The introduction of an occupational health management system for solving issues in occupational health activities in Japan.

Full Abstract

An important challenge to occupational health services in Japan is the necessary shift from regulation-based occupational health program to health risk-based program. The Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) is an effective tool for introducing risk-based activities. To date, the Five Management system has been used to manage occupational health activities. This classification, however, does not show the interactions among the listed activities. Nor is it clear how this system contributes to the PDCA (Plan/Do/Check/Act) cycle for continual improvement. The category in the Five Management system called "Roles of the Occupational Physician" covers most of the occupational health services required in Japan. The items listed in the Five Management system were compared to the guidelines of OSHMS from the International Labour Office and issues that should be solved for occupational health activities with OSHMS were clarified. Seven issues are discussed in this paper; (1) occupational safety and health policy and audit that can drive the PDCA cycle effectively, (2) reclassification of occupational health activities with several different objectives, (3) set up of targets, (4) risk assessment methods that can prioritize health risks compared to safety risks, (5) exposure assessment methods for risk assessment, (6) flexibility of laws and regulations, and (7) development of talented professionals for risk-based occupational health activities.

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Author information

Author/s: Mori, Koji (K); Takebayashi, Toru (T);

Affiliation: Department of Medicine and Occupational Health, ExxonMobil Group in Japan, New Pier Takeshiba, Tokyo.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Industrial health (Ind Health), published in Japan. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Apr; vol 40 (issue 2) : pp 167-74

Dates: Created 2002/06/14; Completed 2002/06/25; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12064558, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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