; (2) an accident is an unexpected, unforeseen, unplanned, and unwanted occurrence or event that causes damage or loss of materials or properties, injury, or death; (3) most accidents at work could have been prevented; (4) every workplace has different hazards, risk, and levels of exposure. Tailor fit your OSH response; and (5) conduct workplace risk assessment through hazards identification, evaluation, and control.