The Making of a "Super" Workplace - APR Staff learn about OSH

There is something about superhero movies that gets us excited about safety. Like for example, the movie Man of Steel. In the film, pre-Superman Clark Kent is working as a commercial fisherman (a hazardous job if you’re not a man of steel). He risked exposing his amazing abilities when he swoops in to save the workers on a nearby oil rig who are in great danger as the rig implodes around them.

We see instances such as these riddled throughout superhero movies. There’s always a hero around to save the day.

Unfortunately, in real life we can’t rely on the Superman – but we can rely on the many super men and women in the Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) field who are always striving to improve working conditions to keep workers out of harm’s way long before they need saving.

On 11 to 13 September 2017, the staff of the WSB Asia-Pacific Support Centre embarked on a timely and very relevant topic for their development workshop on Occupational Health and Safety which was held in Baguio City, Philippines.

OSH is about providing safety and health measures in different work environments and sectors. It is an area that is concerned with the health, safety, as well as welfare of people engaged in an organization. Every kind of work exposes individuals to a number of hazards, for instance, dangerous machinery, loads that have to be manually handled, electricity, toxic substances, working with display screen tools, risk of fire, or even psychological hazards like stress. It might seem obvious, but management of health and safety in the workplace is very important because along with protecting employees, it also increases productivity when employees are healthy and happy.

OSH expert speakers Gilbert Rafer, Engr. Marivic Empizo, Dra. Anne Bandonill, and Catherine Cruz engrossed the entire staff of APR to a rather unfamiliar topic, but nevertheless, important in which the staff are now prepared to create a ‘super’ workplace where all feel safe and healthy.

In addition, a topic on the Art of Storytelling was also presented. Mr Joel Arthur Tibaldo shared his expertise on the Art of Storytelling particularly on digital storytelling. A group activity on storytelling was assigned to the staff, in which they have to build up a story following the techniques they learned during the workshop and present on the last day of the event.