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19THE EMERGENCE OF THE CONCEPT OF OCCUPATIONAL AND TECHNOSPHERE SAFETY
In present circumstances of scientific and industrial development and the introduction of technology into all areas of human activity, issues relating to safety are of the utmost importance. The article reveals the history of the emergence of the safe working conditions concept in the world and the development of labour legislation in Russia. Principles for the functioning of occupational safety are defined. Philosophical aspects of techno-sphere safety are described.
Keywords
safety, labour legislation, technosphere safety, philosophical aspects,
history of the development
AUTHORS
Sergey L. Pushenko,
Holder of an Advanced Doctorate in Engineering Sciences, head of department, Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don 1, Gagarin Square, Rostov-on-Don, 344002, Russia slpushenko@yandex.ru
Galina N. Sokolova, Ph.D. of Engineering Sciences, associate professor, Rostov State Transport University, Rostov-on-Don 2, Narodnogo Opolcheniya square, Rostov-on-Don, 344038, Russia
soganik@yandex.ru
Ksenia K. Samkova,
Senior Lecturer in English, Foreign Languages Department, State University of Management, Moscow 1, Gagarin Square, Rostov-on-Don, 344002, Russia sheikan@yandex.ru
1. Introduction
Protecting the lives and health of workers is a primary concern of the state and employers in relation to labour activity. At present, the state is faced with the first priority of improving the well-being of society through sustainable economic growth and increased competitiveness of the country, which can be achieved with a well-functioning occupational and industrial safety system in all enterprises.
2. Theoretical background
The history of occupational safety and the general concept of workplace safety dates back to Hippocrates, who drew attention and established a direct link between human health and the activity, using pulmonary disease in stonemasons as an example. The cause in this case turned out to be dust from the rock destruction, which is produced during the mining of ore (Tyugashev, 2002).
The issue of safe working conditions was addressed by Renaissance physicians (Agricola, Paracelsus), who extensively described the difficult working conditions that characterized the mining and steel industries of the time. In antiquity, the advanced thinkers have already understood the need to reduce and prevent workplace exposures from many harmful trades. A systematic approach to protecting the health of factory workers arose with the development of industry in European states in the 19th century.
Labour law arose in parallel with the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), which saw the replacement of small workshops by large factories, and as a result, the relationship between employer and employee also began to change.
In Britain, the history of occupational safety began with a piece of legislative instrument passed by Parliament in 1802, the so-called "'Student Health and Morals Act", which prohibited night work (8.30pm to 5.30am) by children in spinning mills and limited the working day to 12 hours a day, including time for compulsory literacy making at the millers' expense. Britain can therefore be said to be the founder of world of the modern understanding of principles of occupational health and safety, and the UK can therefore be said to be the world's forebear of the modern understanding of occupational safety.
In 1817 the "Poor People's Employment Act" was passed, which provided work for the construction of canals, roads and bridges, in 1833 the "'Act reducing the working week" to 67.6 hours a week and for children to 48 hours a week.
In 1834, a "factory inspection" was established in England and the first inspectors appeared to monitor working hours and working conditions. This fact marked an important stage in the organisation of state supervision of occupational safety and health at work, which required budgetary expenditure for its maintenance. In the second half of the 19th century, labour inspections were set up in almost all Western European countries: Prussia (1853), Denmark (1873), France (1874), Switzerland (1877), the united Germany (1878), Austria-Hungary (1883), and Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.
At the same time, similar acts were issued in France and Germany, and in 1890 international labor standards were first approved with the participation of 15 countries.
The history of the development of scientific work organisation dates back to the American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor and his experience with the organisation of heavy physical labour set out in his monograph "Principles of Scientific Management" (1911). The whole system of enterprise management in capitalist countries is based on the ideas of this work, and the main elements of the famous "Taylor system" are considered. As the author put it in his work, the work was originally intended for a report to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and expressed the opinion that it should make a particularly strong impression on engineers and directors of industrial enterprises, as well as on all those workers who are employed in these enterprises.
But also, "the same principles can be applied with equal success to all decisive social activities: to the arrangement of our households, to the management of our farms, to the conduct of commercial transactions by our merchants, large and small; to the organisation of our churches, philanthropic institutions, universities and public bodies".
By exploring the human factor, he tried to establish ways of individual development of workers through reducing of fatigue, the systematic application of disciplinary sanctions and work incentives.
Henry Laurence Gantt, a follower and disciple of F. Taylor, investigated the leading role of the human factor in industry in his works. Gant applied analytical methods to study the sequence of production operations. These methods have not lost their relevance in modern conditions. The study of the human-machine link enabled Gantt to link the organisational and motivational aspects of production. Among many works special attention should be paid to Labour, Wages and Income published in 1910, Industrial Handbook 1916, Labour Organization, which was first published in 1919 and later republished in the following years.
An important publication in the field of occupational safety is the International Labour Organization's introductory report, Decent Work - Safe Work, published in 2006, which highlighted the impact of economic globalization on occupational safety in today's world: opportunities and risks; leadership, responsibilities and accountability in health and safety management; new challenges in a changing world of work; and prevention of injuries and illnesses in a globalized world as a high priority.
In Russia, the first law on occupational safety was the law from June 1, 1882 "On minors working at plants, factories and manufactories" (CCL-III. Vol. II. 931). In states that the employment of children under the age of 12 was prohibited. This law marked the beginning of the factory legislation in Russia (Druzhinin, 2005).
Also in 1882, a factory inspection was set up to oversight the enforcement of the law on minors. At that time there were only 20 inspectors for seventeen thousand enterprises. The inspectors and their assistants were required to draw up reports and submit them to the courts in the event of breaches of the law.
On 11 November 1917, the decree "On an eight-hour working day" was adopted, which established an eight-hour working day in Russia and limited the length of the working week to 48 hours of work. This was the first time in the world. Only later, many other countries in the world also established an eight-hour working day.
In May 1918 a new decree "On the Establishment of Labour Inspections" was passed. The main task of the inspection was to protect workers' health and safety and to monitor working conditions in the workplace.
In 1922 the USSR All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK), taking into account the shortcomings of the existing Code of Labour Laws and the formation of the USSR state, approved a new Labour Code. This document for the first time introduced the concept of an employment contract, allowing the principle of freedom of labour to be legally enshrined. The period of reconstruction of the economy destroyed by the Great Patriotic War demanded improvements in labour legislation. And on July 15, 1970 this was accomplished by the adoption of the Fundamentals of Labour Legislation of the USSR and its entry into force on January 1, 1971. At present, the Labour Code of the Russian Federation is in force in Russia (Federal Law No 197-FL of 30.12.2001).
The movements of advanced entrepreneurs in the direction of concern for the health of workers stemmed from an understanding of the importance of the quality of the workforce, the ability of a healthy and trained person to bring greater profit to the factory. On the other hand, the history of occupational safety and health is also linked to militarisation: citizens are perceived by ruling circles as a reserve for likely wars. The motivations for rationing working conditions were:
- economic considerations;
- political aspirations of the authorities;
- social orientations.
From the history of occupational safety, several current trends have evolved. These are recruitment issues, general conditions, safety and sanitation, social security and industrial relations.
A systematic approach to the creation of comprehensive safety is important. It involves improving workplaces, training in work practices and making employers more demanding. The effectiveness of the system is based on three principles:
- responsibility of the government, which has a duty to embed occupational safety in national policies;
- mutual cooperation between employers, employees, the state and scientific institutions;
- prevention of occupational diseases, incidents and accidents.
In order to reduce technical, social and psychological risks, a development concept is needed. It is created by taking into account the economics of the company.
A successful occupational safety strategy is achieved through a three-way interaction between the employee, the employer and the oversight agency. They are all involved in resolving shared interests and conflicts. This cooperation contributes to the following results:
- increased productivity;
- improved product quality;
- minimisation of litigation involving the State Labour Inspectorate.
Ineffectiveness in industrial safety and health leads to injuries, production and financial
problems. Qualified staff are lost, equipment is idle and customers are lost (Litvinov-Fa-linsky, 1904).
The occupational safety perspective is linked to the increased role of trade unions in the company's safety management. The focus is on the warning and prevention of incidents and accidents. The benefits of implementing occupational safety measures are clear: about 4% of Russia's GDP is lost due to occupational accidents (Kovalev, 2000).
3. Methodology
A literature search was conducted describing the origin of the concept of safe working conditions and technosphere safety. In examining the structure of work motives, we needed to identify the sustainable motivational centre and the periphery of the motivational structure. Each historical epoch is characterized by its own, specific motivational centre of labour.
4. Findings and philosophical aspects of technosphere safety
The concept of "technosphere" is cross-cutting. From a substantive point of view, it covers a large body of being. Modern science and philosophy offer numerous definitions of this concept. The philosophical approach to the definition aims at defining the essence and origin of technosphere. For example: "Technosphere is an integrity formed as a result of technological development and labour of mankind (which by now has become one of the global shells of the Earth), covering those material objects and processes (including modified biogenic systems out of biosphere regularities, and material infrastructure of human life activity), which appeared as a result of direct or indirect technogenic change by man of biosphere and geological shells of the Earth". (Popkova, 2005).
The totality, globality, integrity of the technosphere is also noted in other similar definitions. The philosophical analysis of the concept "technosphere safety" makes it possible to deepen and clarify not only the boundaries of meanings, but also to assess the consequences of the technosphere's development. The ontological status of the technosphere is a subject of serious discussions in contemporary philosophy. In modern philosophy one often encounters reflections on the pervasive nature of the technosphere, on the germination of the technosphere far beyond the biosphere. A modern philosopher, E.A. Tyugashev, believes that man's very capacity for philosophizing arises from the urge to overcome danger. The ideal of safe existence was proposed by the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato. Man was frightened by the variability of the world and the momentary of life, forcing him to search for stable foundations for his own being. The modern philosopher Karl Popper, talking about the conditions of an open society, also talks about security planning. In his interpretation, security is an essential for freedom (Plato, 1961).
The concept of "security" has axiological foundations. It is one of the most important values of modern society that ensures its sustainable development (Chepelenko, 2011).
The anthropological foundations of "technosphere security" also need to be addressed by philosophers. The worldview of man, immersed in the space of technology, has undergone serious changes. Contemporary Russian philosopher F.I. Girenok believes that Western civilization has lost man, the world has paid with him for science and technology (Girenok, 1987).
American philosopher Lewis Mumford suggests that human nature itself should be reexamined to find the key to "modern man's all-conquering commitment to his own technology". The technosphere represents a new human environment. One of the founders of the philosophy of technology, P.K. Engelmeier, believed that technology, by starting to dominate man, makes him miserable. Alongside with such critical attitude to the progress of technology there are positions that consider its development as a criterion of human progress. Such extreme methodological positions make it possible to grasp the complexity and ambiguity of the technosphere.
The ethical aspect in the analysis of the technosphere is usually reduced to human responsibility for the consequences of transformative activities. Morality as a regulatory mechanism does not always work in situations related to the technosphere. In the classical sense, morality is a mechanism for regulating social relations. The existentialist philosopher Hans Jonas introduces technology into the space of ethics. When assessing the consequences of the development of the technosphere, long-term projections are extremely important in order to estimate the measure of intervention in the biosphere. Jonas proposed a new methodological technique for selecting predictions - the "fear heuristic". When making a decision, the worst predictions should be given preference. It is fear that should warn a person against taking unnecessary risks. Jonas formulated a new moral imperative for modern civilisation: "Act so that the consequences of your actions are compatible with the continuity of human life on earth" (Basilaya, 2011).
Thus, modern philosophy attempts to conceptualise the technosphere as a complex system. The human-technosphere connection raises the question of the safe existence and management of a rapidly growing technogenic environment. The task of preventing the negative consequences of technological development is closely linked to the formation of a new type of human worldview adapted to modern conditions (Efremov, 2013).
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