Occupational safety and health (OSH) in the workplace, especially in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is an aspect that employers need to pay full attention to. This is because activities carried out in the workplace can create the risk of dangerous incidents, accidents, injuries, and deaths not only to employees, but also to the public in the workplace area.

In 2016, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) developed the Strategic Plan for Occupational Safety and Health in the Small and Medium Industry Sector 2016 – 2020 (SME 2020). This strategic plan was formulated until 2020 to improve occupational safety and health management in the SME sector so that the vision of implementing a culture of prevention in the workplace is achieved.

One of the specific programs planned through Strategy 6 of the SME 2020 is to increase the number of OSH practitioners. Each SME must appoint at least one employee as an Occupational Safety and Health Coordinator (OSH Coordinator) to manage OSH matters. Among the responsibilities of the OSH Coordinator are to assist employers in reporting OSH status to the DOHS, administering OSH documents, promoting OSH culture and taking relevant actions.

In relation to this, to determine the qualifications of an OSH Coordinator, DOSH has decided that the OSH Coordinator must be someone who has successfully completed a prescribed course conducted by a training centre registered with DOSH.