Glossary

An accident which is defined as “something bad that happens that is not expected or intended and that often damages something or injuries someone” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2023, para. 1) or “something that happens by chance or without expectation; an event that is without apparent or deliberate” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., para. 6).

New Zealand has universal coverage approach to injury “If someone in New Zealand has an accident and we cover their injury, we use this money to help pay for and support their recovery. This includes treatment, health, rehabilitation and support services, loss of income or financial help and injury prevention in the community” (Accident Compensation Corporation, 2018, para. 2).  This coverage applies to anyone who incurs an injury, including visitors, within New Zealand.  This compensation is administered via the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

Accreditation is formal authorisation by an standards organisation permitting the accredited entity (person or business) to certify other businesses against their standards (United Kingdom Accreditation Service, n.d.).

"Human beings contribute to the breakdown of such [complex technological] systems in two ways.  Most obviously, it is by errors and violations committed at the 'shape end' of the system...Such unsafe acts are likely to have a direct impact on the safety of the system and, because of the immediacy of their adverse effects, these acts are termed active failures" (Reason, 1997, p. 10).

Acts of God: “The operation of uncontrollable natural forces, an instance or result of such forces, frequently in the context of insurance” (Oxford Dictionary, 2023, para. 3).

Is an aspiration for citizens and those who have immigrated to the United States that they can achieve the "American Dream of a better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank" (Adams, 1931, Preface, para. 2).

"ALARP is short for 'as low as reasonably practicable'. SFAIRP is short for 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. The two terms mean essentially the same thing and at their core is the concept of "reasonably practicable"; this involves weighing a risk against the trouble, time and money needed to control it" (Health and Safety Executive, n.d.-a, para. 2).

AS/NZS 4801:2001 Occupational health and safety management systems - Specification with guidance for use was agreed to safety management standards published in 2001 (see Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, 2001).  These standards have now been superseded by AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems - Requirements with guidance for use (see Standards Australia, 2018).

AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems - Requirements with guidance for use are the currently agreed to International Organization for standards safety management system standards (see Standards Australia, 2018).

"Auditing is defined as the on-site verification activity, such as inspection or examination, of a process" (ASQ, 2023, para. 1).

"Biological hazards are organic substances that present a threat to the health of people and other living organisms.  Biological hazards include: viruses...toxins from biological sources, spores, fungi, pathogenic, micro-organisms, bio-active substances" (ComCare, 2023, para. 1).

"Theories about the causes of industrial accidents can be classified into two broad types: those which emphasize the personal characteristics of the workers themselves and those which locate the causes in the wider social, organisational or technological environment. The former approach is conveniently termed blaming-the-victim and the latter, blaming the-system" (Hopkins & Palser, 1987, p. 26).

"Theories about the causes of industrial accidents can be classified into two broad types: those which emphasize the personal characteristics of the workers themselves and those which locate the causes in the wider social, organisational or technological environment. The former approach is conveniently termed blaming-the-victim and the latter, blaming the-system" (Hopkins & Palser, 1987, p. 26).

Collectives of craftsman in Boston who affiliated to lobby for work rights.  They produced circulars (widely distributed letters stating their case) in "the name of the Carpenters, Masons and Stone Cutters" (Irving & Schwaab, 1952, p. 342 - 343).

Boston Associates is a term coined by Vera Shlakman to refer to "a small group of investors from Boston were critical to the larger industrial development of New England. This group, connected by social and blood ties, consolidated wealth and dominated the American textile industry during the first half of the nineteenth century" (Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, n.d., para. 1).

“Men like Patrick Tracy Jackson, Francis Cabot Lowell and Nathan Appleton were linked together not only because they had made it to the top of Boston’s elite, but because they wanted to make sure that industrial growth did not run amok—that it was restrained by traditional values of community, hard work, social obligation, and decency.” (Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, n.d., para. 1).

"A way of planning or organizing something that considers the smaller parts or details, or the lower or less powerful levels of a group of organization, first" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d, para. 1).

A business case is "an explanation or set of reasons describing how a business decision will improve a business, product, etc., and how it will affect costs and profits and attract investments" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d, para. 1).

Business risk may be defined as "the exposure a company or organization has to factors that could lower its profits or lead it to fail” (Kenton, 2022, para. 1).

“The practices or principles of capitalists; the dominance of capitalists in financial and business enterprises; an economic system based on wage labour in which the means of production is controlled by private or corporate interests for the purpose of profit, with prices determined largely by competition in a free market” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., para 1).

Certification is the auditing of a business, by an independent accredited entity, to demonstrate (certify) its compliance with standards set by a standards organisation (United Kingdom Accreditation Service, n.d.).

"Failing to notice significant changes to visual scenes...understanding the inability or failure to detect change is critical to improving worker safety (Solomon et al., 2021, p. 1).

"A hazardous chemical can be a solid, liquid or gas. It can be a pure substance, consisting of one ingredient, or a mixture of substances.  It can harm the health of a person who is exposed to it" (Comcare, 2023, para. 1).

"Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both" (CDC, 2022, para. 1).

“A gradual loss of memory, orientation, executive function, and the ability to carry out the activities of daily living (Lake, 2021, p. 66).

“Collective Bargaining, the ongoing process of negotiation between representatives of workers and emloyers to establish the conditions of employment” Encyclopedia Britannica, 18th September 2023.

"A theory that advocates the abolition of private ownership, all property being vested in the community, and the organization of labour for the common benefit of all members; a system of social organization in which this theory is put into practice" (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., para.1).

"Conformity in fulfilling official requirements" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

“Compliance risk primarily arises in industries and sectors that are highly regulated” (Kenton, 2022, para. 9).

"An unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

"The process by which a government, business, or other organization deals with a crisis or emergency" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023, para. 1).

A critical incident is “a sudden, unexpected and overwhelming event, that is out of the range of expected experiences” (UNHCR, 2019, para. 1).

"A dashboard is a way of displaying various types of visual data in one place. Usually, a dashboard is intended to convey different, but related information in an easy-to-digest form. And oftentimes, this includes things like key performance indicators (KPI)s or other important business metrics that stakeholders need to see and understand at a glance" (Tableau Software, n.d., para. 5).

“A developed economy is typically characteristic of a developed country with a relatively high level of economic growth and security.  Standard criteria for evaluating a country’s level of development are income per capita or per capita gross domestic product, the level of industrialization, the general standard of living, and the amount of technological infrastructure” (Majaski, 2022,para. 1).

“Terms such as ‘emerging countries’, ‘lease developed countries’, and ‘developing countries’ are commonly used to refer to countries that do not enjoy the same level of economic security and industrialization, and growth as developed countries” (Majaski, 2022, para. 9).

"Disability is part of being human.  Almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability at some point in their life...Disability results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition, such as cerbral palsy, Down syndrome and depression, with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social support" (World Health Organization, n.d., para. 1).

Note: This definition is based on the Social Model of Disability.  For more information on this see: Ikutegbe P, Randle M, Sheridan L, et al. (2023) Successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities: A proposed conceptual model.  75(3): 202 - 224.

"A sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).  As such, these events are is not specific to work or a workplace.

"Particularly where employment relationships are well-defined and enforceable, discipline and grievance processes are the mechanisms for policing the relationship and enforcing its terms. Discipline is the employer’s response to a perceived breach of the terms of the relationship by the employee. Grievance, in strict definition, is the employee’s mechanism for addressing an alleged breach of the terms of the relationship by an employer" (McAndrew, 2016, p. 92).

"Discrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.  The human brain naturally puts things in categories to make sense of the world. Very young children quickly learn the difference between boys and girls, for instance. But the values we place on different categories are learned—from our parents, our peers, and the observations we make about how the world works. Often, discrimination stems from fear and misunderstanding.  Discrimination is a public health issue. Research has found that the experience of discrimination—when perceived as such—can lead to a cascade of stress-related emotional, physical, and behavioral changes" (American Psychological Association, 2022, para. 1)

"Is the extent to which jobs in an organization are subdivided into separate tasks" (Heery & Noon, n.d., para. 1).

"The care that a reasonable person exercises to avoid harm to other persons or their property" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

"To help or cause (a person, the mind, etc.) to develop the intellectual and moral faculties in general; to impart wisdom to; to enlighten" (Oxford English Dictionary, 20223, part 5).

"An emergency response is an immediate, systematic response to an unexpected or dangerous occurrence. The goal of an emergency response procedure is to mitigate the impact of the event on people, property, and the environment.  Emergencies warranting a response range from hazardous material spills resulting from a transportation accident to a natural disaster" (Mishra, 2018, para. 1).

"An employee assistance program (EAP) is a work-based intervention program designed to assist employees in resolving personal problems that may be adversely affecting the employee's performance...Programs are delivered at no cost to employees by stand-alone [independent] EAP vendors or providers" (SHRM,  2023, para. 1).

An employment relationship is "the connection between employees and organizations through which individuals sell their labour to an employer. In practice, employment relationships can be short-term or long-term, can be governed by informal understandings or an explicit contract, and can involve workers and organizations of all types. From a legal perspective, the laws in each country define what is considered an employment relationship covered by employment and labour law as well as other public policies such as unemployment insurance or social security" (Budd, 2016, p. 123).

The nature of employment relationships are "defined by their terms, which spell out the rights, entitlements and obligations of employers and employees" (McAndrew, 2016, p. 92).

“Environmental risk management is the process of systematically identifying credible environmental hazards, analyzing the likelihood of occurrence and severity of the potential consequences, and managing the resulting level of risk” (Speight, 2015, p. 322).

"Ergonomic hazards are physical factors in the environment that may cause musculoskeletal injuries" (ComCare, 2023, para. 1).

"The design of furniture or equipment and the way this affects people's ability to work effectively" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

"Someone who studies the design of furniture or equipment and the way this affects people's ability to work effectively" (Cambridge Dictionary, 2023, para. 1).

"Fit to work or fitness to work is a medical assessment done when an employer wishes to be sure an employee can safely do a specific job or task" (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, n.d., para. 1).

"Forced labour differs from slavery in that it involves not the ownership of one person by another but rather merely the forced exploitation of that person’s labour" (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1).

"Fordism is a term widely used to describe (1) the system of mass production that was pioneered in the early 20th century by the Ford Motor Company" (Jessop, 2020, para. 1).

"A gig economy is a labor market that relies heavily on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees" (Investopedia, 2022, para. 2)

A hazard may be defined as "anything with the potential to harm life, health or property" (Dunn, 2012, p. 53).

Hazard control is determining "...appropriate ways to eliminate the hazard, or control the risk when the hazard cannot be eliminated" (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, n.d., para. 6).

"Hazard identification is part of the process used to evaluate if any particular situation, item, thing, etc. may have the potential to cause harm" (CCOSH, 2023, para. 4).

The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (World Health Organization, 1946, p. 1).

"A heuristic is a mental shortcut commonly used to simplify problems and avoid cognitive overload. Heuristics are part of how the human brain evolved and is wired, allowing individuals to quickly reach reasonable conclusions or solutions to complex problems. These solutions may not be optimal ones but are often sufficient given limited timeframes and calculative capacity" (Chen, 2023, para. 1).

High reliability organisations are distinguished from other organisations as they have a:  “…preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify interpretations, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience and deference to expertise” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001, p. 30).

"The care and management of property and the provision of equipment and services (as for an industrial organization)" (Merriam-Webster, n.d, para. 2).

“Human capital, intangible, collective resources possessed by individuals and groups within a given population These resources include all the knowledge, talents, skills, abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, and wisdom possessed individually and collectively, the cumulative total of which represents a form of wealth available to nations and organizations to accomplish their goals” (Huff, n.d., para. 1).

"Human factors refer to environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics, which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety" (Health and Safety Executive, n.d.-b, para. 1).

The Human Relations School of thought was founded by Elton Mayo at Harvard Business School in the early 20th century (O'Connor, 1999).  The Human Relations School of thought is a "human relations approach, aimed at improving morale and reducing resistance to formal authority" (Miles, 1965, para. 1).

“The management of people in working organizations.  It is also frequently called personnel management” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2023, para.1).

"Inattentional blindness is a popular human error associated with selective attention or inattention. It can be depicted as an individual’s failing to notice or recognize a visual object or event due to a lack of active attention in a given situation" (Park et al., 2022, p. 1),

In the WHS context, “An incident is an unplanned event or chain of events that results in losses such as fatalities or injuries, damage to assets, equipment, the environment, business performance or company reputation” (Wolters Kluwer, n.d., para. 1).

"Industrial engineers devise efficient systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service" (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023, para. 1).

“Industrial Revolution, in modern history, the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing.  These technological changes introduced novel wasy of working and living and fundamentally transformed society.  The process began in Britain in the 18th century and from there speak to other parts of the world…the United States and western Europe, began undergoing the ‘second’ industrial revoltuions by the late 19th century” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1).

“The development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale; the process of industrializing or fact of being industrialized” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., p.1).

"To impart knowledge of some particular fact, occurrence, situation, etc." (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023, part 1.2).

"Particles in the air may cause lung problems...Inorganic refers to any substances that do not contain carbon" (John Hopkins Medicine, n.d., para. 6).

The International Labour Organization was created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 but is now a specialist organisation of the United Nations devoted to “advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity” (International Labour Organization, n.d., p. 1).

The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is "is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 169 national standards bodies.  Through its members it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges” (International Organization for Standardization, n.d., para. 1).

“The power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law…the limits or territory within which authority may be exercised” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

“Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure and monitor whether an organization is on the right track…KPIs play an important role in modern organizations improving performance is key to achieving organizational success” (Madsen and Stenheim, 2022, para. 1).

"The knowledge economy is a system of consumption and production that is based on intellectual capital. In particular, it refers to the ability to capitalize on scientific discoveries and applied research" (Hayes, 2021, para. 1).

Labour "means any valuable service rendered by a human agent in the production of wealth, other than accumulating and providing capital or assuming the risks that are a normal part of business undertakings" (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022, para. 1).

“Trade union, also called labour union [particularly in the United States], association of workers in a particular trade, industry or company created for the purposes of securing improvements in pay, benefits, working conditions or social and political status through collective bargaining” (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., para. 1).  Notably, Trade unions emerged in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution to protect craftsperson's rights (they emerged from original crafts guilds), whereas in the United States they drew all workers (skilled and unskilled) together to negotiate labour rights (hence these are known as Labour Unions).

"Outcome indicators refer more specifically to the objectives of an intervention, that is its ‘results’, its outcome...These indicators, therefore, allow us to know whether the desired outcome has been generated. It may take time before final outcomes can be measured" (World Health Organization, 2014, para. 7).

"Fallibility is an inescapable part of the human condition, it is now recognized that people working in complex systems make errors or violate procedures for reasons that generally go beyond the scope of individual psychology.  These reasons are latent conditions....poor design, gaps in supervision, undetected manufacturing defects or maintenance failures, unworkable procedures, clumsy automation, shortfalls in training, less than adequate tools and equipment - may be present for many years before they combine with local circumstances and active failures to penetrate the system's many layers of defences" (Reason, 1997, p. 10).

"These indicators refer to the resources needed for the implementation of an activity or intervention. Policies, human resources, materials, financial resources are examples of input indicators.  Example: inputs to conduct a training course may include facilitators, training materials, funds" (World Health Organization, 2014, para. 1)

“A law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament” (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

Likelihood is "the chance that something will happen" (Cambridge Dictionary, 2023, para. 1) compared with probability which is "mathematics concerned with the laws governing random events, including the collection, analysis and interpretation, and display of numerical data" (Porter, n.d., para. 1).  This distinction is important in safety management as the term likelihood is used instead of probability because the actual probability of when a hazard will generate a particular harm is currently incalculable.  In WHS management then, the term likelihood describes a rating that is collaboratively generated by the stakeholders involved based on what they know and what they perceive at that time - it is their perceived likelihood for the risk.

“Organization, supervision, or direction; the application of skill or care in the manipulation, use, treatment, or control (of a thing or person), or in the conduct of something” Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

"Medical retirement...is different from normal retirement because after normal retirement the employee doesn’t often work again, after medical retirement the employee often looks for a different job that is not limited by the illness or injury" (Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, n.d., para. 16).

The advantage for an employee of having a medical retirement is "the reason for leaving will be reflected in their record of service and in any references that the employer gives them (rather than dismissal for incapacity). A medical retirement package may include a financial payment which can provide some financial security while the employee gets better and considers future options. Sometimes a medical retirement package includes career support, EAP counselling or medical assistance" (Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, n.d., para. 18).

The Metric System is:

"The International System of Units (SI), commonly known as the metric system, is the international standard for measurement.          The International Treaty of the Meter was signed in Paris on May 20, 1875 by seventeen countries, including the United States.       The seven SI base units, which are comprised of

Length - meter (m)

Time - second (s)

Amount of substance - mole (mole)

Electric current - ampere (A)

Temperature - kelvin (K)

Luminous intensity - candela (cd)

Mass - kilogram (kg)" (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2023, p. 2).

“Middle Ages, the period in European history from the collapse of the Roman civilisation in the 5th century to the period of Renaissance (variously interpreted as beginning in the 13th, 14th or 15th century, depending on the region of Europe and other factors)” (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2023, para 1).

"Modern slavery is a relationship based on exploitation. It is defined by a range of practices that include: trafficking in persons; slavery; servitude; forced marriage; forced labour; forced marriage, debt bondage; deceptive recruiting for labour or services; and the worst forms of child labour and is visible in many global supply chains. Each of these terms is defined in treaties and documents of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization" (Australian Human Rights Institute, 2019, para. 3)

Moral judgement is the “evaluation of actions with respect to moral norms and values established in society” (Thoma et. al. 1991 cited in Li et al., 2017, p. 122).

"A sudden and terrible event in nature (such as a hurricane, tornado, or flood) that usually results in serious damage and many deaths" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

Near misses are "unplanned incidents that occurred at the workplace that, although not resulting in any injury or disease, had the potential to do so” (Archer et al., 2015, p. 86).  When contextualised in the Swiss Cheese Model of incident causation, they can be understood as "an event that could have potentially resulted in…losses, but the chain of events stopped in time to prevent this” (Wolters Kluwer, n.d., para. 1).

"Negligence, in law, the failure to meet a standard of behaviour established to protect society against unreasonable risk" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1).

Technically occupations are "the activities and tasks of everyday life.  These include things people do to look after themselves, to enjoy themselves, and to contribute to the social and economic fabric of their communities" (Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand, n.d., para. 1).

Note: Occupation does not just refer to employment.

Occupational disease is “any illness associated with a particular occupation or industry.  Such diseases result from a variety of biological, chemical, physical, and psychological factor that are present in the work environment or are otherwise encountered in the course of employment” (Kazantzis, 2022, para. 1).

"Occupational epidemiology has the same main goal as the broad field of epidemiology: to identify the causes of disease in a population in order to intervene to remove them. Occupational epidemiology is an exposure-oriented discipline; it is thus the systematic study of illnesses and injuries related to the workplace environment" (Merletti et al., 2014, p. 1577 citing Checkoway et al. 2004).

Occupational health had its modest beginnings in first aid and disease controls for high risk heavy industry workplaces, such as mines, but gained greater recognition in the 1970s when the World Health Organization acknowledged its contribution to the identification of workplace-derived factors causing occupational illness and suggested its remit should be broadened to encompass public health.  So, today, many occupational health specialists have more of a public health, and less of an immediate workplace, focus (Schilling, 1989).

Health and safety at work is known as occupational health and safety, workplace health and safety and work health and safety.  Occupational health and safety would appear to be a traditional term which is currently less in favour, perhaps, because the term occupation is broader than paid work (consider occupational therapy).  The term workplace health and safety then likely emerged to define the focus as being on work, as opposed to other types of occupation.  Today, given the rise of flexible work arrangements and the ‘gig economy’, worker safety has been clarified in legislation as being the responsibility of persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) no matter where their workers undertake that work.  It is for this reason that this book adopts the term work, health and safety.

"Occupational therapy is the art and science of helping people take part in everyday living through their occupations" (Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand, n.d., para. 1)

Note: Occupation in this context is not limited to the occupations of work and employment.

Operational risk “arises from within the corporation, especially when the day-to-day operations of a company fail to perform” (Kenton, 2022, para. 10).

“The policy or practice of restricting the freedoms and responsibilities of subordinates or dependants in what is considered or claimed to be their best interests” (Oxford Dictionary, 2023, para. 1).

“Of, relating to, or of the nature of paternalism; practising paternalism” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

A PCBU, a person conducting a business or undertaking,  “may be an individual person or an organisation.  This does not include workers or officers of PCBUs, volunteer associations, or home occupiers that employ or engage a tradesperson to carry out residential work” (WorkSafe, 2019, p. 4).

"Performance Influencing Factors (PIFs) are the characteristics of the job, the individual and the organisation that influence human performance. Optimising PIFs will reduce the likelihood of all types of human failure (Health and Safety Executive, n.d.-c, para. 1).

Decramer et al. (2021, p. 91) succinctly describe that: "Performance management is described as the process of measuring, communicating and managing employee performance in the workplace so that performance is aligned with the strategy of the organisation (Bauer et al., 2020). The HR system of performance management comprises a specific approach to consistently manage individual performance goals (DeNisi & Smith, 2014) and consists of multiple related HR practices: planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reward of employees’ performance (Aguinis, 2013; Audenaert et al., 2019)".

"Physical hazards are factors or conditions within the environment that can harm your health" (Comcare 2023, para. 1).

“The Plan-do-check-act cycle is a four-step model for carrying out change. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement” (ASQ, 2023, para. 1) where the different steps are: “Plan: Recognize an opportunity and plan a change, Do: Test the change. Carry out a small-scale study; Check: Review the test, analyze the results, and identify what you’ve learned; Act: Take action based on what you learned in the study step” (ASQ, 2023, para. 3).

"The establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit" (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

Policies "are rules and guidelines that define and limit action, and indicate the relevant procedures to follow" (Heery & Noon, n.d., para. 1).

Probability is "mathematics concerned with the laws governing random events, including the collection, analysis and interpretation, and display of numerical data" (Porter, n.d., para. 1).

Procedures are "step-by-step sequences of actions that should be taken to attain particular objectives" (Heery & Noon, n.d., para. 1).

“At the corporate level, productivity is a measure of the efficiency of a company's production process, it is calculated by measuring the number of units produced relative to employee labor hours or by measuring a company's net sales relative to employee labor hours” (Kenton, 2023, para. 3).

"The act of officially accusing someone of committing and illegal act by brining a case against that person in a court of law" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d, para. 1).

"The value attached to hard work, thrift, and efficiency in one’s worldly calling, which, especially in the Calvinist view, were deemed signs of an individuals’ election, or eternal salvation" (Britannica, 2020, para. 1).

"Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm" (ComCare, n.d., para. 1).

“Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community infections, the education of the individual principles of personal hygiene, the organization of medical and nursing service for the early diagnosis and preventative treatment of disease, and the development of the social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health” (Windslow, 1920, p. 30)

"Intended as a punishment" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d, para. 1).

“Quality risk management is a systematic, risk-based approach to quality management. The process is composed of the assessment, control, communication, and review of quality risks. It is especially critical in the pharmaceutical industry, where product quality can greatly affect consumer health and safety” (Safety Culture, 2023, para. 1).

“Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone's disability. For example: making changes to the workplace, changing someone's working arrangements, finding a different way to do something, providing equipment, services or support. Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person. They can cover any area of work“ (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, 2022, para. 1).

Note: Disability can be permanent or temporary.

In the Australian legal context:

"The concept of reasonable adjustments reflects the understanding that a worker with an injury, ill health or disability can often
perform tasks if adjustments are made to accommodate the effects of their injury, ill health or disability.  The aim of any reasonable adjustment is to minimise the impact of the injury, health problem or disability to enable the worker to fully take part in work-related programs and effectively undertake the inherent requirements of their job.

Workers face many obstacles to participating in a life in work. Reasonable adjustments that support someone’s ability to work can be effective in:
> preventing deterioration of health and allowing employees with health problems to stay at work
> enabling employees to stay at work or return to work after injury
> assisting people with a disability to enter and stay in the workplace"  (ComCare, 2013, para. 1).

Australia's Model Work Health and Safety Bill defines reasonably practicable as:

"In this Act, reasonably practicable, in relation to a duty to ensure health and safety, means that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters including:

(a) the likelihood of the hazard or the risk concerned occurring; and

(b) the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the risk; and

(c) what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know, about:

(i) the hazard or the risk; and

(ii) ways of eliminating or minimising the risk; and

(d) the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk; and

(e) after assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk" (WorkSafe Australia, 2023, Section 18).

"Regulations are rules made by a government or other authority in order to control the way something is done or the way people behave" (Collins Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

A relativistic stance is "based on the belief that truth and right and wrong can only be judged in relation to other things and that nothing can be true or right in all situations" (Cambridge Dictionary, 2023, para. 1)..

Reputational Risk “Any time a company’s reputation is ruined, either by an event that was the result of a previous business risk or by a different occurrence, it runs the risk of losing customers and its brand loyalty suffering” (Kenton, 2022, para. 11).

"A return to work program is a workplace’s written plan that focuses on finding meaningful and suitable work for workers coming back to the workplace from injury or illness. The program should include prevention, accommodation, and support for recovery. Through collaboration, the goal of the program is to have the worker return to their pre-injury or pre-illness job, where appropriate, and in a timely manner.  The return to work program outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved.  It is a guideline for developing individualized plans for both physical and mental injuries. Return to work programs can also be used to facilitate accommodations for non-work-related injuries" (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, n.d., para. 1).

"Likelihood and consequence of injury or harm occurring” (Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand, 2001, p. 5).

"The purpose of risk assessment is to identify and manage hazards to reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring" (ACC, 2012, p. 52).

"Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sometimes called a Safe Operating Procedure, outlines a set of detailed instructions to help workers perform complex tasks properly and safety.  Having standard operating procedures in place means workers don't have to guess what to do next and can perform tasks efficiently and without danger to themselves or others.  Failure to follow SOPs may cause significant safety breaches or loss in production and operational efficiency" (Safety Culture, n.d., para. 1).

WHS regulators sometimes have specific requirements for high risk hazards and/or work.  Safe Work Method Statements are documents "that outlines the ‘high risk ...activities to be carried out at a workplace, the hazards that may arise from these activities, and the measures to put in place to control the risks “ (University of New England, n.d., para. 8).

Safety is a “state in which the risk of harm (to persons) or damage is limited to an acceptable level” and risk is the “likelihood and consequence of injury or harm occurring” (Standards Australia & Standards New Zealand, 2001, p. 5).

"A safety audit is a process that is considered the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of occupational health and safety programs. Their primary purpose is to identify health and safety hazards, assess the effectiveness of the measures in place to control those hazards, and ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's (OSHA) standards.  Safety audits are conducted by independent audit consultants in order to ensure an unbiased review of policies, procedures, and safety management systems" (Safeopedia, 2021, para. 1).

“A culture that supports an organization’s OH&S management system is largely determined by top management and is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, managerial practices, perceptions, competencies and patters of activities that determine commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, its OH&S management system” (Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, 2018), p. 27).

Patrick Hudson's health, safety and environment ladder conceptualises "a pathway from less to more advanced [safety] cultures" (Hudson, 2007, p. 703).  It sees organisational safety behaviours as ranging from pathological, very weak safety cultures, through to generative cultures that embody a strong safety culture.

James Reason conceptualises a safety culture as comprising “four critical subcomponents of a safety culture: a reporting culture, a just culture, a flexible culture and a learning culture” (Reason, 1997, p. 196).  By focusing on the development of these individual subcomponents, he believes that a safety culture will emerge as “ways of doing, thinking and managing that have enhanced safety health as their natural byproduct” (Reason, 1997, p. 192).

Safety management is increasingly being classified into two eras (or paradigms); Safety I and Safety II.

Safety I, the dominant safety management paradigm from the 1960s into the 2000s, can be explained as a safety management approach that " presumes that things go wrong because of identifiable failures or malfunctions of specific components: technology, procedures, the human workers and the organisations in which they are embedded. Humans—acting alone or collectively—are therefore viewed predominantly as a liability or hazard, principally because they are the most variable of these components" (Hollnegal et al., 2015, p. 3).  The Swiss Cheese Model of incident causation is an artifact of Safety I conceptualisations of safety management.

Safety II has emerged across the 2000s with Hollgegal advocating for a shift "from ensuring that ‘as few things as possible go wrong’ to ensuring that ‘as many things as possible go right’" (Hollnegal et al., 2015, p. 3).  Their 2015 white paper "From Safety-I to Safety-II" essential coined the two terms and explained Safety II as assuming "that everyday performance variability provides the adaptations that are needed to respond to varying conditions, and hence is the reason why things go right. Humans are consequently seen as a resource necessary for system flexibility and resilience" (Hollnegal et al., 2015, p. 3).

In summary, Hollnegal et. al. consider Safety I’s focus to be on people as a source of error (active failures), whereas Safety II sees people as a “resource necessary for system flexibility and resilience” (Hollnegal et al., 2015, p. 4).

A safety management system is “ a systematic approach to managing safety. It is designed to continuously improve safety performance through the identification of hazards, the collection and analysis of safety data and safety information, and the continuous assessment of safety risks” (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, 2023, p. 12).

Scientific Management may be defined as: “An approach to management, based on the theories of F.W. Taylor, dealing with the motivation to work.  It sees it as a manager’s duty to find out the best way to do a given job, by a process of work measurement, then give each worker individual instructions which have to be strictly followed. The individual is thus seen as the extension of his or her machine, and his or her rewards are also to be allocated mechanically, with more pay expected to produce more output regardless of any other factors” (Statt, 1999, p. 150).

"Mathematical and experimental technique employed in the sciences.  More specifically, it is the technique used in the construction and testing of a scientific hypothesis" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1, Scientific Method).

The Scientific Revolution was a "drastic change in scientific thought that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. A new view of nature emerged during the Scientific Revolution, replacing the Greek view that had dominated science for almost 2,000 years…bringing about the following transformations: the re-education of common sense in favour of abstract reasoning; the substitution of a quantitative for a qualitative view of nature; the view of nature as a machine rather than as an organism; the development of an experimental, scientific method that sought definite answers to certain limited questions couched in the framework of specific theories; and the acceptance of new criteria for explanation, stressing the “how” rather than the “why” that had characterized the Aristotelian search for final causes” (Spencer et al., 2019, para. 1).

A slave is a " person who has the (legal) status of being the property of another, has no personal freedom or rights, and is used as forced labour or as an unpaid servant; an enslaved person" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2022, para. 1).

Slave labour is “labour performed involuntarily and under duress, usually by relatively large groups of people” (Encylopaedia Britannica, 2022, para. 1).

Slavery is “a form of dependent labour performed by a nonfamily member. The slave was deprived of personal liberty and the right to move about geographically" (Encylopaedia Britannica, 2022, para. 1).

"ALARP is short for 'as low as reasonably practicable'. SFAIRP is short for 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. The two terms mean essentially the same thing and at their core is the concept of "reasonably practicable"; this involves weighing a risk against the trouble, time and money needed to control it" (Health and Safety Executive, n.d.-a, para. 2).

Social class is “a  group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1).

"The social license to operate (SLO), or simply social license, refers to the ongoing acceptance of a company or industry's standard business practices and operating procedures by its employees, stakeholders, and the general public. The concept of social license is closely related to the concept of sustainability and the triple bottom line" (Kenton, 2023, para. 1).

"A theory or system of social organization based on state or collective ownership and regulation of the means of production, distribution, and exchange for the common benefit of all members of society; advocacy or practice of such a system, especially as a political movement" (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d.).

"Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sometimes called a Safe Operating Procedure, outlines a set of detailed instructions to help workers perform complex tasks properly and safety.  Having standard operating procedures in place means workers don't have to guess what to do next and can perform tasks efficiently and without danger to themselves or others.  Failure to follow SOPs may cause significant safety breaches or loss in production and operational efficiency" (Safety Culture, n.d., para. 1).

Standards are agreed to principles and approaches established by panels of experts (International Organization for Standardization, n.d.).

“Strategic risk is when a business does not operate according to its business model or plan” (Kenton, 2022, para. 8).

"James Reason proposed the image of "Swiss cheese" to explain the occurrence of system failures...According to this metaphor, in a complex system, hazards are prevented from causing human losses by a series of barriers. Each barrier has unintended weaknesses, or holes – hence the similarity with Swiss cheese. These weaknesses are inconstant – i.e., the holes open and close at random. When by chance all holes are aligned, the hazard reaches the patient and causes harm" (Perneger, 2005, p. 71).

"A group or set of related or associated things perceived or thought of as a unity or complex whole" (Oxford Dictionary, 2023, para. 1).

"Used to refer to a situation in which decisions are made by a few people in authoriy, rather than by the people who are affected by the decisions" (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d, para. 1).

“Trade union, also called labour union [particularly in the United States], association of workers in a particular trade, industry or company created for the purposes of securing improvements in pay, benefits, working conditions or social and political status through collective bargaining” (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., para. 1).  Notably, Trade unions emerged in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution to protect craftsperson's rights (they emerged from original crafts guilds), whereas in the United States they drew all workers (skilled and unskilled) together to negotiate labour rights (hence these are known as Labour Unions).

"To subject to discipline and instruction for development of character, behaviour, or skill" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023, part 11.10).

The Treaty of Versailles is a “peace document signed at the end of World War I by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France, on June 28, 1919” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023, para. 1).

"The triple bottom line is a business concept that states firms should commit to measuring their social and environmental impact—in addition to their financial performance—rather than solely focusing on generating profit, or the standard 'bottom line'" (Miller, 2020, para. 5).

"The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.  The UN has evolved over the years to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.  But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity (United Nations, 2023, para. 1).

"The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests" (United Nations, 2023, para. 1).

"The act of obeying a particular rule or law, or of acting according to an agreement without being forced to" (Collins Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

According to the World Health Organization: "Well-being is a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions. Well-being encompasses quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose" (World Health Organization, n.d, para. 1).

William McNeill explains that the "west" and "western" have different interpretations across history and dependent on the particular context: " 'the West' in the sense of Western civilization. The first and most obvious point to make is that the meaning of the West is a function of who is using the word. Those who feel themselves to be part of the West-who think of the West as “we’‘-will surely have flattering things to say about their civilization. Those who think of the West as the “other” are likely to define it in less flattering terms. The basic meaning of the word is “where the sun sets”-one of the cardinal directions” (1997, p. 513).

However, at this time in history, western "encompassed the Atlantic littoral of Europe (the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, France, and Iberia) plus America. In time, it came to encompass Australia, New Zealand, and all other European overseas settlements, The West, therefore, could be imagined as a civilization independent of locale" (McNeill 1997, p. 513 - 514).

"On the simplest level, a whistleblower is someone who reports waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety to someone who is in the position to rectify the wrongdoing. A whistleblower typically works inside of the organization where the wrongdoing is taking place; however, being an agency or company “insider” is not essential to serving as a whistleblower. What matters is that the individual discloses information about wrongdoing that otherwise would not be known" (National Whistleblowers Center, 2023, para. 3).

Three types of potential WHS events that occur at different scales and levels of severity:

“Lost time injuries/diseases: Those occurrences that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability or time lost from work of one day/shift or more.
Injuries without lost time: Those occurrences that were not lost time injuries and for which first aid and/or medical treatment was administered.
Near-misses: Unplanned incidents that occurred at the workplace that, although not resulting in any injury or disease, had the potential to do so” (Archer et al., 2015, p. 86)

In principle, and in accordance with the Australian Model Work Health and Safety Bill, a regulator is a legally established government body whose functions are:

“ (a) to advise and make recommendations to the Minister and report on the operation and effectiveness of this Act;

(b) to monitor and enforce compliance with this Act;

(c) to provide advice and information on work health and safety to duty holders under this Act and to the community;

(d) to collect, analyse and publish statistics relating to work health and safety;

(e) to foster a co-operative, consultative relationship between duty holders and the persons to whom they owe duties and their representatives in relation to work health and safety matters;

(f) to promote and support education and training on matters relating to work health and safety;

(g) to engage in, promote and co-ordinate the sharing of information to achieve the object of this Act, including the sharing of information with a corresponding regulator;

(h) to conduct and defend proceedings under this Act before a court or tribunal;

(i) any other function conferred on the regulator by this Act”

(Safe Work Australia, 2023, section 152).

Work is "the activities and labour necessary to the survival of society" (Encylopaedia Britannica, 2018, para. 1).

World Health Organization defines work (occupational) health and safety as "all aspects of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards" (World Health Organization, n.d., para. 1).

Note: Health and safety at work is known as occupational health and safety, workplace health and safety and work health and safety.  Occupational health and safety would appear to be a traditional term which is currently less in favour, perhaps, because the term occupation is broader than paid work (consider occupational therapy).  The term workplace health and safety then likely emerged to define the focus as being on work, as opposed to other types of occupation.  Today, given the rise of flexible work arrangements and the ‘gig economy’, worker safety has been clarified in legislation as being the responsibility of persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) no matter where their workers undertake that work.  It is for this reason that this book adopts the term work health and safety.

A worker is a person undertaking work for a PCBU (Safe Work Australia, 2023).

Note: There are some nuanced legal differences between Australia and New Zealand legislation definitions of workers.

"Good consultation enables workers to respond and contribute to issues that directly affect them, and provide valuable information and insights.  It’s a two-way process where information and views are shared between PCBUs and workers. PCBUs can become more aware of hazards and issues experienced by workers, and involve them in finding solutions or addressing problems. Workers often notice issues and practices, or foresee consequences, that might otherwise be overlooked.  PCBUs must genuinely consult with workers and their representatives, including HSRs, before any changes or decisions are made that may affect their health and safety. Consultation should take place during both the initial planning and implementation phases so that everyone's experience and expertise can be taken into account" (Safe Work SA, 2023, para. 8).

“Workers’ compensation, commonly referred to as “workers’ comp,” is a government-mandated program that provides benefits to workers who become injured or ill on the job or as a result of the job. It is effectively a disability insurance program for workers, providing cash benefits, healthcare benefits, or both to workers who suffer injury or illness as a direct result of their jobs” (Kagan, 2023, para. 1).

"Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that can offer you an important safety net if you become injured or ill because of work...Under Australian law, employers must have insurance to cover their workers in case they get sick or injured because of work" (Safe Work Australia, 2023, para. 1).

“The office, factory, etc., where people work” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d, para. 1).

Health and safety at work is known as occupational health and safety, workplace health and safety and work health and safety.  Occupational health and safety would appear to be a traditional term which is currently less in favour, perhaps, because the term occupation is broader than paid work (consider occupational therapy).  The term workplace health and safety then likely emerged to define the focus as being on work, as opposed to other types of occupation.  Today, given the rise of flexible work arrangements and the ‘gig economy’, worker safety has been clarified in legislation as being the responsibility of persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) no matter where their workers undertake that work.  It is for this reason that this book adopts the term work health and safety.