Occupational Health Management

This report discusses occupational health management in the mining industry, focusing on BHP Billiton. It covers risk assessment, management plan, emergency response, and evaluation.

Running head: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
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1OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary
This report is based on occupational health management. The company taken for this topic was
BHP Billiton. This comes under the mining industry. A brief introduction to occupational health
management has been given. The basic definition of a few terms has been mentioned. The
workplace demography explained the details of mining in BHP. A proper risk assessment has
been done and problems have been understood. A management plan has been explained and
emergency response has been noted in tables. An emergency evacuation plan has been shown. A
set of recommendations for the evaluation process has been given to BHP Billiton. It included
monitoring of the plan taken for occupational health management. It also had the explanation of
different tools that could be used for health programs.

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Table of Contents
1. Industry or organization name.....................................................................................................4
2. An Introduction............................................................................................................................4
3. Definitions...................................................................................................................................4
4. Workplace Demography..............................................................................................................4
5. Assessment of risk.......................................................................................................................5
5.1 Risks of health hazards and risk assessment..........................................................................5
5.2 Legal requirements and ethical considerations......................................................................6
5.3 Changes required for reducing health hazards.......................................................................6
5.4 Current management and their control measures for minimising occupational health
hazards.........................................................................................................................................7
6. Critical Review of relevant literature..........................................................................................7
7. Management Plan........................................................................................................................8
7.1 Outcomes and goals of the health program...........................................................................8
7.2 Activities involved in developing and implementing the program.......................................8
8. Emergency Response...................................................................................................................9
9. Emergency Evacuation Plan......................................................................................................13
10. Evaluation................................................................................................................................13
10.1 Monitoring, evaluation of success and effectiveness of Occupational Health Management
Program......................................................................................................................................13
10.2 Methods or Tools for evaluating the health program........................................................14
11. Conclusion...............................................................................................................................14
Reference List................................................................................................................................15

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1. Industry or organization name
Company Name: BHP Billiton
Industry: Mining
2. An Introduction
Occupational health management is a system that has the ability to find health hazards and then
look for ways to control the risks (Dunn & Thakorlal, 2014). The main aim of the organizations
is to maintain and promote the health and working capacity of the workers. They try to improve
the workplace environment so that employees can work safely without any tension.
Occupational health management develops the working culture in the organization. If there is no
such management then it will become difficult for the employees to work. They will be more
exposed to harmful problems and diseases. This management improves the morale of the
employees and reduces insurance costs. There will be less of absenteeism and productivity of the
organisation will increase. For this report, the organisation taken is BHP Billiton. In this report,
the details of the BHP will be studied. Then the health risks and hazards will be found out. A
healthcare program will be recommended to them so that health issues get reduced.
3. Definitions
Organisation health Management: This field mainly deals with the health, safety and welfare of
the employees at the workplace.
Risk Assessment: This system identifies the risk which has the potential to cause harm.
4. Workplace Demography
BHP is known as BHP Billiton. This is a multinational Anglo-Australian mining company. It is
headquartered at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. BHP was founded by Broken Hill Proprietary
Company Limited in the year 1885. They mainly deal with iron ore, petroleum, coal, natural gas,
copper, nickel and uranium. The revenue of the company is US$ 43.638 billion. There are 62,000
employees currently working in the company. BHP operates worldwide and is the third largest in

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Melbourne (BHP.com, 2019). The main mining operations take place in Australia, North and
South America. They are having operations of petroleum in Australia, US, Tobago and Trinidad,
UK and Algeria. The workers are generally male as this is the mining industry. However, the
company is following diversity rule and so they have females also working for them. BHP has
long working hours and employees have to strictly follow the rules. The employees are unable to
manage their work and personal life due to BHP. The employees are paid well but they have to
face many problems. The employees are between 30 to 50 years of age. As BHP is one of the
largest companies in the world hence, they hire an experienced set of people. At BHP employees
can work for 30 years. The employees are frequently exposed to many health hazards in the
company as the work is completely related to mining. Accidents can take place like loading and
unloading of materials, inspection and testing of mines, working from height and fire in the mine
(Smith et al., 2016). There are problems due to dust and fumes. It causes pulmonary disease to
the employee. The surrounding water resources also get contaminated due to mining and hence
the general public suffers because of it. BHP is trying to bring sustainable programs so that
employees are happy and they get motivated to work. The company is also looking for a solution
in case of health hazards.
5. Assessment of risk
5.1 Risks of health hazards and risk assessment
The risk employees at BHP are commonly facing is Thermal stress. The working environment is
causing thermal stress among the workers. There are hot and humid conditions in the mines
where employees have to work (Alli, 2008). Due to the excess exposure to heat, the employee's
body gets distressed and fatigued. It also results in heat stroke and more major health issues. This
issue occurs because the body is unable to control its internal temperature. This happens due to
the work rate, heavy mining clothes. The body gets overheated and dehydration takes place.
There are many risks to the health of the employees due to thermal stress. Employees can face
occupational illness, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat syncope, skin rashes and diseases and
death. These risks are assessed at BHP by the first aid centre they have. It is seen that employees
are frequently visiting the centre for getting themselves treated. They also have complained of
the increasing skin rashes and illness.

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5.2 Legal requirements and ethical considerations
There are some legal requirements and ethical considerations of BHP Billiton. They have a
safety risk management that helps in identifying the risk that causes fatalities and impact. They
implement major controls over the safety of their employees. They follow a hierarchy in such
cases. They try bringing new changes in operations and equipment. BHP monitors and maintains
safety risk effectiveness. They are having confined spaces for which they are trying to keep the
environment safe. A rescue plan is made of such places. The equipment of respiratory use
accessed in places where there is no safe atmosphere. BHP is monitoring the working activities,
atmosphere contaminations and personnel. There is a process of lifting, light vehicle, hazardous
materials and falling of objects. They have a ground control system for the objects falling on the
ground. Even though there are so many ethical considerations but health hazards continue to take
place. The company has specific health requirements so that they can protect their employees
and contractors. They are trying to prevent occupational illness and injuries. BHP tries to find
health hazards and its causes like injury or illness. They are having occupational exposure limits
which take in the details like work shifts, exposures and rosters. When there is a process change
the risk profile is exposed. To meet the health targets of people, elimination, substitution,
isolation are controlled by the administration (Smith, 2010). BHP is creating fitness in their
company so that the health hazards get reduced. There is fatigue management control for the
employees so that thermal stress gets reduced.
5.3 Changes required for reducing health hazards
A change is required in BHP Billiton for reducing the thermal stress among the employees. This
change is needed because the productivity of the company is reducing and employees are leaving
jobs due to such a problem. In order to improve the condition, there should be a control in
temperature by solutions given by engineering. Mechanical aid should be given to reduce the rate
of work and exposure to the heated environment (Haas & Yorio, 2016). Protective equipment
should be given to the employees who help in cooling the internal human body and fabrics must
be breathable. Employees should be given proper training for monitoring the health risks of
workers.

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5.4 Current management and their control measures for minimising occupational health
hazards
BHP Billiton is currently taking some measures for the health and safety of its employees. This
is helping them to reduce the occupational hazards in the mines. All the health issues are
managed by occupational exposure limits. All the works and settings are according to the OEL
limit. Medical surveillance is conducted periodically which helps them in detecting the early
stages of illness (Bao, Johansson & Zhang, 2017). They provide assistance for the recovery of
the employees. With their Charter and culture of care, all the physical activities are getting
enhanced. Preventive measure is being taken for diseases, health food is given, and clean
accommodation and well-being is managed properly. For the company, the safety of the
employees is their first priority. They don't want productivity if safety is not ensured. All fatal
risks are verified and there is quality field management for the workforce. The company looks
for other opportunities so that the safety performance gets improved. All discussions are done on
safety toolbox and risks before the work gets started.
6. Critical Review of relevant literature
Risk assessment is a method where the risk can be identified and what harmful effect can it have
on human or employees in a workplace (Aven, 2016). This assessment helps the companies to
take specific measures of handling risks on the health and safety of the employees. Risk
assessment has a lot of benefits. The risks in a company can be minimized through this
assessment. The companies can form better policies for the health and safety of their employees.
They will also try to maintain a healthy environment in the workplace. Risk management
generally consists of four main steps. They are firstly the identification of hazards. Such hazards
can lead to certain diseases like musculoskeletal disorder. Then the risk needs to be assessed.
After this, there should be some control on the risk and finally, the risk control should be
reviewed. In many organisations, risk management is important because they help in creating
awareness of the hazards. They look after the need for control program requirements for a
particular hazard. It also meets the legal requirements wherever it is necessary. Risk assessment
prevents illness and injuries at the planning or design stage.Just by implementing risk assessment
in BHP is not the solution. This program has to be evaluated. It will show the changes taking in
the workplace. The accuracy of the program will also be understood. The hazards can be ranked

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according to high or low priority. Checking on a regular basis will make the program much
effective for the company.
7. Management Plan
7.1 Outcomes and goals of the health program
A health program is chosen for the betterment of the employees in BHP Billiton. This program
will reduce the accidents and problems that employees are facing. The outcomes of this program
will be positive and will increase the productivity of the company. This program will increase
trust within the employees and hence they won’t be leaving the company. The goals of the
program are:
 To reduce problems of thermal stress among the employees who are working in the
mines.
 To spread awareness among the employees so that safety precautions can be taken.
 To treat all the employees who are suffering from thermal stress
 To understand the problems of the employees and give them relief from this issue
7.2 Activities involved in developing and implementing the program
There are activities taking place for the development and implementation of this program in
BHP.
 There will be an awareness camp set for the employees. This camp will be demonstrating
the precautions that employees can take. It will show a demo for reducing thermal stress.
Proper clothes of better fabric will be made so that employees feel comfortable while
working in mines. This program will show the initiatives and concerns that the company
has for them.

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 Posters and stickers will be created so that awareness is spread in the company.
 There will be a special medical camp for all the employees working in the mines of BHP.
A full body check-up will be done so that the diseases and health issues can be found
(Safe Work Australia, 2015). Employees will be given special treatment so that thermal
stress is reduced. The medical camp will help in reducing skin rashes and heat rashes too.
 A special application will be developed by the company to monitor their employees. This
app will monitor all day’s activities of the mining employees and then accordingly they
will be given proper advice. It will also remind the precautions that employees have to
take. With the help of all these activities, the health program will become a huge success.
8. Emergency Response

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Organisation Name Contact Title Phone number
ALL 000 In case of any
emergency
000
State Emergency
Services (SES)
132 500 State emergency service
Victoria
132 500
Police 131 444 Emergency Police
service
131 444
Fire 000 Fire Brigade service 000
Ambulance [phone] Ambulance service in
Victoria
[phone]

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Procedur
es
A brief outline of
procedures
Evacuation
point/ address
Reference to full
procedure
document
Supporting
documentatio
n
Fire
evacuativ
e
procedure
1.The alarm will be raised
and the authority will be
informed.
2. People have to wait for
a proper signal.
3. Slowly evacuate the
place and arrive at a safe
location.
Corner of mine
opening.
The Fire
evacuation
procedure is
available at the
emergency folder
of the company.
Map for the
evacuation
plan and mine
plan.
Medical
Emergenc
y
procedure
1. Employees should not
move in case of a life
threating situation.
2. First aid officer should
be contacted immediately.
3. Follow the instructions
given by emergency
personnel.
Outside the
mines or the
safety
evacuation
place in mines.
This information
is easily available
on the company
website and files.
The internal
planning of
mines and
nearby areas.

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9. Emergency Evacuation Plan
10. Evaluation
10.1 Monitoring, evaluation of success and effectiveness of Occupational Health
Management Program
The occupational health management program will be monitored and evaluated to understand the
rate of success. The senior management team will go through all the records and the number of
employees who participated in the awareness program. The CEO of BHP Billiton will personally
check all the medical records and employees who attended this medical camping. The CEO
along with the managers will try to see the main causes of thermal stress. They will see the
common disease or issue that takes place due to thermal stress. The records from the new health
application will be checked and the success rate will be measured through it. The achievement of
this health program will be when most of the employees are treated and free from thermal stress.
The effectiveness of the program will completely be dependent on the employees. If all the
problems are solved then the health program will be considered effective in nature. The positive
feedback from the employees will show the success and effectiveness of the health program.

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10.2 Methods or Tools for evaluating the health program
There are some tools or methods that are needed during the evaluation of the health program.
There will be two tools taken for evaluation of the health care program.
Survey: A survey will be conducted so that all the health and safety issues are understood. This
will also help in understanding the employee's point of view. Employees can put forward their
needs as they don’t have to mention their names on the survey. It will be beneficial in the
evaluation process and the senior managers can easily take decisions for their employees. It will
also lead to success and increase the productivity of the company.
Health Facility Assessment Method: This method helps in the utilisation of information that will
be collected by the medical camps and health application. This information will be useful for the
company heads in the decision-making process. They will decide on the investment in health and
safety division of the company. This facility will make the complication process into a much
simpler one. The future of employees depends on this assessment method.
11. Conclusion
This report is based on occupational health management. The company chosen for the report is
BHP Billiton. This is a mining company and has major health hazards and issues for the
employees. A brief introduction of the topic was given. Then it was seen that there are many
employees working in mines and they are facing health and safety issues. After this, health
hazards and risks are identified. The main health issue was thermal stress among the employees.
There was a change required to solve the problem of thermal stress. The current management of
health and safety management was seen. A health program was chosen for the employees of
BHP. The goals and outcomes of the program were identified. There were many activities that
helped in the health program. There were two tools that played a major role in health
development. The program was monitored by the company CEO and senior management. The
main goal was to solve the problem of occupational health hazards.

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Reference List
Alli, B.O. (2008). Fundamental Principles of Occupational Health and Safety.(2nd edn.).
Geneva, Switzerland: ILO Publications.
Aven, T. (2016). Risk assessment and risk management: Review of recent advances on their
foundation. European Journal of Operational Research, 253(1), 1-
13.[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2015.12.023]
Bao, J., Johansson, J., & Zhang, J. (2017). An Occupational Disease Assessment of the Mining
Industry’s Occupational Health and Safety Management System Based on FMEA and an
Improved AHP Model. Sustainability, 9(1), 94. [https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010094]
BHP.com. (2019). BHP Billiton. Retrieved from: https://www.bhp.com/
Dunn, C.E. &Thakorlal, S. (2014) Australian Master Work Health and Safety Guide. (2nd
Edn).Wolters Kluwer CCH. Australia.
Haas, E. J., &Yorio, P. (2016).Exploring the state of health and safety management system
performance measurement in mining organizations. Safety science, 83, 48-58.
[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.11.009]
Safe Work Australia. (2015). The Cost of Work-related Injury and Illness for Australian
Employers, Workers and the Community: 2012-13. Canberra, ACT. Retrieved from:
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/
Smith, D.R. (2010). Establishing National Priorities for Australian Occupational Health and
Safety Research.Journal of Occupational Health 52, 241-248.
[https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.P10001]
Smith, N. M., Ali, S., Bofinger, C., & Collins, N. (2016). Human health and safety in artisanal
and small-scale mining: an integrated approach to risk mitigation. Journal of cleaner
production, 129, 43-52. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.124]