Health and Safety Standards in Car-Part Limited - Case Study Example

Report on Health and Safety Standards in Car-Part Limited Students Name: Institutional Affiliation: Department Course: Date Contents Executive summary 3 Introduction 3 Stakeholders concerns in addressing health and safety issues 6 Regulations described by the Health and safety executives 8 Car-Part Limited and its subsidiary environment and safety management 9 Recommendations for how it should be structured 12 Car-Part Ltd Group measures to enhance uniform safety and health policies 13 Conclusion 14 Reference List 15 Executive summary This report heightens on the standardized health and safety measures practiced by the Car-Part Limited in ensuring health as well as safety procedures are followed within the company’s framework[Gan11]. The essay will describe the Car-Part Limited procedural techniques which aid in substantiating safety and health measures within the company to enhance quality performances. The high health and safety standards required by Car-Part Limited customers gives the company an obligation to maintain a high health and safety standards. Failure to meet customers’ requirement is a threat to survival of the firm’s operation as they may pull out from being supplied with the company products. Introduction Car-Part Limited is an automotive company that is involved in the production of car door parts. These car door parts are used in the final assembly of cars. Car-Part Limited sells the car door parts to a number of customers. The Car-Part Limited head office is located in the UK with four subsidiaries located in Germany, Italy, Poland and France. The customers are VW, Seat, Skoda, Ford, Fiat and Peugeot. These automotive producing firms have a high health and safety standards in their operation and thus they require their supplies to exercise such principles. Car-Part Limited as part of its Corporate and Social Responsibility, has been able to maintain a high health and safety standards in its head office production facility in the U.K. The application of this principle is in line with Health and Safety Executive requirements and regulations in the UK[Gul10]. The company has assumed this principle on high health and safety standards has been applicable in all its subsidiaries production facilities. The assumption on the uniform application of high health and safety standards in Car-Part Limited and its subsidiaries however, has not been applied by the subsidiaries. The company has recorded a couple of major incidents in the last few years. The incidents were at the company’s subsidiaries in Poland and Italy. In Poland the factory caught fire though no injuries were recorded and in Italy, the factory recorded a serious injury from a worker who slipped on the floor after stepping on a banana skin. On a positive note, the head office factory located in UK and the subsidiaries plants located in Germany and France have not recorded any incidents in the past five years of operations[Hug11]. Health and safety policy of Car-Part Ltd is heighten more on high-pitched by the executive head office lack of control on its subsidiaries located in other countries. This is informed by the number of incidences that have been reported in the subsidiaries production facilities in the year 2013. The company during its production activities in its facilities has experienced three serious health and safety standard incidents during the year. The incidents were recorded in the subsidiaries production facilities in Spain, Italy and Poland. The incidents documented include the following; i. A worker in Car-Part Limited subsidiary plant located in Spain was trapped in a production machine and as a result, the worker was seriously injured. ii. The company subsidiary plant located in Italy recorded death of a company employee. The worker was reported to have slipped during production and banged his head and hence suffered a fractured skull. This accident resulted to the workers’ death. iii. A major incident occurred in the company subsidiary plant located in Poland. The factory caught fire which left many workers injured[Gul10]. The injuries of the many workers was aggravated by the fact that the factory emergency exit doors did not function properly thus it became difficult escape during the fire accident. In addition, the cause of the fire is still yet to be established. The three serious health and Safety incidents in Car-Part Limited was subjected to heavy criticism by the press which as a result the company reputation was negatively impacted and brought into question. The bad publicity of Car-Part Ltd from the incidents and subsequent negative reporting by the press has made a number of the company suppliers to react[Vin10]. The customers have threatened the company they will stop their orders in the car door parts in the coming year. The customers have placed an ultimatum that the company address the issues that deal with Health and Safety at the company. In such a scenario, the management of Car-Part Ltd and its subsidiaries have a task to ensure the issues demanded to be addressed by the customers are adequately addressed. The CEO Julia Miller through a press release in January 2014 had this to say, “Car-Part Limited and its subsidiaries is committed to be a company acting as per the principles of Corporate and Social Responsibility. We welcome that our customers, the car manufacturers require high health and safety standards from us as their suppliers. We will do everything to investigate the three recent incidents and improve our Health and Safety standards worldwide so that such incidents are in future prevented[Hug11].” In light of that statement it becomes a prerogative of the company to ensure insightful investigations have been carried out and an improvement in the company health and safety standards. The predicament the firm finds itself in will therefore need urgent solutions as the problems are major business threat, thus the project should be given the highest priority. Stakeholders concerns in addressing health and safety issues Car-Part Ltd Group in its operations in the production of car door parts encompasses the interaction of different stakeholders. It thus becomes imperative for the company to act decisively on the concerns that may be raised by the stakeholders. Stakeholders in Car-Part Ltd Group will include the factories workers, customers of car door parts, the government, the general public among others. Employees form a vital component in Car-Part Ltd Group operations[Yas]. The prerogative of the workers is their involvement in the production of car door parts which are sold for the company to generate revenue and ensure continuity of the business in the different locations it has set up its factories. Employees’ major cause of concerns will be incidents which cause injuries on their bodies during the production process. The causes of injuries on the workers are broadly categorized into three. They will include; i. Employee errors- the causations in this category include employees misjudging situations during production, being distracted by other workers, working in inappropriate positions and also a worker may knowingly use a defective equipment in production process[Pel11]. ii. Insufficiency in the machines that are used in production of car door parts in the factories. The causation in this category include use of inappropriate machine, a lack of safety devices or in some cases the safety devices that were there are currently inoperative and also a lack of things like engineering controls and protective gear or clothing[Gan11]. iii. Insufficient procedures during production process. This is underlined by aspects such as failure of the company in eliciting warnings of hazards for example warning on slippery floor. The procedural insufficiency causation is also defined by the company lack of written work procedures. Accidents in Car-Part Ltd and its subsidiaries pose serious problems to workers and also the company competitive advantage. In light of these, the employer that is the company management can prevent such accidents[Hug11]. This is accentuated by the fact that preventive strategies that have been put in place by the management actually work. To address such issues raised from workers concerns the company and its subsidiaries management should do the following; i. Arrangements should be made by the company in the implementation of health and safety measures that have been identified as necessary from risk assessment. ii. The appointment of competent people who will help in the implementation of safety and health policy for the company and its subsidiaries. iii. The company should also involve itself in setting up emergency procedures which will assist when a risk occurs. iv. An essential requirement in meeting the concerns of employees is through the provision of clear information through safety manuals and also offer training about hazards and risk that may occur in the company factories. v. The company should conduct continuous inspection on hazardous areas and ensure corrective actions have been done[Gul10]. This also entails provision to the workers with protective attires and ensure the company environment is safe for the workers. The company customers are a vital stakeholder for Car-Part Ltd Group. Customers provide a source of revenue for the company derived from sale of the car door parts. The concerns of the customers is placed in their policy on matters pertaining to suppliers products. Customers from automotive manufacturing companies usually require suppliers’ products to be made from safe processes[Yas]. Customers will audit the company on how it has adapted safety and health measures and in case the company is seen to have negated on it, they have to consider their association with the company. It thus become imperative for the Car-Part Ltd Group to ensure it policies on safety and health go hand I hand with that of the customers. Regulations described by the Health and safety executives The pragmatic guidance instituted by the health executive in work places accentuates an ideal initiative which describes enforced safety measures within the organizational setup. According to the HSR web framework, guidance of the regulations for the organizational employee as well as employers[GEI13]. The measures accentuates a charismatic regulative principle designed in transportation vessels. The Car-Part Ltd Group accentuate a distinctive stylish measures describe in regulatory principle 5 and 6 respectively. The safety regulative principle substantiates the safe working environment and safe accessibility to the working habitations to ensure sustainability of the working experienced employee as well as productivity. Subsequently, the Health Safety Commission affirmed safety at work act which predefine the substantive responsibilities in managing the health safety regulations provided principally by the HSC act. The health and safety framework also describes the company’s regulatory manual regulations which structures the safety in moving the equipment[HSE09]. Car-Part Ltd Group accentuates defined manual handling regulative measures and moreover the display screen regulatory framework which enhance unhazardous working environment. The regulatory describe by the Health and safety (first Aid) heightens a distinctive regulatory interpretation which describe a contextual framework of describing an employee provision of the immediate attention to employees on injuries at work[HSE13]. The act accentuate a sequential measures as indicated by Car-Part Ltd Group Health and safety department. i) Car-Part Ltd has restructures substantive provisions of first-aid equipment’s ii) The company retains and trains the first-aiders with advance first aiding skills iii) Car-Part Ltd provides an overlooking body to regulate immediate attention to any injury. iv) Car-Part Ltd introduces the employees on first-aid arrangements in induction. Car-Part Limited and its subsidiary environment and safety management Car-Part Ltd and its subsidiary environment and safety management critically provide a benchmark base for evaluating the company’s health and safety policies and procedures. The company’s incapacitation in maintaining the health and safety will cause harm or an adverse health effect on a worker during production of car door parts is termed as a hazard[Yas]. A hazard will take different forms and in the context of the incidents that the company has recorded, it follows that the hazards will be fire, the floor and machines. The chance or the probability that a worker will be harmed or experiences an adverse health effect after an exposure to a hazard is referred to as a risk. A risk also encompasses situation whereby there is equipment or loss of property. The degree of risk is influenced by factors such as; how much the worker in the production facility is exposed to a hazard, how the worker is exposed for example through contact with the hazard and how severe the effects will be under the condition of exposure on a hazard. The effects may include serious injuries such as head fracture and also to an extreme death of the worker[Pel11]. In order to eliminate or minimize risks and hazards Car-Part Group should conduct a risk assessment. This is the process where hazards are identified, an assessment of the risk related with the hazard is done and the determination of appropriate ways to eliminate or control such a hazard. Risk assessment is important in that it forms a fundamental composition of a good health and safety management plan. The risk assessment is helpful in that it creates awareness of hazards and risks, identifies who is at risk, determine if control measures that exist are adequate and prevention of injuries which is done at planning stage[Pel11]. Its main goal is therefore to remove or reduce a hazard and its level of risk by adding precautions and control measures. This will ensure that the workplace is safer and healthier. Car-Park Ltd should carry out a review of the environment and health management and ensure it follows it up with periodic reviews. The environment review will encompass the surroundings which do make up the firm. It will take into consideration all that pertains the production process of car door parts. The review should be conducted in the head office and its subsidiaries. Special focus on the review should be conducted on the plants that have been affected by various incidents in the past[Hug11]. The special review should include the factories found in the following locations; Poland, Italy and Spain. Emphasis on safety and health management improvement on these three factories should be a priority as they are prone to incidents which have brought bad reputation and criticism from the press and hence a negative reaction from the customers of the firm. As documented, the Poland factory has been involved in two fire incidents. The first incident burnt down the factory but no injuries were reported. Subsequently, when the fire broke out it resulted into many workers in the factory getting seriously injured. The root cause of the fire has yet to be established. The safety of the Poland factory from the two fire incidents has brought the company into a sharp scrutiny. The company review on such a hazard will be to try and conduct an investigation on the whole plant on where the fire could have started and seek to know its causation[Vin10]. The causation may be as result of human negligence or factors associated with the production of car door parts. A critical review will be conducted on the plant located in Italy. The company floor has recorded two serious injuries where in the first case in 2010, a worker slipped and got seriously injured after stepping on a banana skin. The second incident involving a worker was recorded was in 2013 where a worker slipped and fell on the factory floor and banged his head. The fracture sustained resulted to his death. The subsidiary floor in Italy can be identified as a hazard by the nature of serious injuries the workers have sustained from slipping on the floor[Gul10]. The task of the company will be to identify appropriate ways in which it can have a significant improvement on the surface of the plant in order to avoid repetition of such incidents. A critical review should be conducted also in the subsidiary located in Spain. The incident that took place in the plant involved a worker who got trapped by the machine. The worker as a result sustained serious injury at the plant facility. Such an accident may be occasioned by lack of concentration during the production process. The incidents discussed will form a basis for the improvement of Car-Part Ltd health and safety policies, and thus will therefore provide a solution on improving the company health and safety policy which is in line with the company Corporate and Social Responsibility[Vin10]. In doing the assessment on the fire, slippery floor and machine hazards, it is imperative that the following points should be considered while conducting the review on health and safety improvement; i. The techniques and processes that have been used while producing the car door parts. ii. Exposure on workers which is either actual or potential. iii. Measures and procedures which are necessary in the control of exposures from aspects such as work practices and hygiene practices. In the determination on the level of risk which is associated by a hazard, the decision lies with the management of the company on whether a control program will be required[Yas]. The assessment on the company health and safety standards must take into consideration not only the current state of the factories but potential situations that may arise as well. A review on the company should encompass the comparison of existing safety and health practices with a. The requirement of the safety and health legislation. b. The firm’s safety statement which has been set out c. The company published safety and health guidance. Recommendations for how it should be structured The critical review of Car-Part Ltd Group requires that the company should employ the ideal effective environment and safety standards through the following; i. The company safety statement should be clear and brief for it to be read and understood by the workers at risk. ii. The company overall safety policy should be adequate and internal structures are able to implement it. iii. The company should also adopt a safety consultation mechanism, ensure there is employee participation and there is existence of representation procedures and the procedures should also be effective. To further accentuate the point Car-Part Ltd Group should set up a safety committee in all its factories and ensure it complies with the company requirements on matters that pertains to safety of the workers. iv. The review checklist will seek to identify the safety system that the organization implements if it can identify hazards and assess risks in the company factories. v. The company should conduct risk assessments on regular basis. This is because due to the nature of risk it constantly changes and thus it becomes necessary for improvements to be made on order to keep the health and safety policy up to date. vi. The safety statement should be available at the factories and the workers are also given the relevant extracts in case of occurrence of a specific risk. vii. The company should carry out health and safety training regularly and the training should also give the workers adequate information on the risks that they are exposed to during production of the car door parts. viii. The company should also have procedures which are able to monitor the implementation of the safety systems and the control measures that the company has implemented. Car-Part Ltd Group measures to enhance uniform safety and health policies Car-Part Group should in light of incidents that have taken place in different subsidiaries adopt a uniform safety and health policy across its factories[Pel11]. The company should adopt safety and health management system and it should cover the health and safety work of the company, planning process for accident prevention, management responsibilities and resources, procedures and practices that develop and implement, review and maintain safety and health policy. In order to have a successful environment and health management system in the company it should contain the following elements; i. Policy and commitment- the system should set a clear direction in which the company will follow. It contributes to all areas of the business performance as part of showing commitment to continuous improvement. ii. Planning which is achieved where the company plans to fulfil its safety and health policy. iii. Implementation and operation is achieved where the workers are motivated and empowered to ensure their safety and health and not to simply avoid accidents[Hug11]. iv. Measure performance- the performance is measured against set standards in order to reveal when and where improvements are needed in the Group operations. v. Auditing and review of performance of the system- the company as a group should review and improve the system continuously thus enabling the safety and health performance improve constantly. The company should also report in its annual reports on how it has performed on workers safety and health as part of its responsibility[Gan11]. Conclusion Car-Part Group has an obligation to ensure continuity of its operation adopt better and improved safety and health measures across all the factories found in different countries. The policy adopted should encompass the organization in its entirety and thus it becomes a responsibility for the CEO Julia Mills to ensure its implementation. Reference List Gan11: , (Gander, 2011), Gul10: , (Guldenmund, 2010), Hug11: , (Hughes, 2011), Vin10: , (Vinodkumar, 2010), Yas: , (Lockhart, 2013), Pel11: , (Pelletier, 2011), GEI13: , (GEIS3 HSE, 2013 ), HSE09: , (HSE Books, 2009), HSE13: , (HSE Books, 2013), Read More