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Section 2 of Occupational Safety and Health Act CAP 236A: Interpretation

    

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“air pollution” means air contaminated by substances whatever their physical state, which are harmful to health or otherwise dangerous;
“article for use at work” means—
(a) any plant designed for use or operation (whether exclusively or not) by persons at a workplace; and (b) any article designed for use as a component in such plant;
“biological monitoring” means a planned programme of periodic collection and analysis of body fluid, tissues, excreta or exhaled air in order to detect and quantify the exposure to or absorption of any substance or organism by persons; “bodily injury” includes injury to health;
“Cabinet Secretary” means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for labour matters;
“class or description” in relation to workplaces, includes a group of workplaces described by reference to a locality;
“code of practice” includes a standard, a specification and any other documentary form of practical guidance;
“competent person” in relation to any duty or function, means a person who has adequate training, relevant qualifications and experience to enable him to perform that duty or function;
“Council” means the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health established under section 27;
“court” means a magistrate’s court;
“Director” means the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services appointed under section 23;
“driving belt” includes any driving strap or rope;
“employee” means a person who works under a contract of employment and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“exposure” means the amount of a workplace agent that has reached an individual worker (external dose) or has been absorbed into the individual worker (absorbed dose);
“fume” includes gas or vapour;
“general register” means the register kept in a workplace as required under section 122;
“highly flammable liquid” means any liquid, liquid solution, emulsion or suspension which gives off a flammable vapour at a temperature of less than 32 degrees centigrade; “improvement notice” means a notice issued under section 36 of this Act;
“machinery” means any article or combination of articles assembled, arranged or connected and which is used or intended to be used for converting any form of energy to performing work, or which is used or intended to be used, whether incidental thereto or not, for developing, receiving, storing, containing, confining, transforming, transmitting, transferring or controlling any form of energy;
“maintained” means maintained in an efficient state, in an efficient working order and in good repair;
“major hazard installation” means an installation—
(a) where more than the prescribed quantity of any substance is or may be kept, whether permanently or temporarily; or
(b) where any substance is produced, processed, used, handled or stored in such a form that it has the potential to cause a major incident;
“major incident” means an occurrence of catastrophic proportions resulting from the use of plant or machinery or from activities at a workplace;
“medical surveillance” means a planned programme of periodic examination, which may include clinical examinations, biological monitoring or medical tests of persons employed by a designated health practitioner or by an occupational medical practitioner;
“noise” means all sound energy, which can result in hearing impairment or be harmful to health or otherwise dangerous;
“occupational hygiene” means the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, monitoring and control of conditions arising in or from the workplace, which may cause illness or adverse health effects to persons;
“occupational safety and health officer” means any officer appointed under section 26 and includes the Director appointed under section 23;
“occupier” means the person or persons in actual occupation of a workplace, whether as the owner or not and includes an employer;
“owner” means the person for the time being receiving the rents or profits of premises whether on his own account or as agent or trustee of another person, or who would receive the rents and profits if the premises were leased;
“plant” includes any equipment, gear, machinery, apparatus or appliance or any part thereof;
“premises” includes any place and, in particular includes—
(a) any vehicle, vessel aircraft or hovercraft;
(b) any installation on land including the foreshore and land intermittently covered by water, any offshore installation or any other installation whether floating, or resting on seabed or the subsoil thereof, or resting on other land covered with water or the subsoil thereof;
(c) any tent or movable structure;
“prime mover” means every engine, motor or other appliance which provides mechanical energy derived from steam, water, wind, electricity, the combustion of fuel or other source;
“process” includes the use of any locomotive;
“prohibition notice” means a notice issued under section 37;
“risk” means the probability of occurrence of an adverse effect from a substance on people or the environment combined with the magnitude of the consequence of that adverse effect;
“safety and health advisor” means any person who holds a minimum qualification of a certificate in occupational safety and health from a recognised institution and has at least five years proven practical experience in that field;
“sanitary conveniences” includes urinals, water-closets, earth-closets, privies, ash pits and any similar convenience;
“self-employed person” means an individual who works for gain or reward other-wise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he employs others;
“steam boiler” means any closed vessel in which for any purpose, steam is generated under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and includes any economizer used to heat water being fed to any such vessel, and any superheated used for heating steam;
“substance” means any natural or artificial matter or material whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;
“supplier” means a person who provides articles or substances by way of sale, lease, hire or hire-purchase, whether as principal or agent;
“transmission machinery” means every shaft, wheel, drum, pulley, system of fast and loose pulleys, coupling, clutch, driving-belt or other devices by which the motion of a prime mover is transmitted to or received by any machine or appliance;
“user” in relation to plant or machinery, means the person who uses plant or machinery for his own benefit or who has the right of control over the use of plant or machinery, but does not include a leaser of, or any person employed in connection with, that plant or machinery;
“vibration” means mechanical energy transmitted to a person’s body from a source of oscillations and is harmful to health or otherwise dangerous;
“workplace” includes, any land, premises, location, vessel or thing, at, in, upon, or near which, a worker is, in the course of employment;
“workroom” means any room or cubicle in which work is done by persons employed.

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