Mr Fords Metal Art Works Company Management - Case Study Example

Name: Professor: Course: Semester: Date: Executive summary This report is based on Mr. Fords Metal art Works Company. The report anises the Wok Health and Safety issues at the company and comes up with appropriate recommendations to ensure safety and health of workers particularly relating to gas torches. There are potential hazards posed by the use of the gas torches and thus require a procedure for use, a policy and activities as well as responsibilities for everyone in the company. The report also gives an insight on the importance of having a systematic management of safety approach for an organization and proposes a plant management plan for Mr. Ford. Table of Contents Occupational (Work) Health and Safety Management 1 Method To undertake this report I approached Mr. Ford’s work safety issue through a detailed analysis of the health and safety risk posed by several plant equipments in his company. My first step was to identify the equipment within Mr. Ford’s company that would be of interest to me and this report. I then had to do a detailed plant hazard assessment as per the organizational health and safety procedure and document the risks posed by the equipment to the health ands safety of the workers. I then reviewed the plant’s documentations such as the user manual, and other relevant documents. I explored ways through which the risks posed by the plant can be controlled by the management and in hand with the workers. Lastly I looked into the registration and legal requirement for the particular plant in Mr. Ford’s Company. The legislation sources such as Organizational Health and Safety act 2004 and Organizational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 gave me an important guide to preparing this report on behalf of Mr. Ford’s company. 2 Plant equipment identified Gas torch equipment Potential hazards through: Exposure to fire and explosion Heat Sparks Slips Fumes gases Mr. Ford Company is an art and design center where the company deals in producing high quality metal artworks for the clients to fit in their homes. There are several plants to cut and shape the materials into the desired form by the employed artisans. The gas torches particular poses several potential hazards for the users if not trained or informed adequately on the hazards posed by the equipment. 3 Recommendations 3.1 Recommended policies Commitment policy The company has a vision, mission and organizational culture framework. This is part of the company’s policy and organizational culture to guide; employees into their daily work. I recommend that a health and safety policy that will surely include the handling and related safety issues of the gas torches be developed. The policy should identify with the organization’s mission, vision and core values. This way the workers will be able to make it a part of their culture to observe safety procedures when using the gas torches. The policy should make a clear commitment to workplace safety by ensuring the management is involved from the development and implementation of the policy to emphasize its importance. The policy will as a matter of fact identify and roles and responsibilities of everybody within the organization towards upholding safety measures in the work place. Equipment handling policy A policy should be put in place by the management on the use of the gas torches. This policy will among other things spell out the roles and responsibilities of the management and the workers alike as regards the use of the gas torches. The policy will also highlight the potential hazards posed by the equipment if a hazard actually occurs. Appropriate actions incase of a hazard will also be addressed by the policy. Once this policies have been formulated, they will have to be read and agreed upon by both parties; management and the workers. They should be adhered to if at all health and safety is going to be paramount at Mr. Ford’s company. 3.2 Recommended procedures The safe work procedure for gas torches in Mr. Ford’s company Pre-operation Make sure tasks and responsibilities in the work place are clearly spelt out Make sure the work place is clean and clear of any flammable material such as oil and chemicals Make sure working gloves, heat gun, work place and leads are in good conditions for the safety of workers Restricted access to sensitive working areas such as compressed gas cylinder access points Make sure there is adequate ventilation and lighting in the work place Operation Keep the hands clear of the work piece and the flame to avoid contact with the hot flame Never leave the gas torch burning unattended Take care to dedicate maximum attention to your work while using with the gas torch; dangerous pranks are highly prohibited by the management Post-operation Switch off the gas cylinder valve and check to ensure its completely switched off Store the equipment appropriately Authorized users Name Title Contact details 3.3 Recommended activities to enhance Health and safety of employees working in Mr. Ford’s company Identification of the plant equipment used in this case the equipment is the gas torch Risk assessment of the equipment should then be conducted as per the requirements of OHS Risk Management Procedure and documented on the Plant and Equipment Risk Management Form. This form is completed through consultations with everybody in the company. The level of risk of a hazard posed by the equipment should be determined to guide appropriate policy and user procedures to avert the risk. Control measures should be selected and implemented whenever a risk has been identified concerning equipments at the company for example training on use and developing safe working procedures Training and education of workers should be conducted whenever new equipments are introduced in the company or to new workers. This should be done by competent teachers. Maintenance of the equipment in the company is very important as a measure to proactively prevent a hazard. A record of this should be kept to ensure consistency. The maintenance should be done while equipments are isolated. Review of the controls and procedures should be done in accordance with regulatory changes and operational changes in the company 4 Purpose of systematic management of safety A systematic management of safety is very essential in ensuring safety in a work place. When a business adopts an integrated, systematic and planned approach, then it is in a better position to manage safety in the work place (Gallgher, Underhill, & Rimmer, 2001). A systematic safety management system ensures the management goes a step further beyond finding hazards and controlling them. A system ensures that possible sources of hazards are identified in advance and necessary steps taken to prevent their occurrence. Such issues as training of staff to prepare them adequately to carry on their work safely is very important and is one example of management going an extra mile to ensure hazards do not need to occur but can be mitigated against in advance. A systematic system also focuses on implementation of a safety policy that is well rooted in the company’s organizational culture to let every employee and manager know that there is a particular way of doing things within the company as regards the safety of everybody who works in the company. The policy also puts a responsibility to the management to uphold safety standards and be committed to ensuring safety of everybody within the organization. Apart from responsibilities, the systematic safety system will ensure that there is a person always accountable for every single item, procedure and plant in the work place and thus eliminate confusion (Gallgher, Underhill, & Rimmer, 2001) . A systematic safety system is most probably well known for identifying potential risks, assessing them and controlling them. This may be regarded as one of its fundamental purposes in the work place since workers can get from this a safe work procedure to handle plant in the work [place in accordance with the safety management system which also analyses the level of risk posed by the plant and equipment in the work place (Shaw, 1994). The systematic safety management system also guides monitoring, inspection and internal auditing of the safety measures and plant to ensure safety in the work place. The system is used to guide the company on how to handle legal and regulatory issues as per the safety concerns in the workplace to avoid any liability on the side of management or legal problems with authorities. 5 Specific recommendations about the management of plant and equipment in the workplace The plant management recommendations for the use of gas torch and other equipments in Mr. Ford’s company will first identify the responsibilities of the management. The management is responsible for: Identifying and recording all plant and equipment within the work place on a plant register which will be regularly reviewed. Consulting with employees to identify and manage plant and equipment hazards Making sure that the identified plant and equipment hazards are entered on the OHS register and reviewed regularly Checking that safe work procedures are readily accessible for each item of plant and equipment Making sure that maintenance and repairs to plant and equipment is recorded on the plant and equipment and maintenance form. Complying with legislation relating to plant and equipment The workers on the other hand have a responsibility for: Reporting plant and equipment hazards and possible sources of hazards Assisting the management in completion of the plant and equipment risk management form Participating in the identification and implementation of risk controls Complying with safe work procedures as spelt out and also the safety policy of the company To ensure that the plant and equipment in Mr. Ford’s company: Firstly, a detailed plant hazard assessment and review has to be conducted. This will be guided by Organizational Health and Safety standards as listed by the 2004 act. The Australian and international safety standards and also leading industry practice in this case relating to handling compressed gas plants and equipments. This will help the company stay within the law and also facilitate a workers compensation insurance agreement to avoid heavy liability on the company incase a risk occurs. Secondly, a daily inspection and fault rectification process has to be developed. It is very critical that immediate identification of major and minor faults in the plant is made. This is a legal obligation and above all it prevents possible risks from occurring. Mr. Fords Company has to conduct a daily pre-operational check on the gas torches to ensure safety devices are in place and are operational. Any fault identified should be rectified and recorded according to procedure. Thirdly, a proactive and robust maintenance regime will have to be adopted by Mr. Ford to stay within legal requirements and also reduce instances where the company will incur compensation and image costs if any safety issue occurs in the company. It will also minimize instances where work has to stop due to plant breakdown or workers industrial action. Workers should be engaged regularly to share their safety concerns with the management Lastly, safe work procedures for operation of the gas torches and other plant equipment will have to be developed and implemented. The workers will be properly trained and expected to follow the procedure. This will absolve the management of any blame incase a worker does not follow the procedures and causes a hazardous risk to occur. It also ensures improved safety of plant and equipment use. 6 Conclusion Systematic management of safety, plant and equipment at any work place is very vital. Not only to fulfill the legal requirements but also to improve safety and health of employees for a company and avoid any unnecessary costs that may result from negligence in regards to organizational health and safety. Mr. Fords company is an a art centre dealing with several plant and equipment that pose a risk to the workers but are necessary for the activities involved in cutting and shaping of metal designs. The gas torches pose a great risk if not used well and thus this report has recommended several procedure and activities as well as policies as regards the gas torches use and other plant in the company. Gallgher, c., Underhill, E., & Rimmer, M. 2001. Occupational Health and Safety Manegement Systems: A Review of their Effectiveness in securing healthy and safe workplaces. Sidney: National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 Online Safety Systems. 2013. News_Items/PSMM_Article_2_Safe_Plant.sflb.ashx. [PDF] Available at http://www.assessor.com.au/Libraries/News_Items/PSMM_Article_2_Safe_Plant.sflb.ashx [Accessed 30 May 2013] Pringle, D. 1995 “Managing occupational health and safety”, in Slappendel, C (ed) Health and Safety in New Zealand Workplaces, Dunmore Press, Palmerstone North. Shaw, A. 1994 Positive Performance indicators for benchmarking report on the literature review conducted in state one of the WorkSafe Australia Project , AGPS, Canberra Whitmyre, G. 1995. Compressed Gases: Safe Handling Procedures. American chemical Society. Work Safe Victoria, 2007. Your health and safety guide to Plant [PDF] Melbourne: WorkSafe Advisory Service. Available at: < HYPERLINK "http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/14491/vwa_guide_to_plant.pdf" http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/14491/vwa_guide_to_plant.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2013] Read More