The Laboratory Occupational Health and Safety Program - Term Paper Example

Name of university Name of college/department Student name Student number Course title Course number The laboratory occupational health and safety program A report on the laboratory occupational health and safety Date of submission Signature of the student Name of supervisor Department Signature of the supervisor date Table of contents Name of university 1 The laboratory occupational health and safety program 1 A report on the laboratory occupational health and safety 1 Table of contents 2 The laboratory occupational health and safety program 3 Introduction 3 Economic costs of the occupational health and safety program 4 Description of the workplace 4 The kind of work carried out in the laboratory 5 Number of workers 6 Worker profile 6 The worker profile of the head of the department 7 Goals of the department’s occupational health and safety 9 Specific targets that was set 10 Measures in place for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B/C management 11 Measures in place for cardiovascular management 12 Achievements of the employee personal health 13 Tools that need be used for evaluation of the occupational health and safety program 13 The productivity assessment tool 13 The CERSSO tool kit 14 The interactive method 14 The economic evaluation tool 14 The net cost model 15 Specific targets that should be set 15 References 16 The laboratory occupational health and safety program Introduction The occupational health and safety economic costs affect workplace in many different ways that are predisposed by different workplace internal and external circumstances. The economic costs of occupational health and safety are increasing to the employer, employees and their families as pressure mounts from environmental agencies on pollution resulting from toxic waste management strategies and control of emission from the laboratory that can cause water, air and soil pollution. The relevant decision makers for the occupational health and safety include the advisory committee on occupational health and safety, the employer or the employer nominated external occupational health and safety personnel and employees who reap economic benefits from economic analysis of costs and economic advantages of intervention mechanisms for reducing occupation health and safety economic costs. Economic costs of the occupational health and safety program These costs are Injury and illness costs resulting from exposure to toxic or respiratory fumes, management of employees’ exposed to hazardous vapours like carcinogenic substances , first aid and treatment of chemical burns and costs associated with intervention of occupational health and safety risks. Description of the workplace The work place has aerial automatic water sprinkler system, smoke and heat detectors and eye washers that are installed at a distance of four meters from each other to ensure any chemical poisoning to the eyes or any irritant chemical substance that affects the eye is flashed off, diluted before it seriously damages the eye as first aid arrangements are made. The workplace has emergency exits with well practiced emergency plans that are known by all users of the premise. The laboratory is equipped with fume cupboards where reactions that involve release of toxic gases when inhaled are handled and prepared. The fume cupboard is equipped with a system that arrests any toxic fumes through a series of soluble substances that can dissolve any toxic gases that are released. This ensures the fumes are not emitted into the atmosphere where they are likely to cause harm to the environment in terms of water, soil and air pollution resulting into health related illness whose domain of safety is not documented. There is an air conditioner for ensuring quality of air is guaranteed that is equipped with dust particles arrester depending on their magnetic properties. Non-magnetic dust particles are passed through a conveyer belt where they are statistically magnetized to acquire static charges and are then trapped and deposited into different bins depending on the strength of magnetic static charges that they acquire. The laboratory is equipped with personal protective equipments like safety goggles, laboratory cots and gloves for use during laboratory operations. There are extinguishers at interval of three metres. The workplace is well ventilated. The kind of work carried out in the laboratory The laboratory prepares chemical products that include specialty chemicals like acids, salts, cosmetics and their reagents. The laboratory has a research room where more studies on different chemicals are carried out and their further short term or long term effect to man or environment is done. The experimental procedures especially organic biosynthesis uses chemicals like acid chlorides, benzene and its derivatives that are carcinogenic, chemicals that can affect fertility of a man like ammonia after long exposure. Health and safety precaution are given first priority since most of the chemical reagents are toxic when inhaled or swallowed and others can burn or scorch the skin. Other reagents have eye irritating potential. The laboratory also carries out analysis of chemical samples from affiliated organization and institutions. It also has attaché programs for students carrying out masters or doctorate research projects. As a research centre, the institution is equipped with equipments for separating mixtures in compounds, identifying separated compounds either qualitatively or quantitatively or by use of infra red spectroscopy or nuclear magnetic resonance by using proton or carbon-14 analysis. Safety handling precautions for the samples are also studied. Number of workers The laboratory has 68 employees. Nine employees hold PHD degree; fourteen hold masters degrees, eight employees are currently on their in-service doctoral program, thirty three employees hold bachelor’s degrees, eight employees hold post graduate diploma qualifications and four employees hold higher diploma qualifications. Worker profile Every employee has own worker profile that are filed in their respective files as hard copies as well as soft copies in the employee database. The worker profile of the head of the department Name: Wilfred, W. E. Nationality: Australian (also has a US passport) Age: 43 years as at 22nd August 2008 Gender: male Skills summary (as per Wilfred, W.E. chemical development webpage) a. Experienced occupational hygiene and health safety professional (10 years hands on experience) b. 6 years as a scientist in a chemical industry c. One and half year as a masters student at institute of occupational medicine d. Three years as occupational health manager in a chemical engineering industry e. Occupational health and safety systems advisor f. Has published five works on occupational exposure to fumes g. Has published two academic works on toxicology measurements and measurements of compensation benefits Skills and competence a. Ability to identify hazardous tasks that have negative effects on occupational health and safety b. Has ability to assign priority to different hazardous tasks that are identified c. Has ability to assess a risk facto and determine predisposing factors that make them hazardous d. Has ability to recommend control measures for the evaluated risks e. Has ability to carry out skill need and training analysis of employees depending on their job description and predict their potential to implement occupational health and safety Current assignment a. The head of the department b. A part-time lecturer on modules introduction to health and safety, occupational health and occupational hygiene, safety technoilogies and safety systems c. A supervisor of masters and doctorate projects and thesis d. Co-ordinates post graduate diploma in occupational health and safety Administrative tasks a. Staff management b. Approval of departments’ budgets c. Management of internship and mentorship programs d. Liaison with other institutions on development of new regulations on occupational health and safety Consultancy services He is a consultant for industrial occupational health and safety and develops training packages for occupational health and safety, health and safety management, auditing of occupational health and safety and occupational hygiene. Goals of the department’s occupational health and safety To equip employees with health and safety precautions through relevant training on handling of machines, equipments and handling of chemicals according to the handling manuals To ensure risk assessments are carried out to identify hazardous tasks that can compromise occupational health and safety and interpretation of occupational health and safety risk factors are varied out to prevent and control occurrence of incidents that can jeopardize occupational health and safety of the employees or destruction of property or predispose outbreaks of fires. To develop skills to ensure employees are able to assign different indentified risks a priority so that the probability of occurrence of the risk is minimized and strategies are set in place to deal with the risk. To ensure employees have relevant skills for assessing potential of risks to occupational health and safety and be able to determine factors that make the assessed risk a potential hazard to occupational health and safety in the future To ensure employees have training on how to handle incidents involving spills of chemicals, leakage of gases products or management of toxic products and are able to follow safe procedures for preparation of toxic chemicals in the laboratory wood or fume cupboard. To ensure employees have sufficient safety precautions for compound that are prepared in the laboratory and whose safe handling procedures are not laid down in the handbook of manuals for handling biochemical products. Specific targets that was set Management of employee personal health There are measures in place to train employee on impacts of the HIV/AIDS like increased medical expenses and loss of income to families when the breadwinner succumbs to HIV/AIDS. There are measures to support employees suffering from HIV/AIDS and no work victimization or isolation of the employees based on their HIV/AIDS status. The employees undergo training and participate in counseling sessions on HIV/AIDS in order to equip them with vital basic information on spread of HIV/AIDS, management of the HIV/AIDS and measures that affected employees should take to live longer. There are measures in place to educate employees on impacts of their lifestyles and eating habits as far as cardiovascular diseases are concerned. The employees are informed on different diseases that are predisposed by overweight and obesity, eating habits that can help to improve on weight gain based on employee caloric output. The company has a weight management class that counsels employees on dangers of diseases predisposed by their eating habits and how the employees can manage the diseases. The employees are informed on impacts of the cardiovascular diseases on their health and the possible decreased productivity due to sick offs and medical expenses that the company can incur. Although it is responsibility of the company to ensure the employees have medical cover and insurance, the employees should not expose themselves to risks of health that could expose them to cardiovascular diseases. Measures in place for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B/C management Advocating for faithfulness of spouses and abstaining from pre-marital sex Advocating for need for spouses to have HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B/C tests before they engage in sex Advocating for use of safe sex Reduction of alcohol consumption that increases multiplication of the HIV/AIDS virus Advocating for use of balanced diet in HIV/AIDS patients in order to improve body’s defense system Avoiding contact of sexual fluids Advocating use of certified blood free from HIV/AIDS virus or Hepatitis B/C virus during blood transfusion Measures in place for cardiovascular management Use of appropriate salt to reduce incidences of high blood pressure Reducing smoking Reducing use of sugary foods in the diet that increase possibilities of diabetes (type II diabetes) Management of post-menopausal syndrome in women to reduce their prevalence rates to osteoporosis Advocating for good nutritional habits to reduce chances of succumbing to osteoporosis by eating diets rich in calcium and phosphorus Advocating use of cis-fats or unsaturated fats instead of trans fats that increase risks of atherosclerosis through deposits of fats particles in the blood vessels that leads into increase in blood pressure. Reducing caloric intake to balance caloric output to effectively manage weight gain Achievements of the employee personal health The company has an onsite swimming pool for the employees to swim and shed off excess fat. The company runs a health fitness program that has made it possible for many female employees to shed off their cellulite levels The company has set up a gym area for aerobic exercises Tools that need be used for evaluation of the occupational health and safety program The productivity assessment tool The productivity assessment tool1is a computer based cost benefit model that interprets financial impacts and outcomes of occupational health and safety initiatives. The CERSSO tool kit The CERSSO tool kit2 integrates risk assessment, cause-effect analysis, decision making on occupational health and safety, direct costs and indirect costs associated with occupational health and safety and determination of cost benefits in order to derive financial benefits of a company’s investment in occupational health and safety. The interactive method The interactive model3 provides a user-friendly framework for measuring safety and health effectiveness that includes enganging employees, their managers, advisory committee on occupational health and safety and external occupational health and safety experts in determining costs, efforts necessary, benefits to be achieved and effectiveness of proposed prevention efforts and strategies for occupational health and safety to ensure employees are conversant and understand the outcomes of the proposed occupational health and safety prevention and control strategy. The economic evaluation tool The economic evaluation tool4 provides opportunity for determining economic calculations for measuring effects of health and safety of production that should show the necessary changes that should be made in the workplace depending on the current working conditions in place. The net cost model The net cost model5 is used for analysis of workplace occupational health and safety interventions. It addresses approaches that need to be adopted for economic evaluation of company’s efforts and strategies to minimize workplace low back pain. The model assists in making estimations for economic benefits of investment needed to implement ergonomic occupational health and safety interventions Specific targets that should be set There is need to implement measures and strategies towards reducing employees’ exposure to different risks6 of occupational health and safety as a function of cost of intervention mechanisms and resultant gain in employees’ health and safety7. There is need to develop ergonomic program that will improve on current approaches for managing back pains that affect employees’ productivity through sick-off days. According to world health organization (2002), implementing engineering controls and employee training could result into 74% in employee pain reduction. World health organization (2002) argues that implementing engineering control reduces and manages pain up to 56% while training employees’ results into utmost 20% pain reduction. Lahiri et al (2005:515-529), Lahiri et al (2005:503-524) and Lahiri et al (2005:530-541) indicate that engineering control mechanisms and training should be implemented in order to improve on productivity through reduced sick off days. There is need to reduce respiratory diseases incidences that can affect employee health and safety. This can be implemented through improving on engineering controls by adopting wet method, local exhaust ventilation and total equipment and laboratory ventilation. According to world Health Organization (2002), this could reduce and help the company to save up to Australian dollars ranging from 105-109 per year. This is cost effective and is a first priority for companies that are working on a limited budget. References Lahiri al, S., Levenstein, C.Imel-Nelson, D and Rosenberg, B. (2005, december). The cost-effectiveness of occupational health interventions: prevention of silicosis. American journal of industrial medicine , Volume 48 (Issue number 6), pp. 503-514. Lahiri, S., Gold, J. and Levenstein, C. (2005, December). estimating the net costs of prevention of occupational back pain: three case studies from the US. American journal of industrial medicine , Volume 48 (issue number 6), pp. 530-541. Lahiri, S., Markkanen, P. and Levenstein, C. (2005, December). The cost-effectiveness of occupational health intervention: preventing ocupational back pain. American journal of industrial medicine , Volume 48 (issue number 6), pp. 515-529. World Health Organization (WHO). (2002). WHO world Health Report 2002. Geneva. Read More