Syllabus
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH 376)

This is a three-credit graduate level course and is one in a series of elective courses in the Labor Relations Track of the Human Resource Management field of study. The Human Resource Management program is part of the online Master of Professional Studies degree offered through the University of Connecticut's Center for Continuing Studies.

This course was developed by Dr. Charles Reese.

Course Title: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH 376)

Credits: 3

Instructor: Charles D. Reese, Ph.D. Extension Professor 

University of Connecticut
Labor Education Center
Storrs, CT 06269-4056
Telephone: (860) 486-1718 or 3417
FAX: (860) 486-5221
Home Telephone: (860) 456-9456
Email: charles.reese@uconn.edu

Course Description

This is a three-credit offering with no prerequisites. This graduate course provides the student with the rationale for providing an occupationally safe and healthy work environment for employees. These skills are needed to be able to work effectively in the area of human resources and employee development as well as industrial relations since workers have been provide by law with specific safety and health rights.

Course Objectives

1. Through exercises, case studies and examination, the students will be able to demonstrate the ability to identify the basics needed to provide a healthy and safe occupational environment.
2. The students will be able to analyze safety and health issues resulting from complaints or noncompliance and suggest potential remedies.
3. The students will be able to identify potential workplace safety and health hazards and determine how to mitigate them.
4. The students will be able to demonstrate research skills necessary for mastery of the topic, which will entail a research paper on a specific occupational safety and health problem. Solutions will be supported by research sources and studies relevant to safety and health.
5. The students will be able to conduct basic safety inspections using strategies that they have developed.
6. The students will be able to identify and demonstrate a working knowledge of the domain of occupational health and safety.
7. The students will be able to create a document addressing the principles for developing and implementing a successful occupational health and safety program and evaluation of a work site.

Course Requirements and Grading

The students in this course will be given several types of assignments which, combined, will account for 100% of their grade. The percentage of the grade for each type of assignment is as follows:

Midterm Research Paper - 20%
Case Studies - 5%
OS&H Analyses - 5%
Quizzes - 30%
Discussion - 20%
Final Research Paper - 20% 

You are responsible for acting in accordance with the Student Code, available at http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/student_code.cfm

Course Materials

This course text may be purchased locally, through an online bookstore, or through the Storrs UConn Bookstore. Please visit our page on buying books for more information.

Primary Course Texts

Goetsch, D. L. (2004). Occupational safety and health for technologists, engineers, and managers (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0131137646

Reference Sources and Readings

Books

• Anton, T. J. (1989). Occupational safety and health management (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
• Blake, R. P. (1963). Industrial safety (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA 2006. (1999). Compliance operations manual.
• Grimaldi, J. V., & Simonds, R. H. (1989). Safety management (5th ed.). Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA 228. (1977). Investigating accidents in the workplace: A manual for compliance safety and health officers.
• Kohn, J. P., et al. (1996). Fundamental of occupational safety and health. Rockville, MD: Government Institutes, Inc.
• Michaud, P. A. (1995). Accident Prevention and OSHA Compliance. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press/Lewis Publishers.
• National Safety Council. (1992). Accident prevention manual for business and industry, Volume 2 (10th ed.). Engineering & Technology. Chicago, IL.
• National Safety Council (1992). Accident prevention manual for business and industry, Volume 1 (10th ed.). Administration & Programs, Chicago, IL.
• Reese, C. D. (2001). Accident/incident prevention techniques. New York: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
• Slote, L. (1987). Handbook of occupational safety and health. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Articles

• Anderson, G. H., Smith, A. C., & Daigle L. L. (1989). An approach to occupational health risk management for a diversified international corporation. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 50(4): 224-228.
• Arrows, K. J. (1996, April 12). Is there a role for cost-benefit analysis in environmental, health, and safety regulations? Science, 272, 221-22.
• Barry, J. B. (1995, January). Assessing risk systematically. Risk Management, 42, 12-15.
• Begley, R. (1992, September 2). Safety rules key on documentation: OSHA sets performance standards. Chemical Week, 151, 31-2.
• Carder, B. (1994, February). Quality theory and the measurement of safety systems. Professional Safety, 39(2): 23-28.
• Collinge, J. A. (1992, August 24). Auditing; reduces accidents by eliminating unsafe practices. Oil & Gas Journal, 90, 38-41.
• Davenport, J. A. (1997, March). Loss control technologies: Diverse research and testing serves business and industry. Risk Management, 44, 30-4.
• Geller, E. S., & Roberts, D. S. (1993). Beyond behavior modification for continuous improvement in occupational safety. Paper presented at the FABA/OBM Network Conference, St. Petersburg, FL.
• Hanson, D. (1990, December 17). OSHA proposal takes aims at plant accident prevention. Chemical & Engineering News, 68, 12-13.
• Kirk, A. S. (1995, February). Safety and health legislation: Are you in compliance? Tech Directions, 54, 44-5.
• Krause, T. R., Hidley, J. H., & Hodson, S. J. (1991). Measuring safety performance: The process approach. Occupational Hazards, 53(4): 49.
• Laflamme, L. (1996, Winter). Age-related accident risks among assembly workers: A longitudinal study of male workers employed in the Swedish automobile industry. Journal of Safety Research, 27:4,259-268.
• Morris, G. D. L. (1994, November 16). Plant maintenance comes into its own. Chemical Week, 155, 27-8.
• Navaratnam, K. K. (1995, August). Improving the quality of loss control management. Risk Management, 42, 58-63.
• (1975, October). Organizing an accident prevention program. National Safety News, Vol. 112, No. 4.
• Richard, K. M. (1994, June 1). Your legal rights before, during, and after an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 204, 1754-9.
• Ritzel, D. O., & Allen, R. G. (1996, February). Validity of the basic principle of safety management or loss control. Professional Safety, 41, 24-8.
• Roughton, J. (1992). Managing a safety program through job hazard analysis. Professional Safety,37(1): 28-31.
• Scherer, F. F., Brodzinski, J. D., Canty, L.C., & Crable, E. A. (1997, Spring). An examination of process and outcome differences in health and safety inspections conducted by state and federal agencies. Journal of Safety Research, 28(2): 75-82.
• Sinclair, L. (1996, May). EPA versus OSHA: A tale of two standards. Safety and Health, 153, 58-62.
• Smith, S. L. (1996, November). How to prevent industrial fires. Occupational Hazards, 58, 44-6.
• Smith, S. L. (1994, September). Near misses: Safety in the shadows. Occupational Hazards, 56(9):33-36.
• Sorine, A. J., & Walls, R. T. (1996, November). Safety management information system of decision making. Professional Safety, 41, 26-8.
• Sup, F. (1986, May). A SMART method of loss control. Risk Management, 33, 32-6.

Journals

• Journal of Safety Research. (1970-2001). Itasca, IL: National Safety Council.
• Occupational Health & Safety. (1985-2001). Dallas, TX: Stevens Publishing Co.
• Safety and Health. (1985-2001). Itasca, IL: National Safety Council.
• Professional Safety. (1980-2001). Des Plaines, IL: American Society of Safety Engineers.

Government Websites

• Address of Government Agencies: http://www.fedworld.gov
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov
• ATSDR Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database:  http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov
• Building and Fire Research Laboratory:  http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://stats.bls.gov/
• California Department of Industrial Relations: http://www.dir.ca.gov/
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/
• Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/
• National Agriculture Safety Database: http://www.cdc.gov/
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
• National Institutes of Health: http://www.nih.gov/
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration: http://www.osha.gov/
• U. S. Department of Transportation:  http://www.dot.gov/
• U.S. Department of Energy Chemical Safety Program: http://tis-hq.eh.doe.gov/web/chem_safety/
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.dhhs.gov/

Associations and Societies Websites

• American Association of Occupational Health Nurses: http://www.aaohn.org/
• American Chemical Society: http://www.acs.org/
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine: http://www.acoem.org/
• American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists: http://www.acgih.org/
• American Industrial Hygiene Association: http://www.aiha.org/
• American National Standards Institute: http://web.ansi.org
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers: http://www.ashrae.org/
• American Society of Safety Engineers: http://www.asse.org/
• American Society for Testing and Materials: http://www.astm.org/
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: http://www.asha.org/
• Board of Certified Safety Professionals: http://www.bcsp.com/
• British Safety Council: http://www.britishsafetycouncil.co.uk/
• Canada Safety Council: http://www.safety-council.org
• Canadian Society of Safety Engineering: http://www.csse.org/
• Industrial Safety Equipment Association: http://www.safetycentral.org
• National Fire Protection Association: http://www.wpi.edu/-fpe/nfpa.html
• National Safety Council: http://www.nsc.org/

Ergonomics Websites

• Ergonomics:  http://www.ergoweb.com
• The Ergonomics Society: http://www.ergonomics.org.uk/
• Ergonomics Society of Australia: http://www.curtin.edu

Other Sources

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety:  http://www.ccohs.ca
• ChemFinder.Com: http://www.chemfinder.com
• Construction Industry Institute:  http://www.construction-institute.org
• Emergency Response:  info@Yahoo.com "Emergency Response"
• Industrial Hygiene: http://www.industrialhygiene.com
• Injury Control Resources Information Network (ICRIN):  http://www.pitt.edu/
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs): http://www.hazard.com
• Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs): http://www.phys.ksu.edu/~tipping/msds.html
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs):  http://www.enviro-net.com
• SafetyInfo.com: http://www.safetyinfo.com
• Industry and University Links
• FireNet Information Network: http://online.anu.edu.au/Forestry/fire/firenet.html
• Industry Links: http://www.industrylink.com/index.htm
• Johns Hopkins University Center for Occupational & Environmental Health: http://www.med.jhu.edu/coeh/
• Pro Am Safety Net: http://www.pro-am.com/
• Underwriters Laboratories Inc.: http://www.ul.com/
• Journals and News Sources
• Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology: http://www.slackinc.com
• The Journal of the American Medical Association: http://www.ama-assn.org
• Modern Healthcare: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/
• Washington Post's Federal Community: http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/fedcomm.htm

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Course Outline

Module 1
I. Safety and Health Movement, Then and Now
II. Ethics and Safety
III. Roles and Professional Certifications for Safety and Health Personnel

Module 2
IV. TSM: Safety Management in a TQM Setting
V. Promoting Safety
VI. Safety and Health Training

Module 3
VII. The OSHAct, Standards, and Liability

Module 4
VIII. Workers' Compensation

Module 5
IX. Accidents and Their Effects
X. Theories of Accident Causation
XI. Safety Analysis and Prevention
XII. Accident Investigation and Reporting

Module 6
XIII. Mechanical Hazards and Machine Safeguarding
XIV. Falling, Impact, Acceleration, Lifting, and Vision Hazards
XV. Pressure Hazards

Module 7
XVI. Electrical Hazards
XVII. Fire Hazards and Life Safety
XVIII. Computers, Automation, and Robots

Module 8
XIX. Industrial Hygiene: Toxic Substances and Confined Spaces

Module 9
XX. Radiation Hazards
XXI. Noise and Vibration Hazards

Module 10
XXII. Hazards of Temperature Extremes
XXIII. Bloodborne Pathogens in the Workplace

Module 11
XXIV. Ergonomic Hazards: Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs)
XXV. Stress and Safety

Module 12
XXVI. Preparing for Emergencies
XXVII. Violence in the Workplace

Module 13
XXVIII. Safety, Health, and Competition in the Global Marketplace
XXIX. Environmental Safety and ISO 14000 (Environmental Management)
XXX. Product Safety and Liability

Evaluation of the Course

Students will be provided an opportunity to evaluate instruction in this course using the University's standard procedures, which are administered by the Office of Institutional Research.