Protective Gear Against Potential Hazards - Research Paper Example

Health and Safety Report Introduction Individuals and organizations across different industries and commerce for centuries have made it a practice to use personal protective equipment and gear to ensure personal safety against potential hazards or accidents that might happen during work. Work safety standards related to use of electronic devices, machinery or environmental pollution act as safeguards against any kind of personal damage or accidents onsite. The warriors in primitive days wore amours while construction workers wear helmets and doctors wear gloves and other protective clothing at workplace to protect themselves from any kind of infection or physical injuries. Protective gear include any kind of protective clothing or equipment such as gloves, face masks, helmets, surgical aprons, ear plugs, safety goggles, respirators and boots that act as barriers to any kind of hazard at workplace. The protective equipment is only a safeguard that protects the individuals against any damage but does not remove hazards at workplace. The hazards faced at workplace vary from one occupation to another and range from electrical hazard, high temperatures, chemical hazards, bacterial infection, impact from moving objects or machinery parts, sharp objects, radiation of light or any form of danger posed by moving objects or stationary objects placed incorrectly in the vicinity. The industrial regulations provide a comprehensive framework on safety standards, compliance requirements and use of various protection mechanisms such as personal protective equipment at workplace. The report presents a comprehensive strategy for improving health and safety at Breeze Environmental Management Group that manufactures vitreous ceramic sanitary ware. The subsequent sections provide an insight into strategic alternatives and recommended steps that can be taken by the organization in consideration of legal framework, organizational and behavioural theory, and related financial implications. Safety standards and regulatory requirements The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 “places a general duty on employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees.” The Act defines several aspects and work standards that should be implemented by manufacturing organizations or other businesses in other fields to ensure safety of employees at workplace. Compliance to these standards will promote increased safety and minimal exposure to health risks or physical injury to workers at workplace. The Health and Safety at Work Act states that it is the responsibility of the employer to assess the work environment and identify potential risks of physical injury or health hazards to which the employees are exposed. The organization should be aware of the various regulations associated with their industry and work type and the required safety standards that need to be implemented. It is the prime responsibility of the organization to train its employees on the safety needs and requirements at work. The workforce must be made aware of the potential risks and health hazards that they face at the work site and the preventive measures that should be practiced to minimize and control these risks. The training programs and safety workshops must demonstrate clearly the ways of using the protective gear and the methods of adopting the safety standards. Supervision and monitoring the work practices of staff is compulsory to ensure that the employees comply with the required safety standards. The employer must check at regular intervals if there is any damage to the protective equipment being used and in case of any damage the gear must be replaced or repaired immediately. The employer must maintain proper records of the training provided to the employees and the work environment assessment for future reference. Objectives of the Health and Safety Program The organization should practice and implement health and safety policies that serve as guiding principles to employees and ensure efficient operational practice. Repeated accidents and injuries reported at workplace are often a result of lapse on the part of the management or employees in following the instructions of safety programs provided by the organization. In some cases the organizations fail to communicate these policies and measures to the employees that lead to failure in complying to established safety protocols. The consequences of such practices are evident in loss of productivity and reduced level of performance that has a negative impact on the organization’s profitability. The increased number of accidents and mishaps on the work floor accounts for increased absenteeism and low work efficiency. The objectives of the health and safety program will be to familiarize the employees with the nature and types of hazards at workplace, the type of protective equipment that is available, the extent of protection that these equipment can provide, and appropriate actions that the employees should take in case of any emergent situation that arise on the work floor. The organizational objective for implementing the health and safety program within its operational framework is to nullify the number of fatal accidents, reduce the number of major injuries and over 3 day injuries by 50 percent and reducing the number of days lost on account of absenteeism by 20 percent. Strategies to implement this program The employer responsibility lies in controlling and minimizing any hazard at its source. “This safe place approach may require substitution of a material with non hazardous ones, isolation of hazards, addition of safety features to existing equipment, redesign of the work processes, or purchase of new equipment” (CCOHS, 2009). In the event that the hazard cannot be controlled beyond a certain point or removed completely the employees have to use protective equipment and gear when they are present on the work floor. The strategic alternatives available to the organization for implementing the health and safety program includes assessment of the workplace and identification of potential hazards that may result in physical injury or any kind of health risks that the employees may be exposed to in the workplace. This task can be accomplished through the use of an assessment chart that defines the distinctive operational phases within the organization and the various types of risks or hazards that the work environment presents to the employees on a daily basis. A Proforma of the assessment chart is given below for the purpose of improved understanding – Operational tasks or activities Possible risks or hazards Nature of risks or hazards Implications on performance Measures that can be taken to reduce risks Date of assessment Date of review The assessment chart should contain details of all kinds of potential risks and hazards at workplace in various departments, work units and areas within the organization’s campus. This will help the safety managers to analyse and highlight the gravity of the situation and communicate the need for using protective measures at work floor. This is an easy to interpret tool that can be effectively used to create increased awareness among the workforce. It is essential that the distinctive tasks identified are broken into smaller modules to enable a comprehensive analysis of safety requirements at each stage. One of the pre-requisites of effective implementation of this strategy is to review the assessment chart at periodic intervals to ensure updated safety requirements. An effective means of implementing this program and achieving the desired outcomes is through employee training programs on health and safety management at workplace. The training program for this purpose addresses the need for employee compliance to required safety standards at all times and the correct methods of applying these safety mechanisms. The objective of the training program will be to create increased awareness among the employees on the risks and hazards present in the work environment and the extent of damage that it can cause to individuals around. The organization should focus on delivering the required safety gear to their employees and educate them on the proper use of these gears and safety standards defined by the company. The first step in formulating a training plan is to identify the need for training within the organization. Once the assessment of the workplace hazard is complete the training department should establish training objectives that will help in evaluating the effectiveness of the training program at the end of the training session. Training and development objectives should be well integrated with organizational goals to ensure greater efficiency and enhanced safety standards. Training program for health and safety standards A simple message stating the workers to wear helmet on floor will not be as effective as explaining the needs and consequences they might use in case they are not wearing helmet. It is often seen that communication that simply provides instructions to the employees are not much heeded by the employees. A training program designed to educate the employees on the risks and consequences is more effective in promoting safety and health practices within the workforce. The effectiveness of any training program is determined by the extent to which it relates to the training goals and objectives. The mode and intensity of training delivered to employees is based on the organizational needs and expected outcomes. The training plan devised by the organizations is divided into distinctive phases of learning and subsequent evaluation to test user knowledge in context. The training objectives are communicated to the participants of the workshop to clearly define their learning scope and targets. The training modules initially provide the users with an overview of existing or potential hazards at workplace. The trainers presenting the training program should make use of presentation slides, videos and audio media to create a visual impact on the employee senses and enhance learning process. Visual cues and aids are highly effective in communicating the nature of hazard, its implications and impacts, and how it can be prevented through the judicious use of PPE. Videos taken from the work floor or simulating similar working conditions help the employees in co-relating the potential risks of accident or injury to their regular work environment. However, simply training the employees on these parameters is not enough. The regulatory and compliance measures taken by the organization on a regular basis is vital in instilling discipline among employees. There are many instances when employees are well aware of the dangers or risks associated with a specific job and have the required protection measures to prevent any damage from happening on the work floor. But employees still fail to apply the protection measures thinking that accidents will not happen to them. This type of employee attitude and behavior needs to be restricted through the implementation of strict policies and regulatory requirements that the employees are bound to adopt at workplace. Disciplinary actions when such policies are not met are a good practice and example to others. The training program will focus on these issues and challenges faced during the implementation of safety standards at work place. Use of personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment or PPE serves to protect the worker’s body from any kind of physical injury or health risks to which the worker is exposed at workplace. The PPE include boots, facial masks, gloves, coats, helmets, goggles, ear plugs, or any other form of protective clothing worn at workplace as protection mechanism. PPE is a temporary measure that can eliminate or reduce injury risks at workplace and hence the organization should focus primarily on reducing the level of risks to which the employees are exposed on a daily basis. Adapting the operational work processes and using innovative technology tools in a manufacturing unit can help in restricting the extent of hazard presented on the work floor and this is more effective in implementing improved safety standards at work. The organization must identify the sources of risks at various sites and units. The next step involves analyzing ways these risks can be minimized or eliminated through the use of substitute technology, raw materials, or work methods. In case the risks cannot be eliminated or controlled beyond a certain point, care should be taken by the organization to isolate these processes for enhanced safety of the employees. PPE gear must be declared mandatory for use at the work site and the organization should ensure that the equipment provided to the employees is in good shape and condition. They should fit the individuals well in order to eliminate any chances of exposure to risks and hazards. The safety training program and workshops must communicate the proper use of these equipment, consequences that may arise in case of failure to do so, how to store the equipment when not in use, and a checklist of do’s and don’ts while using specific PPE. These measures are important in order to ensure compliance of employees to the principles and policies formulated by Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The selection of PPE is based on the potential risks at workplace in addition to other factors such as technical feasibility that identifies if a specific material or gear is appropriate for use under given work conditions. Cost consideration is yet another aspect that plays a vital role in deciding the type of PPE used within organizations. Fitting of the device is significant for ensuring adequate safety measures at work. The training program will create awareness among employees on when the PPE is necessary, what type of PPE is necessary, how to use the PPE, limitations of the PPE and proper care, maintenance, replacement or disposal of the PPE. Financial Implications The compiled data of Breeze Environmental Management Group in context of accidents and injuries in the organization reveals that the total number of work days lost due to fatal accidents, major injuries or over 3-day injuries have been almost steady over the past five years with some ups and downs in certain years. The number of fatal accidents have been low but the over 3-days injuries have been relatively high. These figures translate to increased losses in terms of falling production figures and low performance on account of ill health of employees. Statistical reports by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that in the year 2006, 30 million working days were lost in UK due to ill health and injury caused at workplace. This accounts for an annual cost of £30 billion to the society (HSE, 2008). Organizations can incur increased cost in the form of uninsured losses or loss of reputation. The implementation of the above discussed strategies for improved health and safety work practices will no doubt imply increased costs to the organizations but it will help in reducing the percentage of absenteeism, lower attrition on account of health and exposure to hazardous production processes, and result in increased productivity. The workforce will be more motivated and healthier to give better results. This translates to increased organizational productivity and improved profitability. Moreover, the application of these practices will help in improving the work environment and promote a positive work culture that increases employee motivation levels, performance and productivity at workplace. Hence the long term benefits of applying safety standards are evident in increased profits and improved organizational culture. Conclusion Safety guidelines and directives established by government bodies are useless if the business outfits do not comply with these standards. Repeated accidents and injuries reported at workplace are often a result of lapse on the part of the management or employees in following the instructions of safety programs provided by the organization. In some cases the organizations fail to communicate these policies and measures to the employees that lead to failure in complying to established safety protocols. References: 1. CCOHS. 2009. Designing an effective training program. Retrieved from http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/prevention/ppe/designin.html 2. HSE. 2008. Leading health and safety at work. Retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk 3. OHSIS. 2009. The Occupational Health and Safety Information Service. http://uk.ihs.com/products/standards/ohsis.htm 4. INDSPI. 2009. Environmental, health and safety training programs. Retrieved from http://www.indspi.com/programs1.htm 5. OSHA. 2009. European agency for safety and health at work. Retrieved from http://osha.europa.eu/en 6. Health and Safety Policy. 2007. Health safety legal requirements and compliance. Retrieved from http://www.healthsafetypolicy.co.uk/healthandsafety_requirement.htm 7. Ridley, John R & Channing, John. 2003. Safety at work. Butterworth Heinemann. 8. IOD. 2009. Business information and guide. 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