Purchase of commercial spray plant - Assignment Example

Purchase of commercial spray plant Any machinery in the workplace poses a danger to the employees. The machines need assessment, which will help derive strategies required for control of any hazard. Engineering and management skills are required to control risks. The main mechanical hazards of the machine need identification. Once the hazards have been identified, the methods of protection from the hazards need to be described. Since there is a legislative body that governs work equipment and safety, its incorporation will be needed. Work environment requirements are then implemented at the workplace. Considerations required before acquisition of a spray booth are: hazard identification, risk assessment, and risk control. Q2. Investigation to decide whether the paint manufacturing operator has occupational asthma, and whether there are others potentially affected. The purpose of occupational health is to find and look for prevention and control modes for any adverse health effects of a working environment and activities performed. Two issues govern occupational health: personal health and hygiene standards at work place. The health hazards require assurance as chronic or acute. Although it sounds difficult to detect the effects, a cumulative and prognosis approach my help. Proper occupational health practices need logics, and consistency. This will offer a proactive and supportive system with the workforce at heart. The health hazards and the people exposed to them must be identified. A method of measurement for occupational exposure of people to spray paint, the duration and frequency of exposure must be established. The risks the workers are exposed to should be compared with the proper occupational standards of exposure. Once identified, the proper control measures be implemented. This will probably reduce exposure to this particular type of health hazard. The control strategies will then be monitored and reviewed periodically. To achieve success in monitoring the health of workers, the EMAS need to investigate health complaints. The RIDDOR reports of ill health be checked often and the inspectors assisted where there is need. The employers, employees, unions and all stakeholders need advise on occupational health. Support for HSE health campaigns will also enlighten the workers. Q3. How would you recommend the organization manages this issue? What steps should be taken to aid with any changes? Safety should be enhanced at any workplace. To protect oneself from exposure to hazards at the workplace, the employees must be sober. Stringent working rules should be put in place and implemented for the good of the employees and employers. Loss of qualified staff due to use of drugs and alcohol be curbed. The employees need to be enlightened on the dangers of use of drugs and alcohol at working place. Any employee found under drugs should be relived from duty. This will save lives and medical costs that the organization would incur. Q.4 Roofing Roofing activities are done from heights that pose a lot of danger to workers. Workers face danger of losing their life due to fall from high height at work. Roof work is an issue for construction companies, and guidance is needed for safety at work. The guidance is useful to: • The directors and company stakeholders • The clients of the project • Designers of building and components of construction • The principle contractors • Owners of the building • Employees and the self-employed at project site and • Advisers and consultants. Design of structures at the workplace plays a key role to safety of workers. The roof must be designed with the designer's focus on health and safety of employees. Before execution of work by the contractor, safety signs be strategically placed, which will be accessed by everybody. The contractors to execute the work should care about safety at work place and have safe working tools. During execution of duty, the employees in the building must vacate it and seek safer and better places (University of Sunderland, n.d., p. 3). Health issues related to use of bitumen as a construction material are skin irritations or dermatitis, burns, and throat and eye irritations. These hazards will occur in poorly ventilated areas and under exposure to hot bitumen during use and moving of bitumen from the ground to the roof. Q.5 Environmental Disaster: BP Oil Disaster The BP oil disaster is said to be the biggest accident of release of oil in the oceans named the Deep Water Horizon Spill. It exceeded the Ixtoc I leak that occurred in 1979 in the Gulf of Mexico. It happened through a fire explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident started with a well integrity failure, followed by loss of control of pressure of fluid in the well. It killed eleven people. Stemming of the oil took long by the engineers bolting a sealing cap on top of blowout preventer. 1000 miles of the shore line was affected, with about 200 miles heavily oiled. The main issue that is worth answering is its impact on the coast, ocean surface and the sea floor. Thousands of birds and sea turtles were affected. 2200 of the 6100 birds were visibly oiled with 600 dead turtles, 18 visibly oiled. 153 dolphins died with 18 of them being visibly oiled. The oil vanished through evaporation, capture, burning and dispersion (guardian.co.uk, 2011). Q6. Case Study: Chemex Factory Hazards on site likely to affect the employees at Chemex Factory are accidents with machines, live electrical wires that can shock or kill employees, and the chemicals involved in production of chemex. Accidents resulting from wrong use of machines are not inevitable. The lives of the employees would be in danger. Loss of lives or body parts can be realized. Tasks: a. Identify hazards on site The hazards on site are large fires due to flammable and toxic Toulene that can result in explosions, toxic gases (chlorine and ethylene oxide) that cause air pollution, and chemex and substrate A that exist in powder form a room temperature that is harmful. b. What could go wrong? Manufacturing building may undergo depreciation quickly due toxic substances and gases that erode construction material. The ware house has toxic substances at room temperature that are likely to explode if they are exposed to harsh conditions. The boilers are likely to explode if care is not taken in control and is not well managed by employees. The tank firms must be closely and regularly monitored to avoid spillage. The drains discharged to the river may be toxic. c. What would be the impacts? Exposure to toxic gases like chlorine will result in chronic chest diseases to the employees, air pollution, and formation of acid rain. Other habitants like birds and animals will be exposed to air pollution, which will affect their health. The acid rain formed will increase soil acidity, affect buildings around the firm, and retard the growth of plants. In case of toxic drain discharges, water ecological system will be affected. Animals and plants thriving in water will probably die. In case of an explosion of the flammable gases and substances, large fires will destroy the firm as well as the employees. d. What systems would you put in place to cut/reduce the risks to environment? To avoid pollution to environment, occupational health and safety act need to be implemented. Any type of pollution from the industry must be evaluated before and after any spillage. This will aid in determining the influence of the substances used. Design in construction and construction materials used should not pos danger to employees and the environment. Bibliography Bryant, B. (2011). Deepwater Horizon and the Gulf oil spill-the key questions answered. guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk. Access date 11 March 2013. University of Sunderland (No. Date). Health and Safety. USA. Read More