Occupational Health and Safety

Preventive Occupational Health Work is the Key to Good Working Conditions. This course focuses on how enterprises can prevent diseases that may lead to work-related fatalities, disability, and reduced quality of life. It provides background and an introduction to challenges related to chemicals, dust, indoor climate, noise, and vibrations in the workplace, including how to analyze and assess occupational exposures in these areas.

Risk assessments within occupational health vary across disciplines, and similarities and differences will be discussed. To understand the breadth of these challenges, the course also introduces topics such as ergonomics, psychosocial, and organizational work environment.

The course aims to provide knowledge about responsibilities and roles in enterprises’ occupational health efforts, as well as relevant occupational health legislation in Norway.

The contents of the course are in particular relevant to UN's Sustainable Development Goals SDG 3 about om Good health and well-being (target 3.9: By 2030 substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination) and SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth (target 8.8 promote safe and secure working environment for all workers)

This course should be viewed in connection with TIØ43571 Occupational Hygiene and TIØ4205 Methods and Tools in Safety Management. TIØ4186 provides an overarching understanding of occupational health efforts in Norwegian workplaces, with a particular focus on physical work environment factors such as noise, vibration, and indoor climate. It also introduces chemical exposure and methods for risk assessment. TIØ43571 offers in-depth knowledge of chemical work environment factors and methods for occupational hygiene assessments.TIØ4205 provides knowledge of recognized methods, tools, rules, and procedures (standards) for safety work in enterprises, with emphasis on preventing workplace accidents.TIØ4186 is mandatory for the master’s programs MIHMS and MHMS

Knowledge

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• Explain the principles of systematic occupational health work. Understand the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in Norwegian working life and account for the occupational health regulations companies must comply with.
• Identify, map, and assess health risks caused by noise and vibrations in the workplace and explain how measures should be prioritized to reduce health risks.
• Explain why and how indoor climate affects workers and communicate how good indoor air quality can be achieved.
• Explain the principles of how exposure to chemicals/dust affects health and know several methods for handling chemicals safely in practice.
• Explain various methods for risk assessment of physical and chemical factors in the workplace, including discussing which methods are suitable in different situations.

Skills

After completing the course, participants should be able to:

• Conduct a survey of the physical work environment at a workplace and critically evaluate the results.
• Apply and assess different risk assessment methods adapted to various work environment factors.

Lectures, laboratory exercises, and term paper.