QHSE glossary of terms

Accident at work

Also known as occupational accident

An event causing injury in connection with work that meets the legal criteria for classification as an accident at work. Recognition follows the competent procedure; not every incident or accident occurring on an organisation’s premises is automatically classified in this way.

Adapting work to the worker

Also known as workplace adjustment

Adjusting activities and working conditions to take account of a person’s capabilities and job-related risks. This may involve equipment, organisation or tasks. Specific measures are arranged with regard to competent recommendations and applicable legal requirements.

Collective protection

Measures that protect exposed people through changes to equipment, the workplace or the process, rather than only equipping each individual. Their selection follows actual hazards and the hierarchy of prevention; effectiveness must be followed during use.

Continual improvement

Also known as continuous improvement

An approach in which an organisation regularly reviews its work and introduces useful changes. Improvements may be small or substantial, but they are linked to objectives and followed through results rather than simply counting new initiatives.

Corrective action

An action aimed at the cause of a nonconformity to reduce the chance of recurrence. It goes beyond correcting the immediate result: the cause is examined, a suitable response is selected and its effect is checked afterwards.

Disposal

A treatment operation that does not qualify as recovery, even where it may have useful secondary effects. Disposal is not limited to landfill. Classification matters for documentation, responsibilities and respecting the priorities of waste management.

Document control

Also known as document management

Managing how working documents are approved, updated, distributed and accessed. The aim is to help people identify the appropriate version and avoid unintentionally using instructions that have already been replaced by an approved revision.

Emergency plan

Also known as emergency response arrangements

Arrangements for responsibilities, communication and action in emergencies relevant to a site. These connect with first aid, evacuation and response as appropriate. The content is adapted to the risks and is not identical for every organisation.

Environmental permit

Also known as environmental authorisation

A document issued by the competent authority setting operating conditions for an activity affecting the environment under the applicable procedure. Its scope concerns the permitted activity and site; it is not a general certification of the entire company.

Ergonomics

Adapting tasks, tools and the working environment to people’s characteristics and capabilities. It considers posture, effort, repetition, organisation and interaction with equipment. Ergonomics is not limited to choosing a chair or arranging an office workstation.

Extended producer responsibility

Also known as EPR

A mechanism under which product producers have financial, or financial and organisational, responsibilities for the waste stage of covered products. It applies under the rules for the relevant stream and differs from the responsibilities of every waste producer.

Fitness for work

Also known as fitness-for-work assessment

A medical conclusion about whether a person’s health is compatible with the demands and risks of a particular job. It is given by the competent physician for the work assessed, not as a general judgement of someone’s professional ability or worth.

Fitness-for-work certificate

Also known as fitness certificate

The document in which an occupational physician records the fitness conclusion for the assessed job. It may include work-related conditions or recommendations. It is not the same as the medical file and should not be treated as a list of diagnoses.

Hazard

Also known as source of harm

A source, situation or working practice with the potential to cause injury or ill health. Identifying hazards is part of risk assessment. A hazard describes the potential for harm, rather than the actual likelihood of that harm occurring.

Hazardous waste

Also known as hazardous waste stream

Waste exhibiting one or more hazardous properties under the applicable framework. Identification may require examining its origin, composition and classification. Hazardous status is not determined solely by appearance, smell or the original product’s commercial label.

Health risk

The possibility that an exposure or working condition could cause an adverse health effect. Assessment considers the potential effect and actual exposure conditions. A health-risk assessment is not the same as an individual medical diagnosis.

Internal audit

Also known as first-party audit

An organised evaluation of whether established criteria are being met, carried out for or on behalf of the organisation. Auditors use evidence and seek objectivity; an internal audit is more than an informal check or an exercise in assigning blame.

Near miss

Also known as near-miss event

An event that caused no injury but could have done so. Examining it can reveal weaknesses before an accident occurs. This preventive-management term is not automatically equivalent to the specific Romanian legal classification of a dangerous incident.

Nonconformity

Also known as non-compliance

A situation in which an applicable requirement has not been met. That requirement may come from a contract, an internal rule, an adopted standard or legislation. A finding should be explained through facts and supporting evidence.

Occupational disease

A disease associated with practising an occupation that meets the legal criteria for causation and recognition. Its identification and notification follow medical and administrative procedures; symptoms occurring at work do not automatically establish this classification.

Occupational exposure

Also known as workplace exposure

Contact with agents or conditions during work that may affect health. The nature, intensity, duration and frequency of exposure matter, together with control measures. The presence of an agent alone does not describe the worker’s actual level of exposure.

Occupational medicine

Also known as occupational health

The medical field concerned with health in relation to work. It includes assessments and preventive recommendations suited to the job and its exposures. It is distinct from general medical treatment and does not mean sharing a worker’s entire medical file with the employer.

Occupational physician

Also known as occupational health physician

A specialist physician who assesses the relationship between workers’ health, job demands and occupational exposures. The role includes preventive and medical responsibilities within professional competence. Administrative decisions or software cannot replace the physician’s medical conclusions.

Occupational risk

Also known as OSH risk

The possibility of injury or ill health from a workplace hazard, considered together with the severity of its consequences. Risk depends on exposure and existing controls; it is not a fixed property of a machine or location.

Occupational safety and health training

Also known as OSH training · safety induction

Giving a worker the information and preparation needed for the risks and safety rules of their activity. Content should suit the job and relevant changes. A signed record does not replace understanding the instructions or any practical preparation required.

Performance indicator

Also known as KPI · key performance indicator

A measure used to follow a result, process or trend. A key indicator is selected because it matters to a particular objective. Its calculation, reporting period and data source should be understood before values are compared.

Periodic occupational health examination

Also known as periodic medical examination

A medical examination repeated at intervals established for the worker’s activity and risks. It follows health in relation to the job and may lead to recommendations or a fitness reassessment. The same schedule does not apply to every person and job.

Personal protective equipment

Also known as PPE

Equipment intended to protect a person against identified workplace risks. Selection must suit the risk and conditions of use, together with necessary instruction. It does not automatically replace hazard elimination or collective protection, and not all work clothing is PPE.

Prevention

Arranging measures to avoid or reduce occupational risks before they cause harm. This can include removing hazards, changing processes and providing training. Measures are selected according to the risk, prioritising collective protection over individual protection.

Procedure

An agreed way of carrying out an activity or process. A procedure can explain the steps, responsibilities and working rules. The level of documentation should suit the activity and the organisation’s requirements.

Process

A connected sequence of activities that uses resources and information to produce an outcome. Managing a process means making its purpose, responsibilities and monitoring criteria clear, including its links with other activities in the organisation.

Protective measure

A technical, organisational or individual solution that limits exposure to a hazard or its consequences. Protection is considered within prevention and must suit the activity. Having a measure in place does not remove the need for checks, maintenance and correct use.

Psychosocial risk

Also known as psychosocial factors

The possibility of adverse health effects associated with how work is organised, managed or experienced. Factors may include excessive demands, unclear responsibilities or insufficient support. Assessment concerns working conditions, not labelling employees’ personalities.

Quality management

Also known as quality management system · QMS

Organising the objectives, processes, responsibilities and checks that influence quality. It concerns how work is managed, not only inspection of the final product. A standard can provide a framework without replacing the legal requirements specific to an activity.

Quality objective

A result that the organisation aims to achieve in relation to quality. To guide action, the objective needs an owner, a timeframe and an appropriate way to observe progress or determine whether it has been achieved.

Record

Also known as documented record

Information retained as evidence of an activity, result or decision. It differs from an instruction explaining what should be done. Access, identification, protection and retention periods are arranged according to the requirements applicable to that information.

Recovery

An operation through which waste serves a useful purpose by replacing other materials or being prepared for such use under the applicable framework. Recovery is broader than recycling and does not mean merely selling or handing over waste.

Recycling

Reprocessing waste into usable products, materials or substances under the legislative conditions. It is a form of recovery but does not include energy recovery. Separate collection or sorting alone does not demonstrate that recycling has actually taken place.

Risk assessment

A structured examination of workplace hazards, the people who could be affected and the measures needed. It supports preventive priorities and is reviewed when relevant information or conditions change. Risk assessment is more than completing a form.

Separate collection

Keeping a waste stream separate according to its type and nature so that appropriate treatment is possible. It involves more than providing different bins: collection arrangements must connect with the destination and management conditions of each stream.

Traceability

The ability to reconstruct the history, movement or use of an item or activity from retained information. The necessary detail depends on the product, process, contract and applicable duties; having files alone does not guarantee traceability.

Waste

A substance or object that its holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard. Classification does not depend only on economic value: a material that can be sold may still have waste status.

Waste holder

The waste producer or the person in possession of the waste. This role matters when arranging handover, treatment and supporting documents. Physical transfer to another operator does not, in every situation, end all the previous holder’s responsibilities.

Waste producer

The person whose activity generates waste, or who performs operations changing its nature or composition under the applicable framework. This is distinct from the producer of a product subject to extended producer responsibility; the roles can carry different duties.

Waste records

Also known as waste register · waste record keeping

Organised information about waste generated or managed, quantities, operations and destinations, supported by relevant documents. Content and reporting follow the operator’s applicable requirements. A completed table alone does not establish that classification or the waste’s route is correct.

Waste transport

Movement of waste between sites or operators under the requirements applicable to its type and route. It involves identifying the parties, destination and relevant documents. Requirements for domestic movements should not be confused with those for cross-border shipments.

Work equipment

A machine, device, tool or installation used to carry out work. Managing it involves appropriate selection, use, inspection and maintenance. Specific requirements depend on the equipment, how it is used and the regulations applicable to that activity.

Workers’ health surveillance

Also known as occupational health surveillance

Preventive medical activities used to follow workers’ health in relation to occupational risks. Their content and frequency depend on exposure and applicable requirements. Health surveillance is not continuous monitoring of a worker’s private life.