{"id":17429,"date":"2022-11-02T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T03:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rakansarawak.com\/v3\/?p=17429"},"modified":"2022-11-22T06:54:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T22:54:00","slug":"continuous-promotion-of-occupational-safety-and-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rakansarawak.com\/v3\/2022\/11\/02\/continuous-promotion-of-occupational-safety-and-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuous Promotion of Occupational Safety and Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A key function of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)<\/a> is to conduct promotional and publicity activities to workers, employers and the general public in order to foster and enhance awareness of occupational safety and health (OSH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By disseminating information and providing guidance regarding safety and health at the workplace, the department strives to ensure compliance with all OSH laws in Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the economy reopens with the country\u2019s transition into COVID-19 endemicity, DOSH Sarawak is ramping up promotional efforts to industries in Sarawak on the importance of OSH for their employees, whether through talks, mass media or social media updates via its official Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, it is informing them on the upcoming Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2020<\/a>, which when fully enforced in June 2023 will see employers facing stiffer fines and prison sentences should they fail to guarantee their workers safety and health protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are aware of the need for safety and health, but there will be times that they forget. So it\u2019s good to remind them about it,\u201d says DOSH Sarawak director Ir. Dr. Nor Halim bin Hasan in an interview with RAKAN Sarawak<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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DOSH Sarawak director Ir. Dr. Nor Halim bin Hasan <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Industry Engagement Leads to Localised Initiatives<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOSH Sarawak is responsible in ensuring the safety, health and welfare of persons at work, as well as to protect others from safety and health hazards arising from employment activities of various economic sectors in Sarawak.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Emphasising safety and health at the workplace has been a crucial responsibility for the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia. Photo by ILO\/A.Mirza<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

According to Ir. Dr. Nor Halim, the department is presently prioritising high-risk industries that include oil and gas, high-rise building construction, agriculture and chemical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it administers and enforces laws and regulations pertaining to OSH in Malaysia, DOSH Sarawak has been collaborating with industry players to develop and implement programmes unique to Sarawak, fundamentally to reduce the number of deaths and keep accident rates to the minimum in related sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Through these initiatives) We hope that we can help the industry to manage safety and health at the workplace,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generic HIRARC Workshop For Shipbuilding Sector<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First carried out in 2019, the workshop is part of the generic Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) programme for the shipbuilding sector, particularly in Sibu for it has the most number of shipbuilding factories in Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A workshop on Generic HIRARC For Shipbuilding Sector in July 2019. Photo from Sibu Shipyard Association Facebook page<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

It comes after a lengthy engagement between DOSH Sarawak and more than 40 shipbuilders in Sibu under the Sibu Shipyard Association that began in 2018, following a series of audits by the department that discovered the lack of OSH system being implemented at workplaces of the heavy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collaboration between the department and the association has also led to the release of a generic HIRARC guideline<\/a> for the shipbuilding sector, designed as reference for employers to improve the safety and health of their organisations, more so in terms of risk assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSH Strengthening Programme For Logging Sector<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implemented since 2020, the OSH Strengthening Programme<\/a> for the logging sector in Sarawak sees the cooperation between DOSH Sarawak, Forest Department Sarawak, Sarawak Timber Association and Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation, involving 12 major logging companies. <\/p>\n\n\n

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A workshop on OSH Strengthening Programme For Logging Sector in September 2020. Photo from STIDC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

It is designed<\/a> to increase the level of OSH among employees, especially OSH-related compliance through the development of OSH training module in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also aims to provide an understanding of OSH through training so that employers can train their own workers, as well as to plan the direction of OSH in the logging and forestry sector in the State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSH Guideline in Coal Mining Sector<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, DOSH Sarawak worked together with Sarawak Energy to develop an OSH guideline for the coal mining sector in Sarawak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ir. Dr. Nor Halim explains that the guideline, which focuses on the management of safety and health, is created as a \u201cdocument of compliance\u201d and is nearly completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn its final stage, we will present it to the Premier (of Sarawak). So after the Premier agrees to the guideline, it will be available to the State and all industry players in coal mining to comply with,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A promotional material on “Guidance note on ventilation and indoor air quality for non-residential properties”. Source: Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia official website\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of DOSH Promotional and Publicity Activities<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Giving talks and explanations as well as training on occupational safety and health<\/li>
  • Organising campaigns and exhibitions on occupational safety and health<\/li>
  • Providing expertise on occupational safety and health to public agencies, the private sector, associations of employers and employees, as well as professional bodies<\/li>
  • Collecting and providing informational materials on occupational safety and health for reference, lending and dissemination<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Source: Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n

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