Working conditions: classification by factors of the production environment. Hygienic classification of working conditions

Improvement of the legislative framework presupposes the introduction of certain changes in the working conditions. Classification of working conditions has a huge impact on performance indicators, as well as on health, life of workers, their attitude to their work and its results. On the basis of practice, the costs of developing work to improve working conditions justify themselves and fully pay off after three to five years of work.

Scientific approach

In science, there is a definition of working conditions. As a rule, this term is understood as a complex of factors of production, which have immediate significance for the physical and psychological state of a person (efficiency, well-being, attitude to duties), and also affect the effectiveness of his activities. This is the meaning of the notion of classification of working conditions by factors of environmental conditions.

Scientists identify many factors that determine working conditions. Their classification is determined in two directions: the first refers to those that are based on the characteristics of production, and to the second - those that do not depend on the nature of production. The latter, as a rule, have a natural, social, economic or other nature.

Legislative consolidation

Standards, namely the Manual R.2.2.755-99, establish hygienic criteria for assessing working conditions. Classification of working conditions by indicators of harmfulness and hazard factors of the working environment, severity and tension of the labor process, developed by the Ministry of Health of Russia in 1999, identifies three degrees of working conditions in terms of the severity and complexity of work. It:

1. Optimal, or, as it is called, easy work.
2. Allowable labor with medium working conditions.
3. Harmful, that is hard work.

Meaning of environmental conditions

Classification of working conditions by factors of environmental conditions is based on the features of production, which, in turn, are divided into directly production and socio-psychological. The most interesting for legislators and scientists are those that depend on the nature of the work. Such factors, in addition to having a great influence on the formation of working conditions, have the property and constantly change. This trend only increases interest in them and requires constant study.

It is necessary to consider in more detail such a concept as the classification of working conditions by production factors, and the formation of such factors and the force of their impact on the person who is involved in production.

Hygienic classification

The legislator explains the concept of hygienic criteria as the correspondence of the data of the working environment and labor processes to the current standards. The positions on which it is built look as follows. Classification of working conditions by severity of labor is developed on the basis of data on the discrepancy between real indicators and accepted standards. At the same time, professions with extremely harmful working conditions such as interaction with carriers of infectious diseases, especially poisonous substances and drugs or narcotics are not taken into account.

Thus, based on the discrepancies between the consequences of harmful conditions and accepted standards, they identify optimal, permissible, harmful and dangerous working conditions.

Hygienic classification of working conditions assumes their division into four groups:

1. The optimal working conditions are those that are designed to most effectively influence a person's performance and productivity. With them, the tension is almost not felt, which can not but be reflected in the results positively. The norms of optimal conditions extend to the microclimate indicators, as well as to the production process. At the same time, safe conditions are those that have unsafe factors no higher than the norms accepted. This approach ensures the protection of workers' health and the creation of conditions for interest in high labor outcomes. This organization of productivity at the enterprise is considered the best.
2. Admissible working conditions are those in which the indicators of harmful impact are not higher than those established for workers. Under such conditions, the endurance of the working people can be easily restored after rest. Influence on the organism under such loads does not exceed the norms established by the legislation and does not inflict significant damage on the health of workers. Admissible working conditions should not cause irreparable damage to the physical condition or affect the ability to procreate. Such standards can not harm future offspring. Employees must be fully operational by the next working shift.
   
   It is these two criteria that are considered acceptable and safe working conditions.
   
   
3. Harmful working conditions mean that unsafe factors are involved in production, which have a direct and strong impact on people's health. These indicators exceed the permissible hygienic standards and adversely affect the body. Classification of working conditions by the degree of harmfulness depends on their influence, which usually has a long-term nature and can lead to serious problems of life, and even provoke negative consequences for future offspring. This kind of work can no longer be considered as permissible.
4. Dangerous working conditions cause increased harm not only to health, but also to the lives of workers. In addition to causing direct harm to the workers during the performance of tasks that are specific to their work, they also have a lasting impact on their well-being. Heavy forms of such exposure can cause significant damage to the body of workers. Due to the prolonged influence of such factors, workers have various kinds of occupational diseases, many of which lead to infertility or severe deviations in offspring. Classification of working conditions by degree of danger is a separate system of criteria that makes it possible to understand how safe it is for a person's life and health to perform a particular job.

Value of energy inputs

In addition to generally accepted standards, there are separate criteria by which one or another activity can be assigned to a certain type of severity. Classification of working conditions by factors of environmental conditions takes into account, in addition to the degree of harmfulness of production, and the energy costs that an employee needs to perform a task. The level of energy spent can serve as an indicator of how hard the work is done by the workers and what level of concentration of attention and willpower it requires. This information is of immediate importance for the further improvement of environmental indicators.

Evaluation and classification of working conditions of this kind depends on the requirements of the standards, which determine that the energy costs directly depend on the position in which the worker performs the tasks. As a rule, this is a standing or sitting position. The standards found that when sitting, the level of energy consumption increases by about five to ten percent of the basal metabolic rate. When standing, this figure increases to 10-12%. With an unnatural pose, the required amount of energy is increased by half. In addition, active mental activity requires an additional fifteen to twenty percent of daily energy. Individual costs require unnecessarily tense or nervous work, which is associated with increased stress. So, reading aloud requires half more energy than the same action, but performed to oneself. Speech to the audience requires twice the energy output, and when attention is concentrated among workers, whose activities are related to computer technology, these indicators can reach up to one hundred percent. On the basis of these physiological indicators, norms are formed.

Types of physical activity

Classification of working conditions by the severity of the labor process depends on the energy costs when performing certain tasks and is manifested in the gradual wear and tear of the body, the disability, the onset of fatigue and requires a timely rest. Physical load, depending on its effect on the body can be divided into static and dynamic.

The first is manifested in the need for prolonged retention of objects in the same state, which causes rapid fatigue of individual muscle groups. Frequent and continuous work in a stationary condition and the same type of tension provokes overexertion, muscle wear, and deterioration of blood supply in their individual areas. This can cause diseases of the bone or motor apparatus and even a nervous breakdown.

Dynamic exercise is a type of activity in which intense muscle activity occurs. Usually it involves numerous groups, in particular body and limb bodies. A striking example of this kind of workers is the work of movers. Incorrectly applied classification of working conditions can pose a huge danger to their health.

Partial or regional muscular work is manifested in the predominant movement of the upper body. Limited means that less than a third of all the muscles in the body are involved. As a rule, this is a small muscle work such as packaging of goods, etc.

The meaning of tension

Classification of working conditions by gravity and tension requires the analysis of such factors of production as the duration and degree of fatigue of the organism for a certain period of time. The strain of the working people's organism (physical or mental) may differ depending on the type of their employment and the specifics of the work performed. With intensive exercise fatigue occurs depending on the movement of objects and their own body in space and has an energy character. With active mental activity, the body is depleted because of the emotional load.

Classification of working conditions by the intensity of the labor process can be considered on the example of production, which is based on the application of intellectual work. The acquisition, perception and processing of information requires considerable effort, which invariably entails energy costs. However, depending on the nature of mental activity, they may differ. So, the most light of existing types is that intellectual work that does not require independent decision-making. This kind is referred to the category of optimal. However, if necessary to make decisions on the existing scheme or algorithm, such work can no longer be attributed to the easiest kind of activity, so it can only be called a permissible type of activity of the first degree.

To an even more complex category, the activity is determined when solving problems using a previously known algorithm or scheme. Creative thinking requires higher energy costs, and therefore refers to the permissible type of activity of the second degree.

Separate criteria

In addition to the above criteria, science has developed other working conditions. The classification identifies certain criteria for working conditions. These factors may include:

• Physical;
• Household;
• Social;
• Production.

According to this division, the classification of working conditions by factors of environmental conditions identifies the following indicators: temperature, pressure, air purity, its dryness, the quality of lighting, the presence of noise or vibration, vibration and air movement. Such conditions can affect fatigue and performance in general.

To improve the working environment, it is necessary to create conveniences, especially household ones. These include such indicators as the temperature regime within 18-20 ° C, the pressure of the mercury column is about 760 mm, and the humidity in the room is about 50%.

Needs of special groups

Classification of working conditions by hygienic criteria is important for certain categories of the population who need to create even more sparing conditions in the workplace. When organizing work in an enterprise where women or minors work, it is necessary to take into account the abilities of their body. Due to the characteristics of the body, women are much less than men, are adapted to perform debilitating work, for example, lifting weights. Therefore, the involvement of women in such tasks is prohibited by law. The same goes for teenagers. The body of minors has not yet fully formed, so when hiring them, the criteria and classification of working conditions, which are described in detail in the standards, should be taken into account.

Value of separations

Such a system is of great importance for creating optimal conditions for all population groups. Classification of working conditions by factors of the working environment in the case of minors forces the employer to create conveniences that would not hinder the full development and growth of children. First of all, it concerns physically difficult tasks, which exerts an unreasonable strain on the child's organism and its further development. Muscles and bones at this age are not yet fully formed, which threatens to stretch, bruise and disproportionate development of the body. For children, a shorter working day is provided, and the severity of the goods that they can raise in the course of work is clearly limited. Similar provisions about the carrying capacity are also established for women. Such groups of the population can start working at night only under exceptional conditions. Moreover, for women, maternity leave is provided and the job change during pregnancy is easier.

The hygienic classification of working conditions is of particular importance for the protection of the health of the population, and especially the most unprotected layers of it. So, in the manual on hygienic criteria it is said that their existence greatly simplifies control over the working capacity of workers and the compliance of conditions with existing requirements. Moreover, the priority of preserving the health of the population helps to improve the quality of life, regularly carry out inspections aimed at identifying inconsistencies in positions held and health problems. In addition, the existence of a single assessment system enables each enterprise to keep records and take timely measures to improve them. Classification of working conditions by factors of the working environment makes it easier for the state to inspect workplaces, make judgments about compliance with their generally accepted standards, and hold individuals accountable for monitoring compliance with these norms. In criminal proceedings, such provisions help to investigate cases of gross violations of the law and choose a preventive measure for persons guilty of such violations.