The Safe Working of Employees in the Working Environment - Case Study Example

Safety and Health Management System Introduction The processes that are undertaken in organizations for the manufacturing of goods and services require certain consideration with regard to health and safety. These considerations have an important role to play for the safety of workers. The discipline of ergonomics in particularly is designed to deal with the safety factors and the safe working of employees in the working environment (Carayon). Besides the discipline of ergonomics, a dedicated field of OSHA (Organizational Safety and Health Administration) is established that serves as a governing body providing rules and regulations that are safety oriented and ensure productivity. The objectives penned besides the implementation of OSHA principles and those of ergonomics are not oriented towards safety. Rather, their scope is very broad and they entail productivity, ease of work, reduced risks, smooth operations and overall mutually beneficial environment. The Secret to Success The secret to success is not just based on effective management policies and investments but rather on the considerations of employees’ working conditions, the kind of facilities provided to them, and their ease. In case of manufacturing industries, the employees serve as a pivot towards the success, and their performance, their motivation, and their safety can result in profits and success, and their failure otherwise can result in overall failure of a system and project. For this reason, the employees’ consideration with regard to safe practices is of high value. Each project should have a clearly defined set of safety rules which safeguard the employees and provide them with sufficient insurance and assurance to be able to work without any fear and with full devotion of mind and body.  Explain how you would establish a safety and health management system that assures compliance with OSHA regulations?  Different organizations that are in action apply the OSHA rules and regulations for effective operations of their tasks. However, depending on the nature of the organization and the associated tasks, the discipline provides an array of options that are compatible with the respective organization. The safety and health management plan is a complete course of action that has certain prerequisite entities to it, and each of them complements one another. For example, the plan includes the following parts: Awareness Creation Creating awareness amongst the employees with regard to safe working practices is highly important. Knowing what might happen can save lots of damage that might be incurred due to negligence. The principle of prevention rather than cure is the basic concept of awareness regarding the health consideration. Guiding them on the benefits of safe practices and overall productivity will help the individuals as well as the organization equally. Risk Management Risk management includes prioritizing and scrutinizing the components of a system which may pose any threat with regard to ergonomic consideration. Highlighting the weak areas and probably the weak components of a machine is part of risk management policy. The checking of material and conducting tests on the compatibility of devices is an important stage of the risk management process. First Aid Facility A properly established first aid setup is vital and should be part of every organization. Ranging from small scale injuries to severe ones, the first aid unit and equipment should be sufficiently built to face any situation of emergency and urgency (Salvendy 713). Machinery Checkup and Updated Tools: Regular tests should be conducted on the machine and its performance. The machine life time should be taken into account and its wear and tear should be noticed and mended accordingly. Similarly, the tools so used should be in coherence with the safe practices. Collaboration with the OSHA is needed in this regard and its inspection teams should be called upon from time to time to inspect the overall status of the system and its feasibility with regard to safe practices. Rules for Organizational Environment with Repetitive Course Certain organizations may not be equipped with heavy machinery yet they will require repetitive work. For example, some organizations require a person sitting on a chair for consecutive eight hours. Others might require pulling a part of the machine body repeatedly, while others would require might related to the repeated use of a particular machine part. For this reason, serious considerations and OSHA rules are in place. These include regular interval based breaks, reduction of stress of body parts, and other forms of flexibility required for making the environment friendly. Safety Rules for Organizations with Heavy Machinery Use Certain organizations involve usage of heavy machinery for their operations. For example, in the industries of manufacturing as in case of automobiles, textile and other mega structure related organizations, the members of a work team and the employees come in direct contact with the machinery and hence are more prone to threat and physical causalities. To adhere to the ergonomics rules and OSHA regulations, strict rules are in place to ensure safety and minimum risks. While the employees deserve safe practices and environment, it is the responsibility of the team and the organizational top management to ensure that each of the safe practice consideration is being fulfilled and that a sufficiently healthy environment is provided to the workers. Recording of the events, processes, and the mishaps can help keep a history of machines and parts which might pose some kind of danger towards the employees. At times, stress may not be physical, and there are organizations and nature of work which result in mental stress more than in physical one. OSHA has clearly defined a set of instructions in this category as well, which helps making the organizational work more effective and employee friendly. For an effective working environment and employee safety, a properly devised policy must be enforced. This policy should be sufficiently balanced to take into account all the considerations and situations a company and an employee might be faced with. Depending on the nature of an organization and the level of service provided, preventive measures should be taken accordingly. For example, in case of chemical plants, the chance of hazardous material penetrating in to the body is very high. It can be reduced and mitigated to a great extent through an effective safety policy. This comes in form of indirect contact with the machinery and the minimum exposure to the chemicals. Concept of Automation Automation, which is a manufacturing and design concept, is of high value in the field of ergonomics and serves many dividends especially in the case of organizations that involve maximum usage of machinery and hard areas. Automation would allow reducing the direct contact and probable long working hours in one position. The work that is done by the employees would be done by the machines, and hence no physical threat and no exposure to any kind of chemical, heavy machinery or any other negative entity. A safety performance system can be most effective only if it is implemented in every discipline of the organization. The system should be established in such a way that it provides maximum safety to the employees without any fear of physical mishap. A schematic approach followed in this regard will enable to earn the organization a reputation of a safe practitioner in the industry. Error free performance with regard to the employee safety helps in earning the name of a market leader in terms of best practices. The OSHA in this regard highlights the performance of various industries that are built on measures in line with safety rules am regulations, and those organizations where negligence is obvious are always highlighted by OSHA. Setting one’s own rules in terms of healthy practices based on professional operations and minimum tolerance with respect to safety measures can enable to surpass the OSHA and create the best environment for employees and industries. Works Cited Carayon, Pascale. Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care and Patient Safety. Second Edition. CRC Press, 2011. Print. Salvendy, Gavriel. Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print. Read More