A Number of Companies in the United Kingdom - Term Paper Example

Work Safety Introduction Since last decade, a number of companies in the Unites Kingdom have started considering one of the most crucial issues of workplace, workplace safety. Exact causes and factors of the incident at workplace require a detailed analysis and investigation, in order to avoid any incident in the future. (Repa, 2007) In this regard, this report has been written for the critical analysis and investigation of a recent accident at Rockfield Productions, Limited, which occurred on May 25, 2007.

In specific, Rockfield Productions Limited is a manufacturing company that specializes in mechanical components for the chemical industry. In addition, different recommendations and causes are indicated in this report. This report has been written in accordance with the policies of the Rockfield Productions Limited, as it is mandatory for the company to report the Health and Safety Executive, as well as, the local authority regarding the occurrence of incident in the company. Methodology In order to acquire information related to the accident, a number of employees of Rockfield Productions Limited were interviewed for the detailed analysis and investigation of the incident.

Employees working near to Mr. Joseph Boylan, the Universal Machine Operator of the company, were selected and preferred to participate in the investigation. Six employees of the company were included in the investigation; however, hospital welfare officer was also interviewed for analysis of effect of the incident on Mr. Boylan. In specific, supervisor in charge of No. 2 shop, Frank Masters was interviewed by the investigating staff, which was followed by the interview of Herbert Sedgewick, who works as a circular saw operator in the company.

In addition, Bill Morris and Rosie Winthrop participated in the interviewing session, which are the grinder and stitching machinist in the company respectively. Moreover, first aid provider, Janet Downer and one of the technicians was also interviewed by the company’s staff for the detailed analysis of every aspect of the incident, in order to avoid any similar incidents in the future. Findings On May 25, 2007, one of the Universal Machine Operators of the company, Mr. Joseph Boylan confronted an accident that resulted in the loss of his three fingers and more than thirty stitches according to the hospital welfare officer.

In addition, hospital officer also reported that left hand of Mr. Boylan confronted damage of five broken bones. According to the Hospital Officer, one of the staff of casualty indicated chances of drinking due to his smell. In light of all the interviews, Herbert Sedgewick, the circular saw operator was the first one to reach at the incident spot, and was the only one that witnessed the accident. According to Sedgewick, the safety guard of the universal machine was off during the working, which contradicts with the statement of Mr.

Boylan, who said that the guard was on at the time. On the other hand, Frank Masters, the supervisor in charge of No. 2 Shop indicated that maybe guard would have gone off after the accident. According to Bill Morris, Herbert Sedgewick, Frank Masters, Rosie Winthrop, and Casualty Sister of the hospital, drinking was one of the issues that were discussed by everybody during their interviews. For instance, Frank Masters indicated that Mr. Boylan would have drunk some pinches. On the other hand, one of the closest friends of Boylan, Bill Morris said that Boylan had only one pinch, which contradicts with the statement of stitching machinist, Rosie Winthrop, who said that Boylan had four to five pinches on Friday, when the accident occurred in the company.

In addition, Rosie pointed out during the investigation that Boylan was very hard at the machine, as he wanted to acquire his quota as soon as possible, in order to take some rest in the last hours of the day. Another significant and crucial issue that worsened the effects of incident was the unavailability and inefficiency of first aid in the company. According to most of the employees, first aid box was not present at the situation, and even when it was available, no employee was trained enough to provide first aid to Mr. Boylan. According to Janet Downer, first-aid person, no artery was severely damaged, which was a matter of relief, as the damage would have cost Mr.

Boylan a lot. Additionally, it took around nine to ten minutes for Rosie to reach the place of incident, as the Shop No. 2 is located in the other corner of the company, and no transport was available to reach there immediately. According to the other employees, they only waited for trained personnel to reach the place of incident, as they all were unqualified to deal with the broken hand and blood. Lastly, the reports of the investigation indicated that the company had not arrange the service of the universal machine since a long time, and the proper mounting of the gearing and drive belts was not performed according to the technician.

In addition, it was reported by the technician that the machine was very unsafe, and therefore, it was surprising that Mr. Boylan did not complain about it. However, one of the comments that contradicted with Mr. Boylan’s statement was about the fragmentation of the grinding wheel, which was fragmented according to Mr. Boylan. Discussions and Recommendations In light of the abovementioned information acquired from interviews of different employees of the Rockfield Productions Limited Company, Mr.

Boylan did not seem professional in terms of his work, as few of the people indicated drinking issues during his working hours, which was not a professional act. However, the company could be held responsible in this manner, as it was the responsibility of company to arrange and provide proper guidelines to employees regarding non-allowance of drinking during the working hours, as well as, in the lunch hours. In addition, work safety is one of the most crucial and sensitive issues that should be considered by the company.

It is observed that a number of American companies spent thousands of dollars on the employees’ compensation due to work-related incidents. (Repa, 2007) In specific, it was observed during the investigation that the machines were not serviced properly, which was one of the causes of incident of May 25, 2007. Additionally, if the incident is analyzed in detail, it is observed that it occurred on 14:30, which indicates that it was only after thirty minutes of lunch hour. Therefore, drinking of four to five pinches would have some remaining effect on Mr.

Boylan, and could have weakened the working capacity and concentration of Mr. Boylan. Furthermore, unavailability of first-aid personnel was another major cause of worsening of the incident, as the findings indicated that in charge of First Aid box was on a holiday since ten days, and no other person was capable of handling the injured person. In this regard, brief awareness and first aid guidelines should be provided to the employees by the company, which could be beneficial and cost saving at the time of any incident in the future.

Conclusion This report has been written to provide the detailed analysis and investigation of incident that occurred on May 25, 2007 with the Universal Machine Operator, Mr. Joseph Boylan in Rockfield Productions Limited Company. The report has been written by the Junior Production Manager. This report will also be utilized at the time of reporting the local authorities and the Health and Safety Executive. It is hoped that the report has been able to cover every aspect of the incident that is related and could be one of the causes of the accident.

References Barbara Kate Repa. (2007). Your Rights in the Workplace. Nolo.