Workplace Risk Prevention: Essential Principles and Techniques

Workplace Prevention Measures

Prevention refers to the set of activities or measures taken or planned in all phases of company operations to avoid or reduce risks. Prevention is integral, as it must be present in every company act. The aim is to prevent risks from materializing, which requires careful planning and organization.

Principles of Prevention

• 1. Avoid risks.
• 2. Evaluate unavoidable risks.
• 3. Combat risks at the source rather than at the place of transmission or reception.
• 4. Adapt the job to the person, including equipment, working methods, and production.
• 5. Take into account the evolution of technology.
• 6. Replace dangerous elements with those that pose little or no danger.
• 7. Plan prevention strategies.
• 8. Adopt collective protection measures over individual ones.
• 9. Provide appropriate instructions to workers.

Occupational Risk Techniques

Techniques that promote improved working conditions and employee health include:

• Safety at Work: Aims to avoid accidents (AT) by detecting, monitoring, and correcting risk factors.
• Hygiene at Work: Focuses on environmental contaminants in the workplace to prevent occupational diseases through detection, measurement, and protective measures.
• Ergonomics: Adapts the workplace and environment to the physiological and psychological conditions of the worker. It includes geometric, environmental, temporal, perceptual, and communication ergonomics.
• Applied Psychology: Prevents psychological harm resulting from work and organizational structures.
• Occupational Medicine: A medical specialty dedicated to maintaining the optimal health of the worker.

Protection Measures

Protection measures act on the worker to avoid or reduce the consequences of risks that cannot be eliminated.

Collective Protection Measures

These protect all persons exposed to a risk and take priority over individual protection.

Individual Protective Measures

These techniques provide protection to the worker against specific risks in their environment. They should only be used when other prevention and protection avenues have been exhausted.