Introduction
The programme “Developing Occupational Health Programs” develops professional practice in Occupational Health and Safety. It connects the subject with workplace challenges by examining existing evidence and practices and choosing methods appropriate to the organization and its available resources.
The learning progresses from occupational safety, risk assessment, and prevention to performance measurement and continuous improvement, with practical work on risk assessment, controls, and response, crisis management, communication, and response, process safety, barriers, and management of change. Participants prepare outputs to support workplace application and review the quality and results of implementation.
Learning objectives
- Prepare a work risk assessment and prevention and response plan based on the hierarchy of controls in an application related to “Developing Occupational Health Programs”.
- Prepare a risk register connecting causes, consequences, controls, and treatment responsibilities.
- Prepare a crisis response and communication plan covering roles, messages, and escalation.
- Analyze an operational hazard scenario and review barriers and change control responsibilities.
- Build performance indicators that distinguish activity completion from achievement of results.
Learning areas
1. Occupational Safety, Risk Assessment, and Prevention
- Identify task hazards, exposed people, and site conditions, gathering information from observations, records, and equipment instructions.
- Estimate the risk level and select appropriate controls from elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment.
- Review work procedures, permits, isolation, communication, and supervision according to the task, and define responsibility for stopping unsafe work.
- Analyze an incident or near miss using facts and evidence, examining systemic causes and failed controls beyond blaming individuals.
- Prepare a tabletop emergency exercise and an inspection, awareness, and follow-up plan, assigning field execution to qualified personnel under approved procedures. The application examines a case related to “Developing Occupational Health Programs”.
2. Risk Assessment, Controls, and Response
- Define the work context, objectives, and assessment boundaries, and distinguish the risk source, potential event, and effects on results.
- Gather risks from processes, data, past incidents, and interviews with responsible staff, and document causes and existing controls.
- Estimate likelihood and impact using stated criteria, and review control effectiveness to determine residual risk levels.
- Select a response proportionate to the risks, resources, and authority, and specify the owner, deadline, and early warning indicator.
- Test a scenario involving changing circumstances, update the risk register, and present material risks and required decisions to the appropriate authority.
3. Crisis Management, Communication, and Response
- Identify crisis scenarios, warning indicators, and effects on people, services, and reputation, and define response activation thresholds.
- Allocate crisis team roles, decision-making authority, and escalation paths, and establish a mechanism for collecting and updating verified information.
- Draft an initial message explaining confirmed facts, actions, and update channels, avoiding speculation or disclosure of sensitive information.
- Run a simulation involving changing information, time pressure, and multiple parties, recording decisions, their rationale, and their timing.
- Conduct a post-crisis review comparing the plan with execution, and define improvement actions, owners, and dates for retesting readiness.
4. Process Safety, Barriers, and Management of Change
- Identify sources of hazardous materials and energy and process boundaries, distinguishing process safety from individual occupational safety in the case presented.
- Analyze the sequence, causes, and consequences of a hazardous event, and identify preventive and mitigating barriers and evidence for verifying their readiness.
- Review work permits, isolation, and coordination among parties under facility procedures, and identify hold points requiring specialist approval.
- Prepare a change request identifying its rationale, risks, and effects on documents, training, and emergencies, with technical review before implementation.
- Conduct a tabletop exercise involving a hypothetical barrier failure or leak, and document escalation and response actions, lessons, and the subsequent verification plan.
5. Performance Measurement and Continuous Improvement
- Define the intended result and its beneficiary, and distinguish indicators of inputs, activities, outputs, and impact.
- Define each indicator's formula, unit of measurement, data source, update frequency, and responsibility for collection and verification.
- Select a baseline, realistic target, and alert thresholds, and review data quality before interpreting deviations from the target.
- Analyze the causes of performance gaps and link them to corrective actions with specified owners, deadlines, resources, and closure verification methods.
- Design a review meeting covering trends, decisions, and open actions, and track improvement over more than one measurement cycle.
Practical outputs
- A task risk assessment and an inspection, training, and response plan.
- A risk register, control matrix, and prioritized treatment plan.
- A crisis plan, decision register, initial statement template, and simulation exercise.
- A register of risk scenarios and barriers, and an operational change review plan.
- Performance indicator cards and a plan for reviewing results and improvement actions.
Who should attend
- Engineers, technicians, supervisors and operations staff whose work relates to the programme subject.
- Managers and teams working in occupational health and safety, according to their practical responsibilities.
- Professionals responsible for applying the outputs of “Developing Occupational Health Programs” within their organizations.
Prerequisites
- Working familiarity with the programme field and the ability to discuss a professional case or challenge.
- Confirm the suitability of your experience and any specialist prerequisites with the Union before participation.
Conclusion
The programme “Developing Occupational Health Programs” brings together concepts, case review and a practical application. Participants prepare steps that can be adapted to their responsibilities and organizational resources, with an indicator to follow application and review results after returning to work.
Participation arrangements and any special requests are specified in the confirmation issued by the Union.