Contribute to the Implementation of Controls and Monitoring - Term Paper Example

UNIVERSITY NAME] OHS REPORT Control, Monitoring & Evaluation STUDENT NAME: ADM. NO: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Course Code: Lecturer’s Name [Date of Submission] Contribute to implementation of controls and monitoring and evaluation of their effectiveness. 1.0. Risk associated with hazards in the KDC workplace Introduction There is risk and opportunity in everything we do. As the environment in which we operate changes, risks and opportunities change. Effective risk management is a means of monitoring those changes. Most organisations are committed to making sure; they have sound health, safety and welfare practices in place. These practices are supported by local Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) policies that serve as a roadmap to ensure they meet their OHS commitments on a continuing basis. This report outlines the choice of options for KDC to control OHS risk include eliminating the hazards and risk, changing the risk to reduce it, changing how people interact to reduce risk and developing new control options (ACCI,1999). Effective options focus on the ways people interact with their work teams and their supervisors, work tasks, the equipment they use, their work environment and work systems. The major risks associated with hazards in the workplace storage area include; Cleaning fluids are stored without materials Storage Data Sheets (MSDS) available for hazardous substances. Ventilation is poor and some of the air hoses and fittings are frayed. Escape routes are available but boxes are stored in front of exits. Procedures for after-hours accesses are non-existent. Standard operating procedures for health and safety of accessing stores are missing. Documentation from previous and on-going risk assessment process cannot be located. 2.0. Hazard Register LOCATION ITEM (e.g. Plant, Task, Hazardous Substance, Environment) HAZARD(S) IDENTIFIED (e.g. Physical, Chemical, Biological, Psychological, Ergonomic) REPEATED OBSERVATION (Y/N) RISK ASSESS CURRENT RISK CONTROL(S) (Hierarchy of controls) RISK ASSESSMENT PERFORMED BY DATE REVIEW DUE S103 General laboratory work, preparation of chemical reagents Manual Handling & Ergonomics Chemical exposure Electrical Safety C2 Room locked. Staff Induction and Training Refer to University Policy on Guidelines for Laboratory Conduct Refer to University Chemical Management Policy Guidelines Refer to Chemical MSDS and follow recommendations Maintain Chemical Register Refer to Equipment Operation Manuals and other relevant SOP’s. PPE. Fume hood if required. K. Dennison High level storage Physical – stretching C1 Local area training. Step ladder available for access K. Dennison Fume hood Chemical exposure, electrical safety C3 Use of gloves, SOP. Chemical handling training. K. Dennison Hot plate Physical – burns. Chemical exposure. Electrical safety. C2 SOP. Chemical handling training. Fume hood if necessary. K. Dennison Fixing biological material Chemical exposure C2 Chemical handling training. K. Dennison Staining with Osmium tetroxide Chemical exposure (reactive oxidiser) C3 SOP, MSDS. Fume hood and extractor box. Chemical handling training. PPE. Room locked. K. Dennison Incubator Electrical safety C1 SOP K. Dennison Computer, microscopes Manual Handling & Ergonomics (RSI) Electrical Safety C1 Staff Induction and Training Refer to University Guidelines for Manual Handling and Ergonomics Refer to Equipment Operation Manuals and other relevant SOP’s K. Dennison Field work Field work Travel - accidents Physical – manual handling C3 Adherence to University Field Activity Policy and Guidelines, adherence to Road Traffic Act and other relevant legislation, First Aid kit, Appropriate communication device, Manual handling training, PPE. K. Dennison PROBABILITY Consequence  A. Practically impossible B. Not likely to occur C. Could occur (i.e. heard of it happening) D. Known to occur (i.e. has happened in the past) E. Known to be a common or repeating occurrence 1 Minor injury Negligible Very Low Low Medium Medium 2 Moderate injury Very Low Low Medium Medium High 3 Serious injury Low Medium Medium High Urgent 4 Fatal disability Medium Medium High Urgent Critical NOTE Items rated as “Urgent” and “Critical” risk must be addressed immediately! Items rated as “Medium” or “High” risk should be addressed as soon as possible or incorporated into OHS Action Plans. Remaining items may be addressed once higher risk items are resolved. 3.0. Risk treatment action plan KDC RISK TREATMENT ACTION PLAN Risk ref The risk - what can happen and how it can happen Consequences and likelihood of an event happening Likelihood rating Consequence rating Risk level Description and adequacy of existing controls Proposed treatments Responsible officer Implementation timetable Monitoring and review strategies 1. Costs M2006 -1.1 Failure to maintain safety measures at workplace and professional indemnity insurance. KDC may be forced to fund costly proceedings. KDC breaches its obligations under the service agreement. E 2 L KDC currently holds the required insurance. Confirm with Australian Corporate Governance that KDC will hold the appropriate insurance for the ongoing period. Health & Safety Manager January 2013 6. Interference M2006 - 6.3 Employees or member of the public causing deliberate harmful interference to communications. May disrupt essential OHS services; negative perception of KDC if resolution is not quickly resolved. C 2 M KDC has identified experienced officers to respond to instances of interference of OHS control measures. KDC has positioned staff in locations to enhance KDC's ability to respond to situations of interference. Work Administrator Working period KDC Workforce will be monitoring for interference during the working period 7. Radiofrequency spectrum usage M2006 - 7.1 KDC cannot provide suitable frequencies for emergency communication. Radio communication users use unlicensed frequencies; Operations of the work are hampered by not being able operate properly. C 2 M Frequency assigning has commenced well in advance of the working and KDC has embargoed spectrum for the OHS control measures. Frequency assigner will be available for the period of the ongoing work. Frequency assigner Working period To report any areas of concern to KDC management. Risk Treatment Plan Risk KDC staffs should make known commercial-in-confidence information in breach of the service agreement. Responsible officer Health & Safety Manager. Likelihood of risk A- Almost certain B – Likely C- Possible D – Unlikely E- Rare Consequence of risk 1 – Severe 2 – Major 3 – Medium 4 – Minor 5 – Negligible Risk rating E – Extreme H – High M – Moderate L – Low T – Trivial Action Plan action taken KDC procedures and protocols should align with those of stakeholders. KDC should conclude preliminary briefing on new OHS in January 2013. KDC should develop procedures to tackle staffs who violate the OHS protocols. Proposed treatments KDC should store cleaning fluids with MSDS Provide good ventilation by replacing frayed fittings Escape routes should be opened always Procedures of accessing stores should be availed to staff Staffs should be briefed initially in November on OHS measures; and Refresh briefing in February 2013. Implementation February 2013 Treatment review Date Action taken November 2012 Label cleaning fluids Open escape routes Provide good ventilation Avail procedures of accessing store February 2013 Briefings on OHS measures in place. The updated should comprise statement on procedures for handling breaches of OHS protocol. 4.0. Individual and team training options According to Aronsson (2005, p.439) the provision of trainings and induction are encouraged as it ensures staffs have the knowledge and skills to meet OHS responsibilities. It also helps in supporting new roles of OHS management. Incorporating different training options will improve the staff’s coping mechanisms of OHS and wellbeing initiatives. This ensures that staffs are aware of, and know how to access, the support services available through people and culture. The training options may comprise of procedures of accessing store, how to escape in case of emergency, procedures of handling chemicals, assertiveness time management, program planning &management, conflict resolution, coping with change, recognising stress, communication and team leading. 5.0. Communication strategies OHS communication is effective when people actually do work safely. Communication is very vital in undertaking OHS measures than the distribution of policies and procedures at the workplace. It enhances effectiveness of controls implemented in the risk treatment plan, extent of change as a consequence of new controls and compliance with new procedures. It requires discussions and debates about the particular health and safety risks facing individuals and groups. This could either be through regular formal or informal discussions among managers, supervisors and employees concerning workplace safety and the management of injured staff. To enhance effectiveness on new controls and compliance, the KDC should make sure that all parties, managers, supervisors, staff, casuals, contractors, suppliers and visitors are aware of the risks in the workplace and their role in preventing injuries. The organization need to embrace other informal OHS communication processes for employees to ensure health, safety and welfare issues are maintained at the workplace. Informal communication comprise of face-to-face conversations, demonstration, field observation, structure interviews communicated genuinely to employees during informal walk. This allows parties involved in OHS to effectively share information and address any misunderstandings. Face-to-face discussions in the institution are supported by graphics and audio materials in appropriate languages as well as written documentation (Aronsson, 2005, p.441). Some of the issues to be raised in such communication comprise asking the employees to do the task, identify the equipment used, and explain the meaning of safety signs or sometimes asking questions related to the content of the conversation at hand. 6.0. Effective options for interaction at workplace Effective communication about OHS is achieved when key stakeholders recognize that OHS is a business priority for the organization. It helps work teams and supervisors, work tasks and the equipment they use to be utilised correctly and making sure work environment and work systems are safe. This means that the management has to communicate their commitment, vision, goals and improvement strategies. Effective communication means that organisation has adopted a consultative approach involving employees in the process of finding solutions to OHS issues. It also means that organization recognize and reward both initiative and achievement in health and safety. Consultation should also be encouraged to boost interaction process at workplace. It is very important in promoting, maintaining and improving the management of OHS programs and procedures in the workplace. Programs should be reviewed regularly by OHS committee to perfect them and enhance their execution. Promotion and evaluation of programs is essential for ongoing effectiveness of OHS policy and programs. Review times should be set when initiating the implementation plan, either at duration of three, six or twelve months. Results from the reviews should be measured based on information collected during the monitoring phase. All changes made within the monitoring period should be well documented as the information may be helpful for future hazard control measures or in the initiation of other new implementation plans. Appropriate forms of communication should be used with a preference for direct face-to-face communication (informal) and demonstration. Information is expressed in plain language and is as clear as possible. Written materials (formal) requiring translations have been identified in consultation with employees and the KDC management where translations are obtained in relevant languages. Safety measures and signs in the workplace are displayed in appropriate forms and employees are trained on the meaning of all signs. The organisation carry out provision check semi-annually to assess whether employees still understand the instruction and information obtained during the training (Blewitt and Shaw, 1995, p.19. 7.0. Strategies to be used to involve people in change and innovation process 7.1. Consultations Different consultation arrangements may be necessary in some workplaces of KDC due to the diverse working arrangements that exist across the organisation. This could be the best strategy of involving people to change or innovation process that is being employed with the organisation. For example, employers of small work groups geographically distant from the main site may plan to consult directly with their employees on a one basis and through OHS meetings. The participants in consultation meeting identify and implement solutions that will improve the KDC’s system for managing health and safety, for example through use of hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control (Appelbaum et al, 2000). And keep under review the actions taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of those at work. 7.2. Embracing stakeholders communication needs The promotion of consultative arrangements in the workplace by communicating, influencing and consulting is part of a systematic approach to managing OHS. It entails both the informal and formal processes of ensuring people in the organization are informed about OHS and have opportunities to effectively participate in the OHS process. According to Gunningham and Johnstone (1999), it also ensures that employers comply with duties of communicating health and safety (OHS) across languages and culture. There are many workplaces in Australia where a variety of languages are spoken. Information must be availed to all employees in appropriate languages. An up-to-date language profile will help readily identify the range of languages spoken in the workplace and the number of employees who speak such languages. This will ensure the best use of resources. By so doing, it will encourage innovation and involvement of people in the change. 8.0. Bibliography ACCI (1999) Small Business Safety Solutions, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Melbourne. Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P., & Kalleberg, A. (2000) Manufacturing Advantage: Why High-Performance Work Systems Pay Off, Ethica: Cornell University Press. Aronsson, G. (2005) Contingent Workers and Health and Safety, Work, Employment and Society, 13 (3), 439-459. Berger, Y. (1999) Why Hasn't it changed on the Shop floor. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Blewitt, V., & Shaw, A. (1995) Integrating OHS through self-managed work teams, Journal of Occupational Health & Safety - Australia and New Zealand, 11 (1), 15-19. Chew, D. (2008) Effective Occupational Safety Activities: Findings in Three Asian Developing Countries, International Labour Review, 127, 111-125. Gallagher, C. (2000). Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems: System Types and Effectiveness, Unpublished Ph.D., Deakin University, Melbourne. Gunningham, N., & Johnstone, R. (1999) Regulating Workplace Safety: System and Sanctions, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Health and Safety Executive (2001) Successful Health and Safety Management, HMSO, London: Wiley. Macneil, J., Testi, J., Cupples, J., & Rimmer, M. (1994) Benchmarking Australia: Linking Enterprises to World Best Practice, Melbourne: Longman Business. Mayhew, C. (2000) Occupational Health and Safety Issues for Young Workers in the Fast-food Industry, Sydney: AusInfo. Read More