Report on Workplace Health and Safety in Landscaping Business

This report provides a comprehensive overview of workplace health and safety (WHS) in the landscaping and horticulture industry. It begins by identifying various hazards, including noise, chemical exposure, heat stress, ergonomic issues, and biological risks. The report then details the risk assessment process, examining factors such as sound pressure levels, chemical classifications, and the effects of heat stress and poor ergonomics. Control measures are proposed for each hazard, following the hierarchy of control, which includes the use of personal protective equipment, administrative controls, engineering controls, substitution, and elimination. Specific strategies such as the use of hearing protectors, chemical handling procedures, acclimatization schedules, and ergonomic interventions are discussed. Appendices provide supporting documentation, including work activity inventories, risk assessment forms, control hierarchies, risk registers, and risk factor analyses.

WORK, HEALTH AND SAFETY

1
Table of content
Introduction 2
1. Hazards and risks involved in the job 2
2. Risk assessments in context of the identified hazards 4
3. Control measures to minimise risks 5
4. Recommendations 9
Conclusion 10
References 11
Appendices 13
Appendix A: Work activities inventory form 13
Appendix B: Risk Assessment Form 14
Appendix C: Hierarchy of control 19
Appendix D: Risk register 20
Appendix F: Risk factors of health hazards 21

2
Introduction
The individuals working in the landscaping or horticultural are always at risk of injuries from a
very wide variety of potential industrial hazards. In the current report, discussion will be made
for understanding the variety of risks that are associated with landscaping business. The
landscaping business is actually very attractive option for individuals who enjoy outdoors. There
has been a significant increase in demand for the landscaping services. Therefore, it is
necessary to establish the fact that it is always the best thing to prevent the hazard from
occurring which is why it is necessary for the landscaping entrepreneurs to take into account the
health and safety issues.
1. Hazards and risks involved in the job
Risk management involves three steps which are hazard identification, risk evaluation and risk
control. In order to effectively manage the risks it is necessary to identify the hazards that are
commonly associated with the landscaping and horticulture industry. The workplace health
hazards that have been identified are:
Health Hazards Adverse effects
Noise hazards Exposure to loud noises have been
responsible for acoustic trauma. This also
leads to deafness induced by noise in which
the nerve cells are damaged and in early
stage an individual can be affected if the
frequency is greater than 3000 Hz. There is
no cure for noise induced deafness but early
detection and prevention is possible (Sidle,
Gallina and Gomi, 2017).
Chemical hazards Chemicals have been further classified under
several categories such as corrosive,
flammable, explosive, oxidising, pyrophoric,
organic peroxides, self heating, self reactive,
produces flammable gases on contact, toxic,
mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, irritant,
sensitizer of harmful for aquatic environment.
According to (Kearney, Balanay and

3
Mannarino, 2017), the landscaping industry
makes use of the granulated compound
fertiliser, rock phosphates, potash, urea,
dolomite, iron chelate, kieserite to name a
few. It also makes use of pesticide like white
summer oil, benomyl, alachlor, glyphosate,
dimethoate, anti-termite insecticide and even
modified organisms like
Bacillus thuringiensis.
Along with these, landscapers also make use
of plant stimulants, trimezol, tridemorph,
terrazole, trifoltan, ziram and others.
Heat stress Effect of external environment coupled with
heat generated by the body leads to loss of
excess heat in form of sweat which leads to
heat stress. The most common symptoms of
heat stress are heat cramps which is the
earliest indicator of heat stress where in there
is muscle contraction due electrolyte loss
because of perspiration, heat exhaustion
where individual may feel weak and suffer
from dizziness, fainting and headaches
complemented by heavy perspiration and
higher body temperature (Hassan, 2017). The
last symptom is heat stroke where the person
will become incoherent in thought and speech
due failing of perspiration mechanism and
rising body temperature leading to damage to
vital organs resulting in death.
Ergonomics The risks to health and safety due to force or
load, awkward working postures, repetitive
movements and vibrations are categorised
under ergonomics. As noted by AghaKouchak

4
et al. (2018), the individuals suffer because
they may be lifting objects which are heavy,
jerk lifting an object from the floor, using
straps and tapes to carry an object or due to
pushing as well as pulling of heavy work
machines.
Biological hazards The biological hazards mainly summarises
risks from insect bites, plant thorns, plant
saps and other such naturally occurring
hazardous compounds (Nirmala and Prasad,
2019).
Table 1: Hazards identified in landscaping industry
2. Risk assessments in context of the identified hazards
Risk assessment generally comprises of 4 steps which are mainly identification of the hazard,
assessment of exposure, level as well as time, characterisation of the hazards which identifies
the after effects of the exposures and finally followed by characterisation of risk. The risk factors
that are associated with noise induced deafness are pressure level of the sound, duration of
exposure, frequency of noise and susceptibility of the individual. The other effects that exposure
to loud noises can lead to are a irritation, annoyance, interference in speech and warning
signals perception, job performance disruption (Alizade
et al. 2016). It also causes tinnitus
where the individual feels a ringing in the ears. At sound pressure levels of 90 dBA, people are
more prone to hearing loss than at 80 dBA. It is very necessary to follow the permissible
exposure levels to avoid hearing loss. However, it must be noted that people must not be
exposed to noise levels greater than 140 dB. The possible source of noise in landscaping are
hollow tining machines, grass cutters, chain saws, auger drills and pressurised jet washer.
The chemicals mentioned earlier are further categorised as #1 where flashpoint is less than
23oC and the initial boiling point is less than 35oC, #2 where flashpoint is less than 23oC and the
initial boiling point is greater than 35oC, #3 where the flashpoint lie between the range of 23 to
60oC and lastly #4 where the flashpoint is in the range of 60 to 93oC. It should be noted that #4
category chemicals except for diesel are not required in the landscaping sector. The exposure
routes are skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion. It may lead to chemical burns, skin irritation
and sensitisation in case of skin exposure, respiratory irritation followed by lung diseases by

5
inhalation. It may also lead to eye irritation and inflammation if there is a contact with eye, burns
to throat, stomach as well poisoning in case of ingestion. As noted by Jones, Oven and Wisner
(2016), pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers contain organophosphates which affects the central
nervous system leading to anxiety, headache, respiratory and circulatory depression and
potential coma. Working with cleaning agents may lead to contact dermatitis.
Heat stroke is also known as hyperpyrexia where the body temperature reaches 40 to 43oC
accompanied with diminished perspiration. This will lead to a hot, dry and flushed or reddish
skin. Heat stroke can also cause brain dysfunction which may cause delirium, disorientation,
irritability, convulsions and even coma. An individual suffering from heat stroke if not properly
taken care of can be expected to expire within 1 to 12 days. Heat stroke also causes a lot of
complications apart from brain damage like failure of kidney and liver functions. People who are
un-acclimated to a climate are the most susceptible individuals (Green
et al. 2018). The body
size of an individual, their capacity to accomplish a physical task and even their clothing are
identified risk factors.
Poor ergonomics actually leads to a number of musculoskeletal disorders like pain in lower
back, pain in neck as well as shoulder, cubital tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome,
epicondylitis and trigger finger to name a few. According to Cunningham
et al. (2018), the most
common symptoms of poor ergonomics is numbness, pain, aches, swelling, tingling and burning
sensation, cramping, weakness and loss of color. As already discussed the the primary risk
factors identified are load, repetitive motions, awkward posture, vibrations and forces.
3. Control measures to minimise risks
Every control measure needs to follow the hierarchy of control that has five steps which are
namely use of personal protective equipments, administrative controls, engineering controls,
substitution and lastly elimination. Each step has an underlying objective like use of hearing
protectors, training or reduction in exposure time, use of silencers, making use of low noise
emitting equipments and elimination of noisy process respectively.
Health Hazards Control measures
Noise hazards The most common method to minimise the
risk of noise hazards is to make use of
hearing protectors, namely the ear muffs and
ear plugs. Either ear plugs or muffs must be
used for levels where sound frequency is less
than 100 dB. On the other hand, it is

6
mandatory to use both the ear plug and muff
together when sound levels are greater than
100 dB (Nakayama and Jin, 2015). Ear plugs
are small and ergonomic which means it can
be used with glasses and helmets. It is also
less costly. However, fitting an ear plug needs
time and protection offered is very less. It is
difficult to monitor the usage and can be only
used in ear canals which are healthy. Ear
muffs provide a better protection and
monitoring process is easy. Muffs can be
worn even with ear infections. However, it is
uncomfortable in hot conditions and
possesses storage issues. It is also more
expensive.
Chemical hazards As mentioned by Lago
et al. (2017), the
chemical hazards can be controlled at 3
stages which are namely at the source, along
the path and lastly at the receiver. Controlling
at the source can be done by either
substituting the chemical or eliminating the
need to use it. It may also require
modification of existing processes. It is also
advisable to use a containment and all the
processes should be carried in enclosures
and isolations using wet method. It is also
necessary to conduct regular maintenance
check on the equipments. For controlling the
hazard along the path dilution ventilation can
be used or increasing the distance between
the receiver and the source may be also
effective. It is also advisable to have area
monitoring with access control. To minimise

7
risks at the receiver's end it is suggested that
safe work practices must be followed.
Training and education is also important.
Monitoring biological aspects, personal
hygiene and exposure of individual to a
chemical is vital. It is also recommended that
before using the chemicals, the individuals
are required to go through the material data
safety sheet (Mauro
et al. 2018). The
chemicals marked highly hazardous must be
used in recommended limits, precautionary
measures must be observed and hazard
communication programmes must be
implemented. It is also advisable to label the
containers in which the chemicals are stored
and segregate the chemicals which are
incompatible. As pointed out by Shen
et al.
(2015), working with chemicals also requires
one to wear protective equipments. Medical
examination may be mandatory if an
individual is exposed to either one of the
following chemicals:
● Cadmium
● Lead
● Manganese
● Mercury
● Benzene
● Perchloroethylene
● Trichloroethylene
● Organophosphates
● Monomers of vinyl chloride
● Tar
● Pitch

8
● Bitumen
● Asbestos dust
● Silica
● Raw cotton
Heat stress In order to deal with heat stress it is
necessary to follow the practicable measures.
It is advised to follow the provided
acclimatisation schedule. In case of heat
stress reducing the heavy physical workload
may help. Light colored as well as loose fitting
clothes are also very helpful. The rest period
needs to be increase and hence the work
should be reorganised (Tong
et al. 2018). In
case of perspiration drinking water is
recommended to counteract the fluid loss.
Using hats, working in shady areas, wearing
tinted safety glasses, observing healthy
lifestyle and stooping work in case of any
uncomfortability are few preventative steps
that can be followed.
Ergonomics Few engineering controls are making use of
supporting devices like trolleys, vacuum lifting
devices as well as hoists. Some
administrative preventative measures are
implementing job rotation, pairing individuals,
giving sufficient break time, informing on
negative health effects of poor ergonomics
and training employees in context of good
ergonomics (Hedge and Pazell, 2017). In
case of vibrations, handles of such
machineries need to be padded so as to
reduce vibration impacts or making use of

9
better ergonomically designed equipment.
Biological hazards It can be quite hassle free if before
commencing work, employees make sure that
they are not entering the insect nests. Pest
control companies may be contacted to
remove bee, wasp and hornet nests. Workers
can be also equipped with protective clothing.
Spraying insecticide may also work. However
regular training and good personal hygiene is
also very useful control measures (Jensen
and van der Voordt, 2016).
Table 2: Preventative measures for identified hazards
4. Recommendations
In the landscaping industry individuals are exposed to number of risks that may turn into a
hazard at workplace. As the landscaping industry flourishes in very diverse environments, there
is a very high possibility of an individual’s exposure to harmful chemicals, unfavourable climate,
dangerous tools to name a few. As observed by Yuan and Feng (2017), incidents like cuts,
amputations, coma, falls and slips can occur at any time, at any place and hence it is
recommended that the landscapers in the current project are properly trained and educated
pertaining to proper use of equipments personal protection which is mandated by the local
legislative body (wshc.sg, 2019).
Conclusion
The current report takes into account the several workplace health and safety related issues
related in landscaping sector. The report first identifies the risks followed by a thorough risk
assessment. Analysis of the risks help in identifying the appropriate control measures followed
by a suitable recommendation.

10
References
AghaKouchak, A., Huning, L.S., Chiang, F., Sadegh, M., Vahedifard, F., Mazdiyasni, O.,
Moftakhari, H. and Mallakpour, I., (2018). How do natural hazards cascade to cause disasters?.
Alizade, E., Ismayilov, M., Guliyeva, S., Zeynalova, S., Tarikhazer, S., Yunusov, M.,
Mustafayev, N. and Mammadbayov, E., (2016). The assessment of landscape and
environmental risks and hazards caused by landslides in mountain areas.
Applied ecology and
environmental research,
14(3), pp.573-586.
Cunningham, T.R., Guerin, R.J., Keller, B.M., Flynn, M.A., Salgado, C. and Hudson, D., (2018).
Differences in safety training among smaller and larger construction firms with non-native
workers: Evidence of overlapping vulnerabilities.
Safety science,
103, pp.62-69.
Green, B.J., Levetin, E., Horner, W.E., Codina, R., Barnes, C.S. and Filley, W.V., (2018).
Landscape Plant Selection Criteria for the Allergic Patient.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology: In Practice,
6(6), pp.1869-1876.
Hassan, H., (2017), April. Managing Occupational Health Risk Challenges During Plant
Turnaround. In
SPE Asia Pacific Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social
Responsibility Conference. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Hedge, A. and Pazell, S., (2017). Ergonomics and Wellness in Workplaces. In
Ergonomic
Workplace Design for Health, Wellness, and Productivity (Vol. 409, No. 424, pp. 409-424).
ROUTLEDGE in association with GSE Research.
Jensen, P.A. and van der Voordt, T., (2016). Health and safety. In
Facilities Management and
Corporate Real Estate Management as Value Drivers (pp. 156-173). Routledge.
Jones, S., Oven, K.J. and Wisner, B., (2016). A comparison of the governance landscape of
earthquake risk reduction in Nepal and the Indian State of Bihar.
International Journal of
Disaster Risk Reduction,
15, pp.29-42.
Kearney, G.D., Balanay, J.A.G. and Mannarino, A.J., (2017). Safety behavior and work safety
climate among landscaping and groundskeeping workers in North Carolina: A pilot study.
Work,56(1), pp.45-53.
Lago, E.M.G., Junior, B.B., da Cruz, F.M. and Valente, M.C.B.S., (2017), March. Management
tools for workplace safety in building sites—implementation and evaluation. In
Occupational
Safety and Hygiene V: Selected papers from the International Symposium on Occupational
Safety and Hygiene (SHO (2017)), April 10-11, (2017), Guimarães, Portugal (p. 123). CRC
Press.
Mauro, J.C., Diehl, B., Marcellin Jr, R.F. and Vaughn, D.J., (2018). Workplace accidents and
self-organized criticality.
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications,
506, pp.284-289.

11
Nakayama, S. and Jin, G., (2015). Safety training enhancing outcomes through virtual
environments.
Professional Safety,
60(02), pp.34-38.
wshc.sg, (2019) WSHC Available from
https://wshc.sg/files/wshc/upload/cms/file/CodeOfPractice_RiskManagement_SecondRevision.p
df. Accessed on 10 March 2019

12
Nirmala, C.J. and Prasad, S.D., (2019). Occupational hazards and public health concerns of
migrant construction workers: an epidemiological study in southern India.
International Journal
Of Community Medicine And Public Health,
6(2), pp.818-822.
Shen, Y., Koh, T.Y., Rowlinson, S. and Bridge, A.J., (2015). Empirical investigation of factors
contributing to the psychological safety climate on construction sites.
Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management,
141(11), p.04015038.
Sidle, R.C., Gallina, J. and Gomi, T., (2017). The continuum of chronic to episodic natural
hazards: Implications and strategies for community and landscape planning.
Landscape and
Urban Planning,
167, pp.189-197.
Tong, R., Wu, C., Li, Y. and Fang, D., (2018). An assessment model of owner safety
management and its application to real estate projects.
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering,22(5), pp.1557-1571.
Yuan, C. and Feng, Y., (2017). Safety training in construction: a review of training methods and
effectiveness. In
Proceedings of 22nd International Conference on Advancement of
Construction Management and Real Estate, 20-23 November (2017), Melbourne, Australia (pp.
1189-1196).
Appendices
Appendix A: Work activities inventory form
Department, Activity or Trade assessed: Landscaping Date:
Ref Location Process Work activity Remarks
1 Singapore Using bush cutter Cleaning vegetation Risk from noise
and biological
hazards
2 Singapore Using excavator Loosening topsoil Risk from
ergonomics and
noise
3 Singapore Using small backhoe Contouring the surface Risk from
ergonomics
4 Singapore Using chemical
fertilisers
Replenishing soil Risk from
chemicals

13
5 Singapore Using herbicides Preventing regrowth of
weeds
Risk from
chemicals
6 Singapore Selectively placing large
boulders and laying
decomposed granite
Making pathway Risk from
ergonomics and
biological
hazards and
heat stress
7 Singapore Manually planting trees
and shrubs
Restoring green cover Risk from heat
stress and
biological
hazards

14
Appendix B: Risk Assessment Form
Departm
ent
Landsca
ping
RA
leader
Approved by:
Signature:
Reference number
Process RA
member
1
Activity RA
member
2
Assessm
ent date
RA
member
3
Name
Last
review
date
RA
member
5
Designati
on
Next
interview
date
RA
member
6
Date
Hazard identification Risk evaluation Risk control
Ref Su
b-
acti
vity
Ha
zar
d
Possible
injury/ill
health
Exi
stin
g
risk
con
trol
S L RPN Ad
diti
ona
l
con
trol
s
S L RP
N
Imp
lem
ent
atio
n
per
son
Du
e
dat
e
Re
ma
rks
1 Usi
ng
bus
Ris
k
fro
Noise
induced
deafness
Us
e
ear
Hig
h
Ver
y
like
5 Us
e
ma
Lo
w
Lik
ely
2 lan
dsc
ape
Ver
y
imp

15
h
cutt
er
m
noi
se
and
che
mic
als
, insect
attacks
pro
tect
ion,
use
fac
e
ma
sks
and
we
ar
pro
tect
ive
clot
hin
g
ly nua
l
tool
s
r ort
ant
2 Usi
ng
exc
ava
tor
Ris
k
fro
m
erg
ono
mic
s
and
noi
se
Noise
induced
deafness
, body
pain
Us
e
ear
pro
tect
ion,
app
rop
riat
ely
lifti
ng
thin
gs
me
diu
m
Ver
y
like
ly
4 Us
e
mai
ntai
ned
equ
ipm
ent
s
Me
diu
m
Lik
ely
3 lan
dsc
ape
r
Imp
ort
ant
3 Usi Ris Backach Av me like 4 Loo Lo Rar 1 lan Not

16
ng
bac
kho
e
k
fro
m
erg
ono
mic
s
e, body
pain
oidi
ng
aw
kw
ard
wor
k
pos
tur
e
diu
m
ly k
for
ins
ect
nes
ts
w ely dsc
ape
r
imp
ort
ant
4 Usi
ng
che
mic
als
ferti
lize
rs
Ris
k
fro
m
che
mic
als
Skin
irritation,
eye
irritation
Pro
tect
ive
clot
hin
g,
eye
pro
tect
ion,
use
of
fac
e
ma
sks
Hig
h
Ver
y
like
ly
5 Us
e
org
ani
c
sub
stit
ute
s
Me
diu
m
Lik
ely
3 lan
dsc
ape
r
Ver
y
imp
ort
ant
5 Usi
ng
her
bici
de
Ris
k
fro
m
che
mic
Skin
irritation,
skin
inflamma
tion
Pro
tect
ive
clot
hin
g,
Hig
h
Ver
y
like
ly
4 Us
e
org
ani
c
sub
Me
diu
m
Lik
ely
3 lan
dsc
ape
r
Ver
y
imp
ort
ant

17
als eye
pro
tect
ion,
use
of
fac
e
ma
sks
stit
ute
s
6 Ro
ck
pla
ce
me
nt
Ris
k
fro
m
erg
ono
mic
s
and
biol
ogi
cal
haz
ard
s
and
hea
t
stre
ss
Body
pain,
back
ache,
dizziness
, heat
cramps
Ap
pro
pria
te
lifti
ng
met
hod
s,
reh
ydr
atio
n,
wor
kin
g in
sha
des
me
diu
m
Rar
ely
3 Acc
lim
atis
e
bef
ore
wor
kin
g
Hig
h
Ver
y
like
ly
5 lan
dsc
ape
r
Imp
ort
ant
7 Pla
ntin
Ris
k
Insect
attacks
Ch
eck
Lo
w
Rar
ely
2 Us
e
Hig
h
Ver
y
5 lan
dsc
imp
ort

18
g
tre
es
and
shr
ubs
fro
m
hea
t
stre
ss
and
biol
ogi
cal
haz
ard
s
, plant
thorns,
plant
saps
for
ins
ect
nes
ts,
reh
ydr
atio
n
ins
ecti
cid
es
like
ly
ape
r
ant

19
Appendix C: Hierarchy of control

20
Appendix D: Risk register
Workplace name: Floral Landscaping Company
R.A
ref
no.
Department Process/
Activity/
Location
RA
approval
date
Next
review date
RA Leader
and
Designatio
n
Remarks
1 Gardening Cleaning
vegetation
12.02.2019 12.04.2019 Lead
gardener
Good
2 Gardening Loosening
topsoil
19.02.2019 19.04.2019 Lead
gardener
Okay
3 Landscaping Contouring
the surface
25.02.2019 25.04.2019 Landscape
r
Very good
4 Gardening Replenishi
ng soil
27.02.2019 27.04.2019 Lead
gardener
Good
5 Gardening Preventing
regrowth of
weeds
02.03.2019 31.04.2019 Lead
gardener
Okay
6 Landscaping Making
pathway
11.03.2019 07.05.2019 Landscape
r
Good
7 Gardening Restoring
green
cover
21.03.2019 19.05.2019 Lead florist Very Good

21
Appendix F: Risk factors of health hazardsPlease refer to main body
Health Hazard Risk Factors
Noise Duration of exposure; and
Frequency of exposure.
Exposure level (sound pressure level);
Frequency of sound;
Chemicals Intrinsic hazard of the chemical (e.g.,
carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc);
Physical and chemical properties;
Scale and frequency of use;
Routes of exposure;
Exposure concentration;
Exposure duration; and
Frequency of exposure.
Biological agents Intrinsic hazard of microorganism
(pathogenicity);
Virulence;
Host range;
Viability of microorganism;
Amount of microorganisms present at point of
exposure;
Mode of transmission; and
Routes of infection.
Ergonomics-related
factors
Weight of load or force;
Repetition or frequency of motion;
Posture (static, awkward, etc);
Direct pressure on body parts or contact
stress;
Vibration; and

22
Temperature of the environment.
Heat Temperature;
Humidity;
Amount of direct sun exposure or radiant
heat;
Intensity of physical work;
Physical exhaustion;
Type of clothing;
Un-acclimatised person or duration of
acclimatisation; and
Susceptible individuals (cardiovascular
disease, impaired renal function,
obesity, alcohol and drug abuse,
dehydration).