Defining of Health and Safety Violations - Term Paper Example

In the health and safety sector, the violation is termed as any deviation (which is deliberate) from rules, regulations, processes, or instructions which are structured to ensure efficiency or safety in the operation and management of a plant or organization. Rather it is any action, object, or substance that is likely to harm the physical, psychological, social, or spiritual well-being of a worker within his/her institution of work or harms the people interacting with the environment. For an act to be termed as a violation, the act must be intentional, rather than accidental. In most cases, these types of violations are identified during inspections which could be carried out after complaints by the affected, or just during a routine inspection by the public health officers (Reason, p.44).
Significance of Violations
Violations are significant in terms of undesirable effects on human beings. Violations have a great impact on accidents and injuries that take place in both workplaces and in general life. Violations, which lead to a lot of accidents and injuries have a great effect on the production and outputs made by an institution. Once a member of staff is injured, it leads to absents from the job, therefore, less productivity from the affected person. It also impacts the individual’s family as well as the country’s economy. More impact is on the company as they have to pay for compensation fee to the person as well as lose on their workforce. It is therefore imperative to reduce the levels of violation, owing to its great impact. Reduction of violations would include the implementation of safety measures, productivity, and ensuring equipment reliability.
Classification of violation
Different classes of violations have been stipulated, in order to increase the insight into violations. In the United Kingdom, according to the HSE, the violation can be classified as routine, situational, exceptional, or optimizing violation. on the other hand, according in America, according to the OSHA, violations can be classified into five main categories. These include serious, general, regulatory, De Minis violations, and additional violations (they include falsifying documents, failure to comply with posting requirements and assault, opposition, intimidation, and interference with the compliance officer can also be termed as violations (DeMerceau, p. 30).
Routine Violations and Their Causes
These are violations that have become a part of life, within a certain group of people (at work or just peers). In this case, the individuals are accustomed to behaving in a certain manner, such that they perform the violation automatically and unconsciously. The violations are often acceptable within the specific workgroup and the employees often see it as posing a low risk to themselves as the task. In most cases, these violations occur as a result of the worker wanting to cut corners and save time and energy. They may also occur as a result of the individuals thinking that the rules and regulations are no longer applicable, within the current situation. They are often associated with failure to reinforce rules(Coleman,p.234).
Routine violations occur mostly in situations where the employees do not see the necessity of applying the original rules and regulations of an institution. This is often due to a lack of enough commitment from the management group. This calls upon the management team to continuously remind their staff of the importance of their rules, or change the rules when they become inappropriate within the institution. Some examples are situations whereby people ignore the rules on overdriving, wearing protective gear while at work, over speeding, to name but a few situations.

Minimizing Routine Violations
Routine violations can be minimized through the management team doing frequent and thorough assessments of the risks within their institution, then reducing the risk-taking behaviors of the individuals working within the institution.