We often hear people talking about health and safety at work, and about occupational risk prevention (ORP). Any employee in any company, whatever the nature of the business, will have heard about this issue on more than one occasion. The fact is, it is a priority and a legal requirement for companies to take occupational risk prevention into account; in other words, they must have an occupational risk prevention plan in place: the fundamental tool for managing prevention within the company.
In case you haven’t yet heard of this aspect, which any self-respecting company must ensure is in place, in this post we’ll outline the key points of occupational risk prevention. We’ll explain what occupational risk prevention involves – one of the career paths you’ll encounter if you specialise in this field and go on to work in a Human Resources department.
Every collective agreement – which sets out the fundamental rights of workers providing their professional services within a company – must take into account aspects such as: job categories, pay scales, holiday entitlement, adherence to working hours, rights, types of leave and rules of good conduct, among others. To these must be added another priority issue for safeguarding workers’ health and safety at work: namely, the implementation and monitoring of occupational risk prevention measures, managed by the Human Resources (HR) department. These measures must, of course, be followed by both the company and its employees; otherwise, they would serve no purpose.
Occupational risk prevention is, without a doubt, one of the cornerstones that must underpin companies and their employees – in their day-to-day work – to avoid occupational risks. It is essential that employees are able to carry out their professional duties under optimal conditions so that, for example, long hours spent in front of a computer do not ‘take their toll’.
Each sector has a set of occupational health and safety measures tailored to the type of work carried out in each business activity, with the aim of guaranteeing the health and safety of every employee, which is one of the fundamental principles of any company.
There are various types of occupational risks. Among others, here are some examples of occupational risks that may arise in certain business activities: physical risks, chemical risks, biological risks, ergonomic risks, psychological risks, mechanical risks and road safety risks.
Occupational Risk Prevention Act
The Occupational Risk Prevention Act defines the Prevention Plan as “the tool that integrates prevention into the company’s overall system, both across all its activities and at each and every hierarchical level, through its implementation and application”.
This Act also stipulates that every risk prevention plan must set out the company’s organisational structure, as well as specifying: responsibilities, roles, practices, procedures, processes and the necessary resources. All of this is aimed at carrying out specific preventive measures in the workplace.
In short, a company’s Occupational Risk Prevention Plan must include: the company’s identification details, its organisational structure, the organisation of production and prevention, and the company’s policy.
With a view to complying with the measures set out in the occupational risk prevention plan, the assessment of occupational risks and the planning of preventive activities are priorities. Thanks to these two tools, a prevention plan can be implemented within any company or institution.
It is vital that, once drawn up, the occupational risk prevention plan is accessible at the company’s various workplaces and made available to the labour authorities, health authorities and workers’ representatives. The scope of this plan depends on the characteristics and size of the company.
Would you like to focus your career on occupational risk prevention? You can do so by taking an online Master’s degree in Occupational Risk Prevention. You will thus gain a broad-based education that enables you to delve deeper into a priority area for any company: Occupational Risk Prevention, including the main theoretical and practical aspects at an advanced level.
Occupational risk prevention can also be crucial in the renewable energy sector, as workers in this sector are exposed to specific risks, such as handling heavy machinery, exposure to hazardous substances or working at height. Therefore, professionals wishing to work in this sector must have specific training in occupational risk prevention. The UAX Master’s in Renewable Energy could be the right choice for you if you are interested in resource management.
We hope you have found this information useful. If you choose to specialise and become an occupational health and safety technician, you will be able to play a part in the occupational health and safety plan – a key aspect of any company or institution, whatever its nature.
If you wish to gain knowledge of Quality Management, Environmental Management and Occupational Health and Safety within organisations, and thus be able to work as a technical occupational health and safety consultant or auditor, you can study the Master’s in Integrated Management Systems.
