Occupational health is about the effect of work on health and about making sure that workers are fit for the work that they do. It’s about prevention rather than cure, and about rehabilitating workers after illness.

The paper industry, through various PABIAC initiatives, has made real progress in reducing the number of accidents at work and resulting absence from work.

However, the HSE estimate that 40 million working days are lost each year to occupational ill health and injury. This obviously has a major impact on productivity and the personal suffering of the employees concerned.

Occupational health is high on the government’s agenda.  National targets for improvement have been set from a base year of 1999/2000. By 2010, the government wants to see a 30% reduction in the number of days lost due to work-related absence. The most recent PABIAC Strategic Direction Statement 2008-2011 ‘Making a difference’ has set industry specific improvement targets, and encourages the sharing of best practice in occupational health management.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT

• PABIAC Occupational Health Benchmarking tool
• CPI Occupational Health Overview
• CPI Occupational Health Policy
• Choosing a competent Occupational Health Professional
• Report - Nancy Hamilton, HSE, Health and Hygiene Specialist

EXAMPLE DOCUMENTS

• Policy and Guidance on Blood Bourne Diseases
• Example Company Policy on Infectious Diseases Precautions
• Example Policy and Advice for Registering with a GP
• Example of a OH Risk Assessment - Manual Handling - Drivers
• Example of a OH Risk Assessment - Manual Handling - On Site Employees
• Example of a OH Risk Assessment - Manual Handling - RPS Floor Sorting
  
• Example of a OH Risk Assessment - RPS

HSE ‘REVITALISING NETWORK WORKSHOP’ PRESENTATIONS

• Martin Belcher (HSE) covers: Guidance, problems of control, capture hoods, enclosures, system components, measuring effectiveness of a system
• Jane Bastow (P&J Dust Extraction) covers: Purchasing LEV equipment, the intelligent customer including: questions to ask suppliers, indicators of a good supplier, evidence of competence, commissioning, training and documentation.
• Bill Parker (Compliance Inspection Services) covers: Testing & examination, INITA, the testing requirement, documentation, the testing process, assessment of control and some practical examples.

DOWNLOADS

• Advisory Note - Noise in a Corrugator Plant
• Examples of Further Noise Reduction Improvements Identified for a Corrugator and Associated Equipment
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• COSHH Regulations Update
• Whole Body Vibration Notes for Risk Assessment in the Paper Industries
• Hand-Arm Vibration Notes for Risk Assessment in the Paper Industries
• Whole Body Vibration Appendix - Risk control matrix
• Occupational Health Report (Nov 04 to Apr 05)
• Heat Stress in the Workplace - What you need to know as an Employer
• Heat Stress Safety Alert
• Heat Stress First Aid
• Control of Heat Stress
• Heat Stress Briefing Presentation

MUSCOLOSKELTAL DISORDER - MSD
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Great Britain, affecting 1.0 million people a year. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts.

Statistically manual handling related injuries are the second most common cause of injury in the paper industry after slips and trips.

To raise awareness and help companies tackle the issue the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regularly run national campaigns. To find out the latest information on prevention of manual handling and ULD related injuries in the workplace. Go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/index.htm

Management Action Plan
This example document contains simple step by step guidance on how to implement a MSD action plan.