1. School of Architecture, Building & Design
Occupational Safety and Health Management
(MGT 61003)
Individual Assignment
Student Name: LEE KAILYN
Student ID No: 0320273
Lecturer: MR. TAN HEE CHAI
Date of Submission: 1st
DECEMBER 2016
Word Count: 1212
Question 1
August 2016 semester Page 1
2. School of Architecture, Building & Design
Occupation Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) is an Act that provides the
legislative framework to secure the safety, health and welfare among all Malaysian
workforces and to protect others against risk to safety or health in relation with the
activities of person at work stated under OSHA 1994. This Act is a practical tool cover on
existing safety and health legislation. Besides that, the OSHA 1994 provides the legislative
framework to promote, stimulate and encourage high standards of safety and health at
work. According to section 16, it is stated that the duty for the employers and self-
employed persons to formulate safety and health policy. The employers as well as the self-
employed persons have the responsibility to prepare the safety and policy at their
workplace.
Policy is a plan of action used by the Ministry of Education to set out clear rules and
expectations for the delivery of programs and services to the public. There are several
elements which an employer must meet. First, every employer must have a written OSH
policy in their workplace. Second, every employer must organize the workplace so this
policy can be carried out. This includes determining the responsibilities, duties and chain
of command in a hierarchical method. Third, every employer must have an arrangement to
fulfill the policy. They have to plan, find procedures and other ways necessary to carry out
the policy. Then, every employer must regularly update the OSH policy to accommodate
the organization’s business, industrial and technical activities. Lastly, section 16 OSHA
1994 also requires every employer to inform their employees of the OSH policy and
subsequent revisions. Every business must have their own health and safety policy. For
example, “Management supports participation in the program by all the employees and it is
responsible to ensure that machinery and equipment are safe and that workers work in
compliance with established safe work practices and procedures. Workers must receive
adequate training in their specific work tasks to protect their health and safety.” The
purpose of creating this policy is to reduce the risks to the health, safety, and welfare of all
the employees, contractors and visitors or anyone else who may be effected by the business
operations. It also aims to ensure all the work activities are done safely.
Our health and safety policy should be a practical guide to how we manage health and
safety within our organization. In order to enforce the safety policy provided in our
business, we can monitor it by using the ways to check our policy. We can monitor whether
our employees are working according with any rules or safe methods that set out in the
arrangement. Besides, we can also walk around the workplace and check for hazards
whether the safety management needs to be improved. Besides that, we can involve our
employees in our implementation by consulting all our employees on health and safety. We
have to consult them about the health and safety and the work they do, how risks are
controlled and also the best ways of providing information and training to them.
After implement the policy, the employer and self-employed person are required to
revise the policy made regarding safety and health at their workplace so that the written
statement will always be up to date. To revise the safety policy, one of the method which is
active monitoring refers to the monitor the design, development, installation and operation
of management arrangements, safety systems and workplace precautions. Besides that, the
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3. School of Architecture, Building & Design
reactive monitoring is to monitor accidents, ill health, incidents and other evidence of
deficient safety and health performance.
Osborne v Bill Taylor of Huyton Ltd [1982] ICR 168 The appellant owned and
controlled 31 betting shops. In one shop fewer than five people were normally employed.
The appellant was sued for failing to provide a safety policy statement on the ground that
the appellant’s undertaking comprised all the betting shops and so the exception provided in
reg. 2 of The Employer’s Health and Safety Policy Statements (Exception) Regulations
1975 did not apply. On appeal, Ormrod LJ held that in order to ascertain if the shop in
question was a separate undertaking one should consider whether the employer was carrying
on 31 separate businesses or whether the employer was carrying on a single undertaking in
31 shops. It was a question of fact as to which category the relevant premises fell into. On
the separate issue of whether, for the purposes of reg. 2, two people who, at different times,
stood in for off-duty personnel, could be counted, the court was of the opinion that they
could not on the basis that the phrase ‘for the time being’ in reg. 2 meant at any one time.
August 2016 semester Page 3
4. School of Architecture, Building & Design
Question 2
OSHA 1994 also stated the general duties of employees at work under Part VI in section
24 (a, b, c and d). These duties bear criminal permission for non-compliance and therefore
an employee who fails to fulfil with it may be sued. As an employee at work, they are
required to take reasonable care for the safety of themselves and other persons who may be
affected by their acts or omissions while at work. Besides, they are also required to
cooperate with the employer or any other person in charge of their duty or requirement
forced on the employer or that other person by this Act or any regulation made there under.
The unskilled employee could be liable for intentional dangerous activity at work while the
senior manager would be liable for professional judgement. Duty of reasonable care would
be judged from his level of training. It is to be based on the standard of reasonable care
that is to be expected from the person. It is a must for every employee to wear or use at all
times any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer for the purpose of
preventing risks to his safety and health and to comply with any instruction or measure on
occupational safety and health instituted by their employer or any other person by or under
this Act or any regulation made there under.
Employees have a duty under the act to take reasonable care to avoid injury to
themselves or to others by their work activities, and to cooperate with employers and others
in meeting legislative requirements. Section 24 (2) also states the effect of non-compliance
with the Act by the employees such as a person who breaches the provisions of this
section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand
ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.
Hamzah D494 & Ors v Wan Hanafi bin Wan Ali [1975] 1 MLJ 203 Wan Suleiman
FJ: In ordinary circumstances, or where simple operations are being performed, persons are
not as a rule required to guard against every possible result of their actions, nor are they
guaranteed to exercise scientific care or to take extravagant precautious. They must have
regard both to the probability of injury resulting, and to the probable seriousness of the
injury. They may weigh the cost and the difficulties of the precautions. They are in general
entitled to assume that others will comply with statutory regulations.
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5. School of Architecture, Building & Design
References
1. (Our OSH Journey, n.d.)
https://mydiposh.wordpress.com/tag/osha-1994/
2. (Nibusinessinfo, n.d.)
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/implementing-your-health-and-safety-policy
3. (Example of Health & Safety policies, n.d.)
http://www.worksafenb.ca/docs/522top1c_e.htm
4. (Health and Safety Authority, n.d.)
http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Managing_Health_and_Safety/Safety_and_Health_Mana
gement_Systems/
August 2016 semester Page 5
6. School of Architecture, Building & Design
References
1. (Our OSH Journey, n.d.)
https://mydiposh.wordpress.com/tag/osha-1994/
2. (Nibusinessinfo, n.d.)
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/implementing-your-health-and-safety-policy
3. (Example of Health & Safety policies, n.d.)
http://www.worksafenb.ca/docs/522top1c_e.htm
4. (Health and Safety Authority, n.d.)
http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Managing_Health_and_Safety/Safety_and_Health_Mana
gement_Systems/
August 2016 semester Page 5