Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) not only plays a role in achieving health-related SDGs, but also SDGs related to the economy. “In the absence of OHS, companies can lose up to 4% of gross domestic product at the global level due to workplace illness and death. The presence of OHS can be a key element to reduce these losses and realize SDGs number 3 (good health and wellbeing) and number 8 (decent work and economic growth),” said Abdul Hakim, National Project Officer of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the keynote speech session of the National OHS Seminar, Saturday, October 15, 2022.
Organized by the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Universitas Indonesia (UI), through the Occupational Health and Safety Community (OHSC) FPH UI, this National OHS Seminar raised the theme “The Role of Digitalization in Occupational Health and Safety in Supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030”. This seminar is the culmination of a series of OHS Expo organized by the Occupational Health and Safety Community (OHSC) FPH UI and attended by participants from academics, practitioners and the majority are students.
Doctor Mohammad Mustafa Sarinanto, M.Eng. as the first speaker talked about “One Data for Occupational Health and Safety Management in Indonesia”. Currently, the Ministry of Manpower is planning a big leap in the world of work, one of which is the development of the employment digital ecosystem. “The two main pillars of the employment digital ecosystem are the Sistem Pemerintahan Berbasis Electronik /Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) and Satu Data Indonesia (SDI). The government is trying to integrate all services so that they can be used without being fragmented,” said Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, Head of the Manpower Data and Information Technology Center.
Hariyadi Nugroho, S.T. who serves as Head of Health and Safety at Keppel Land, Indonesia, then spoke about the use of technology in the OHS field. “Technology is useful to increase comfort and convenience in human life. In the field of OHS, technology can be very helpful. Examples of implementation are virtual reality in construction sites to estimate hazards and risks and smartphone safety apps to provide hazard notifications to workers,” said Hariyadi. According to him, technology in the field of OHS will continue to develop. For this reason, practitioners and academics as well as the community must prepare themselves, keep updated with technological developments, innovate, and be agile in facing changes.
The last speaker was the HSE Operation Manager of PT Borneo Indobara, Bakhtiar Sinaga, S.T., who presented material on worker protection through data digitization. Mining has high hazards and risks for its workers. Therefore, mining must follow applicable regulations to maintain worker safety. “Currently, safety is no longer considered an obstacle, but a supporter. Especially with digitalization, we can get accurate and fast data and then create a complete and uniform database at low cost so that we can provide effective policy recommendations,” said Bakhtiar.
Also present at the seminar were the Head of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (K3) FPH UI, Mila Tejamaya, S.Si., M.O.H.S., Ph.D., Vice Dean for Education, Research, and Student Affairs FPH UI, Dr. Ir. Asih Setiarini, M.Sc., and UI Rector, Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D., who gave a speech.
“The rapid development of technology certainly has a big impact on the OHS sector. The presence of this seminar is expected to support the achievement of SDGs 2030, both in Indonesia and the world,” said Prof. Ari in his speech. (WR)
