Occupational health and safety - Case Study Example

 Occupational Health and Safety Introduction According to Various (2007, 289), Occupational Healthy Safety (OHS) has the responsibility of ensuringthat people engaged in employment are safe and healthy while at work. It is an organ that fights for the welfare of employees and advocates for a healthy and safe working environment. As working environment, it is an interaction of different people like customers, staff, and family members. Therefore, for the effectiveness of health and safety of those involved, OHS system should be active in an organization so as to avoid injuries and deaths that result from dangerous working environment. Human life should be treated sacredly by taking preventive measures that will create confidence with the workers to offer their service without fear. Companies, which do not take such measures, expose their workers to dangerous consequences inform of injuries (Dean et al 1996). These injuries make workers stay home, while nursing their wounds and pain. When people are not able to attend to their normal duties at work, they affect service delivery, which was seen through the limited returns that the company realizes. Titanic Cove Resort (TCR) is a business firm found in Byron bay, which provides conference facilities, accommodation services, and food and beverage choices among many to their customers. This indicates that being a service industry; it has 420 members of staff, who attend to approximately 800 guests that visit the business. This paper shall discuss the efficiency of OHS system in TCR in detail, and suggest recommendations that will improve the safety and health of TCR employees and customers. Breaches in WHS Legislation According to New South Wales legislation The world Health Organization and the New South Wales legislation in Australia have a common ground in regard to occupational health and safety (Levy & Wegman 2005). According to these two organs, it is the duty of occupational health to maintain a high level of psychological and bodily safety to workers so as to avoid risks that come with working conditions. The working environment should be improved to create a reliable condition that will protect workers from work related risks. Companies should create a positive climate which would enable workers to improve their productivity in the business. TCR has shown a breach of New South Wales legislation since it has not promoted health safety. The case study indicated that a bar attendant was assaulted by an intoxicated person. This attendant was hospitalized and was to be laid off for tree weeks. This was not according to the labor legislation, which advocates for a suitable working environment. As an employer, TCR should provide security for her employees while at work, but this incident where one of her works suffered these injuries, indicates a breach of legislation. Secondly, the working environment does not promote a healthy and safety climate. This was shown when a fight broke in the firm, and the security offered to go and settle the dispute, but instead he was knocked and became unconscious. This shows that TCR does not uphold occupational health and safety hence a breach of legislation in the company. Cost and Benefits of Occupational Health The above illustration indicates that the current level of occupational health and safety is not legal compliance. When workers are exposed to risks that harm their lives, they lead the company to an extra cost of providing for their medical treatment (Alston 1994). Such expenses can be avoided if the occupational health and safety system is upheld. Lack of proper occupational health may lead to deaths that make families lose their loved ones, who in this case are the bread winners. The loss of a family bread winner indicates that other family members will face challenges in meeting their basic needs. This propagates the rate of poverty in the society. Families that lose their loved ones undergo pain and grief and take time to accept the departure of their friend or relative. Therefore, to avoid such experiences, employers should adopt and implement an effective occupational health and safety procedure. According to OHS, employers should come up with procedures and methods that can handle hazards so as to avoid injury to the worker. This can be attained, when the company promotes other members of staff in exchanging ideas so as to develop functional roles that may boost safety in the company. However, according to the survey, it was discovered that members of the OHS committees comprise of TCR administration only. Other junior members have been left out of the committee. This indicates that the committee that does not meet the legal requirement. The OHS committee should be made of the administration team and junior staff so as to make sure that all people interests are taken care. Nevertheless, according to TCR, the OHS is made up the administration only who may not consider the interests of other junior members. An effective OHS should include all departments in the company so as to take in to account the risks involved in their respective work places. This may help the stakeholders in formulating policies and procedures that will suit all workers. In regard to TCR, such a committee may not understand the real dangers that workers undergo since most of them may consider their own safety and neglect junior employees. This indicates that the risks that workers have encountered have been as a result of poor formulation of policies by the committee, since the safety of workers is not put first. The study discovered that the staff had been using chemicals that were dangerous to them during their cleaning routines. To show lack of safety through occupational health, the study indicated that bottles, which contained chemicals, did not have labels on how to use the products. This exposed the workers to health risks such as illness and injuries which saw many of them saying at home, and not reporting to duty. This shows that occupational health committee was unable to discover that the cleaning substances did not have clear labels on the safety of the workers. Even though the cleaning substance worked well on the glass screens; it had severe consequences on human beings such as breathing difficulties, burns on hands and to the eyes. From this information, the study shows that the committee was interested in the effectiveness of the cleaning substances but neglected the health hazards that it caused to human beings. According to the case study, the health safety representatives, did not complete the training therefore; they lack adequate information on how to maintain safety in a working environment. The members do not meet regularly so as to discuss health and safety in the company. This suggests that the committee may not understand the real picture of how workers are suffering from this misdemeanor. The company does not train the members arguing that the course is expensive. It is worth noting that the company is reluctant to train members on health and safety, the committee met last over there months, and the agenda was not health and safety, but it was Christmas party arrangement. The Human resource should be advised that losing life as a result of the risks involved in a working environment is expensive. Training a member of staff on occupational health would be productive. The report indicates that TCR does not have a reliable, first aid kit, which can be used to save a life in the company. This indicates that the committee does not play its role in ensuring work related safety. The company should offer training to her staff on how to handle occupational health, which will enhance productivity in the firm. This shows that the company denies the workers their constructional right of work safety. This is against the law, therefore; proper legislation process should be followed so as to make the company an accountable. The New South Wales legislation procedure expects employees to create a reliable environment for workers in terms of safety and health. They expect the company to develop policies that will promote safe working conditions. This has not been adhered to in TCR. The people, who form the safety and health committee, are less informed on occupational health. They do not meet regularly to discuss on occupational health, which is the main reason that led to its formation. It is made up of administrators who may not understand what a junior officer may be going through while at work (WHO 1987). This indicates the members do not portray the issues that affect junior members of staff since they do not know them. A person who is faced with an issue understands the measure of the problem and may give sound information, which may assist in solving the problem. However, those who do not actively take part may not give a lasting solution because they lack the real experience. Titanic clove resort does not put in mind workers safety. This was shown when a fire alarm was heard, and people were unable to respond to the alarm because they were not aware of their roles and responsibilities. This shows that the OHS committee has failed in playing her role in the committee. It has been attributed that the rampant injuries of workers were as a result of a dormant safety and health committee. Summary The New South Wales legislation developed a framework to govern occupational health and safety. Australia went further to include in her constitution so as to emphasize on workers safety. However, according to the study, Titanic clove resort has not followed these guidelines. Workers in the company have been exposed to risks that have caused injuries such as burns while at their working place. The health and safety committee, which should advocate for a working environment, comprises of administrators and has left out other departments. In addition, the company has stopped training of workers on safety because of the cost involved. The management should develop security and safety measures of workers before this disaster breaks out. The company should protect human life. They should not be elfish by claiming that training of staff is expensive. The cost of training is productive to the firm and can not be compared to the loss it can bring to the company. References References Algera, J. (1990). The job characteristics model of work motivation revisited. In U. Kleinbeck, H.-H. Quast, H. Thierry, & H. Hacker (Eds.), Work motivation (pp. 85-104). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. Alston, R. (1994) Occupational health nurses’ changing roles: An international perspective. UNE. UK. University of New England Press. London. Arthur, W., Bennett, W., Edens, P.S., & Bell, S.T. (2003). Effectiveness of training in organizations: A meta-analysis of design and evaluation features. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 234-245. Avolio, B.J., Bass, B.M., & Jung, D.I. (1999). Re-examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, 441-462. Bamber, L. (2003). Principles of the management of risk. In J. Ridley, & J. Channing (Eds.), Safety at work (pp. 187-204). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Bentley, T. A., & Haslam, R. A. (2001). A comparison of safety practices used by managers of high and low accident rate postal delivery offices. Safety Science, 37, 19-37. Brown, K.A., Willis, P.G., & Prussia, G.E. (2000). Predicting safe employee behavior in the steel industry: Development and test of a socio technical model. Journal of Operations Management, 18, 445-465. Daily work routine). In B. Zimolong (Ed.), Management des Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutzes - Die erfolgreichen Strategien der Unternehmen (Health and Safety Management- The successful strategies of enterprises) (pp. 171-200). Wiesbaden: abler. Dean, D. (1996) Developing Leaders: a guide to good practice, London, Royal College of Nursing. Eisner, H. & Leger, J. (1988). The international safety rating system in South African mining. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 10, 141-160. Elke, G. (2000). Management des Arbeitsschutzes (Management of Health and Safety). Wiesbaden: DUV. Elke, G. (2001). Sicherheits- und Gesundheitskultur I - Handlungs- und Wertorientierung imbetrieblichen Alltag (Safety and health culture I – Behavioral and value orientation in Levy B. and Legman D. (2005). Occupational and Environmental Health: Recognizing and Preventing Disease and Injury. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Various (2007). Australian Master OHS and Environment Guide. CCH Australia Limited. WHO (1987), Occupational Health in the 1990’s. A Framework for Change. Copenhagen, WHO European Occupational Health Series No. 1. Appendices Risk assessment in Titanic Cover Resort The study discovered that workers suffer from injures while attending to their functional roles. Fro example, workers carry tables which are 70 kilograms weight. They are expected to carry these tables before and after the meeting. It is cumbersome when workers carry the tables after the meeting because, at this point, most of them are tired. Therefore, they lack the strength to carry these tables which lead to injuries. This shows how worker risk their lives at the hands of anon effective committee. This is because people the committee is made of administrators and they may not know what such workers go through. Such case would have been addressed if all departments would be represented equally in the health and safety committee. Secondly, Titanic Clove Resort does not have a procedure of handling risk management. This explains the reason why workers complain and appear to be stressed and discouraged. As a result, the company has experienced a large number of staff turn out which has made the management keep replacing. However, those who join the company are not trained on occupational health. This creates a dilemma because the lives of workers in this company are at risk. They lack sufficient knowledge on how to maintain their safety while at work. The study revealed that a majority of workers were complaining of fatigue and seemed to have lost interest in the company. According to these findings, TCR does not consider the safety of her employees and does not comply with the constitutional law that regards workers safety. It also violates international labor organization guidelines on how employees should promote a working environment. This indicates that the company has neglected her staff and does not consider the welfare of the workers. The staff turn out has made the company lose a substantial ratio of expertise and professionals. They leave the company to go and join other companies, where their health is safe. These are people who have grown with the company. The company had invested a significant expertise in them. When they leave, they go with such massive experience to other competitors in the market. This has led the company to witness a drop in her profits. Action plan The study recommends that the present OHS committee should be dissolved, and a new one be formed. When forming a new committee, the company should remember to include members from other departments so as to make the safety and health condition of the staff as a whole is put at rest. In addition, the committee should come up with a procurement sub committee, which will determine the companies that make supplies to them. This will enable counter checking of health and safety of workers, while using products from other companies. Companies have lost expertise and professionals who lose their organs from carelessness and lack of safety measures in their work places. Implementation of these recommendations will make Titanic Cove Resort attain high levels of safety environment for workers. The procurement subcommittee will report to the OHS committee in regard to the safety of the ordered products. The committee will evaluate the company through the information given in relation to human safety. Read More