MANUEL C. BELINO, Ed.D. SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING

Shaping Future Engineers To Become OSH Champions

by

Background The implementation of the K-12 educational system by the Department of Education necessitates the review and revision of all college program curricula. In the case of the engineering programs, the minimum curricular requirements of the Commission on Higher Education are further reduced to create a four-year curriculum without sacrificing the general education and technical course requirements.

Objective This paper presents how the different engineering programs integrated the occupational health and safety concerns in their new curricula for School Year 2018-2019.

Discussion of Significant Issues The CHED Technical Committees on different engineering programs are free to design their own curricula and in the best way they think fit to suit the program requirements.

Integrating safety and health concerns into the curricula are done in different ways such as offering a stand-alone course in Basic Occupational Safety and Health (BOSH) or incorporating safety and health topics in related courses across the curriculum.

For instance, a three-unit course on BOSH is required in civil, mechanical, electrical, industrial, computer and sanitary engineering while specific safety courses are required in electronics, aeronautical, chemical and mining engineering.

The remaining programs integrated safety and health topics in related courses like in materials science, metallurgical, ceramics and agricultural and biosystems engineering. The manufacturing engineering program whose policies, standards and guidelines are still being drafted introduced a three-unit BOSH.

Engineering Program Course Title Number of Units

Industrial Basic Occupational Safety and Health 3

Electrical Basic Occupational Safety and Health 3

Computer Basic Occupational Safety and Health 3

Mechanical Basic Occupational Safety and Health 3

Civil Construction Occupational Safety and

Health

3

Sanitary Occupational Health and Safety 2

Chemical Process Safety 1

Electronics ECE Laws, Contract, Ethics, Standard and

Safety

3

Mining Mine Safety 1 unit (lecture)

2 units (laboratory)

Aeronautical Human Factors and Aviation Safety 3

BOSH and Related Courses in Engineering Curricula 2018-2019

Sample BOSH Course Specification in Mechanical Engineering

Course Name BASIC OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH Course Description The course tackles key Occupational, Health and Safety (OSH) concepts, principles and practices that are foundational knowledge requirements acceptable in almost all industries. Specifically, it assists learners in identifying the key elements in the OSH situation both here and abroad, determine existing and potential safety health hazards, identify the range of control measures, discuss pertinent provisions of Philippine laws that refer to occupational safety and health, explain key principles in effectively communicating OSH, identify components of effective OSH programs and demonstrate some skills in identifying hazards and corresponding control measures at the workplace

Number of Units for Lecture and Laboratory Lecture - 3 units Number of Contact Hours per week Lecture - 3 Hours Prerequisite e-E, f-E, g-E, j-E

Course Outcomes After completing this course, the student must be able to:

1. Discuss the health and safety concerns in an industrial setting and the importance of promoting safety and health as an engineer’s professional and ethical responsibility. 2. Perform safety audit of any of the following: a process, equipment, or an industrial plant. 3. Apply the concepts and principles of industrial safety and health to case studies.

Course Outline 1. Introductory Concepts: Promoting Safety and Health as an Engineer’s Professional and Ethical Responsibility 2. Occupational Safety 3. Industrial Hygiene 4. Control Measures for OSH hazards 5. Occupational Health

6. Personal Protective Equipment 7. OSH Programming 8. Training of Personnel on OSH 9. OSH Legislation 10. Plant Visit Simulation Laboratory Equipment None

Conclusion

The above discussion on the integration of safety and health courses into the different engineering programs demonstrate that safety and health courses and issues are not just peripheral but integral part of engineering education. After all, the promotion of safety and health as embodied in the engineers code of ethics is the foremost professional responsibility of the engineers. Thus, instilling such responsibility in the training of future engineers will definitely create OSHC champions among young engineers.

Code of Ethics for Engineers Canon #1 The engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties.

Recommendations

New safety and health courses and related ones have been

integrated already in the Philippine engineering curricula.

However, that is not enough especially in the outcomes-

based educational system which emphasizes not just the

teaching of safety and health topics but the learning of such

by the students.

What is Outcomes-Based Education?

“IT’S NOT WHAT YOU TEACH,

IT’S WHAT THEY LEARN.”

BELINO (OBE3 Notes)

What is Outcomes-Based Education (OBE)? OBE is a student-centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes. In OBE, what needs to be achieved called outcomes are first determined. Then the program and curriculum design, content, delivery, and assessment are designed based on these outcomes.

BELINO (OBE3 Notes)

Definition of Outcomes Outcomes are clear learning results (knowledge, skills, values, behavior) that learners have to demonstrate at the end of significant learning experiences: what learners can actually do with what they know and have learned. Outcomes are actions/performances that embody and reflect learner competence in using content, information, ideas and tools successfully.

BELINO (OBE3 Notes)

The updating of the faculty teaching the course in terms of content and delivery, the acquisition and development of new materials either in print or electronic forms and the use of learning management systems are a must in the effective teaching of the course.

In the future, offering of post baccalaureate program in occupational safety and health such as certificate and/or diploma programs which may lead to offering a master’s degree should be in the pipeline of college and universities which have been granted autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education.

THANK YOU!