Company Announcement - Teamwork plays a vital role in preserving Occupational Health & Safety on Japanese building sites, says Ashleigh Feeny, Construction Health & Safety Administrator of Master Builders Association (MBA) North. Feeny recently attended an intensive 12-day seminar, “Occupational Safety & Health Management and Work Environment Improvement” in Tokyo, which attracted delegates from 19 countries. Part of the seminar consisted of site visits to see Occupational Health & Safety in practice.

“On Japanese building sites, the entire teams involved in a project meet first thing in the morning to discuss the day’s priorities – including health and safety – and this is then usually followed by linking arms and sounding a chant of unity. Employer organisations work hand in hand with the various companies’ Occupational Health & Safety departments and workers to enhance site safety and boost productivity on site. The Japanese believe site safety starts with good practice and strongly encourage the sharing of experiences and knowledge, as well as action-orientated training, and ‘Train the Trainers’ initiatives,” she stated.

She said some of the emerging workplace risks identified at the seminar included:
• Systems-based accidents and errors;
• Hidden work-related injuries and diseases;
• Overwork problems (such as stress illnesses, abnormally extended shift work, muscular-skeletal injuries caused by, for example, lifting heavy loads manually instead of employing proper equipment; and also the long working days – a 16-hour a day often applies in Japan);
• Mental health (Japan organises psychological therapy at work for those affected);
• Lifestyle-linked diseases (obesity is a major culprit, mainly among sub-contractors from countries outside Japan); and
• The safety and health of aged workers (many retired workers are retained on a contractual basis).

Feeny said that ‘Good Practice’ as advocated in Japan, consisted of prompt implementation of programmes developed locally and based on the experiences of companies within a particular sector of industry, and placing strong reliance on and encouraging personal initiative of workers. “South Africa should learn from this example and support the initiative of its own people, and more strongly encourage participation in the development of health and safety measures by a company’s own work force,” she added.