Assessment and Management of Risk within Engineering - Assignment Example

Assignment 2: Assessment and Management of Risk within Engineering Insert (s) Assignment2: Assessment and Management of Risk within Engineering Task 2a: Audit Report As a health & safety advisor for the engineering company, there are a number of ways through which I would use safety audit to address the rising cases of minor non reportable accidents and other safety awareness concerns in the company. According to Kyle (2011), a safety audit is particularly important in providing a detailed assessment of the all the engineering activities being carried out in the company and measuring such activities against the standard legal requirement and recommended best practices. For example, in order to ensure the risks associated with the daily operations of an engineering company are effectively managed and controlled, it is important to carry out a comprehensive safety audit based on a standard risk and safety audit process encompassing detailed research into the accidents and safety concerns, planning, gap analysis and compilation of the final report highlighting the safety gaps and potential mitigation measures that can be put in place to address them. One of the potential ways through which I could use safety audit to address the issue of increasing safety awareness concerns such as the cases of non-reportable accidents is to carry out a systematic risk based assessment of all the activities going on in the company and determine if they conform to the recommended arrangement and safety policy objectives. For example, the likely finding is that some of the safety policy of the company including its supporting health and safety systems or procedures may be outdated and therefore not effective in the current situation in the company (Hale, 2013, p.186). In addition, undertaking a safety audit report of the company can also be used to highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of the current safety management system used in the engineering company thereby making it easier to identify some of the areas that may still need corrective action. Another way in which I would use the safety audit to address the issue is to apply the insights gained from the safety audit in outlining number of safety operational procedures to address the rising cases of non-reportable accidents within the last 12 months taking into consideration the potential hazards identified in the safety audit report. This may also involve replacing procedures that have been found to be ineffective, making changes to certain working practices and developing a holistic health and safety strategy integrated in the company’s internal policy. This is because in most cases, it is the failure of the safety management procedures that may result in the safety incidents. The other important uses o the safety audit in the presented situation would include demonstrating to the 20 employees of the company how the management is dedicated to their health and safety. According to various health and safety standards, any organization that employs more than 5 people is obliged to record the findings of any safety audit in a report, which is then shared to the employees and any other stakeholders affected (HASWA , 1974). Finally, reviewing the current safety policy of the company including its supporting health and safety systems or procedures would also be effectively be used to help identify an effective method of ensuring compliance to the safety rules and standards while at the same time enhancing the performance of the accident prevention systems in place. Task 2b: Hazard Pro-forma and Risk Assessment The hazard identification and risk assessment of the work related process involved a number of steps namely spotting the potential hazard, assessing the risk and finally, making the necessary changes to mitigate or control the identified risks. The first step involved carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the possible risks at the workplace based on a detailed research into the accidents and safety concerns, planning, gap analysis and compilation of the final report highlighting the safety gaps and potential mitigation measures that can be put in place to address them. The next step involved assessing the risks by estimating the potential level of risks associated with the particular operations within the company particularly on the basis of the likelihood of the risk and the severity of the potential injuries that may arise. According to HSE (2009, p.55), undertaking a systematic risk based assessment of all the activities going on in the company is one of the important ways of finding out the effectiveness of the safety policy of the company including its supporting health and safety systems or procedures may be outdated and therefore not effective in the current situation in the company. The estimated risk was then rated as not likely, likely and very likely while its severity was rated as low, medium, high or extreme as shown in the table below: Potential Hazard (Description) Likelihood (not likely, likely, very likely) Severity (high, medium, low) Is the Risk Eliminated Yes/No? If yes, how? Accidental slip, trip and falls Likely medium Using appropriate footwear Electric shock likely high No. Fire outbreak and burns Very likely high No. Chemical hazards likely medium Yes, use of appropriate personal protective equipment and adequate training of the workers on the provisions of the relevant health and safety regulations Ergonomic hazards Very likely low Yes. Training of the workers on the provisions of the relevant health and safety regulations as well as provision of the appropriate protective gear Once the safety hazards have been effectively identified and assessed based on their likelihood and potential severity of the injuries they may cause, appropriate measures are then developed and recommended to help mitigate or eliminate such risks. For example, based on the above risk assessment, one of the potential recommended measures to control the risks would be for the company to ensure that all the employees at risk are provided with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as flame resistant gloves, helmets, safety shields, goggles and hearing protection kits. This is important in protecting them against injuries such as electric shock, burns, harmful fumes and exposure to arc rays (HSE, 2009, p.72). On the other hand, another potential recommendation would be for the management of the company to implement additional measures should be taken to ensure that all employees working at the section are made fully aware of the possible hazards and dangers that may potentially arise in their workplace. This is critically important as a number of previous researches have revealed that most of the workplace accidents often occur because of lack of sufficient training and knowledge of the hazards among the employees. Task 2c: Risk Rating The process of risk rating involves determining and estimating the level of risks associated with the particular operations within the company based on the likelihood of the risk and the severity of the potential injuries that may arise. The estimated risk is then rated as low, medium, high or extreme. The main step is to perceive a security risk that ought to be assessed. The analyzer needs to amass information about the risk pros incorporated, the assault that will be used, the shortcoming included, and the impact of a productive attempt on the business. There may be different possible social occasions of aggressors, or even distinctive possible business influences. All around, its best to come up short for caution by using the most cynical situation decision, as that will achieve the most raised general Risk. Once the analyzer has perceived a potential risk and needs to comprehend how certifiable it is, the first step is to evaluate the "likelihood". At the most irregular sum, this is a disagreeable measure of how likely this particular weakness is to be uncovered and mishandled by an attacker. It is not critical to be over-definite in this assessment (Kyle, 2011). On the other hand, different components can help center the likelihood. The essential plan of parts is related to the risk authorities included. The goal is to evaluate the likelihood of a productive attack from a social event of possible aggressors. Note that there may be different risk administrators that can manhandle a particular vulnerability, so it’s typically best to use the most critical result possible. Note that each variable has a course of action of choices, and each decision has a likelihood rating from 0 to 9 associated with it. These numbers will be used later to survey the general likelihood. The primary course of action of variables is related to the risk administrators included. The target here is to assess the likelihood of a viable strike by this get-together of risk administrators. Use the most critical situation hazard masters. The accompanying game plan of variables is related to the vulnerability included. The target here is to assess the likelihood of the particular helplessness included being discovered and abused. Expect the risk administrators picked previously. Exactly when considering the impact of a productive attack, comprehend that there are two sorts of impacts. The essential is the "particular impact" on the application, the data it utilizes, and the limits it gives. The other is the "business influence" on the business and association working the application. In the long run, the business impact is more basic. Then again, you may not have permission to all the information expected to comprehend the business results of a productive enterprise. For this circumstance, giving as much knowledge about the specific risk will engage the suitable business specialists to settle on a decision about the business risk. Yet again, every variable has a course of action of choices, and each decision has an impact rating from 0 to 9 joined with it. Well use these numbers later to assess the general impact. In this walk the likelihood appraisal and the impact assessment are situated up together to figure a general earnestness for this peril. This is done by understanding whether the likelihood is low, medium, or high and after that do in like manner for impact. The 0 to 9 scale is split into three areas. According to (Rodney, 2007), these parts joins results, this is an imperative section in processing the threat rating. Level 1 descripts as the irrelevant level and requires generally medicinal guide if there ought to emerge an event of a setback. The outcomes description is in perspective of the descriptor level, there are five rule levels of results i.e. Irrelevant, minor, immediate, major and great level. The second part people usage in the midst of threat rating is the likelihood of the risk happening, this included essentially certain, apparent, credibility, impossibility, and phenomenal ness of a peril to happen. Risk rating normally depends on both the likelihood of the risk event or hazard occurring as well as the estimated severity of the injuries that are likely to arise in the event that the risk occurs. Depending on its likelihood and severity, the risks can be rated as minimal, low, medium and high. This is critically important in helping the company to be able to effectively determine the hazards which should be given priority as well as on deciding the appropriate measures that need to be undertaken. The calculation of a risk rating is generally achieved by multiplying the value allocated for the likelihood with the value of severity of injury as shown below: Task 2d: Safety Inspection Report The present safety inspection report is based on a safety inspection that was carried out in the manual metal welding section of Alpha manufacturing limited. The primary purpose of the safety inspection was to identify both the existing and potential hazards, investigate the underlying causes, monitor the various hazard controls being used as well as recommend some of the possible corrective actions. The workplace safety inspection involved listening to the concerns of the staff and workers at the section, analyzing previous incidents and existing workplace safety risks, conducting further research on the specific jobs and tasks being carried out at the section and monitoring the existing hazard controls including the policies and procedures, use of personal protective equipment and the relevant engineering controls that are currently in place. The final part of the safety inspection involved reviewing the current safety policy of the company including its supporting health and safety systems or procedures as well as recommending the various corrective actions that can be used to help identify an effective method of ensuring compliance to the safety rules and standards while at the same time enhancing the performance of the accident prevention systems in place. With regard to the inspection results, a number of health hazards were discovered during the safety inspection of the manual welding section of the company some of which include Potential overexposure to hazardous welding fumes and gases such as metal oxides and base metal coatings that may be harmful to the health of the workers, High voltage electric shock that may lead to serious injury or even death and Fire and explosions that may occur due to the extremely high temperatures. The major risks and existing health hazards at the metal welding section of Alpha manufacturing limited are summarized below: Electric shock was found to be the most serious health risk facing workers at the section. This is particularly because despite the high voltages used in the section, there is currently no sufficient personal protective equipment to protect the workers from injuries related to electric shock and other welding hazards. Although the severity of ergonomic safety hazards was found to be generally low, there was a relatively high likelihood of these accidents as the working conditions at the section were found to be putting a strain on the health of the workers. Some of the common ergonomic risks identified included repetitive movements, poor body positions, improper lighting and frequent lifting of heavy objects among others. On the other hand, a number of operators at the welding section were also found to be occasionally exposed to welding fumes some of which are likely to contain potentially harmful base metal coatings and metal oxides. However, it was noted that a majority of the workers at the section were fairly well trained and were aware of the health and safety regulations that must be followed at the welding section. One of the recommendations is that the company must ensure that all the employees working at the section are provided with sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect them from injuries such as electric shock, burns, harmful fumes and exposure to arc rays. Some of the equipment that should be provided or replaced includes flame resistant gloves, helmets, safety shields, goggles and hearing protection kits to protect against the high noise levels. In addition, it is also recommended that additional measures should be taken to ensure that all employees working at the section are made fully aware of the possible hazards and dangers that may potentially arise in their workplace. References Hale, A.R. 2013. Safety management in production. Human Factors andErgonomics in Manufacturing 13(3):pp.185-201. HASWA .1974.British Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.47. Various, A. 2007. Tolleys Health and Safety at Work Handbook. London, United Kingdom: Butterworths. Stranks, J. 2005. Health and Safety Law (5th ed. ed.). London, United Kingdom: Prentice Hall publishers. HSE. 2009. Health and safety in engineering workshops. Available at http://www.hseni.gov.uk/hsg129_health_and_safety_in_engineering_workshops.pdf Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Kyle, A. (2011). Risk Assessment and Job Hazard Analysis. Public Services Health & Safety Association 9(1): pp.8-17. Rodney, V. (2007). Risk Rating Procedure. Risk Rating methodology, vol 7(2), p.pg 4. Read More