Workplace Safety in Engineering - Essay Example

Hassan] [RW5] [Megan kropfelder] [10 Feb Workplace Safety in Engineering Safety regulations and rules are crucial in the engineering domain andshould be integrated by the use of analysis and reporting because safety has a direct impact on the positive and productive work outcomes of the employees and their lives. Workplace safety and health is an important and major factor in professional life and it is an important part of management. The management has the responsibility of ensuring workplace safety. Workplace safety ensures safe working condition for employees in an organization. In fact, the examples for workplace safety cover a lot of areas like safety of the machines used in any industry, safety of the electronic components used in engineering related companies, safety of the warehouses in companies, safety of office and various equipment used in the office, safety of the suppliers who supplies raw material to the company, safety of the employees and health insurance cover, safety of the contractor involved in the projects and company, safety of and processes. Improving workplace safety may benefit employees’ productivity and create positive energy at work. Therefore, companies should have effective workplace safety programs, solid workplace policies, powerful HES, number of accidents, facts and figures. Workplace safety is important because it gives the employees the motivation to work owing to the fact that their health is given importance. Everyone at the workplace wants to be guaranteed safety for their lives. In fact, companies should organize programs to ensure the health of employees is never put at stake, especially for jobs that involve high level of risk. There should be strict safety policies and measures for jobs that expose employees to high health risk. Safety programs are aimed at educating employees how to react to probable risks and how to manage them when they occur. Companies should implement clear workplace safety policies and conduct regular safety training for employees in order to ensure that safety standards are adhered to by all employees. Through safety management programs the company should manage employees’ health safety. In engineering major, a lot of work has been done to ensure safe workplace for engineers. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was designed to test the delivery model and give advice on workplace safety. The HSE has goals and aims that are focused towards achieving engineering workplace safety. HSE evaluates the workplace safety through different sides and every year produces a report generated showing what changes were made and how much has been done as well as what went wrong. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is aimed at developing workplace safety measures and ensuring high level workplace safety in engineering field. It provides maximum amount of support to the employees as well and changes the situation of the employees so that problems regarding workplace safety are resolved effectively. Providing knowledge to small and medium sized organizations and businesses about workplace safety and teaching employers and the employees how to solve workplace safety issues is also an important function of HSE. Workplace safety program is important because it saves and protects the employees and other people in the company or the organization from severe injuries or death. It is a life saver. It trains the employers and the employees about how to ensure a safe working atmosphere. Everyone working the company or the organization feels safe, happy and comfortable with effective workplace safety policies and procedures. Employees and employers pay more attention and concern towards the environment they are working in. It also prevents the companies or the organizations from lawsuits. Many companies have incurred legal costs, which they may have prevented had they implemented effective workplace safety and regulations. By implementing workplace safety program, a company is likely to evade legal costs associated with negligence. HSE provides employees and employers with the potential to resolve future workplace safety issues in advance and try to overcome them so that no problem or fewer problems are faced in future. It also improves measures and understanding towards workplace safety so that there are fewer issues regarding sick leaves and that workflow is not disturbed through frequent workplace accidents is another important task of the HSE. Development of partnership with other organizations that guide the employees regarding the workplace safety is also another function of HSE. Safety engineers are responsible for keeping people safe from every type of risk and injuries at the workplace. They are responsible for managing programs to ensure that safety standards and regulations have been maintained at the workplace and that employees are satisfied and contented with their work environment and are happy with their surroundings. They eliminate or remove all the unhealthy activities undertaken in any company. Safety engineers are also known by the following names: Director of Safety Safety Coordinator Safety Manager Safety engineers study each and every activity and ensure that activity is safe for the company, employees and employers. They can also make changes in the routine work procedures to ensure work safety. If there are some tasks that are dangerous for employees, then it is the duty of the safety engineers to ensure that the work environment for the employees is safe and their health not put at risk. The duties of the safety managers vary from one company to another. There are no well-defined tasks that have to be performed by the safety engineers. The government has established many laws and regulations that have to be followed in order to ensure workplace safety and health. Some of the laws include: The health of the employees should not be put at stake. The environment should not contain any hazardous chemicals in case of industries. The processes used should be secure and harmless. Many factors are used to evaluate the workplace safety. Evaluation of workplace safety is a very crucial step because many problems can be caused if wrong evaluation is done. The following are some of the facts that are used by the organizations, which help in evaluating the workplace or occupations health and safety: People involvement Small business handbook Analyze work and engineering practices Implement work and engineering practices Provide incentives Provide training Use of PPE Workplace or occupational health and safety are of great importance. Many factors contribute to its importance. It is a moral responsibility of all the employees and the employers in any organization or company to ensure workplace safety and health. It is ethically important. It is the responsibility of the employer to maintain a safe and healthy work environment and atmosphere. It is also legally important for employers and the employees should implement all the laws related to occupational and workplace health and safety. Penalty should be imposed on the workers who violate the rules and regulations of the workplace health and safety. Economically, workplace safety and health is of high importance. If any employee suffers from any injury, a lot of expenses are incurred in his or her treatment and potential work time would be wasted. Therefore, it is important to ensure that occupational and workplace safety and health are effectively implemented in an organization. Accidents Rate in various industries in 2009 The above figure shows the rate of unintentional deaths in various industries. As we can see that most of the deaths are in constructions firms and least in whole sale trade. Such analyses are done annually in order to study the death rate. Such analyses are also done in order to check the number of injuries and other problems.With such analyses the government learns that which field needs more guidance and help. It is an effective way of learning the mistake and rectifying them for the future. Normal leaves Vs leaves due to Injuries This figure shows that most of the leaves are due to the injuries and other accidents. And other leaves are due to normal issues like holidays etc. Such reports are also helpful in determining the workplace safety and health issues. The government should take into account all the factors and then enforce laws and regulations accordingly. It is very important for the senior managers to focus on the importance of occupational and workplace health and safety. If the managers are not enforcing measures for the safety then other employees would also not pay attention towards the safety and health measures. They will pay more attention towards other activities and no or least importance would be given to the workplace safety and health. Top 10 caused of injuries at the Workplace This figure shows the cost of top 10 causes of most disabling workplace injuries in 2006. As we can see that most cost is caused by overexertion which is 26.7%. Similarly the least is caused by violent act that contributes only 0.9% of the total injuries. Several processes should be undertaken in order to avoid such injuries and hazards. Such processes should help the company or the organization to overcome the problems caused by bad workplace or occupational safety and health. These processes should reduce the overall accidents and injuries. In this way the organization would progress better, the employees would be satisfied with their work and work environment. They would have any difficulty in their way or working and they will produce more. Each and every factor should be kept in mind whenever any company is designing laws and regulations. The government should also take into account all the factors while implementing the safety rules and regulations. Injuries and Illness in Emergency Department Let’s have an overview of the processes needed to have a harmless and safe workplace and work environment. Many factors are used to evaluate the workplace safety. It is a very crucial step. Many problems can be caused if wrong evaluation has been done. Following are some of the facts that are used by the organizations which help in evaluating the workplace or occupations health and safety: People involvement The company should involve such people that are involved in day to day work and are directly connected to the company’s activities. Small business handbook US department of Labor has published a small business handbook. The company should go through it. Analyze work and engineering practices The company should analyze each and every work item as well as all of the engineering practice. Implement work and engineering practices The company or the industry should implement all the work and engineering practices that were analyzed. Provide incentives The employees and the safety engineers should be provided with rewards and incentives. Provide training Proper training should be given to the safety engineers and the workers in order to have effective and efficient safety measures implementation. Use of PPE Personal Protective Equipment includes that equipment which helps in minimizing the hazards caused by various processes. The organizations should make use of them. Emergency safety equipment There should be equipment available for the emergency use. There should be no lack in them in order to cope with the situation effectively. Record keeping There should be a detailed record keeping system. The record about all the injuries along with the details should be kept. Workplace safety and health is an important and major factor in professional life. It is a management category. Management has the responsibility of ensuring workplace safety in the employment places. Workplace safety majorly refers to the safety of health of the employees when they are at work. In many countries there are well defined standard regarding the safety of the workplace and the employees which has to be met. There should be various programs that should be performed in order to ensure workplace safety and safety of health of the employees. Workplace safety is very important at the workplace. It maintains a good relation between the organization and the employees. The employees are well motivated towards the work if their health is given importance. This would be a cause of intrinsic motivation for the employees. People are only motivated if they are assured that their health would be safe and protected. They would be able to contribute their fullest towards the organization. Safety programs are held which teach the employees how to react to risks and how to manage them. In engineering major amount of work has been done up till now to ensure safe workplace for the engineers. Health and Safety Executive – HSE was designed to test the delivery model and advice on workplace safety. Safety engineers are the engineers who are responsible for keeping the people safe from every type of risk and injuries at the workplace. They are responsible for managing programs to ensure that safety has been maintained at the workplace and the employees are satisfied and contented about their work environment and are happy with the surroundings. Occupational health and safety deal with the problems that are risky for the workplace. The organizations organize programs to ensure the safety. Many factors contribute to its importance. Some knowledge is needed to address all the workplace and occupational health and safety. Works Cited: Answers.com. (n.d.). Answers.com. Retrieved February 2015, from http://www.answers.com Buzzle.com. (2012). Buzzle.com. Retrieved Febuary 2015, from http://www.buzzle.com/: http://www.buzzle.com/ Deir.qld.gov.au. (2012). Workplace incidents. 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Report to the Human Resources Committee of the Board of Governors of McGill University. McGill Safety Report. Theofficialboard.com. (2012). Retrieved February 2012, from Theofficialboard.com: http//www.theofficialboard.com Read More