Introduction/ Plan of action:

This is a safety and health at work assignment. I will examine the following:

* noise and sound

* Stress

* diet, exercise and lifestyle

* dangerous chemicals, fumes and dust

* occupational related illness

* manual handling

I will also select one occupational illness (musculoskeletal disorder) in my vocational area. This is one of the most common work-related illnesses. I’m going to discuss what musculoskeletal disorder is. (Causes and symptoms) I will also discuss the impact of this illness and the preventative measures.

My vocational area is multimedia. I would like to work as a movie editor in the future. This September I started a course called Multimedia production and Digital movie. I’m studying eight modules (graphic design, multimedia project management, multimedia authoring, web authoring, digital movie production, health and safety at work, communication and work experience.)

Contents:

Introduction/plan of action:...................................................................2
Noise and sound:.................................................................................4
Stress:................................................................................................ .6
Diet, exercise and lifestyle:..................................................................8
Dangerous chemicals, dust and fumes:..............................................10
Occupational related illnesses...........................................................11
Manual handling:...............................................................................13
Occupational related illness (musculoskeletal disorder)...................14
Recommendation / Evaluation:........................................................17

Noise and Sound

Exposure to high levels of noise for prolonged periods of time can lead to hearing damage. Hearing loss is the most prevalent irreversible industrial disease. Sound pressure level is the instantaneous pressure of a noise exerted on the ear. This is the pressure that is detected and measured by microphones which is measured on the decibel scale. The decibel measurement given as dB and the threshold of human hearing is 0 dB and the pain threshold is 140dB.
All employees who are likely to be affected by the noise should be identified. The idea is not just people who are exposed to noise, but also people who move between different jobs or types of work, and make sure we understand their patterns of noise exposure. We have to make sure we include people who are not direct employees but who may be affected by the work, for example visitors or subcontractors.
My vocational area is multimedia which involves editing video and sound together the same time. In order to hear sound effects better and most disturbing co-workers in the same place it is recommended to wear headphones. Editing even just a couple minutes video with sound may take hours. So it means we could be wearing headphones for all this time listening to the sound of the video that is being edited even on the daily basis.
If we don’t choose the right level of volume for the duration of editing it may cause hearing damage or loss on the long-term. Most headphones today can produce sounds up to 120 decibels, equivalent to a sound level at a rock concert. At this level hearing loss can occur after only about an hour and 15 minutes. If we can’t hear anything going on around us when listening to headphones, the decibel level is too high.

"As a rule of thumb, you should only use MP3 devices at levels up to 60% of maximum volume for a total of 60 minutes a day," says Dr. Foy. "The louder the volume, the shorter your duration should be. At maximum volume, you should listen for only about five minutes a day."(http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/headphone-safety.aspx)

Risks: The noise risk assessment should be reviewed regularly. The idea of a noise risk assessment is to decide what measures are necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees. It is more than just the measurements of noise because sometimes measurements may not even be necessary. But it needs to be done by someone who is competent to do the task and be able to advice and give information. This could be someone from within the organisation. Noise risk assessments should, identify where the risk is and who is likely to be affected. It should also identify what noise-control measures are needed.

Control methods: the most effective way of dealing with unwanted noise is to tackle it at source. In my vocation we can minimize the length of time using headphones if it’s possible. If this is not possible attempts to reduce the noise along the transmission path should be attempted. The final option is to deal with the noise at the receiver (PPE).

Stress

Working in multimedia involves coping with deadlines for projects on the daily basis, which can create a lot of stress and it can be very stressful. Sometimes it also puts us in a situation where the working environment is crowded (a busy recording studio or a shooting scene with a lot of people)
Stress is a negative feeling associated with both physical and psychological symptoms. Physical symptoms include increased heartbeat, swiftness of breath, dry mouth, and sweaty palms and in the long-term digestive upset and cramp. Psychological symptoms range from heightened emotional states, lack of impulse control, feelings of being overpowered or losing control and the fearfulness. Other characteristics include overly urgent, upset, withdrawal, self- neglect and depression. The experience of stress varies from person to person, but the feeling it brings about tends to be similar, regardless of what causes the stress. When we are aware of our feelings, thoughts and behaviours as well as our bodily reactions, we can assess ourselves as either relaxed, or under slight pressure which we are coping with or under

Pressure we are finding challenging but acceptable, or under excessive pressure which is causing us stress.
We all have different levels of coping the abilities and different tolerance for stress.
There are people, often categorized type “A” personalities who tolerate relatively high stress levels and thrive on the stimulation and alertness brought about by stress. There are others who have very low tolerance levels and thrive in slow-moving environments with low stimulation and evenly paced work.
Coping skills can be improved through regular training, stress management and increasing self-awareness and learning to react quickly when become stressed.
We may need to alter our lifestyle and our social habits and the way we view things, also we can arrange our world to reduce stress and reduce stress at source.
Many factors at work can lead to potential stress and diminish our emotional and physical well-being, if we are unsupported. These aspects of the workplace are labelled psychological hazards because they threaten mental health, and the same way physical hazards threaten physical safety.
Social support helps to reduce stress. It means having people around you at work who you feel would be there to assist or to listen to your concerns. Common workplace stressors are bullying and the threat of violence.

Risks: Good “work life” balance is important, it means a good balance between home and work, social, and emotional life. Poor lifestyle is when the balance is out of kilter and we engage too much in one activity at the expense of another. We could end up burning the candle at both ends. Spending too much time at work and then worrying about work when at home. We have to try to include some activities such as exercise, walking, into our lifestyle. By not doing any of these can lead to obesity, heart disease, stress and breathing difficulties.

Control methods: * Employer has legal requirement to assess the working environment and practices to prevent stress as far as reasonably practicable. * Provide adequate training, plan workspaces and lighting well. * Ensuring all employees has correct breaks. * Provide a system having support for staff. * Employees should try to assess their own stress situations talking to someone they trust. * Taking time off. * Having a healthy lifestyle.(Food, exercise, social life) * Avoid using cigarettes and alcohol to help relieve our stress.

Diet, exercise and lifestyle:

Good diet leads to a positive stress and a balanced lifestyle. What it means if we get the correct balance of daily intake of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals we can maintain a balanced diet and then we can live a healthy life.

“Not too much, not too little”.

and white bread. Choose whole fruits, freshly-squeezed juices, and whole grain bread instead. Eat fruits and vegetables for their high vitamin and mineral content. Choose lean meat, beans and tofu for their protein content. Enjoy whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice. Eat low-fat dairy products. Skim milk and reduced fat cheeses will reduce your fat intake while ensuring that you receive enough calcium.
All this would have a positive effect on our lifestyle, and he will also help to maintain a healthy body weight. Another important factor is the daily intake of water. It is recommended to drink at least 2 L of water every day. This would also help us to maintain a healthy life.

Exercising is also very important in a person’s everyday life. It can help us to control our body weight and increases the chances of a long, healthy life and reduces the risk many of sicknesses, such as heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. What's most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle.

Enjoy other daily activities. (High-intensity gardening and housekeeping can exercise your body.) Frequent and routine exercise everyday will boost our immune system. Physical health can also affect our mental wellness.

In my vocational area diet, exercise and lifestyle are very important due to the simple fact that a movie editor would spend probably 99% of the working day sitting. This type of work can easily lead us to be overweight because of all the sitting that is an essential part of this job. We need to choose the right balanced diet, and do plenty of exercise after work, in order to maintain body weight and live a good lifestyle with social activities. If we live a healthy lifestyle, our body would also be able to cope with the changes that every day life can bring.

We also have to make sure we do not exceed the recommended alcohol limit and try to spread the limits over the week!

Dangerous Chemicals, Dust and Fumes:

Employees can be exposed to dust or chemicals to various routes. The most common is the inhalation of a dust, aerosol, vapour, or mist. Finer the dust generally presents a greater risk since it can penetrate further into the lungs. Skin contact can occur through the eyes, nose or by absorption into the skin. Fire retardant chemicals in production of PC components can find their way into surrounding dust and be harmful.
There are several potential health effects. One of them is the irritation or inflammation of the respiratory tract, asthma or cancer. The other one is the allergic reactions and invitation can lead to dermatitis from exposure to find dust. It is the employer’s responsibility to assess the risk and the level of protection necessary in the workplace. Various different levels of protection may be required depending on the scenario. The following precautions could be taken:

* no consumption of food or drink where work is being carried out * do not launder any protective coating or PPE at home * engineering control measures * good personal hygiene * separate storage areas to prevent the contamination of regular clothing by work clothing

Working in multimedia, we don’t have to deal with dangerous chemicals, dusts and fumes therefore this section of the assignment is not related to my vocational area.

Occupational related illness:

Occupational illness defined as a condition those results from exposure in a workplace to a physical, chemical or biological agent to the extent that the normal physiological mechanisms are affected and the health of the worker is impaired. Normally develops over a period of time because of workplace conditions. Such conditions might include exposure to disease-causing bacteria and viruses, for example, or to chemicals or dust. http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/topics/health_hazards.php

As a movie editor injuries and illness that usually occur (working in an office) are usually related to computer use, or psychological or the musculoskeletal disorders.

Computer use related illness: Working with computers involves safety and health issues directly related to sitting in front of screens, which have potential physical, visual and psychological impacts on human beings. Good design of the computer, the environment, and the furniture and work practices will minimise the possible negative outcomes of computer use.
Risk of eye strain with computer use include, * staying in the same position for a long time (reduced eye and head movement); * poor positioning of the screen; * poor legibility of the screen or source documents; * poor lighting, including glare and reflections * a flickering or jittering image on the screen.

Eye strain can be prevented by taking regular breaks to look away from the computer to a far spot, walking away from the screen and giving the eyes some exercise, such as blinking, can decrease the effects of long periods of concentrating on a screen.

Psychological health effects: Work is generally beneficial to mental health and personal wellbeing. It provides opportunities for people to develop and use their skills, to form social relationships, and to increase their feelings of self-worth.
There are circumstances, however, in which work can have adverse consequences for health and wellbeing. Risks to psychological health at work may arise from organisational or personal factors, with the major factors being poor design of work and jobs, poor communication and interpersonal relationships, bullying, occupational violence and fatigue.
Risks to psychological health due to work should be viewed in the same way as other safety and health risks

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs): It is injuries or pain in the body's joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back. MSDs are degenerative diseases and inflammatory conditions that cause pain and impair normal activities. They can affect many different parts of the body including upper and lower back, neck, shoulders and extremities (arms, legs, feet, and hands). MSDs can arise from a sudden exertion (e.g., lifting a heavy object), or they can arise from making the same motions repeatedly repetitive strain, or from repeated exposure to force, vibration, or awkward posture. The exact cause depends on our: age, occupation, activity level and lifestyle. Certain types of activities can cause wear and tear overtime, which may lead to these types of disorders.

Manual handling
Definition: transporting or supporting of a load by one or more employees which includes, lifting, pulling, carrying, pushing and moving of a load where the characteristics involve the risk of injury. Any job that involves heavy labour or manual material handling may include a high risk for injury .Manual handling should be avoided where possible. If the object is too big we will probably need to help or use a machine (pulley, jack, and lever). If manual handling is not being done properly we may hurt ourselves. Back pain is a common symptom. It can range from dull, annoying ache to agony. Many cases of back pain are injury on the muscles or ligaments of the back.
Basic steps of safely lifting: * size of the load and check the condition * don’t attempt if it is to appear too heavy or awkward * check if there is enough space to move it(good housekeeping is essential) * good balance, feet, shoulders with a part(1 foot beside and 1 foot behind the object) * bend knees and do not stoop * keep back straight, but not vertical(tucking in the chin straightens the back) * grip the load with palms of your hands and your fingers(palm grip is more secure) * arms in line with the trunk * turn feet in the direction of the movement * tuck in chin again to make certain your back is straight, before starting to lift
Manual handling is very important. We always have to think of manual handling. In my vocational area, we often have to lift heavy boxes or move not heavy but awkward objects. We always have to make sure we follow the basic rules of manual handling .Manual handling has a huge impact of our health. We can easily hurt ourselves.

Musculoskeletal disorder
(Occupational related illness)

In my vocational area as a movie editor, sitting is the key factor of causing this type of occupational illness. By sitting down in the same position at a computer every day not could leads us to develop this illness. The causes of the musculoskeletal disorder are:

* Poor posture * Lack of stretching * Awkward or sustained postures * Forceful exertion or strain * Contact pressure * Exposure to heat or cold * Repetition of movements.

The affects of this illness include: * Inflammation * Redness * Decreased range of motion * Loss of function * Tingling * Numbness * Stiffness * Pain/tenderness * Muscle weakness * Fatigue * Decreased grip strength

Most of the above mentioned symptoms have a huge impact on us and on our performance at work. MSDs also increase with age. For this reason, many people believe that working as a movie editor sitting more or less in the same position all day causes these types of conditions. Muscles, bones, and joints naturally break down with age anyway, but getting old doesn’t mean you’ll automatically develop related medical disorders but you can potentially decrease your risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders as you age.
Symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders can hamper everyday tasks, such as walking. We may notice we have limited range of motion, as well as difficulties accomplishing our favourite activities. We need to see a doctor if we experience: stiff, painful joints, swelling.
Treating musculoskeletal disorders depends on the severity of our condition. Advanced disorders may require different treatment approaches. Physical therapy and occupational therapy can help you learn techniques to manage pain and discomfort during everyday activities. Prescription medications may also be required to help reduce inflammation and pain.

Preventive measures are the best ways to help prevent MSDs. It is crucial to change our working and lifestyle habits to help avoid potential pain later.
Regular strengthening exercises and stretching can help keep bones, joints, and muscles strong.
Change the sitting position of the office chair. Many people sit towards the front of their chair and end up hunching forward to look at their computer screen. The better seated posture is to sit back in the office chair and utilize the chair's lumbar support to keep the head and neck erect.
Choose the surface height for the desk (best for the task to be performed). The specific height of the work surface will also need to vary based on the height of the individual worker.
Adjust the seat of the office chair so that the work surface is elbow high. A fist should be able to pass easily behind the calf and in front of the seat edge to keep the back of the legs from being pressed too hard and the feet from swelling. The backrest of the office chair should push the low back forward slightly. If these adjustments cannot be adequately made with the existing office chair, a different make or type of chair may be considered.
Fit the height of the computer screen. The screen can be raised using books or a stand if needed.
Taking stretch breaks and walking breaks if sitting in an office chair for long periods of time. Also take care in the ways in which we complete everyday activities. Maintain a tall posture to prevent back pain and be careful when picking up heavy objects.

Recommendations / assignment evaluation and conclusions
Doing this assignment I have learned and discovered that health and safety work is very important. There are so many risk factors out there that can affect our everyday life if we don’t pay attention or we just ignore the warnings. Using the proper equipment and following safety procedures can create a much better and safer life for all of us.
Apart from being safe we have to look after our wellbeing as well. We have to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of becoming ill. Eating healthy food and being physically active are very important for a healthy life. Healthy eating also protects our life from diseases. Being physically active gives us more energy helps relieve stress and improve us mental health and lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.”

The more activity you do, the more health benefits you achieve”

From my personal perspective, personal well-being and being healthy are the things that I have learned the most about, doing this assignment. I will try to look after myself by following all the information I learned and I will also share this with others to help them to create a better life for themselves.