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Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university educationE u r o p e a n Ag e n c y f o r Sa f e t y a n d He a l t h a t Wo r kIn the course on occupational safety and health for engineering undergraduates,besides the traditional classes, students are encouraged to carry out research in thefield of OSH and to apply their knowledge to the analysis of real work situations. In aninitial phase of the course, groups of students have to deliver scientific revision paperswhich are presented to the entire class and discussed. These papers must reflectdifferent OSH issues.During the practical classes the students must:OO apply different manual and computer-based calculation methods, for instancefor the estimation of work accident statistics, for the risk assessment of manualmaterials handling, or for the definition of the number/type of light sources toadequately illuminate a workplace (considering the task performed);OO perform risk analysis on examples of real-world working situations that have beenrecorded on video; andOO use measuring equipment employed in the OSH assessment of the workenvironment, such as sound level meters, luxometers, hazardous substancedetectors, explosive meters or accelerometers.Students have to present reports with their findings and a critical analysis based onthe Portuguese and EU legislation.The programme includes field visits to companies and work sites.The students are also encouraged to present their final course dissertation on OSHsubjects. Final course dissertations on OSH have included:OO occupational noise evaluation;OO application of the safety and health pillar of the TPM methodology on an ice creamproduction line ; andOO risk analysis in a supermarket.The postgraduate level programme on OSH expands the scope of subjects taught inthe under graduate level. This is a one-year programme. Both the theoretical and thepractical components are extended in duration and in depth.The OSH postgraduate course is only completed after the discussion of a final reportregarding the OSH activities developed during a period spent in companies, wherethe students work as trainees. Final reports regarding OSH have included:OO risk analysis in a pharmaceutical company;OO exposure to hand-vibration during the use of pneumatic and electrical tools; andOO accident prevention in a construction-sector company.On successful completion, the student becomes a Health and Safety QualifiedProfessional (level 5 qualification).ResultsBecause of the high market demand for OSH technicians, students are highlymotivated, particularly regarding the postgraduate programme. For this programme,the high number of candidate students allows some level of selection, ensuringhigh-quality results. Some of the best course work done by the students has beenpublished as papers and presented at OSH conferences.Over the last five years over 100 students have completed the OSH postgraduatecourse and are working in the field. The feedback provided by the students on thequality control process shows that former students feel they are well prepared and80
Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university educationthat the knowledge and skills acquired have direct application to the real-worldsituations that they face.Problems facedThe postgraduate students often complain about the level of work required.The programme is taught in the evening, after work, and all the students are OSHprofessionals with responsibilities. They have four hours of classes per day, three daysper week. The assessment is continuous, which requires students to balance dailystudy effort with professional activity at their companies.Success factorsOO Having OSH expertise on-site within an engineering department to provide theteaching.OO Linkage to a qualification. The course answers the need for the education of experthuman resources, bridging a gap that was opened by changes in European andNational legislation. The law precisely specifies the OSH studies a person must haveto carryout OSH functions in the workplace and the undergraduate course modulecontributes towards this, and the postgraduate programme leads to the necessaryqualification.OO Both OSH undergraduate courses and the postgraduate programme are orientedto real work situations, and are closely connected to the reality within companiesand use many practical examples.E u r o p e a n Ag e n c y f o r Sa f e t y a n d He a l t h a t Wo r kTransferabilityThe same approach could be used by other educational institutions.Contact details for further informationIsabel L. Nunesimn@fct.unl.ptDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial EngineeringFaculty of Science and Technology/The New University of LisbonCampus de CaparicaPortugalO v e r v i e w o f t h e i n c l u s i o n o f OSH3.10.c o u r s e si n Po r t u g u e s e u n i v e r s i t i e s, Po r t u g a l Portuguese UniversitiesKey points:OO adoption of new OSH legislation with requirements for OSH competence providedimpetus for developing OSH courses;OO widespread inclusion of OSH in engineering courses; andOO teaching methods of lectures combined with practical work.81
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TE-WE-09-007-EN-CIn order to improv
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