Asia Pacific Environmental and Occupational Health Journal

Accidents such as Tahfiz fire tragedies were recorded, and this is alarming since the fire caused the loss of properties and the death of people mainly adolescents. The main issue of this accident is the lack of systematic occupational safety and health (OSH) management system (MS). Objective: This study proposes the Systematic OSH Management Enhancement Program (SOMEP) to reduce accidents in Tahfiz, especially fire tragedies. Method: There are five levelsin SOMEP. In SOMEP level one, a representative from Tahfiz management will be appointed to lead the program throughout the program duration. After that, in SOMEP level two, the representative will undergo training in riskmanagement and the development of OSH policy. Upon finishing the training, the representative will proceed to establish the safety committee at Tahfiz, which is the main task of SOMEP level three. Among the tasks of this safety committee are conducting quarterly meetings, workplace assessments and inspections. Besides that, conducting fire management training such as putting off fires using fire extinguishers and having an emergency response plan (ERP)also are crucial tasks of the safety committee. While in SOMEP level four, the information of OSH will be disseminated to all the stakeholders, especially for the new intake of Tahfiz students. Lastly, in SOMEP level five the activities and the documentation embedded in the TAHFIZ programs related to OSH will be audited internally and externally. Conclusion: The comprehensive OSH MS is needed to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities specifically inTahfiz in Malaysia and other Tahfiz in different countries since the proposed OSH MS such as SOMEP is applicable worldwide. By application of SOMEP, the Tahfiz fire tragedies can be avoided in the near future.

Keywords: Tahfiz, Fire, OSH MS, SOMEP.