Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene
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it is necessary to get the written approval of that guardian before performing the interview.
Specify in the ‘description’ column anything that may harm or cause any damage to the
employee, and make sure you include the hazards that are specifically dangerous for
employees with physical and sensory disabilities. In the last column of the table – specify
how the employee’s disability increases the danger of his getting hurt.
In the risk evaluation column (Low / Medium / High), you need to make the evaluation
under the present existing safety measures. In the risk assessment it is necessary to take into
consideration the employee’s disability that may endanger himmore than other employees
at the same activity.
Recommendations and necessary actions for minimizing the risk, while determining the
responsible person for the action and the target date can be recorded in a table like the Table
no. 2 example presented below. It is necessary to record in Table no. 2 the recommendation
concerning each hazard that is marked as ”H” (high risk according to Table no. 1), and it is
advisable to record the recommendation for hazards assessed as medium (marked as “B”
in Table no. 1).
Instructions and examples for the identification of increased risks for disabled employees
Employees with disabilities (as well as young and inexperienced workers and pregnant
women)are more exposed to harm than others. For example: An employee with a hearing
disability might not hear the noise of a vehicle approaching him from behind, and therefore,
he is more exposed to harm than another employee. In order to determine the expected
risks for employees with physical and sensory disabilities, talk personally with the disabled
employee about the risks of his job from his perspective, and about his hardships concerning
the safe performance of his work.
Following is an example of typical risks faced by people
with common physical and sensory disabilities:
Hearing – Risks due to failure to hear warnings, announcements, instructions, not hearing
noises of approaching vehicles and forklifts, ignoring irregular machine noises that indicate
problems, communicational difficulties between people preventing accurate explanation of
the working mode, difficulty in hearing safety training and other instructions, etc.
Vision – Difficulty in identifying various obstacles in the work surfaces and in passages (risk
of falls and collisions), difficulty in reading written instructions and guidelines, including
instruction and warning signs; Difficulty in noticing dangerous (sharp, moving of turning)
objects; Danger of getting trapped in machines or dangerous places, difficulty in finding
escape ways in case of emergency.
