The Health and Safety in Construction - Coursework Example

al Affiliation) Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………...2 Introduction……………………………………………………….3 Element one: Statute Law Section………………………………...3 Element Two: Specific Legislation………………………………..5 Element Three: Case Laws………………………………………..8 Element Four: Reflection on Conflict Resolution…………………9 Conclusion……………………………………………………….10 Bibliography……………………………………………………..11 HEALTH AND SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION Abstract This discussion focuses on issues ascribed to occupational health and safety in the construction industry. The introductory section of the discussion give general information concerning the application of occupational health and safety rules in the contemporary society. The discussion is extended in the second section which describes of the statute laws applicable in occupational health and safety, its key requirements as well as the strategies that were applied to gather the information. The third section of the discussion discusses a legislation that has been applied in the United States of America to guide issues of occupational health and safety; modes of information retrieval are also described in this section. Moreover, examples of case laws are provided in the fourth section of the discussion together with the modes of information retrieval. Consequently, the second last section comprehensively discusses the strategies that were applied by the group to solve conflicts that might have emerged in the group. Meanwhile, the last provides a conclusion of the overall discussion. Key Words Statute Law Occupational Health and Safety Conflicts Introduction The concept of occupational health and safety is usually overlooked especially in the construction and manufacturing industries. This is due to the fact that most companies and organization perceive this issue in the context of accident prevention while neglecting other pertinent facets of occupational health and safety. Additionally, most organizations have not recognized the fact that the construction industry involves activities that pose serious health risks to the workers. This health risks are usually extended to the families as well as other stakeholders. Despite the fact that substantial efforts have been directed towards preventing such injuries, little success has been achieved owing to the fact that, these efforts focus more on safety issues instead of work place hazards. Element one: Statute Law Section There are various statute law sections that have been implemented by different organizations and governments to guide issues ascribed to Occupational Health and Safety. Specifically, one of these statute laws is the Occupational Health and Safety Act number 85 of the year 1993. This act sets out imperative benchmarks that have to be met by various stakeholders in the field of Construction (Muarrey 2009) Key Requirements of this Statute Section The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, sets out a number of requirements through the use of certain tools to ensure that the benchmarks are observed. One of the tools applied by this act is the Construction Regulations 2003 (R.1010 18/07/2003). This act applies to all stakeholders involved in the construction industry; the various requirements of this act are stipulated in chapters for instance; Chapter 2, section 4 of the Construction Regulation indicates that all workers in the construction industry shall discuss comprehensively with his employees issues ascribed to Occupational Health and Safety applicable in their areas of work. The document all provides a description of Health and Safety Plan which is defined as a documented material with the methodologies for addressing hazards that may occur at work place, specifically in the construction area. In the document a description of hazards is also provided; procedures involved in identification of hazards are also indicated in the document. Moreover, Chapter 1, section 4 of the Construction Regulation sets out various procedures that should be met when developing a hazard identification document/plan; these requirements are; the plan should be developed in regard to the specification of Health and Safety. Additionally, hazard identification plans must be formulated in accordance to the health and safety issues that may occur in different construction activities (Muarrey 2009). Chapter one, section five of the construction regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 also states the various roles played by different stakeholders in its implementation. In the act, the principle contractor is allocated with the task to provide hi/her employees with the specification of the Occupational Health and Safety requirements. Consequently, the principle contractor has the mandate to ensure that rules ascribed to occupational health and safety (Muarrey 2009). Strategy for Information Retrieval The main goal of the research was to identify and provide an explanation of the statute law applicable in any facet of construction industry. The main strategy applied in the above section was a thorough research of the available secondary sources, followed a by a review of the most appropriate sources that was suitable for this research. Element Two: Specific Legislations in the Construction Industry One of the regulations applied in the Construction Industry is the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act of 2005. It was formulated in Australia and has been tremendously applied by various states in order to guide construction activities. The role of this regulation is to provide comprehensive descriptions of certain pertinent components that would foresee improvement in the manner in which safety and health regulations are applied in the construction industry (DiBerardinis 1999). The other legislation is the Occupational Health and Safety Act in the United State which applies to most construction industries in the United States. The act is divided in to various sub-parts; the sub-part, F, stipulates various requirements that have to be met in the construction industry when preventing fire or handling fire (DiBerardinis 1999) Strategy for information Retrieval The information on this section fundamentally involved researching on the internet and other relevant academic resources as well as published legal materials. Element Three: Case Laws Case 1: John (Driver) vs. Swift Trans. Company In the year 2001, a case was presented in the one of the courts in the United State between a driver by the name Jones and his Company (Construction Company). The driver has sued his company on allegations of discrimination concerning in relation to his health condition. He was diabetic and his company had discriminated him in relation to this condition despite the fact that he had provided a Physician Report indicating he was fit for the positions. Case 2: Paul (Carpenter) vs. National Probation Service, 2004 Additionally, in 2004, a case was taken to the courts by a carpenter who was also acting as a plumber in one construction industry in the United States. The carpenter, Paul, who had been affected by chronic illness, accused the National Probation Service for not paying his salary for a period of seven months despite the fact that he was under the care of a physician and had worked tirelessly as a volunteer for other companies. Case 3: Jenkins (Consultant) vs. Heathrow Construction Company, 2007 In 2007, a case between Jenkins and Heathrow Construction Company was presented in the court with Jenkins (Consultant for the Company) accusing her company for terminating her job contract owing to the fact that she had suffered some mental problems that the Company believed had reduced her capacity to effectively perform. Case 4: Lakeside Construction Company LCC vs. OSHA Committee, November 2008 The Lakeside Construction Company, LLC, was also charged with an offense that involved the violation of some stipulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in the United States. The court ordered the OSHA to conduct inspection in order to provide proof for these allegations. Case 5: J4 Welding Company vs. OSHA Inspection Committee, February 2012 Moreover, in February 2012, a case was presented in court by the J4 Welding Company whereby a notice of contest was filed by this company in order to seek approval that would allow them to continue with their remodeling project that was stopped by the OSHA inspection committee in relation to matters of occupational health and safety. Case6: OSHA Inspection Committee vs. M&J Painting Committee In the year 2011, a case was presented in court by the OSHA Inspection Committee against the M & J painting committee on six various issues of Occupational Health and Safety on an inspection conducted by the Company on a painting service for the Braga Bridge Work site. OSHA argued that M & J had violated some aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. Case7: Q3 Contracting Company vs. OSHA Committee, presided over by Judge James Rucker, 2012 In 2012, Judge James Rucker provided a decision in the case against Q3 contracting Inc. to confirm two citation issues that were meant for review by the court. The review was meant to identify whether or not, the court could withdraw a case against Q3, which emerged in the context of violating various aspects of Occupational Health and Safety. Case 8: Charles W. Mason, DDS & Associates vs. PLLC, 2008 Consequently, a briefing notice was issued by the court to the Charles W. Mason, DDS & Associates, and PLLC concerning issues of occupational health and safety that emerged from the essence of handling hazardous chemical by some employees of the Company. Case 9: OSHA Committee vs. TMD Contracting Company On the other hand, in July 2012, case was filed by the TMD Contracting to dismiss accusations of late Notice by the OSHA Committee in regard to some of their construction projects. The OSHA committee conducted a research in which they find out that the projects by the TMD Company had the potential to destroy some aspects of the environment. Case 10: Wilken vs. Ontario Labor Inc. Hotspot Auto Parts, 2012 On a recent case, the Ontario Labor Relations Board undertook a major step in reinstating an Employee who had been fired due to refusal to perform some duties that he believed was harmful to his health. Specifically, the employee refused to lift some bins claiming they were too heavy and could cause him serious injuries. Strategy for Information Retrieval Our strategy for information retrieval on this section, involved citing recent occupation health and safety cases that were presented in the courts in the United States and other neighboring countries. The information was basically provided by each group member depending on what each person knew. Element Four: Reflection on Non-adversarial Used to Solve Conflict in the Group Non-adversarial techniques of conflict resolution played a major role in our group discussion. It also created a platform for the group members to learn the techniques of resolving intra-group conflicts. The techniques that played a major role in solving instances of conflict within our group were mediation as well as facilitated negotiation. As we conducted our group discussions, there were occasions where the group member engaged in conflicts, specifically, conflict of ideas. However, such occasions did not present any challenge to the success of our discussion. The group members applied various non-adversarial techniques to solve such cases for instance; facilitated negotiation between the conflicting parties: This involved the essence of taking no sides who was correct or wrong on some issues by considering the fact that each group member had different ideology; however, the credibility of each person’s thoughts were confirmed through research. The other non adversarial technique that was applied in solving conflict in our group was mediation. This majorly involved the inclusion of a third party whenever conflict occurred between two members of the group. In an occasion, some members of the group had conflicting ideas, an action that almost led to violence; we were forced to intervene through mediation process geared towards bringing the two members together in order to work towards a common goal. How to implement specific non-adversarial techniques The implementation of non-adversarial technique that we used in our group entails various processes. In mediation, the step identification of the main problem or cause of the conflict; this allows the mediator to evaluate the situation and come up with the best solution for such conflict. It is imperative that mediators do not depict or take sides during the mediation process and in the process informs the conflicting parties the pertinence of peace. On the other hand, negotiation is also a preferred method of no-adversarial technique of conflict resolution. This method requires specific strategies for its implementation. The first step involves identifying the root causes of the conflict and the extent or the magnitude of the conflict; this is imperative when in provision of various alternatives geared towards solving the conflict. The other crucial stage for implementing negotiation as a method of conflict resolution is to inform the conflicting groups of the importance of conflict in order to gain their trust and willingness to participate in the negotiation process. Conclusion Occupational Health and Safety issues have become more common in the contemporary society as each institution and organization strive to ensure that their productivity and performance are enhanced by protecting the health and safety of their workers. Substantial information regarding Occupational Health and Safety issues in the construction industry has also been disseminated to the general public by governments and other stakeholders concerned. It is imperative that companies seeking success in the current competitive markets promote the protection and maintenance of their workers’ health through the adherence to occupational health and safety rules. However, it is imperative to note that, various countries have rules and regulations that guide issues of occupational health and health and safety. These rules can either be formulated by the government or private institutions but the level or modes of their operation differ from country to country. Bibliography Find HR news & your next human resources job on Personnel Today. n.d. Find HR news & your next human resources job on Personnel Today. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://www.personneltoday.com Occupational Health and Safety Commission. 2012. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission. Washington DC: Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission. DiBerardinis, L. J. 1999. Handbook of occupational safety and health (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. 2007. Fundamentals of occupational safety and health (4th ed.). Lanham, Md.: Government Institutes. USA Government. 2009. Building and Construction Industry Improvement Regulations 2005 . Southwark Bridge: OLDP. Harrington, J. M., & Howard, G. 1998. Occupational health (4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Science. Herman, A. 2008. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Washington DC: United States Deparment of Labor. Kloss, D. 2011. Employment tribunals and occupational health practitioners. Ontario: Oxford University. Making Government User-friendly - Government Information. n.d.. Making Government User-friendly - Government Information. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://www.osha.gov.com Midema, A. 2012. Reinstatement, Fullback Pay For Employee Fired After Work Refusal. Ontario: Trucking. Muarrey, B.2009. Acts and Regulations on OSHA. New York: Health and Safety Authority. OSHA.2011. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. occupational health and safety. n.d.. regulations. Retrieved March 23, 2012, from www.comlaw.gov.au Scott, P. A.2009. Ergonomics in developing regions needs and applications. 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