Occupational safety training
What is a workplace accident?
Apr
Work accidents are events that occur during the working process causing damage to the health or life of workers. Work accidents can include minor incidents such as cuts, minor burns, or more serious injuries like bone fractures, finger loss, and even death.
I. What is a work accident?
- A work accident is an unexpected risky event occurring during labor. It causes injury to any part or function of the body or causes death to the worker while performing their job or labor activities. This is always an essential part of labor laws in most countries.
- Work accidents can happen in any occupation, from manufacturing, construction, transportation, services, and many other fields. Workers in hazardous industries such as shipbuilding, oil and gas, mining, grass cutting, electricity, or rubber often face the risk of work accidents.
- Work accidents usually happen during working hours at the workplace; however, they may also occur outside working hours or outside the workplace when performing tasks as requested by the employer, or on the way to and from the worker’s residence to the workplace.
- To ensure worker safety, businesses need to implement protective measures, enhance training and education on occupational safety for employees, and establish safety regulations and procedures to minimize work accident risks.
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II. Classification of work accidents
1. Fatal work accidents
- Workers die at the accident site
- Workers die on the way to emergency care
- Workers die during the emergency care period
2. Serious injury work accidents
a. Head, face, neck
- Open or closed brain injuries
- Brain contusion
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Skull fracture
- Scalp avulsion
- Pupil injuries
- Fracture and contusion of skull conchae bones
- Fracture of jawbones
- Extensive soft tissue injuries on the face
- Neck injuries affecting the larynx and esophagus
b. Chest, abdomen
- Chest injuries affecting internal organs
- Median sternum compression syndrome
- Chest contusion or severe chest compression
- Rib fractures
- Extensive soft tissue injuries on the abdomen
- Severe injuries and contusions affecting internal abdominal organs
- Perforation or rupture of abdominal organs
- Impact, contusion affecting spinal movement
- Fracture or dislocation of the spine
- Pelvic fractures
- Pelvic injuries severely affecting trunk and lower limb movement
- Injuries to reproductive organs
c. Upper limbs
- Bone, nerve, vascular injuries affecting upper limb movement
- Extensive soft tissue injuries to the upper limbs
- Injuries to the shoulder, arm, hand, wrist affecting tendons
- Bruises, fractures, crush injuries of the clavicle, scapula, arm, forearm, wrist, hand, finger bones
- Dislocation or sprain of joints
d. Lower limbs
- Lower limb injuries causing damage to vessels, nerves, bones affecting limb movement
- Extensive injuries to the lower limbs
- Fractures and contusions of the hip, hip joint, thigh, knee, shin, ankle, foot, and toes
e. Burns
- 3rd degree burns
- Widespread 2nd and 3rd degree thermal burns
- Severe chemical burns of 2nd and 3rd degree
- Severe electrical burns
- 3rd degree frostbite
- Widespread 2nd and 3rd degree frostbite
f. Severe poisoning by the following substances
- Carbon monoxide: unconsciousness, delirium, skin nutritional disorders, pulmonary edema, confused state, fatigue, memory impairment, noticeable changes in the circulatory system
- Nitrogen oxides: complete pulmonary edema, may complicate or cause bronchitis
- Hydrogen sulfide: strong irritation, convulsive state, possible pulmonary edema, delirium
- High concentration carbon monoxide: respiratory arrest, then slow breathing, bleeding from nose, mouth, intestines, weakness, unconsciousness
- Acute poisoning by various pesticides
- Other toxic chemicals listed in the mandatory reporting and registration list
3. Minor injury work accidents
- Cases that do not belong to fatal or serious injury accidents
- Injuries that can recover quickly or do not significantly affect normal daily activities
III. Causes of work accidents
The main causes of work accidents are hazards in production. Therefore, employers always have the responsibility to prevent and implement safety measures. The common causes are:
- Poor lighting in the work area
- An essential issue in labor is having sufficient lighting for effective work vision.
- Insufficient or excessive lighting can cause distraction and discomfort for workers.
- Lack of protective equipment
- Providing protective gear to workers is crucial. Without protective equipment, physical injuries during accidents are unavoidable.
- Poor quality protective gear or incorrect usage, wrong size, or wrong function
- Absence of shields or barriers in dangerous areas
- Construction or repair areas without barriers or danger signs.
- Workers failing to recognize workplace hazards.
- Damaged machinery
- Machine parts and components that are deformed, bent, cracked, or broken causing accidents.
- Electrical incidents
- Machinery with electrical leakage, exposed or broken wires, unsafe power sources causing electric shock to workers.
IV. Measures to prevent work accidents
- Inspect machinery and equipment before use and conduct periodic inspections during use by authorized occupational safety inspection organizations.
- Develop plans and measures for occupational safety, hygiene, and improve working conditions.
- Establish internal rules and operational procedures at the workplace.
- Provide adequate personal protective equipment meeting quality standards and ensure usage during work.
- Workers and occupational safety and hygiene personnel must attend occupational safety and hygiene training courses.
- Employers must fully inform workers about accident situations, hazards, harmful factors, and safety measures.
- Enterprises must organize regular medical examinations for workers.
V. Responsibilities of Employers When Workplace Accidents Occur
Employers have the following responsibilities toward workers injured in workplace accidents:
- Provide timely first aid and emergency treatment to injured workers.
- Advance costs for first aid, emergency treatment, and medical care for injured or occupational disease-affected workers;
- Pay medical expenses from the first aid stage until the injured worker’s condition stabilizes.
- Pay full wages to workers who must take leave for treatment and labor rehabilitation due to injury or occupational disease;
- Compensate workers injured in accidents that were not entirely caused by their own fault;
- Refer injured workers for medical examination to assess the degree of labor capacity loss, and arrange for treatment, nursing, and labor rehabilitation according to legal regulations;
- Complete compensation and allowances for injured workers within 5 days from the date of the medical assessment council’s conclusion.
- Arrange suitable work for injured or occupational disease-affected workers after treatment and rehabilitation, based on the medical assessment council’s conclusions if they continue working;
- Prepare dossiers to claim benefits from the Occupational Accident Insurance Fund in accordance with Section 3, Chapter III of the 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health
VI. Handling Situations When Workplace Accidents Occur
To handle workplace accidents effectively, preparation before accidents happen is crucial. This includes defining regulations on workplace accidents, providing first aid and support to injured workers, investigation procedures, etc. Implementing necessary changes to prevent future accidents is also an important part of accident handling. This may involve process improvements, equipment upgrades, and conducting occupational safety training for employees, among others.
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1. Planning Drills for Handling Workplace Accident Situations
Developing an accident response plan and training employees on how to handle such situations is very important. This ensures smooth response and helps minimize the impact of accidents on injured workers and their families.
When handling workplace accident situations, immediate first aid and support to injured workers are crucial. This helps save lives and prevent the condition from worsening.
Planning drills for accident response may include the following steps:
- Preparation: Assess safety conditions and readiness of emergency equipment and personnel.
- Conduct drills: Execute emergency response activities according to the plan.
- Evaluate results: Review drill outcomes and suggest improvements for future responses.
- Implement changes: Apply recommended improvements to enhance accident handling processes.
- Employee training: Train staff on accident response procedures to improve their responsiveness.
Following this plan will help ensure effective handling of workplace accident situations and timely rescue of injured persons.
2. Immediate First Aid
If an injured person requires help, time is critical and must be acted upon swiftly to minimize health risks. Prompt first aid can reduce injury severity and improve recovery prospects, while medical agencies can provide early support and comprehensive care.
Steps for immediate first aid in workplace accidents may include:
- Safety: Ensure the safety of both the rescuer and injured person. Before any action, confirm the environment is safe with no risk of explosion or fire.
- Assess condition: Evaluate the injured person’s physical status and diagnose the situation to ensure accurate and effective first aid.
- First aid: Administer first aid using appropriate equipment such as stretchers, fire extinguishers, etc.
- Support: Provide ongoing care such as assisting with movement and comfort.
- Report: Report detailed information about the accident to relevant authorities, including police, hospitals, family, etc.
3. Contacting Relevant Authorities
When a workplace accident occurs, contacting emergency medical services promptly is critical. If the injured person needs urgent help, call emergency services (115) or take them directly to the nearest hospital. Medical professionals will assess the person’s condition and decide on the appropriate treatment.
Steps to contact emergency medical services during a workplace accident include:
- Assess the injured person’s condition: Determine if they can self-treat or need assistance.
- Use a phone or other device to call emergency services (115).
- Provide detailed information about the injured person’s condition and the accident location.
- If necessary, provide specific assistance, such as keeping the person still, giving water, or keeping them warm.
- Follow the instructions of emergency dispatchers to ensure safety for yourself and the injured person.
- If possible, keep detailed records of the accident including involved persons, location, and any other relevant details for follow-up.
4. Collecting Information About the Accident
Collecting information helps identify accident causes and prevents similar incidents in the future. This information supports accident handling and resolution, including compensation claims, and helps the injured party receive support from authorities.
Steps to collect information about workplace accidents include:
- Record basic information: Note the injured person’s details, time and location of the accident, and any other relevant information.
- Take photos or videos: Document injuries and accident site visually.
- Note accident details: Record what happened and actions taken to assist the injured person.
- Contact Safety Officers or health authorities for support in information gathering.
- Preserve evidence: Safeguard related records, documents, and any other relevant information.
5. Supporting the Injured Worker and Their Family
Workplace accidents can cause serious health damage, so medical and other support plays a key role in helping injured workers recover, reducing treatment costs, and repairing damage. Support measures for injured workers and their families may include:
- Medical support: Covering treatment and health care expenses for injured workers.
- Compensation: Financial support to help injured workers and their families cope with accident-related costs.
- Career support: Assisting injured workers in finding new jobs or retraining.
- Financial assistance: Short- or long-term financial aid for families of injured workers.
- Psychological support: Counseling or charity support for injured workers and their families.
6. Conducting Accident Investigation and Handling
Investigations help determine the severity of injuries and support compensation claims, ensuring that companies and authorities comply with safety and health regulations. Steps in conducting workplace accident investigations include:
- Recording accident information: time, place, details, and people involved.
- Collecting evidence and related documents: photos, advertisements, recordings, drawings, and prints.
- Interviewing witnesses and related persons for more details.
- Reviewing work procedures and safety regulations of the company and related authorities.
- Analyzing and identifying root causes and determining necessary actions to prevent recurrence.
- Reporting investigation results and proposing measures to prevent similar future accidents.
VII. Occupational Safety Training in Ho Chi Minh City
An Toàn Nam Việt Center proudly offers reputable and professional occupational safety and hygiene training with the following advantages:
- Competitive training costs with guaranteed quality.
- Flexible training schedules that align with the production needs of companies and businesses.
- Fast and lawful certification procedures for occupational safety and hygiene training.
- Experienced instructors with many years in the profession.
- Training materials tailored to the safety requirements of businesses.
- Dedicated and professional service ensuring accurate and timely support for clients.
REGISTER FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TRAINING SERVICE
Topic: Occupational Safety Training, Worker Health, Workplace Accident Prevention, Occupational Safety Training, Occupational Safety Law, Occupational Safety Training Center
