Occupational Health System OHS

In 1991, the Board of Directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) sponsored development of the Occupational Health System (OHS). The primary purpose of the OHS was to document the work injury and illness experience ofthe U.S. semiconductor industry work force on an annual basis. The OHS was supported by participating companies on an annual fee basis. 

The Occupational Title Directory was designed to provide a system of uniform coding of cases from participating companies based on common jobs. The Directory contains approximately 65 occupations common to the U.S. semiconductor industry woik force. Although the source for the Directory was the U.S. Bureau of the Census classification of occupations, the Directory was specifically tailored for use in the OHS and includes a disproportionate number of jobs for engineers and technicians, compared with the source document. 

A series of codes was developed to classify case characteristics of worker injuries and illnesses according to  

All work injury and illness cases submitted for inclusion in the OHS database are coded except for cause of accident or exposure code. This latter code is, presently, optional in the OHS. 

The following demographic variables are coded for each case entered into Ihe OHS database  

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TheSemiconductorSafetyHandbookopenswifhChapt r 1, Injury and Illness of Semiconductor Workers Experience and Epidemiological Studies, by Donald Lassiter and James Stewart. Donald Lassiter has been a key figure in the development and maintenance of the semiconductor industry s Occupational Health System (OHS) injury and illness database. Development of the OHS system was sponsored by SIA in the early 1980 s and OHS has become the leading occupational illness and injury tracking database for the industry. The OHS system has been in place since 1983 and has participation from approximately one-quarter to one-third of the US semiconductor industry. Data from the OHS system as well as annual incidence rates for OSHA-recordable work injuries and illnesses are presented and compared for the time period 1983-1995. The co-author of this chapter, James Stewart, provides a comprehensive review of epidemiological health studies that have been conducted for the semiconductor industry. 

Beginning in 1982, the primary trade association ofthe U.S. semiconductor industry (Semiconductor Industry Association—SIA) has sponsored the development and maintenanee ofthe Occupational Health System (OHS). This system provides detailed data analyses of pertinent work injury and illness ease variables on an armual basis for the semieonduetor industry. Approximately one-quarterto one-third ofthe U.S. semieonduetor industry partieipates in the OHS program on a year-to-year basis. Priorto 1982, the only signifieant data eoneeming the safety and health experience of the nation s semiconductor work force were those published annually in the BLS surveys, as diseussed above. 

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCINFO). This set of four CD-ROM disks contains several valuable data bases of information that are updated on a quarterly basis MSDS, CHEM Data, OHS Source, and OHS Data. The MSDS component currently contains over 60,000 MSDS supplied by chemical manufacturers and distributors. It also contains several other data bases [RIPP, RIPA, Pest Management Research Information System (PRIS)], one of which (PRIS) even includes information on pest management products, including their presence and allowable limits in food. 

The third and fourth disks include Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) information. These disks contain data bases on Resource Organizations, Resource People, Case Law, Jurisprudence, Fatalities, Mining Incidents, and ADISCAN. Furthermore, information on Noise Levels, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSHTEC) Non-Ionizing Radiation Levels, and a Document Information Directory System is readily retrievable. These CD-ROM materials are available from the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety, 250 Main Street East, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 1H6. 

This collection contains full text Material Safety Data Sheets, Summary Sheets, and Label Data for more than 59000 substances, including pure substances and mixtures, 92-96% of which are the most heavily used chemicals in industry. The database originated with Occupational Health Services, Inc. (OHS). The records include occupational, environmental, and regulatory data, as well as names, CAS Registry Numbers, and regulatory list numbers. The OHS online system provides a full file, a summary information file, and a file composed of records to chemicals used in the manufacture of pesticide and other agricultural chemical products (OHS, STN available on CD from OHS). 

The German OHS system has a highly developed and statutory role for occupational health physicians and safety engme s (see Fopma et al 2002, Schaapman 2002, also Vogel 1993 and Walters 1996). While they are not in strong evidence in die wood-dust generating industries (because their presence is related to workplace size), the professional ethos overall will make a powerful contribution to defining the principles and priorities of prevention in relation to risks of wood-dust control. 

Alsop, P. LeCouteur, M. (1999). Measurable success from implementing an integrated OHS management system at Manningham City Council. Journal of Occupational Health Safety—Australia New Zealand, 15, 565-572. 

Zwesloot, G. (2000) Development and debates on OHS system standardization and certification , in K. Frick, P. L. Jensen, M. Quinlan, and T. Wilthagen (eds) Systematic Occupational Health and Safety Management Perspectives on an International Development. Pergamon Oxford and Amsterdam. 

The South African National Standard (SANS) Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18002 2011 (Edition 1), Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Guidelines for the Implementation of OHSAS 18001 2007, recommends the appointment of a senior member of management to coordinate the occupational health and safety (OH S) movement. 

British Standards Institute (BSI). 2008. Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. OHS AS 18001. (Permission to reproduce extracts from BSI-OHSAS 18001 is granted by BSI. British Standards can be obtained in PDF or hard copy formats from the BSI online shop, www.bsigroup.com/Shop, or by contacting BSI customer service for hard copies only, tel +44 (0)20 8996 9001, email cservices bsigroup.com.)... 

Kurppa K., Riinkla, E., Tammaru, E. Kempinen, M. 2004. Networking system to strengthen OH S in Estonia. In S. Lehtinen (ed.) Occupational health services in Estonia. FIOH, Helsinki. ISBN 951-802-616-5 47-52. 

BS OHS AS 18001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Requirements, British Standards Institution AS/NZS 4801 2001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Specifications with Guidance for Use, Australia New Zealand Standards. 

The 2007 revision of BS OHS AS 18001 2007—Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements... 

BS OHS AS 18001 2007. Occupational health and safety Management systems— Requirements. London British Standards Institution (BSI), 2007. 

BS OHS AS 1S001 2001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements says that For the management of change, the organization shall identify the OH S hazards, and OH S risks. .. prior to the introduction of such changes (Section 4.3.1). 

British Standards Institution, OH SAS 18002 2000, Occupational health and safety manage ment systems - Guidelines for the implementation ofOHSAS 18001, BSI, London (2000)... 

International Labour Office, ILO-OHS 2001, Guidelines to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, ILO, Geneva (2001)... 

The (OHSAS) specification gives requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH S) management system, to enable an organisation to control its OH S risks and improve its performance. It does not state specific OH S performance criteria, nor does it give detailed specifications for the design of a management system. 

A modern philosophy of activities within OHS results from the application of integrated management systems in businesses, which show the highest level of competitiveness on the market. Activities within occupational health and safety cannot be realized separately anymore, but as a part of management activities, which also include environmental managanent systems, quality management systems, and therefore every attribute that creates conditions for a high lifestyle level. 

The company s management has responsibility for activities in the field of occupational health and safety, for environment protection, safe operation and maintenance, for safety of manufactured products, as weU as for offered services in compliance with respective legislative enactments. Top managers in a business are those who create conditions to implement safety culture in the business and carry out every activity for outcome efficiency determination, which comes from implementing OHS management systems as a tool for increasing business prosperity. 

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