394 #2 - Case Study Example

What is a Safe Workplace? Introduction The Management of Health and Safety at Work Law and regulations requires all organizations to ensure that the employees’ health and safety measures in their respective job stations are reasonably practible. Therefore, it is important for the management to frequently assess and control all risks that can be a hazard to ensure safety among employees (Roux, 2010).
According to the Journal of Safety, Health and Environmental Research, “Work related injuries are prevalent and account for a considerable amount of human suffering and economic burden,” (Choi et al., 2012 p.3). For instance, where workers are supposed to lift heavy construction materials, contractors are required to make sure the material is in good position for easy handling; provide lifters like cranes to reduce the vertical distance and level of bending. However, since it is completely impossible to eliminate risks especially in areas where activities involve dealing with dangerous components like inflammable components, deep mines, and sharp objects, the involved company must ensure that every worker has the knowledge on how to reasonably mitigate the hazard should it arise. Facilities that are essential in removing such risks must be placed in a strategic position and be functional at all times to enable quick response to problems. All organizations need to use a holistic approach to safety management in that safety procedures, use of experienced and disciplined employees, maximum supervision and maintenance of equipments is at par. However, it is important for employees to be aware and take responsibility in ensuring their own safety and that of others without necessarily relying on the management.
Conclusion
Defining what safe work place is is something almost impossible because even if there are measures in place, things can always go out of control. As evident in the case studies, the involved companies had methods of mitigating risks in place but in one way or the other, it was difficult to watch over everything. Therefore, a safe work place is that which ensures quick response and restoring of problems to normalcy.
References
Choi, S., Davis., Veltri, A., & Wang, Q. (2012). ‘Translating Academic Research on Manual Lifting Tasks Observations into Construction Workplace “Good Practices.”’ Journal of Safety, Health & Environmental Research, 8(1), 1-32.
Roux Willem Le. (2010). ‘When is a Workplace Safe or Unsafe?: The Safety Criterion in Terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Mine Health and Safety Act,’ The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 111, 529-533. Read More