Conceptos básicos de seguridad y salud ocupacional

• Basic concepts in occupational health and safety are important for creating a safe work environment

Basic Concepts

• A Peligro (Hazard) is a source, situation, or act with the potential to cause harm to the health of workers, equipment, or facilities
• Identificación del peligro (Hazard Identification) is the process to establish if a hazard exists and define its characteristics
• Riesgo (Risk) is the combination of the probability of an occurrence of one or more exposures or dangerous events and the severity of the damage that could be caused by them
• Evaluación del riesgo (Risk Evaluation) is the process used to determine the level of risk, considering the probability of the risk occurring and the severity of its consequences
• Condiciones de salud (Health Conditions) are a set of objective and self-reported variables related to physiological, psychological, and sociocultural conditions that determine the sociodemographic and morbidity profile of the working population
• Evento Catastrófico (Catastrophic Event) is an unexpected and undesirable event that significantly alters the normal functioning of an enterprise, implying massive damage to staff working in facilities, total paralysis of activities, affecting the production chain, or generating partial or total destruction of a facility

Work Environment Conditions

• Work environment conditions include elements, agents, or factors that significantly influence the generation of risks to worker safety and health
• These include general characteristics of premises, facilities, machines, equipment, tools, raw materials, products, and other existing items in the workplace
• Also included are physical, chemical, and biological agents present in the work environment, along with their intensities, concentrations, or levels of presence
• Work environment conditions also encompass the organization and arrangement of work, including ergonomic, biomechanical, and psychosocial factors

Occupational Health and Safety

• Vigilancia de la salud en el trabajo (Health Surveillance at Work) is indispensable for planning, executing, and evaluating occupational health and safety programs, and for monitoring work-related disorders and absenteeism
• Seguridad y salud en el trabajo (Occupational Safety and Health - SST) is the discipline that deals with the prevention of injuries and illnesses caused by work conditions, and with the protection and promotion of workers' health
• The objective is to improve work conditions and the environment, as well as health at work, including its promotion and maintenance
• Sistema General de Riesgos Laborales (General System of Occupational Risks) is a protection mechanism for all workers in Colombia, aimed at ensuring and attending to employees in the event of a work-related accident or occupational illness
• It aims to prevent work accidents and occupational illnesses, mitigate their severity, and provide care and compensation to workers or their families in case of a work accident or occupational illness

System Affiliation and Responsibilities

• All employers must register with the Sistema General de Riesgos Laborales
• Mandatory affiliates include dependent workers linked by a contract of employment or as public servants, contractors linked through a formal service provision contract longer than one month, and pensioners who re-enter the workforce
• The employer is responsible for the benefits caused to their non-affiliated workers
• Employers are responsible for affiliation and payment of contributions, risk control, occupational health and safety management, and reporting circumstances affecting coverage to the ARL
• Workers have a responsibility to take care of their health, comply with safety standards, inform employers of their health status, and participate in health and safety activities
• ARLs must facilitate affiliation, record and collect contributions, guarantee healthcare and financial benefits, and conduct promotion and prevention activities

Coverage and Benefits

• The ARL (Administradora de Riesgos Laborales) covers the costs of health services directly related to care following a work accident or occupational illness
• Any IPS (health service provider) must provide initial emergency care
• The worker's EPS (Entidades Promotoras de Salud) must provide the necessary health services
• The ARL covers medical, surgical, therapeutic, and pharmaceutical assistance; hospitalization services; dental services; prostheses and orthoses; physical and professional rehabilitation; and patient transportation
• Additional economic benefits include:
• A subsidy for temporary disability
• Compensation for permanent partial disability
• Funeral assistance
• Invalidity pension
• Survivor's pension

Occupational Health and Safety Policy

• Employers must establish a written Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (SST) policy which is part of the company's management policies, covering all workers regardless of their contract type, including contractors and subcontractors
• The policy must be communicated to Comité Paritario or Vigía de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo as appropriate, in accordance with regulations
• The objectives of the policy are to:
• Identify hazards, assess and evaluate risks, and establish respective controls
• Protect the safety and health of all workers through continuous improvement
• Comply with applicable national regulations

Employer's Obligations

• Define, sign, and publicize the Occupational Health and Safety (SST) policy
• Assign and communicate responsibilities throughout the company
• Ensure accountability within the company
• Define resources: financial, technical, and personnel
• Comply with applicable regulatory requirements
• Manage hazards and risks
• Create an annual work plan
• Implement risk prevention and promotion
• Ensure worker participation

Worker's Obligations

• To take care of their health
• Provide clear, truthful, and complete information about their health status
• comply with internal and external rules
• Report workplace risks
• Participate in relevant training activities
• Contributing to achieving the objectives of the SG-SST through proactive feedback from observations, inspections, etc.