Click on any module code for a detailed module description.

The Higher Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work is designed to help you ensure the safety, health and welfare of the Irish workforce. Though the training is directed at Irish working conditions with the emphasis on chemical, pharmaceutical, agri-industry, electronics, health care and services, the course content is sufficiently broad to allow for new situations in different industries.
Effective worker protection and prevention of work-related ill health and accidents requires a widely based knowledge of toxicology, psychology, legislation, human body responses, ergonomics and engineering. Only with knowledge of all these related areas can effective solutions be recommended.
You will learn the prevention of ill health and accidents, as well as getting specific training in prevention and protection in the workplace. On completion of the course you will be competent in dealing effectively with the majority of health and safety problems in the workplace.

Modules are as follows:

Year 1 Modules:

• AD5808: Risk Management and Safety Technology (10 credits)
  This module will cover the main elements of safety technology such as safeguarding parts of dangerous machines, provision of a safe place of work, safe construction practice and safe maintenance/electrical procedures.
• AD5809: Human Factors in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (5 credits)
  The improvement and motivation of staff in relation to safe working practices, both individually and in groups/teams. Theoretical perspectives; Human and engineering factors in accidents; Human cognition and occurrence of errors; Designing for safety; Campaigning for health and safety.
• EH5800: Occupational Health and Health Promotion (10 credits)
  A broad definition of occupational health is introduced covering the most common occupational diseases and their prevention. Health promotion in the workplace is explored. The organisation of occupational health services, first aid, disability and rehabilitation are other issues which are addressed.
• LW5801: Health and Safety Legislation (5 credits)
  The evolution of health and safety legislation over the last 150 years with special reference to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989. The Irish legal system; organisation of the court system; Common Law; Statute Law; European Union Law; Health and Safety Legislation.

Year 2 Modules:

• AD5810: Occupational Hygiene (5 credits)
  Identification and evaluation of hazards and measures of control. Maintaining strategies, understanding and familiarisation with basic monitoring equipment. Basic occupational hygiene; the measurment of noise and vibration; the effects of ionising radiation/non-ionising radiation; control of air-borne contaminants; thermal environment; lighting.
• AD5811: Emergency Planning (5 credits)
  The Emergency Plan module has been designed to provide the knowledge and skills to enable those new and existing emergency planners to operate effectively within their emergency planning role. The module covers Fire: prevention, fighting and escape, Electrical safety; Reducing the risk of injury and minimizing the consequences of dangerous occurrences in the workplace. First aid and medical facilities. Toxic waste disposal, transportation of hazardous goods. The knowledge and skills to design, develop, review and implement a range of generic, site specific and subject related emergency plans. This will include how to design, plan and manage a range of suitable exercises to test emergency plans.
• AD5812: Research Project (5 credits)
  Researching and producing a Safety Statement. The project must apply the learning on the course to draw up a safety programme based on an identfication of the hazards of the operation, an assessment of the risks and the design of a control strategy for the risks based on legal requirements, codes of practice and best practice.
• BC5800: Chemical Safety and Toxicology (10 credits)
  Chemical actions and interactions in the human body and the toxic effects of major classes of toxicants are examined. The principles of chemical hazards and risk assessment are addressed, and appropriate control and preventative strategies for toxic chemicals.
• EH5801: Epidemiology and Data Collection (5 credits)
  Descriptive and inferential statistics: basic descriptive measures: means, medians and modes; standard deviation and percentiles: Histograms and bar charts the normal distribution; the estimation of normal ranges, major epidemiological (observational and experimental study) design types, criteria for establishing a causal relationship, the role of bias, confounding and chance in epidemiological studies.

Written examinations at the end of each module, and continuous assessment including both individual and group projects.