Implementing Health and Safety at Work - Term Paper Example

Construction Industry Studies Before going into the issue of instructing all employees the value of safety, security, quality, sustainability and environmental aspects of the organization, let’s get a better understanding of why these factors are of extreme importance for the success of any organization. Safety, quality, sustainability and environment are those pillars on which the success of any organization is founded. If any one of these factors is not given proper consideration, productivity of the organization gets affected. So it is crucial for the management of any organization to instruct all employees the importance and worth of all these factors for the purpose of improving performance and increasing organizational productivity. Importance of Health and Safety Every company or organization has got some legal responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of all employees working in the company and to protect the organizational environment. It's up to the management of any company to make sure that all potential risks to the health and safety of the employees are assessed on time and controlled properly. The management needs to be aware of its roles and responsibilities regarding the issue of health and safety. Hitshopi (2009) asserts that “No matter where you are working, whether it is in a bookshop or at a large warehouse, it is vital for all employees to have some basic health and safety training”. It is the legal responsibility of the management and the employees to look after health and safety at workplace together. Those construction industries which pay great attention to the health and safety at work become able to promote a very safe and healthy workplace environment. It is important to know that poor health and safety management at any company leads to illness of employees, accidents at the workplace, and significant costs for the company. Proper health and safety management practices prove to be a key to success for any company because when the workplace environment of the company is safer and healthier, employees work with more dedication and pay more concentration to their work rather than worrying about health and safety aspects. Some basic responsibilities of the employees of any company include: Awareness of issues that affect health and safety at the workplace Not doing any such act that might harm any other employee’s health or safety Carrying out a careful and systematic health and safety risk assessment Reporting any such act that might affect any other employee’s health or safety Ensuring that the company’s workplace meets minimum standards of safety and cleanliness Importance of Quality Another important issue regarding organizational success is quality which is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships between the company and its customers by providing the customers with quality products. A product, process or service that is reliable, and that performs its intended and proposed function perfectly with no faults in it is said to be a reliable and quality product. While talking about quality, let’s now discuss its importance in the construction industry. Any company of the construction industry may encounter a big problem of loosing its precious and potential customers because of not paying enough attention towards the implementation of proper quality management system at the workplace. It is a common fact that when a company or any specific business will not have proper implementation of any quality management system, it will surely make a worse impact not only on the growth and development of the company but also on retention of the customers of the company. If a company wants to achieve market domination, the management of that company needs to provide its customers with quality in the products that it delivers. Chung (1999) found that quality, in any business or company, can only be attained when the workers of that specific company will be motivated to improve the standard of the products. Applying systems of proper quality management will make our company grow and gain success in the market. In any company of the construction industry, the employees must be aware of the significance of quality at the workplace. Some characteristics of quality employees include honesty, dedication to quality work, experience and skills, punctuality, energy, ability to work harmoniously with others, ability to take initiatives, and efficient communications skills. Importance of Sustainability and Environment Next factor which should be taken into consideration is sustainable workplace environment of the company. Sustainability means to adapt the ways we all live and work towards meeting our personal needs and demands by minimizing the consumption and not endangering the lives of the future generations. It is important to know that construction projects and their maintenance have a significant impact on our environment and is also contributing drastically to various irreversible changes in the world's atmosphere and the ecosystem. Iffrig (2008) asserts that “Leadership seeks a balance between growing the business and managing growth, without harming the environment”. The ecological and resource elements of sustainability are predominantly important for the companies of the construction industry because they draw materials directly from the natural resources and make use of processes that are highly energy intensive. The challenge of sustainability should be faced efficiently by making long-term perspectives, promoting transparency and cooperation within the construction industry, and becoming able to realize the potential benefits at stake. If we disregard social and environmental issues of the workplace environment, it will not only be damaging to climate of the earth but also will eventually slow down the healthy progression of the construction industry. If we wish to approach sustainability as a business opportunity, we must re-think the business operations in four key areas including energy, materials, waste and pollution. The company must make efforts to reduce energy consumption and use renewable energy where needed. Resource requirements should be reduced by choosing, using and recycling materials during the processes of design, construction and maintenance. Efforts should also be made in order to produce less toxicity, noise and water pollution. Finally, a distinction should be made between sustainable and non- sustainable resources. Sustainable should be divided into renewable resources like food and some kinds of timber and plentiful resources like clay, chalk, and sand. Whereas non-sustainable resources are those which cannot be reinstated, easily reprocessed or recycled with negligible extra energy input. References Chung, H., 1999. Understanding quality assurance in construction: A practical guide to ISO 9000. London: E & FN Spon. Hitshopi, G. 2009, Implementing Health And Safety At Work, viewed 19 March, 2010, Iffrig, A 2008, Sustainable Workplace Cultures, viewed 19 March 2010, Read More