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2001 National Industrial Health Week Implementation Guidelines
- 1. Objective
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This year marks the 52nd campaign since the first National Industrial Health Week was held in 1950. The campaign has played a major role to enhance the awareness of people concerning industrial health, maintaining worker health through voluntary industrial health management activities at workplaces, and creating comfortable working environments.
While the number of workers suffering from occupational diseases has declined to 8,083 or about two-thirds of the figure 10 years ago, occupational diseases such as those caused by lumbago and pneumoconiosis are still seen and accidents involving organic solvent poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning and anoxia are continuing to occur. Moreover, a new problem is emerging with respect to dioxin and similar substances at trash burning facilities, which also pose a major problem in the working environment.
With respect to recent worker health conditions, general health examinations have revealed that more than 40 percent of workers show some findings including those that can lead to brain and heart diseases in the social changes surrounding workers, such as changes in the industrial structure and the continuing increase in the ratio of aged workers. At the same time, the ratio of workers who have strong anxieties or stress with respect to work and working life under the current severe economic situation is increasing year by year.
In order to properly respond to these conditions, measures to secure worker's
health are being promoted that include mental health cares at workplaces
and measures to prevent health impairments due to dioxin and similar substances.
Moreover, further efforts will be made to actively promote measures to prevent occupational diseases, broadly deploy industrial health activities in workplaces, encourage the Total Health Promotion Plan (THP) activities and promote the creation of comfortable workplaces. It is also necessary to establish continuous safety and health management systems in which the "Plan, Do, Check and Act" (PDCA) cycle of work procedures are clearly organized to reduce the potential risks of industrial accidents.
In carrying out these measures, it is important that employers lead the process of implementing industrial health management activities, and that industrial physicians, health managers and other industrial health staff members diligently carry out activities in working environment management, work management, and health management. In addition, effective health-building efforts at workplaces require workers to voluntarily participate in health management activities to enhance spontaneous health management.
In light of these tasks, the following slogan was selected for this year's
campaign, which ushers in the first National Industrial Health Week of
the 21st century. This campaign is designed to further promote measures
that have so far been taken as well as facilitate new activities: "Standards
for the New Century! Healthy, Joyful and Comfortable Workplaces." Under this slogan, the
National Industrial Health Week campaign will contribute to the enhancement
of industrial health awareness and further promote voluntary industrial
health management efforts as well.
- 2. Slogan
- "Standards for the New Century ! Healthy, Joyful and Comfortable Workplaces."
- 3. Campaign Period
- Preparatory period: September 1 to 30
Campaign week: October 1 to 7
- 4. Organizers
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Japan Industrial Safety
and Health Association (JISHA)
- 5. Sponsors
- Japan Construction Safety and Health Association
Land Transportation Safety and Health Association
Japan Port Labour Accident Prevention Association
Japan Forestry and Timber Manufacturing Labour Accident Prevention Association
Japan Mining Safety and Health Association
- 6. Supporting Organizations
- Related administrative agencies, local autonomous bodies, safety and health
related organizations, labour organizations and employers organizations
7. Implementing Entities
- Workplaces
- 8. Activities to be Implemented by Organizers, Sponsors and Supporting
Organizations
- (1) Providing for the dissemination of posters and pamphlets, public relations activities via mass media including TV, radio and newspapers, government publication and the Internet
(2) Holding regional conventions during the National Industrial Health Week
(3) Awarding commendations to distinguished workplaces and personnel in industrial health management activities
(4) Providing guidance and assistance in workplace activities
(5) Carrying out other activities appropriate to the National Industrial Health Week
- 9. Activities to be Implemented by Workplaces
- (1) Activities to be implemented during the preparatory period
- Establishing an industrial health management framework and vitalizing industrial
health management activities.
(a) Implementing annual industrial health management programs by employers
(b) mproving and enhancing the capabilities of industrial physicians, health managers and safety and health promoters so as to acquire the necessary qualifications relating to health management for workers, and clarifying the duties and strengthening cooperation among such professionals
(c) Selecting operations chiefs and enforcing proper performance of assigned responsibilities
(d) Establishing clear authority for site managers
(e) Reviewing, improving and enhancing rules relating to industrial health management
(f) Regularly holding health committee meetings and activating their performance
(g) Establishing information dissemination routes relating to industrial health management
(h) Collecting, arranging and disseminating information relating to industrial health
- Promoting activities relating to working environment management
(a) Implementing working environment measurements at workplaces and improving working environments based on measurement results, particularly where workers are exposed to harmful gas, vapor, dust and noise as well as workplaces with the risk of oxygen deficiency.
(b) Properly installing, operating, testing and thoroughly checking local exhaust ventilators, dust eliminators, gas and liquid waste processing equipment, and shielding facilities, etc.
(c) Carrying out cleaning work in dust-prone workplaces or sites posing the risk of health hazards and maintaining cleanliness at such places
(d) Checking and improving ventilation, lighting and illumination
- Promoting activities relating to work management
(a) Further reducing work burdens by means of automation and labor-saving equipment
(b) Surveying and analyzing work methods, including work movements, posture, speed and duration, and making improvements on the basis of survey results
(c) Widely disseminating information relating to policies for work management
(d) Making sure that respiratory protective devices are properly used, and improving the maintenance/management systems for such equipment
(e) Checking, improving and enhancing rest and recreational facilities
- Promoting activities relating to health management
(a) Implementing medical examinations, as well as taking such measures as changing working sites, job transfers, reducing working hours, and implementing working environment measurements by taking the views of physicians into account on the basis of the examination results
(b) Adequately notifying workers of the results of general medical examinations
(c) Providing guidance by physicians and health nurses to those workers needing such guidance on the basis of the results of general medical examinations
- Promoting health education.
(a) Providing special education or equivalent education to the workers engaged in harmful work such as anoxia-prone work.
(b) Providing skill improvement education to those who serve as the core personnel in the industrial health management structure such as health supervisors and operations chiefs.
- Establishing an industrial safety and health management system.
- Thoroughly implementing measures to the dust hazards
Making efforts to carry out the following activities, as October is the month to further strengthen comprehensive measures to prevent dust hazards
(a) Thoroughly implementing working environment measurements and properly managing working environments based on the measurement results
(b) Properly operating, testing and checking local exhaust ventilators
(c) Taking measures to prevent hazards due to accumulated dust by means of , for instance,workplace cleaning campaign activities.
(d) Making sure that dust hazards in arc welding work are well understood by workers, posting notices indicating dust-prone workplaces, and ensuring proper use of respiratory protective devices
(e) Ensuring proper measures based on the results of medical examinations for pneumoconiosis
(f) Thoroughly educating workers on the prevention of dust hazards
(g)Implementing health management education for workers with positive findings of pneumoconiosis
(h) Thoroughly implementing measures to control dust emissions on the basis of the guidelines to control the emission of dust in construction work such as in tunnels.
- Promoting measures to prevent lumbago pursuant to the guidelines for lumbago
prevention measures in workplaces.
- Thoroughly implementing measures to prevent health hazards due to ionizing
radination.
- Thoroughly implementing measures to prevent noise hazards based the guidelines
for the prevention of noise hazards.
- Thoroughly implementing vibration hazard prevention measures based on the
guidelines concerning comprehensive vibration hazard measures.
- Promoting health management measures in VDT work pursuant to the occupational
health guidelines for VDT work.
- Promoting activities relating to chemical substance management
(a) Promoting voluntary management of chemical substances, etc., based on the chemical substance management guidelines.
(b) Promoting the proper management of chemical substances, including exposure prevention, appointing operations chiefs, posting information concerning their effects on human health and handling precautions, and storing such chemicals without the risk of leakage or emissions
(c) Surveying the hazards posed by chemical substances and ensuring protective measures based on the survey results
(d) Fully providing information on the dangers and toxicity of chemical substances, etc., by means of Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for chemical substances, etc.
(f) Preventing organic solvent poisoning based on the guidelines to prevent organic solvent poisoning in the construction industry
(g) Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning based on the guidelines to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in the construction industry
(h) Implementing measures to prevent exposure to dioxin and similar substances during work at waste burning facilities.
- Establishing and enhancing a countinuous and systematic movement to structure
to implement Total Health Promotion (THP).
- Promoting the measures based on the guidelines to maintain the mental health
of workers at workplaces.
(a) Formulating plans to promote mental health of workers at workplaces
(b) Promoting a organizational supports to provide counseling to workers
(c) Improving working environments etc..
(d) Providing education and training for supervisors and workers to managers, concerning mental health care.
- Promoting the creation of comfortable working environments based on the
guidelines on the creation of comfortable working environments
- Promoting smoking measures in accordance with the guidelines for smoking
measures at workplaces
- Providing proper working environments, recommending better working methods
and promoting other measures for aged workers by considering changes in
their physical and mental capabilities
- Improving health management of cooking equipment, tableware, and food materials
at dormitories and restaurants
- Taking voluntary measures on HIV-related issues based on the guidelines
for HIV-related issues at workplaces
- Promoting the improvements in working environments, including working hours,
etc.
- Others
(a) Hanging posters and slogans
(b) Utilizing and implementing industrial safety and health proposal systems
(c) Providing better shower and hand-washing facilities to maintain clean workplace
(d) Improving industrial health signs
(e) Promoting green-and-healthy-factory campaigns
(f) Disseminating health knowledge at home
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- (2) Activities to be implemented during the Industrial Health Week
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(a) Hoisting the industrial health flag and hanging posters and slogans
(b) Conducting workplace patrol by employers or general safety and health managers
(c) Holding exhibitions, seminars, workshops, discussion meetings and observation tours for industrial health
(d) Conducting on-site training courses based on assumed emergencies, including accidents involving the leakage of harmful substances and oxygen deficiency
(e) Commending distinguished workplaces and personnel in the field of industrial health
(f) Holding exhibitions of paintings, compositions, photographs and slogans
(g) Developing other activities to enhance awareness concerning industrial health
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