Safety and risk analysis in

engineering practice
Reference:
CCMASEngineeringBook1Vol1

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Safety and risk analysis in engineering practice

The National Policy on Occupational Safety and

Health
Existing Legal Instruments
Other Related Regulations
Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis

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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health
Government’s approach to minimizing the causes
and effects of hazards inherent in the working
environment.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention
N0.155 on occupational safety, health, and working
environment (1981) was ratified by Nigeria in 1994.
1999 Constitution of Nigeria, section 17.3c:
– “The state shall divert its policy towards ensuring that
the health, safety and welfare of all persons in
employment is safeguarded and not endangered or
abused”,
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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health

Goal of the policy

– Facilitates improvement of occupational safety
and health performance – providing a framework
for inclusive participation
– Ensure harmonization of workers’ rights
protection – facilitating an enabling environment
and regulating various provisions for the safety,
health, and welfare of workers

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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health

Objectives of the policy

– To create a general framework for the
improvement of working conditions and the
working environment.
– To prevent accidents and departures arising out of
or in the course of work.
– To ensure the provision of occupational safety and
health services to workers in all sectors of
economic activity.

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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health
Scope: It applies to all Nigerian workplaces including
formal and informal sector workplaces and covers:
– Location, design, construction, testing, choice,
substitution, installation, arrangement, use, and
maintenance of workplaces, work environment, tools,
machinery and equipment, chemical, physical and
biological agents, and work processes.
– Inter-relationship between the material elements of
work, the worker, or his supervisor, man-machine
adaptation, and adaptation of working time, rest
period, organization of work, and work processes to
the physical and mental capacities of the workers.
– Communication and cooperation among stakeholders
at all levels.
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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health
Scope: It applies to all Nigerian workplaces including formal and
informal sector workplaces and covers:
– The protection of workers and their representatives from disciplinary
measures as a result of actions properly taken to secure safety and
health at work.
– Prevention and management of psychosocial problems at the
workplace such as mental stress, alcoholism, drug and substance
abuse, and physical and psychological violence.
– Special needs of vulnerable workers such as women especially in
childbearing age, young persons, the handicapped, and migrant
workers.
– Use of electricity and materials, which generate electrostatic charges
– Radiation protection
– Manufacture, packaging, labeling, transportation, storage, and
disposal of hazardous substances.
– Prevention of fires and explosions

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The National Policy on Occupational Safety and
Health
Scope: It applies to all Nigerian workplaces including formal and informal
sector workplaces and covers:
– Supply of potable drinking water and other welfare facilities.
– Occupational First Aid and establishment of workplace emergency
preparedness and response plans.
– Prevention and control of hazards due to high and low barometric pressures
and temperatures;
– Prevention and control of hazards including establishment of procedures for
work in confined spaces.
– Medical surveillance of the health of workers.
– Monitoring of work environment and workers’ exposure.
– Training of workers and other personnel in the area of occupational safety and
health.
– Gathering, storage, and easy retrieval of information about occupational
safety and health activities at work.
– Periodic survey of workplaces and promotion of research in the area of
occupational Safety and Health.
– Prevention of occupational allergies and diseases including communicable
diseases.
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 Existing Legal Instruments
In pursuance of the above objectives, the
Government promulgated the following
legislations:
– a) Factories Act (Cap. 126 of the Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 1990).
– b) Subsidiary Legislations/Regulations to the
Factories Act.

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 Existing Legal Instruments
Subsidiary Legislations/Regulations to the Factories Act.
– 1. Prescribed Forms and Particulars Order
– 2. Declaration of Industrial Diseases Notice.
– 3. Docks (Safety of Labour) Regulations.
– 4. Docks (Sanitary Accommodation) Regulations
– 5. First Aid Boxes (Prescribed Standards Order).
– 6. Factories (Wood Working Machinery) Regulations.
– 7. Factories (Notification of Dangerous Occurrences)
Regulations.
– 8. Factories Act (Exemption) Order.
– 9. Factories (Sanitary Accommodation) Regulations
– 10. Factories (Registration etc; Fees) Amendment
Regulations.
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 Other Related Regulations
1. Public Health Act 1958
2. Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provision) Decree of 1998
3. National Environmental Protection (Pollution Abatement on
Industries and Facilities Generating Waste) Regulation 1991
4. National Environmental Protection (Management of Solid and
Hazardous Waste)
5. Regulation of 1991 FEPA Decree 58 of 1988 amended by
Decree 59 of 1992.
6. National Environmental Protection (Effluent Limitation)
Regulation of 1991.
7. Petroleum Act 1977 cap 350
8. Mineral Oil (Safety) Regulation 1997
9. Drilling and Production Regulations and Oil Pipeline Act 1990.
10. Fire Services Regulation 1998.
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Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis
Safety is defined as freedom from risk and risk is
the possibility of suffering harm or loss.
Both controllable and uncontrollable factors
affect risk.
Awareness of these factors and a willingness to
manage controllable risk by modifying behaviour
is essential to any safety and risk management
goals.

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Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis
Risk relates to a combination of the likelihood of
hazards occurring, and to the severity of their
outcome or consequence.
Safety in engineering design begins with identifying
possible hazards that could occur, as well as the
corresponding system states that could lead to an
accident or incident in the designed system.
System Safety Analysis (SSA) is a field within safety
engineering that uses a proactive approach to risk
management.
SSA looks ahead to system failure and anticipated
human behaviour and interaction with system
process equipment.
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Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis
A safety risk assessment is a systematic
procedure for identifying and managing hazards.

It encompasses a thorough examination of the

entire work environment, processes, and
equipment to determine any hazard to the health
of the employees in the short or long term and
implement remedies.

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Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis
Safety risk assessments are essential for protecting employees,
businesses and complying with the law.

Assessments promote employee awareness regarding workplace

hazards, aid in identifying personnel at risk, determine existing
control measures and their adequacy, prevent illness and
injuries, and prioritize hazards and their control measures.

Safety risk assessments are usually conducted:

– at the beginning of a new project, when a new or renovated
machine/new or amended process is to be implemented, when
a machine is relocated, when new employees are appointed,
the introduction of new raw materials, or on receipt of new
information about a product.

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Safety, Risk and Safety Analysis
Safety assessments consist of the following stages:
– Identifying a hazard;
– Collecting information and analyzing risk associated
with it;
– Determining how to remove or reduce its effect by
eliminating the process or equipment;
– Replacing with better equipment or process
– Using advanced technology or design and physically
isolating processes or direct contact with the user
using appropriate collective or personal protective
equipment.
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