Personal Protective Equipment in the Worksites in Cyprus - Term Paper Example

MODULE 3 “Do Cypriot workers and their employers comply with the safety regulations in regards to the wearing and use of Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.)’’ Name: Neophytos Aristidou Student Number: 109024393 Program: MSc in Risk, Crisis & Disaster Management Year: 2010-2012 Date of Resubmission: 07/11/2011 (Extension Days) INTRODUCTION Over the years and in line with the world’s evolution, the role of safety in the workplace has dramatically changed. In some places in the world, increased focus on the safety issue has resulted in better working conditions. The law became more astringent with the workers and many people are having as a priority to pay more attention on workers’ lives. Safety hazards on worksites were taken very seriously in order to provide a safer place for the worker with a limited threat of dangers and accidents. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus, web, in comparison with the past, the number of serious accidents on worksites has seen a very satisfactory reduction. Of course, there are those which are stagnantly regarding the workers’ safety and have more serious accidents in their workplaces. This essay will develop the procedures of a survey research regarding the subject of Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) on the worksites in Cyprus. The researcher will find out if the workers and their employers comply with the safety regulations in regard to the wearing and use of P.P.E. What is research? There are many types of research. Every researcher uses their own methods and references to obtain results, and the conclusions are often different. This is because the methods differ; this is the whole description of the research. Mc Neill and Chapman (2005) stated that, ‘‘some research aims only to describe, in detail, a situation or set of circumstances. It aims to answer questions like ‘how many?’ and ‘who’ and ‘what is happening?’ The writer wishes to do no more than add to our knowledge of the social world, simply for the sake of knowing.’’ Also, the authors explained in their book that there is other research which sets out to explain a social phenomenon. ‘‘It asks why? And tries to find the answer to a problem.’’ Research Problem The researcher decided to deal with this subject because of his daily job. He visits many worksites in Cyprus for safety inspections each day as a Health & Safety consultant. He also created health & safety plans for worksites in Cyprus based on the safety law of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus. This research will analyse what exactly the P.P.E. definition is and with the research results it will show how important is for the workers life. It also looks at how people face safety in their workplace and if they are using P.P.E. on the worksites. The research problem is “Do Cypriot workers and their employers comply with the safety regulations in regards to the wearing and use of Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.)’’ The main aim of this kind of research is to analyze the data (qualitative and quantitative data), using the various methods that the researcher will use to finish his research. He will complete different types of questionnaires for workers who work in Cyprus. He will make also conducts some interviews with employers to collect their opinions regarding the role of Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) in the workplace. Employees can provide information about how they use and wear these equipments and are personal protective equipments useful in relation to ensuring their safety. Employees’ answers to the questionnaire also provide the researcher with pertinent information in relation to number of employees and organizations who are using P.P.E. On the other hand, interview of employers provides information what makes them using P.P.E. and to what degree they are complying with safety regulations of country. However, because of his daily job, he will make observations from his workplace to record the number of people who didn’t use P.P.E. on the worksites and that of those who use it. Every day the author meets a lot of people who don’t use P.P.E. and also a lot of people who do. The importance of this research is to show whether safety on worksites in Cyprus needs improvement or not. If the safety is not quite enough for the people’s life, then it is imperative to improve it. Also, it will show how many Cypriot workers comply with the safety regulations in regards to the wearing and use of their P.P.E. What about their employers? Do they pay attention to their workers’ life? The researcher wants to find out if they use the P.P.E. well or not. With this research the risk on the worksites must abate. Theoretical Framework In the below mentioned theoretical framework, rational choice theory is used because of its vastness and inclusion of even routine activity theory. This section provides theoretical information about personal protective equipments and law related to safety in Cyprus. Definition of P.P.E In the beginning, the authors at Ciop.pl, web describe the definition of the Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) – ‘‘means all equipment worn or held by the worker to protect him against one or more threats related to the emergence of hazardous or harmful agents in the work environment, also including all accessories and additions designated for this purpose.’’ (Ciop.pl, web) The author will state some examples of Person al Protective Equipment to describe what exactly it is. Protection of the head: safety helmets. Equipment protecting from falling from altitude: equipment comprising three components, i.e. safety harness, auto-braking device and safety lanyard attached to a permanent anchorage point. Protection of the eyes / face: goggles and welding masks. Protection of the hands: protective gloves when exposed to sparking / splashing of molten metals, low temperature, scraping of the skin, water, sharp, abrasive or hot materials. Protection of the feet: boots, in conditions of exposure to mechanical injuries, e.g. crushing of the toes, sparks, piercing of the feet, hot splashing of metals, slippage, low temperature. Protection of the ears: ear stops, ear muffs and noise-reduction helmets. Equipment for protecting the respiratory system: dust masks, air helmets, filtration and absorption masks. Protective clothing: capes, rain coats, anoraks, leather aprons, dust resistant overalls. The role of the Law In every place in the world there are safety rules which are compulsory in different worksites; they are always mandatory because they are based on law. In Cyprus there were always existed and complied with the laws the health and safety in worksites but after the accession of Cyprus to the European Union above laws are taken most serious. With the European Union Cyprus gained more other laws with regards the health and safety in worksites and all these measures were respected and are strictly complied with responsibilities. In the research, the author will develop the main purpose of the safety law in the worksites and will analyse what Cyprus safety law supports regarding the use of P.P.E., and also if the workers pay attention to this law. In worksites in Cyprus face some problems between the workers and the safety regulations. Finally, the author will look at how Cypriot law will face this situation and if there are plans to improve it. Research Methodology According to the above introduction, this research will develop methods which help the researcher to conclude the research with success. In the context of this research, the most suitable research method is survey through questionnaire. For this purpose, a detailed and close ended questionnaire will be developed which yield information from employees working on the various worksites in the Cyprus. In addition to this, it will provide qualitative data without any vagueness. According to Walsh (2001, p. 63): “Questionnaires are simply lists of pre-written questions and sometimes also include scales. Research typically includes a variety of closed questions, rating scales and ‘forced choice’ items in questionnaires.” Interviews are the next research method. With the interview method, the researcher will obtain the quantitative data. For this, the researcher included certain questions regarding compliance of safety regulations so that employers view and opinion can be gathered. In addition to this, various questions regarding P.P.E rules at worksites in Cyprus also form an important part of interview. Interview of employers is crucial because employees’ safety at the worksites is responsibility of the employer hence what they think about the use of P.P.E. at the workplace is important. Also Bloor M. and Wood F. (2006, p. 104) explained the definition of ‘Interviews’. “The elicitation of research data through the questioning of respondents. While quantitative interviews have a semi-formal character and are conducted in surveys using a standardized interview schedule, by contrast qualitative interviews have a more informal, conversational character, being shaped partly by the interviews’ pre-existing topic guide and partly by concerns that are emergent in the interview.” The above statement describes that interviews will help the author to gain valid information from people who have the appropriate knowledge related to this research. In addition, Marshall and Rossman (1999, p.106) defined the main meaning of the Primary method. ‘‘This method for gathering data is basic to all qualitative studies and forces consideration of the role or stance of the research as a participant observer.’’ Also, Mc Neill and Chapman (2005, p.131) supported that ‘‘Primary data is collected first hand by the sociological researcher, mainly through the use of research methods such as surveys, interviews or participant observation.’’ Except for the written part, the researcher wants to make some observations in his workplace regarding the use of P.P.E. He prefers to have his own opinion and to collect some personal information. Moreover, with this method, he will obtain some quantitative data. Every day the author meets a lot of people who don’t use P.P.E. as well as many people who do use P.P.E. for their safety. He will observe the number of workers who don’t use the P.P.E. and ask the question of ‘why?’ Didn’t they feel at risk? What is the reason that they are not using it? Is it their employer’s fault? Is it that the employers do not pay attention to the workers’ life? In addition, some authors believe that employers have a 100% responsibility to offer every kind of P.P.E. to every worker. The Queensland Government noticed that, ‘employers must ensure workers have appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). However, who pays for it can be negotiated in the workplace (Workplace Health and Safety Queensland 2011). Evelyn Ai Lin Teo et al. (2005) agree with the above statement, and they noticed that employers have a responsibility to motivate the workers to use Personal Protective Equipment. ‘‘Positive reinforcement gives workers outcomes (positive reinforces) they desire when they perform organizationally functional behaviors. According to this theory, to motivate workers to perform their jobs in a safe manner, contractors should offer incentives such as monetary rewards, bonuses and job promotions.’’ (Evelyn Ai Lin Teo et al., 2005, p.413) Nowadays there are a lot of worksites which forbid and deny entrance to employees who do not have correct PPE. Also, employers have a responsibility to supply every kind of P.P.E to their workers. Moreover, every inspection of the worksites by the Health & Safety coordinator included a lot of warnings regarding P.P.E. If a worker has his P.P.E but doesn’t use it, the H&S coordinator or his employer has the authority to send them away from the worksite. With this research the author will show if there is a problem with the workers instead of the employers, since, according to the above statement, employers follow the regulations. The researcher wants to find out if the employers put enough pressure on their workers to use P.P.E. in their workplace, and if they organize any safety inspections to check how many of the workers pay attention to the safety rules. What should they do to manage all of them in the right way? Knowing the risk, knowing that they are not allowed to work without P.P.E., why do workers insist on not using it? With this question the researcher wants to analyze the risk perception of the research. a) Furthermore, with risk communication the researcher wonders if there is a communication problem. He hopes that through the research he will detect problems so as to provide solutions. Social Survey Based on the questionnaires and interviews methods, the research can be described as a social survey. According to Mc Neill and Chapman (2005, p.28), ‘‘a social survey is a method of obtaining large amounts of data, usually in a statistical form, from a large number of people in a relatively short time.’’ The researcher will collect his resources from various people from worksites in Cyprus. Also, the authors analyzed that, ‘‘it usually takes the form of a self-completion questionnaire, or an interviewer may read the questions to the respondent and fill in the questionnaire on behalf of the respondent.’’ Sample of the survey is employers and employees. Employers include number of organizations which comes under safety regulations. The sample size of employees is 100 whereas the sample size of employers is 20. The survey will be conducted on groups of employees and employer. For employees, survey is done through questionnaire because numbers of person are more whereas for employers, survey will be done through interview because numbers of persons are few. The questionnaire designed for this purpose should not be very large because it reduces the interest of the respondents. In addition to this, researcher uses email surveys because they are fast and economical. In addition to this, accessing so many people all together is very difficult but online makes it possible and easy too. Interview is also structured which reduces the vagueness and any chance of going off track. In every selected organization 2 people are selected for interview, one is from middle level and another from top level. Before starting the actual survey process, the researcher undertakes pilot test which is conducted on few employees to know about the accuracy of the questionnaire. It helps the researcher to know that questionnaire is well articulated and respondents properly understand its question. Problems and solutions to the research methods There are a lot of ways to conduct successful research. There are various research methods which a researcher can use them to help find the clear results that they need. This depends on the research subject and what exactly the researcher seeks to find out. The difficulty is not in how the researcher can collect his resources, but in the problems that he will face when in using the research methods. In this research the researcher forecast troubles which he may face by collecting his resources. First of all, he knows that with the mixture of people he will have differing opinions; every worker has a different manner, a different way of thinking, and some of them have different beliefs and some work without any moral problems. In other words, the problem is in the variety of culture. Everyone is different and works differently. Maybe, this obstructs the researcher in collecting clear information. The researcher can face the same obstructions with the questionnaires too. Collecting information from a variety of people, the answers will be very different because the workers support their own beliefs. The difference of every culture is a big obstruction for the researcher when analysing and comparing them with Cyprus’ standards. The only solution to this problem is for the researcher to compare the questionnaires in different parts. For example, it is easier to analyse separate questionnaires from any different culture, the English workers separate, the Germans, Indians, and Cypriots and so on. Everyone grows and thinks differently to each other, so it is better to have the opinions based on their country. In research, some people do not complete their questionnaires or even fill anything in their forms. Having this issue, the number of questionnaires will decrease, so the researcher has a big problem. The only solution for the above problem is that the researcher should create a large number of questionnaires to distinguish the full forms from the empty forms. Moreover, the researcher will face some problems with the interview method too. The problem with the interviewees is that the interview is a personal interaction and it is expected that some answers will not be accurate. The reason is that the interviewee is not anonymous and that he will give the answers and maybe feels uncomfortable to give a true or correct answer; so he can easily pretend. Surely the researcher must be honest; he should make the interviewee feel comfortable with the researcher. Also, he has to make it clear to the interviewee that the answers will be used only for the research and no one else will have access to them. CONCLUSION Safety first! This is the slogan that everyone must keep in mind. With the development of this research it will show that Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) is the most important issue that everybody has to regard in their workplaces before starting work. The main part of this research was to find the problems; the difficulties which a researcher can face when they collects their resources. Also, they should analyse research methods which they can use to help conclude more easily the research results. With the conclusion of this research, the researcher proposes to present the situation of worksites in Cyprus regarding the using of P.P.E. He wants to find out if Cypriot worksites need improvement with regard to safety, and if the workers and their employers follow the safety regulations. Also he wants to find out if there are problems with P.P.E. usage and the risk of to people’s life. Then the author will offer some important advice and solutions regarding these problems. For example, Cypriot worksites must have their own personal Health and Safety coordinator who is responsible for the workers’ safety, to make the safety inspections and to organise the safety training of the workers. Employers in Cyprus have to make some motivations to push the workers to use P.P.E. Good safety induction training with some important safety notes and scary videos with real accidents is the first good motivation that everybody must organize. Secondly, some awards with prizes, such as the best worker of the month. Also, a provision of personal protective equipment to employees free of charge to protect them from the actions of agents that is hazardous or damaging to the health in the working environment. To summarise this research, the researcher also wants to send the message to the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus that they must change and solve these problems, and that the workers in Cyprus must be safe in their workplaces. Everybody must understand the importance of Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.), because lifes too short to be interrupted by a human mistake. Bibliography / References Central institute for labour protection – national research institute, ‘‘Personal Protective Equipment’’ 2011. [available at: http://www.ciop.pl/6729.html?s=6719&km=5884&k=EAECF4] [Accessed on: 25 June, 2011]. ‘‘Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus’’ 2011. [available at: http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dli/dli.nsf/dmllegislation_New_en?openform&p=3&t=f&e=] [Accessed on: 25 June, 2011]. ‘‘Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’’ [available at: http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/subjects/ppe/pays/index.htm] [Accessed on: 05 July, 2011]. Evelyn Ai Lin Teo et al, (2005), ‘‘Fostering safe behaviour in workers at construction sites’’. Department of Building, National University of Singapore, 12(4), pp.410-422. 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