Facility Hazard Analysis - Assignment Example

Facility Hazard Analysis affiliation Ventilation is imperative in our houses and workplaces, it is crucial for proper ventilation to be placed in all homes and workplaces, this is because poor air circulation may lead to severe health and at times may result in death of people. At the same time, inadequate ventilation in some places of work may lead to serious problems, Acme International is severely affected by poor ventilation yet it is a shop that deals with painting and welding too, some of its employees and even the employer may suffer from poor health due to chemical components found in the paints such as toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and acetone, which may make somebody to become drink due to the alcohol percentages in them. As a hygienist I would recommend Acme International to improve their level of ventilation to avoid slow interference with the health of its workers and at the same time employ other forms of securing the health of their workers using various techniques (OBrien, 2011). The work area should be thoroughly ventilated with enough funds that pump out the chemical odor from the room, this is because these chemical odor when inhaled by the workers in the room they slowly react with oxygen hence after oxidation it becomes more hazardous and may lead to reduced breathing problems. That may later on reduce the work output since workers can never work correctly when their health is in bad condition. The same time the use of acetone on rags should also be avoided while cleaning the surfaces of the working bays. Acetone, when gets in contact with the skin, may lead mild irritation when it is inhaled it may lead to irritation of the throat and the nose and when is highly concentrated it may harm the nervous system. It also has a chronic effect since it can lead to the development of dermatitis a condition in which the skin cracks. The effects of Acetone can be controlled by properly storing, storage cupboard and shelves should be constructed which is out of reach of any child, the chemical in a cool and dry place away from any source of heat such as sunlight and electricity. During handling of this chemical, the employers should use the safety clothes such as veil and overall, which Acme International should provide for them to avoid contact with the skin, the containers containing this chemical should not be exposed to welding, not until all the traces of the products have been removed from the tanks, in the same areas where Acetone is found, smoking should not take place, hence posters containing warnings against smoking should be posted in and out of the room. Ethyl benzene has a respiratory effect when inhaled this is because it may lead to severe chest constriction, dizziness and throat irritation. It is usually used when styrene is being produced and can also be used as a solvent that is a constituent of naphtha and asphalt. It should be stored on shelves away from any source of heat and handled carefully (Thomas, 2012). Painting and welding are some of the core jobs that are available in at Acme International. Employees suffer silently when it comes to such jobs since most of them are exposed to hazards associated with welding and painting yet they do not know it, the following are some the following are some of the negative conditions associated with both painting and welding: Gases and fumes, the welding fumes contain very many complicated metal oxides which are when consumed may alter the normal functioning of the body organs, hence for this to be avoided the rooms where welding is taking place should be sufficiently ventilated and enough local exhaust pipes that keep the gases and fumes the general area and the breathing zone. Those involved in welding should also be taught about the permissible exposure limits and the threshold limit values, which indicated the total amount of breathing air in the rooms where welding is taking place. Another hazard associated with welding is Electric shock, this is a somber danger that welders must always get to know, this is because it can lead to severe health problem or even death, naked wire should be covered and positioned carefully so that any person cannot step on them. At the same time, the terminals should always be correctly placed to avoid coming into close contact this is because it may lead to the generation of electric sparks that are which eventually leads to electric shock. Most types of shocks that do occur in welding zones are the secondary voltage shock that typically ranges from twenty volts one hundred volts. All these types of shocks can be avoided by putting on gloves during welding and avoiding contact with water during welding, this will also help in reducing primary shocks (Mroszczyk, 2013). Fire and explosions is also a major hazard when it comes to welding, this is because of high temperature that is always generated during welding, to prevent such occurrences, all the workers that do carry out the welding activities should inspect the room and ensure that all the flammable substances are removed these include things such as acetylene, hydrogen cylinders, gasoline and woods that may burn. At the same time, fire alarms should be installed in the rooms so that in case of any fire outbreak everybody in the room is alerted. Fire extinguishers should also be installed in the rooms so that in case of any slight fire, they can be used to put out the fire. One important caution to fire and explosion is the use of fire resistant objects (Thomas, 2012). Painting of the already welded products also have some side effects, these side effects are: The paints used are made of chemicals, which may lead to health problems such as multiple myeloma lung cancer and other cancer-related diseases. To avoid such problems the painting rooms should be thoroughly ventilated and if possible fans should be installed in the shop to help in driving out the smell from the paints, the employees that are working on the painting section should also be provided with protective clothes. After finishing the work of art, the workers should be provided with a glass milk to drink so that in case of any slight inhalation of the odor from the paint they don’t get affected. Another serious health hazard associated with colour is tripping and falling off the pain tins, in case a paint tin falls, it may force the painters to slip down and injure themselves seriously, hence to avoid such things the artists should always put on good shoes that are not slippery, they should also be taught the importance of handling the paints with a lot of caution. The use of ladders should always be checked on with a lot of keenness, this is can be carried out by checking the status of the ladders before using them, at the same time the ladders should be positioned carefully to avoid tripping and falling (Mroszczyk, 2013). Acme International should work very hard to control such hazards this is because they may end up losing their employees through death or due to the risks in the rooms, some of the workers may decide to quit the job if their health is not catered for. When the workers tend quite to job enough, it means that the clients that are targeted will also have nothing to purchase. Hence, the shop will run at losses by operating on the loss. Eventually, this may lead to the closer of the shop, so it is paramount for the Acme International shop to cater for these hazards. The risks can be controlled by the use of Personal protective equipment to keep the workers free from injury. At the same time, the Acme International should create awareness among the workers. I would recommend the construction of local exhaust ventilation systems in all the rooms in Acme International shop that is in the welding room and the painting room. This will help in the removal of excess odor of paint in the rooms, at the same time this will encourage aeration in the shop, hence health hazards such as inhalation and breathing problems shall have been controlled. I would like to recommend the putting up of fire alarms in the rooms, this will help in easy detection of fire outbreaks at the same time, and the rooms should be fitted with fire extinguishers, such that in case of fire outbreak, the workers should be able to put out the fire before fire causes severe damage. When these control methods have been put in place, Acme International shop will be the best place to be in, this is because the health of the workers and employers are being taken care of (Mroszczyk, 2013). HAZARD BEFORE AFTER OUTCOME Electric shock 90% 20% Good Fire and explosions 70% 10% Good Poor ventilation 80% 5% Good The best control method to be used in controlling the hazards found in the Acme International shop are: Using the engineering controls, this is an approach which aims at minimizing the risk level in the store, and it aims at construction and installation of ventilation systems in the shop that will assist in driving out the welding fumes. The shop can also use the substitution control measure, this method aims at replacing the most hazardous materials with the ones that are less hazardous, in the shop, the welding department can opt to use submerged arc welding that is more efficient than the flux-cored welding. It would assist in reducing the fumes. At the same time, the shop can at one time opt for isolation method, this is a control measure whereby the workers are removed from the hazard itself, this can be carried out through construction of a separate welding room to assist in congestion the room and reducing the level of danger. The choice of this control measures depends on the size and the availability of the resources. There are also other measures of controlling the hazard; the use of administrative controls, in this method it aims at reducing the work time or exposure of workers to some of these hazardous materials, for example, during hot days, the welders can always work for few hours then later on leave this helps to reduce the health hazards. The other control measure is the use of personal protective equipment. The workers are equipped with rubber-soled shoes to avoid electric shock if he or she had to stand for metallic objects during welding (Thomas, 2012). Prevention through design is a new technique that are being used to reduce the rate of hazards in workplaces. It is an engineering field that is still new but works correctly. It is aimed at designing out the hazards early enough and working out on means of eliminating them during work sessions. This approach involves the following, work processes, systems and environmental risks and occupational hazards. This method also indicates that the addition of any extra tool in the shop will alleviate the health risk of workers. It gives alternative methods to be used in carrying out various duties without necessarily increasing the level of hazard in the shop, for example, with the prevention through design, instead of using single room to carry out the welding activity, another room can be constructed elsewhere to do the same job, this will reduce the congestions in the room. Eventually, this would reduce the amount or the level of gasses present in the places (OBrien, 2011). Prevention through design also aims at making some changes in how welding should be carried out to help in declining the level of health problems. The Acme International shop should also aim at using local exhaust ventilation systems that will prevent the exposure of employees to metallic fumes when they are welding. At the same time, this method also aims at designing better tools for use by workers rather than the old tools that are not that efficient. Hence, it is sagacious for the shop to apply the method of prevention through design (Thomas, 2012). Finally, it can be noted that the health hazards found in the welding houses and painting areas can always be reduced or entirely be eliminated using various methods. The hazardous risk that were found in Acme International shop can always be reduced by the methods as mentioned earlier, the cautions given above can also be applied to reduce the health issues. It should also be noted that anybody across the globe who would like to start a similar business should keenly look into these methods as it will not be very friendly for workers to work in the poorly ventilated room. Health monitoring should always be carried out, and this can only be carried out using the biological control method that can assist in establishing if there is any identifiable disease that is linked to exposure to chemicals found in the paints and the fumes that do occur during the time when welding is being carried out. The biological monitoring can also be used to diagnose the level of toxic substances in the body of those involved in welding and painting activities. Lastly the person who wants to carry out such a business must be ready to offer civic education to his employees so that they know the risks they may expose themselves in case they do not follow the required procedures in painting and welding, at the same time a qualified doctor should be availed to diagnose the workers regularly. References American Welding Society., OBrien, A., & American Welding Society. (2011). Welding handbook: Volume 4, Part 1. Miami, FL: American Welding Society. Mroszczyk, J. W. (January 01, 2013). Permit-to-Work Systems. 141-157. Thomas, I. (2012). Painting. Chicago, Ill: Heinemann Library. Read More