Occupational Health And Safety - Coursework Example

Occupational Health and Safety An Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is defined as processes and policies adopted to ensure safety and welfare of people working in an organization. The purpose of OSHMS is to provide a safe, comfortable and hazard free environment for the employees. Occupational health and safety is important both on legal and moral grounds. It is the duty of any organization to ensure that the employees and workers are working in a risk free environment with minimum potential of accidents during all the working hours. It is the moral obligation of the organisation to provide protection of the employees’ lives and health. The legal aspect of OSHMS covers the compensation and insurance laws that protect the health and safety of the employees and workers. By proper and efficient management of risks that can affect the employees in the workplace, the organization can control costs related to insurance and can also enhance the performance level of existing operations. An OHSMS develops an outline and structure to maintain a safe and healthy working environment. The goal is to consistently recognise any potential or existing risks that may hamper the health and safety of the employees. This paper focuses on the functions of OHSMS and related to that a case study of gasoline spillage in UK is analysed. I. Case Study In the UK, a road tanker overflowed when the capacity of its tank exceeded. During the reloading process, a shut-off valve failed. The incident occurred at the West Thurrock terminal. Later on, when the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident, it was found that the valve was blocked by debris and for this reason it was not closing. The subsequent result was that a large amount of petrol leaked from the tanker and formed a pool below and around the tanker. Since petrol is highly inflammable, this incident had a major risk factor for both the terminal workers and the tanker drivers. Vopak London Terminal BV Limited who was the terminal operator failed to manage the health and safety measures. The operator was fined £50,000 (Fuel terminal operator fined...., 2009) I feel the risk was not properly calculated and proper steps were not taken to avoid the risk. As the valve failed to close, it had the potential risk which was not properly managed. The resultant spillage had the possibility to take the lives of all the people in the vicinity that included terminal workers and tanker drivers. What I feel is that Vopak London Terminal BV Limited could not fulfill its responsibilities towards the health and safety of its workers. It did not take adequate steps to thwart the incident, and even during the spillage it could not control the heavy amount of petrol that formed a pool. To create a safe and healthy working environment, I feel it is necessary for terminal operators to recognize any potential factors that can cause injury to workers. Any such factor should be assessed and then appropriate control measures should be implemented. The operator in question did not or rather failed to make any such assessments. Even the employees have a duty to look after their own health during the working hours. They must not behave in a reckless manner and behave irrationally when a crisis is ongoing. From the video footage (Human factors at play during a large gasoline spillage, n.d.) I can see that the workers instead of taking necessary precautions are gathering around the site to watch the spillage. It can also be seen how they seem to behave as if they are not prepared for an incident like this and I can feel from their attitude that that are not aware of how to cope with this situation. They start the washdown operation much later. This kind of recklessness I feel can be a threat to their lives since gasoline is highly inflammable. This can also lead to huge losses of the company, which implicates the negligent attitude of the workers as far as their responsibility towards the company is concerned. The delay in the washdown operation was also an act of negligence since spilled petrol can be carried long distances by drains or groundwater, and this can create potential fire risk in areas some distance away from the place where actual spillage took place (Risk Management Outline to Petrol Operations, 2008, p.3). Another most stark mismanagement that can be seen in the video is that the road beside the spillage has not been blocked. It is a known fact that in an event where there is petrol or other extremely flammable liquid is exposed, then no vehicles should be allowed to remain or pass in the vicinity. But, here I can see that in an interval of few minutes, three tankers pass by on the adjacent road. This I feel is a display of extreme negligence since it had the potential of huge explosions that could kill the terminal workers and tanker drivers. I was actually surprised by the unconcerned attitude which became even more prominent when one worker stepped in to take photograph of the spillage. One of the most effective methods to reduce risks is to eliminate the same at the source. Since the valve was blocked by debris, so I can assume that it had remained unnoticed by the terminal operator for many days. This, according to me was an extreme act of negligence on the part of the operator. II. Workplace hazards There are potential hazards in every workplace. Workplace hazards can carry possibility of physically injuring a worker with further potential of maiming him for life. There can be many forms of hazards like machinery related, height related when a person is working at heights or even a slippery floor. It is necessary to identity hazards in the workplace and to assess any injury that may be caused by the risk of the hazards. One important function of OHSMS is to reduce the conditions that have the risk of hazards that may cause an injury (Workplace Hazards, n.d.). Accidents that occur in workplaces can usually be prevented by efficient management action and as such they are not “true” accidents. For many years and even now, accidents are considered as “the fault of the worker.” Even while providing courses and training for accident preventions, it is promoted that “more than 80 percent of accidents are caused by human error.” In most cases this is considered as a valid statement as managers are human beings. Even Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has adopted this approach. An accident, in fact, although can be attributed to human error, nonetheless there are many other factors behind it. For instance, commercial accidents may take place when drivers fall asleep. But, there are other things to consider here like long working hours, sleep deprivation and inhuman working shifts (Dalton, 1998, pp.121-122). Fuel Leak Detection Technique Coming to the case study in this paper, the necessity to identify hazards counts down to detection of potential petrol leak. When activities are concerned with inflammable objects like petrol, diesel and so on, the safety concern and environment protection must be the top priority. In both cases, legal regulations are getting progressively stringent, and so if business activities include production, storage, transportation or consumption of fuels, then potential risks of leak must be evaluated. In some cases, like the one mentioned in the case, it was possible to anticipate the leak. Here the valve was blocked by debris and if this would have been detected, then accumulation of petrol in the area below the tanker could be avoided. Although no one was hurt, this spillage could result in a disastrous accident. Also, the subsequent cleaning process which could be expensive, could also be avoided. One basic part of fuel detection system that could be applied here is probes that “detect fuel floating on water or fuel accumulating in low spots like sumps or valve pits or on flat surfaces like pump pads.” The advantage is that the probes can quickly indicate even a small amount of fuel accumulation, and they can be reset, reused and can also be “wet tested” if required (Fuel Leak Detection, 2012). Risk Management Hazards in workplaces can cause temporary or permanent injuries to workers, therefore the need is a systematic approach of risk management techniques to ensure safety of the workers. Risk management is an important function of OHS managers. The purpose is to identify and assess the risks of injuries from the working conditions, and accordingly take proper steps and implement appropriate strategies to reduce or eliminate the risks. OHS is legally compulsory in many countries, but optional in other countries, although in all countries its importance is growing. Occupational health and safety management (OHSM) is concerned with identification and elimination of risks, and is integrated into pre-existing management system. There are several elements of OHSM. It needs to properly define strategies and implement those strategies efficiently. Regular monitoring of the strategies is required to ensure their correct functioning. Research must be done for consistent improvement of the existing strategies (Fiedler, 2004, pp.1-2). III. Measures to avoid petrol spillage It is very important that potential leaks are identified in advance to avoid catastrophic events. In workplaces where inflammable liquids like petrol, diesel and gasoline are produced, stored, or they are transported, then there are potential risks of leakage. For this purpose, when workers are engaged for such business enterprise, it is necessary that they be made aware regarding identification of hazards. The health and safety managers should give the workers proper training and information on how to assess risk of petrol leakage and any other risks associated with the dangerous liquids. In every enterprise there are different sets of control measures to maintain health and safety of workers. Similarly, there are definite risk control measures in fuel industry, and the workers must be made aware of all the measures. It is also the responsibility of the terminal operator to ensure that proper supervision is done on the premises during loading and transportation of petrol or other dangerous liquids. To achieve efficient supervision, the operator must ensure that supervisory staff are educated and trained so that they are aware of all risks associated with their job. Before employing a person, it is necessary that the management must assess the person’s inexperience and immaturity. Accordingly, the person should be adequately trained based on the person’s prevailing knowledge of the layout of the premises, exposure to inflammable liquids and use of job materials. The owner of the enterprise must also take care to inform the non-employees like the temporary workers about the fire safety regulations of the premises, they must also be informed about the most competent persons available within the premises with whom they can consult regarding risk control measures. The owner must always be able to establish contact with emergency services and must also be aware of the relevant information that have to conveyed to the emergency staff. The owner must ensure that the management is efficient in maintaining cooperation among workers to ensure that workplace is safe from fire hazards and related consequences (Risk Management Outline to Petrol Operations, 2008, pp.2-3). Petrol can be inflammable even at very low temperature. Excessive exposure to the vapour emitting from petrol can cause extreme health hazards like breathing problems. There is even danger in swallowing petrol or if it gets in contact with skin. Regarding protection of the environment, it must be ensured that drinking water is covered to avoid contamination, and the workplace must be designed and operated in a manner that is fire-resistant (Risk Management Outline to Petrol Operations, 2008, pp.3-4). IV. Lessons learnt As a practicing health and safety professional I need to maintain a safe environment with the total cooperation of my employees and workers. It will be my responsibility to see that the management body is performing its duties efficiently to avoid legal hassles since in the current age, regulations are becoming progressively stringent. The priority should be to assess any potential hazards by evaluation of the risk process, and then to take appropriate measures and controls to avoid any impending disasters. I have also learnt from the above case study that any strategies that have been in place should be regularly evaluated to see that they are functioning properly and importance should be given on research to bring innovative concepts in the pre-existing strategies. Many impending or past disasters can be attributed to human error i.e. negligence albeit unintentional by workers. I have learnt not to relegate my responsibility by blaming the workers alone, because there are several other factors that I should consider like providing them fixed working hours and observing that they are in general good health when they are in their workplace. Conclusion In this era of industralization, occupational health and safety measures are more a necessity than moral obligation. Although, in every country it is not legal obligation for companies to maintain OHSM, it is nevertheless an important part of a company’s functions. It not only provides protection to the worker’s heath in workplace, it also helps to reduce economic losses by preventing compensation and insurance expenses. Workers today face potential risks that range from exposure to dust and explosion in mines to toxic poisoning in factories. It is essential to comprehend the array of workers’ health problems in workplaces before formulating health and safety policies. The case study included in this paper is an example of how humans react in the face of potential risk like gasoline spillage. References Dalton, A.J.P. (1998). Safety Health & Environmental Hazards at the Workplace. Great Britain: Cengage Learning Fiedler, A. (2004), The Role of Risk Management for Occupational Health and Safety, NOWECO, retrieved on December 2, 2012 from: http://www.noweco.com/download/wp_ohse.pdf Fuel Leak Detection, (2012), PENTAIR, retrieved on December 11, 2012 from: http://www.thermal.pentair.com/application/fuel-leak-detection/for-commercial-and-housing-facilities/ Fuel terminal operator fined £50,000 after petrol spill in Essex, (December 22, 2009) HSE, retrieved on December 2, 2012 from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2009/coie44vopak.htm Human factors at play during a large gasoline spillage, (n.d.) HSE, retrieved on December 2, 2012 from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/resources/case-studies/gasoline-spillage.htm#tab2 Risk Management Outline to Petrol Operations, (2008), SPSS, retrieved on December 11, 2012 from: http://www.spss.am/data.php/437.pdf Workplace Hazards, (n.d.) NTWorkSafe, retrieved on December 2, 2012 from: http://www.worksafe.nt.gov.au/Bulletins/HealthAndSafetyTopics/Workplace%20Hazards/Forms/AllItems.aspx Read More