Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

15.1 
Introduction
Occupational health is concerned with physical and psy-
chological hazards as well as chemical and biological 
hazards. The physical occupational hazards have been 
well-known for many years and the recent emphasis has 
been on the development of lower risk workplace envir-
onments. Physical hazards include topics such as elec-
tricity and manual handling which were covered in earlier 
chapters and noise, display screen equipment and radi-
ation which are discussed in this chapter.
However, it is only really in the last twenty years that 
psychological hazards have been included among the 
occupational health hazards faced by many workers. 
This is now the most rapidly expanding area of occupa-
tional health and includes topics such as mental health 
and workplace stress, violence to staff, passive smoking, 
drugs and alcohol.
The physical and psychological hazards discussed 
in this chapter are covered by the following health and 
safety regulations:
➤
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
➤
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 
Regulations
➤
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
➤
Noise at Work Regulations
➤
Ionising Radiations Regulations
15.2 
Task and workstation design
15.2.1 The principles and scope of ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of the interaction between 
workers and their work in the broadest sense, in that it 
encompasses the whole system surrounding the work 
process. It is, therefore, as concerned with the work 
organization, process and design of the workplace and 
work methods as it is with work equipment. The common 
defi nitions of ergonomics, the ‘man–machine interface’ 
or ‘fi tting the man to the machine rather than vice versa’ 
are far too narrow. It is concerned about the physical and 
mental capabilities of an individual as well as their under-
standing of the job under consideration. Ergonomics 
includes the limitations of the worker in terms of skill 
level, perception and other personal factors in the over-
all design of the job and the system supporting and sur-
rounding it. It is the study of the relationship between 
the worker, the machine and the environment in which it 
operates and attempts to optimize the whole worksys-
tem, including the job, to the capabilities of the worker so 
that maximum output is achieved for minimum effort and 
discomfort by the worker. Cars, buses and lorries are all 
ergonomically designed so that all the important controls, 
such as the steering wheel, brakes, gear stick and instru-
ment panel are easily accessed by most drivers within a 
wide range of sizes. Ergonomics is sometimes described 
as human engineering and as working practices become 
more and more automated, the need for good ergonomic 
design becomes essential.
The scope of ergonomics and an ergonomic assess-
ment is very wide incorporating the following areas of 
study:
➤
personal factors of the worker, in particular physical, 
mental and intellectual abilities, body dimensions 
and competence in the task required
➤
the machine and associated equipment under 
examination
➤
the interface between the worker and the machine – 
controls, instrument panel or gauges and any aids 
including seating arrangements and hand tools
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