Health and Safety Legislation - Research Paper Example

Health and Safety and Risk Assessment Safe working procedures Industrial operations require strict and authentic supervision of reliable faculties who are experts at the concerned works and activities. Labours who undertake lone hazardous tasks presumably confront with more risks as compared to the individuals who work in a group. A lone task that has to be performed in a confined space, at the top of a tall building or tower, too deep in a pipeline or tunnel are some of the example for the hazardous individual activities. There are certain critical situations when individual operation becomes the inevitable part of industrial function. However, regardless of the number of employees, all industrial operations have to be monitored by appropriate strategies and procedures. Nature of work is the significant factor that determines the range of health and safety measures required in an industry. Whenever high risk factors are identified, an employer has to seek the advice and permit of the responsible manager regarding the required precautions. This permit to work practice is mandatory when an employee gets into an unusual and risky job. Besides permit to work there are some more obligatory safety measures such as isolation, monitoring equipment and protective clothing and equipment that may control or prevent risks at workplace. Permit to work According to Hughese & Ferrett (2005 p.82), the permit to work procedure is a specialized type of safe system of work for ensuring that potentially very dangerous work is done safely. In fact this is a written consent from a responsible person which ensures that adequate precautions have been taken to avoid or control risk. The authorized individual usually considers certain factors before issuing a permit like the nature of work, equipments involved in the work, ability of the authorized worker, and if he needs training, possible hazards and the steps taken to overtake them (Hughese & Ferrett p.83). Most of the industrial accidents are the result of negligence and paucity of awareness about the risk factors and safety measures. Industrial operations require permit when there is a chance of any of the following or similar risks; mechanical or natural toxic, electric shock, fall from height, radiation, suffocation, chemical exposure, explosion, inflammable substances etc. However, according to the Guidelines on Permit to Work Systems (Jan.1993), simply a permit does not reduce risk; instead it is an essential part of a system which determines how that work can be carried out safely. The permit to work system further insists that person who accepts permit in a written form is supposed to undertake the responsibility of implementing all the instructions of the given permit. Permit to work system is highly significant with the hot works; the condition which would emit extreme heat or dangerous fumes. Working at a furnace or in a glass factory is example for this. Confined spaces usually have the risk of toxic gases or suffocation due to the paucity of oxygen. Repair to pipelines or works in tunnels are rather risky and therefore require permit. Isolation The term isolation refers to the safety measures taken to remove or prevent all possible hazardous devices and substances that would cause an adverse effect on the health of the individuals involved in the tasks. It can be any of the items such as electric wire, chemicals, flammable articles etc. using lock or multi lock hazardous things should be kept safe or aloof. “Physical, electrical and /or mechanical isolation of the plant implies controlled restriction of access and physical locking off of sources of power. In certain cases it may be necessary to undertake environmental testing to ascertain whether the use of breathing apparatus is necessary before entry into a confined space” (Stranks, 2005). Monitoring equipment The effective implementation of safety measures depends on the monitoring system of an industry or plant. There should be frequent quality check and evaluation on the function of mechanical system and strategies. Individuals with high proficiency should be deployed to monitor industrial functions. Monotor has to ensure the skill and efficiency of the workers assigned to undertake the particular acts. Moreover the monitoring faculty is supposed to examine the previous incidents and related reports so that he can foresee the possible risks. Moreover it is the responsibility of the monitoring wing to verify that works are done according to the instructions. Monitoring equipment is proposed for the following actions; 1). Monitoring human activities and safety measures at work 2). Ensures the effectiveness of workers concerned. 4) Collect time to time information from supervisors and workers. 5) Examine checklists and adhere to insurance as well as to industrial regulations. 6) Ensure that workers involved are well informed and efficient. 7) Confirm that they are following the instructions. Protective equipment Besides major injuries or death there are many other occupational hazards such as allergies, asthma, skin diseases and deafness or loss of vision. These disorders usually occur due to frequent exposure to severe heat, dust, chemicals or other similar hazardous objects or toxic environment. Effective health and safety measures include the provisions against these challenges too. As Stranks (2005 p.274) purports, use of protective clothing, masks, goggles, gloves, hat, and other precautions such as protection from noise, radio electric shock etc. are mandatory for the proper health safety in any industrial practices. There are common applications to control hazardous substances at workplace. Protective equipments are the additional measures taken to overcome the possible risks. The industrial operators have to take into account all relevant routs of exposure, inhalation, skin absorption and ingestion while designing control measures, and if the proper control can not be achieved, workers have to be provided with other suitable protective measures. (Hughese & Ferrett p.77). Personal protective clothing equipments are not the permanent solution to control hazardous substances instead; they are only alternative to deal with the emergency situations or as an additional precaution. Conclusion In short, safety work environment is an essential factor that has to be created by employers. Safety measures include an array of procedures such as risk assessment, permit to work system and isolation. Besides all other infrastructural risk control systems, the individuals who involve in risky jobs have to use personal protective equipments to avert the related health hazards. Furthermore, strict supervision and monitoring should be the major managerial concern in all kind of industrial works. Individuals who involve in works should be well informed about the possible risks and they should comply with the instructions given by the responsible manager. The monitoring faculty of a firm must have competitive skill and knowledge to meet every legal obligation. If job operators and individuals adhere to the proposed safety measures and procedures, most of the occupational accidents can be averted. 2 Health and safety legislation Industrial business operators and employees are to comply with various rules and regulations. These acts are indented to ensure the health and safety of workers, public and employers as well. The industrial laws and regulations generally describe the essential precautions and safety measures that have to be implemented in industries and other workplaces. It covers a wide range of work related issues and protective measures. The industrial regulations became an important concern since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. Since then numerous acts and regulations on industrial work have been introduced in the UK. Health and Safety at Work (HSW) 1974 The Health and Safety at Work Act is indented to ensure the health and safety of people at work and for the protection of the public from work activities. This includes employers, employees, owners, occupiers, designers, suppliers and manufacturers, and substances for use at work (Hughese & Ferrett p. 283). It insists that employers have to ensure the health and safety of people at work and also the protection of other people affected by work activities and further the control of risks to health and safety from articles and substances used at work. The second part of the Act sets up the Employment Medical Advisory service. According to this Act, employers are bound to ensure the health and safety and welfare of all their employees. Employers must make sure that the working conditions are safe and secure, including the provision of required instruction, information and training. On the other hand employees also have to undertake certain responsibilities of their own. They have to take care for the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work and further cooperate with their employer and others to enable them to fulfill their legal obligations (HSW section 7). The sections 8-9 of the Act says that employees can not be charged for anything done or provided for personal protective equipments required by the health and safety regulations. Moreover no person is permitted to misuse or interfere with anything provided in the interest of health, safety or welfare provisions (Hughese & Ferrett p.285). COSHH 2002 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (2002) sets eight basic measures that employers and sometimes employees must take. An employer has the legal obligation to take measures to control the hazardous substances which might make the employees or others ill. To comply with the COSHH regulations one must follow eight steps. As per the HSE guidelines, employers must assess the risk and then decide what precautions are needed. Further, prevent or effectively control the exposure to hazardous substances and ensure that all other safety measures are used and maintained. As the next step employer has to carry out appropriate health surveillance; Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies. Finally, ensure that employees are properly informed, trained and supervised (COSHH pp, 4-10, cited in HSE p.2) Another significant regulation relevant to most of the industries is the Noise at Work Regulation (2005). This regulation interprets the range of noise exposure in industries and the precautions that employers have to take to control noise at workplace. Exposure to harsh noise would damage hearing capacity of labours. Moreover it can badly affect physical as well as mental health of employees. The Health and Safety Executive suggests the employers to ensure the following steps to reduce or control the risk from exposure to noise. 1). Assess the risk to employees from noise at work 2). Take appropriate action to reduce the noise exposure that produces those risks. 3) Provide employees with ear protective equipments if the employer can not reduce the noise by using any other methods.4) provide the employees with information, instruction and training. 5) Carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health (Noise at Work, HSE 2005). Work at Height Regulation is applicable to the job operators who perform their task at high altitude. Building constructors, painters and exterior designers or fabricators are some of the examples of such kind of workers. Employer has to assess the risk level and ensure the safety of the labours before assigning a task. According to the regulations workers must be provided with protective equipments such as safety belt, helmets, shoes etc. Moreover, employer has to verify the physical fitness of the worker who is supposed to perform the action at height. Besides the risk of collapse there are some other hazards too such as injury from both electric drill and cutting machine. Workers have to wear goggles to prevent metal or glass particles from falling in to their eyes. Since these sorts of works are rather straining workers have to be given enough free time. Machinery which they use must be of excellent quality. Electrical equipments should have appropriate quality with well insulated cables. Role of health and safety inspector Hughese & Ferrett (2005) explain that a health and safety inspector has the authority to conduct any time inspection in industries to assess the overall safety measures implemented. He can collect information from the employees and if he wants he can get documents and records for further investigation. Inspector has the right to examine every record, protective equipment, and all other provisions required for the control or prevention of health and safety hazards in a firm. For the further examination he can take any substance or article with him from the work place. An inspector can take photographs, measurements and recordings. Take possession of or retain anything for examination or legal proceedings. He can further require information, facilities records or assistance and can do anything else necessary to enable them to carry out their duties. Moreover he can issue improvement notice and prohibition notice (Hughese & Ferrett, 2005). Auditing and performance review Auditing is a vital part of health and safety measures in an industry or organization. Regardless of all other changes audit and performance review can guide a manager in his monitoring activities. An audit report can show how effectively health and safety measures are being implemented in an organization (Hughese & Ferrett p.275). The audit system in an industry has to ensure that all managerial functions are up to date and are in proper place; adequate safety measures are implemented at workplace; and moreover required precautions are taken for the safety. Frequent auditing is essential where more hazardous activities are being conducted. Hughese & Ferrett (p. 275) state, ‘The process of auditing involves mainly two things like gathering information from all sides of organization about the health and safety management system and making informed judgments about its adequacy and performance’. As the process of audit preparation interviewing workers and observation of physical conditions and work activities are significant. Finally assembles the evidence, evaluate them and write the audit report. Conclusion Organizations and labours have to strictly comply with the industrial laws and regulations for the smooth functioning of their industries, and for the effective implementation of health and safety measures. Employers should have sufficient knowledge regarding the concerned regulations. Workers also must be aware of their privileges and of the regulations they are obliged to comply with. Every industry should promote a schedule for setting up safety audit system and it should admit the codes of practice to enhance safety at work. 3 Risk assessment Risk assessment is a significant factor in health and safety procedures. All other precautions and safety measures depend on the accuracy of risk assessment. Appropriate risk assessment would facilitate proper planning of safety measures and priority issues. Risk assessment is the procedure that determines whether a particular work requires permit. Moreover it can suggest further precautions including protective equipments, isolation, and monitoring equipment. In other words, the objective of the risk assessment is to determine the measures required by the organizations to comply with the relevant health and safety regulations and thereby reduce the level of occupational injuries and ill health; further, the procedure of risk assessment includes hazard identification, identifying persons at risk, evaluation of risk level, risk controls, record of risk assessment findings, and monitoring and review (Hughese & Ferrett pp. 62-64). This procedure could be best illustrated with the example of a plastic bag manufacturing industry where workers would confront with several health and safety hazards in their routine work. The major risk in this occupation is the probability of injury from extruder and printing machine. Only a highly experienced person is expected to operate this machine with extra care and vigilance. Another health hazard is the loud noise of the machine. When the raw material is in process it produces earsplitting noise which can damage the hearing of employees. In this context employer is responsible to comply with the regulations by implementing safety measures and providing the employees with protective equipments. These two hazards taking into consideration, the person who assesses the risk can conclude that injury from machinery is a serious risk which might even cause death, but not a risk that often workers confront with. Whereas, the second hazard noise is more potential because all workers involved in this work feel this risk throughout the day. Injury from the machine is a probable risk; however it is fatal and can kill people so it is a major or multiple major risk. As compared to death or injury, risk caused by noise and chemical exposure is rather frequent and can be categorized as regular risk. Its consequence has life long impact on individuals as it damages physical and mental health of the people who undertake this task. Another occasional risk with this industrial job is the probability of shock and burn from sealing and handle fixing machine. The chart below shows the severity and probability of those risks; Risk Frequency of Risk Severity level Death/major injury possible Major Physical and mental illness due to noise and chemical exposure regular High Shock/burn from sealing & handle fixing machine occasional Medium Risk assessment record is an inevitable part of an industry’s health and safety procedures. Probability and severity of identified risks should be documented for designing new safety strategies and for future monitoring reference. Each risk has to be identified and documented in records. Record must identify the individuals who come under the particular risks and they should be informed of the same in order to be serious about taking precautions and wearing protective equipments. Risk assessment record will help to promote health and safety awareness among workers if they are provided with the copy of the risk assessment record. According to the regulation 5 (HSW, 1999), if the employer employs 5 or more workers he has to adhere to this regulation. A good risk assessment system should have the following features; it should consider all aspects of the work, number of employees, size of the industry, building features, severity of the risk, frequency of exposure to hazardous substances and environment. Moreover it must be worth enough to guide and assist the monitoring activity of an organization. Conclusion In short, risk assessment is the initial step of health and safety measures of an organization. Only a proper risk assessment can suggest innovative health and safety procedures for industries and organizations. Effective risk assessment leads to effective implementation of safety measures and help employers to comply with the rules and regulations. Moreover it ensures the health and safety of workers and public as well. 4 Risk management Occupational hazards and safety measures vary according to the nature of work and the severity of possible risks. However risk management is the major concern of every employer today. He has to comply with a numerous Acts and regulations in order to ensure the safety of workers at his industry or workplace. The risk management procedure begins with risk assessment which would consider an array of factors including previous records of incidents and risks. A task itself may not be risky or hazardous; instead the probability of risk is influenced by a number of factors such as long working hours, noise, incorrect procedures etc. long working hours will fatigue employees and adversely affect their creativity. Since they fail to maintain a reasonable balance between work and play/recreation, it would badly affect their physical as well as mental fitness. The case is almost similar to that of individuals who work at thunderous noise. If an employer fails to control or prevent noise exposure at workplace, it will obviously damage the hearing capacity of workers involved, and gradually they will become vulnerable to new illnesses (Bechal & Grice, 2004). Incorrect or ineffective procedure is another factor that increases risk rate at workplace. If the employer is not efficient enough to schedule work time and other procedures, it will increase the probability of risk. It affects time management, risk assessment, monitoring, and auditing and documentation. Risk assessment record and audit report have significant roles in the progress of an organization. Previous case studies and the statistical data can indicate reoccurrence of certain risks. For instance, if a big number of workers in a company got injured by electric shock within a short duration, it indicates an existing risk as well as the chance to reoccur the particular accident. See the data of certain risks occurred in a company; (Duration 1 month) Death 0 electric shock 9 falls 3 Major injury 1 headache reported 15 suffocation 1 Evidently many workers in this company are suffering from headache and it indicates the existence of a particular risk. The most probable cause must be the exposure to noise or chemical substances. This conclusion would help an employer to implement measures to control or prevent the exposure. The second priority has to be given to the risk of electric shock. Although it is less frequent as compared to the other, high in potential and severity. According to the Wiring Regulations1999, all electrical systems shall be constructed and maintained to prevent danger (Tricker, 2007). Effect on life, property and activities Occupational risks have wide and far reaching impacts on every sphere of human life. According to the nature of work risk and its effects varies from mild to severe. People who involve in high risk jobs sometimes confront with major injuries or death. Death of an individual is a loss to his family as well as to the company and society. Death or major injury of a worker will plunge the entire family into peril. Effective risk control will enhance the potentiality of workers and thereby contribute to the overall growth of a company. By implementing risk control measures an employer can comply with the health and safety regulations and can avoid unnecessary legal procedures and issues. An employer who does not consider the risk factors will ultimately confront with legal issues and loss. For example, if a company meets with a total damage caused by fire, the fixed assets of the firm such as machinery and all other furniture get destroyed. Besides the financial loss it has to suffer from time waste and reinvestment for the company’s reconstruction. Obviously Company has to allot a good amount for compensation as well as for reconstruction. Meanwhile it would lose its customers and presumably fall in debt. On the other hand the company fails to meet the order of its customers and other companies, they also fall in trouble. Industrial risks can damage the environment too. If a company has not implemented the safety measures to control pollution as well as noise it would harmfully affect the environment. The risk not only affects the employees but also the community as a whole. Only if an employer takes effective steps to control the risks he can create and retain an active workforce to maintain his organization. Reoccurrence of risks should remind the employer to reconsider the safety measures and strategies. The diagram below shows the risk management procedure. Obtain and use information Work operates and employers should have up to date knowledge about the current regulations on health and safety and risk management. The right knowledge would help them comply with the laws and thereby ensure the health and safety of their employees. They must maintain data sheets on substances, risk assessment records, audit reports and should follow all factory rules. Companies must pay enough attention to design appropriate working procedures. Besides, new staff and contractors must be provided with sufficient training before they are given responsibilities or risky jobs. Employees also must be cautious about risk factors and ensure that they are well informed and well equipped for particular tasks. If once the risk is assessed, the further step is to control it by appropriate method. Certain risks may not be prevented completely; but can be controlled or minimized by screening, covering or by other disaster contingence planning. In order to reduce risk to people; 1. Company has to provide them with protective equipments and modern tools, 2. Proportional number of staff should be deployed in order to reduce workload and strain, 3. Employer has to insure the company as well as the employees, 4. Industry should have the provision of safety committees, alert system, and modern communication facilities, 5. Maintain a good link with a hospital to deal with emergency occurrence. In order to reduce risk to property and activities; 1. Right time repair and maintenance of machinery is extremely important, 2. All property and assets have to be insured, 3. Electric short circuits and similar problems have to be resolved in right time, 4. Insure the particular activity or risk hour/hours, 5. Provide the employees with sufficient training and ensure they are well informed, 6. Schedule work and leisure time effectively. Ultimate result of all these steps depends on the effective implementation of company policy and strategies. Compliance with the current rules and regulations such as Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Health and Safety Executive regulations are mandatory for the smooth functioning of an industry today. Therefore sufficient knowledge regarding relevant regulations is essential for company owners. Monitoring individual is the responsible faculty to ensure that all strategies are effectively implemented. To conclude, risk control and management is the moral and legal responsibility of a group of individuals including employer, employees, inspectors, and all other staff. This procedure consists of several activities like risk assessment and record, planning strategies, monitoring, inspection, audit report, judgment and implementation of strategies. Various rules and regulations on this regard express the genuine concern of government on health and safety of employees, employers and public. Works Cited Bechal & Grice, Health and Safety Law for the Construction Company, edn.2, illustrated. Thomas Telford 2004 COSHH: A Brief Guide to the Regulations, Health and Safety Executive, Electronic leaflet, revised 04/05). 1st June, 2009 Guidelines on permit to work systems, Jan.1993, OGP Publications., 1st June 2009 Hughese & Ferrett, Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, illustrated edn. 2, Butterworth- Heinemann, 2005 Noise at Work 2005, Health and Safety Executive, web version, revised 10/05, reprinted 08/06 Stranks, The Managers Guide to Health and Safety at Work, illustrated edn. 8. Kogan Page Publishers 2005, p.95 Tricker, Wiring Regulations in Brief, illustrated edn. Butterworth-Heinemann 2007 pp.10-12 Read More