Risk Assessment and Employees' Protection - Case Study Example

Introduction Risk assessment is a cornerstone in safety practice that all organizations must integrate into their safety plan. According to the online brochure of Health and Safety Executive : “A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm” ( HSE). Protecting the employees in a workplace is one of the primary goals of risk assessment. By conducting a good risk assessment of a workplace, the business lessens the incidence of injury or harm that can happen to its employees. By doing so, the company meets an important legal obligation at the same time preventing any further costs that maybe incurred when accidents happen. According to Health and Safety at Work ( 2007), organizations have legal responsibilities towards their employees, among them are : 1. Assess risks to employees, customers, partners and any other people who could be affected by their activities; 2. Arrange for the effective planning, organization, control, monitoring and review of preventive and protective measures; 3. Ensure they have access to competent health and safety advice; 4. Consult employees about their risks at work and current preventive and protective measures. In view of this, organizations must seriously consider conducting periodic risk assessment in order to prevent serious legal problems which could lead to the closure of a business. Although a business cannot totally eliminate all the risks in a workplace, management can lessen the probability of accidents by carefully evaluating the potential hazards by carrying out a risk assessment. The group assumed that certain hazards would be visible upon our visit to the facility we have chosen. The group selected the engineering facilities of Penrhyn Road - Sopwith Building since it a good example of a workplace that carries a lot of risks for two main reasons: it is a very busy workplace and a lot of equipment and machinery are being used there on a daily basis. The group visited the said facilities after asking permission. A Technician was assigned to us who willingly guided us through the facilities and explained to us some of the equipments that they have been using. They also allowed us to take some pictures since they were aware that we are doing a risk assessment for educational purposes. In order to have a reliable report, we visited the facility a couple of times and recorded our observations. Moreover, the group met after every visit to discuss the observations that we just recorded. The most important thing in this report is to abide by the guidelines in conducting a risk assessment which can be found at the HSE website. The group members agreed to follow the five steps indicated in the brochure. Risk Assessment and Implications The first step in Risk Assessment is to walk around the place by making observations on possible sources of hazard that can cause harm to the workers. In order to substantiate the findings, the group took pictures of situations where hazards exist. An example of this is a picture of wooden blocks scattered on the floor. The wooden blocks pose as a hazard to all workers passing by the said area. However, a more detailed assessment would be discussed in the second part. In addition to such pictures, the group members took pictures of all safety signs that were in place such as Emergency Stop, First Aid, Laser Hazard, Foot Protection must be Worn etc. By doing so, the group is documenting control/measures in place. Picture below shows an example: The left picture clearly illustrates the procedure that must be followed in case of fire. The second sign indicates that there is laser hazard involved in operating a certain machine. Putting up appropriate signs provides warning or a guideline for a course of action. This is the reason why signs/labels are considerd controlling mechanisms. The implication is that employees become aware of their actions as a result of these visual reminders. Unfortunately, some Technicians refused to have their picture taken for confidentiality purpose. The supposed picture was to show in this report that the personnel wear protective gear such as safety shoes gloves, and helmets. The group also interviewed some technicians regarding the use of machinery or equipment. We asked them if they strictly followed the Instruction Manual of each machine/equipment. The answer was “definitely”. The technicians emphasized that they were trained before they operated an equipment. Indeed, training is a controlling measure which can benefit both employer and employee. The implication is that incidence of injuries are lessened because operators are profcient in handling the machinery. This saves the company money and insurance premiums. The group also asked the guide if there were any cases of accidents. He mentioned a few cases which were minor such as tripping over rubbish. However, there were no recorded cases of major injuries sustained by employees. The management kept a logbook that recorded any incident but we were not allowed to inspect the said logbook. Although there is not much implication here, still, the management must look for other areas that they can improve on. The second step in risk assessment is identifying those who maybe harmed by certain hazards. The observation revealed that certain hazards are present in the engineering facility such as : cables, noise, scattered materials , and machinery. Most of the hards can be considered as technical in nature but management plays a big role in controlling the aforementioned hazards. Also , the group identified the persons at risk such as : cleaners, visitors, students, technicians, maintenance Staff, and inexperienced Staff. Among this group, the Technicians are more exposed to injury since they frequently come in contact with the machinery, cable, and electricity. They are also subject to industrial noise especially when there is cutting or grinding involved. However, the employees are not protected from the long-term hazard of noise.The nosie hazars can be considered as frequent yet medium risk. They were not required to wear ear plugs in a noisy environment. The group asked them why they were not given ear plugs, the workers replied “ we are already making a request”. This is a serious concern since the World Health Organization considers noise as an occupational safety hazard . In fact, prolonged exposure to noise may lead to hearing disabilities. It is important then that management take an immediate course of action to resolve this problem. If management does not resolve this issue immediately, there would be legal implications when an employee’s hearing suffers from damage. The third step in risk assessemnt involves evaluating the risk so that current practices can be compared to good practice. Once a risk is identified, the company then can decide how to control these risks. Below are the risks identified as well as the suggestions in controlling such risks: 1. Cables – Cables are left lying on top of a table. These cut electrical wire with loose ends spilling on the floor can potentially trip someone walking past by. A good practice would be to roll these cables into a spool and store in a cabinet. They must only be brought out as needed.This hazard can be controlled by proper storage of materials whn not in use. 2. Machinery- Near the first aid section, some metal boxes are left lying on counter tops with their edge near the side. Also, some wooden blocks which are by-products are left scattered under a table. This can cause a worker to stumble or trip which can have fatal results since sharp cutting/planning materials are on top of the said table. It is considered that this is a high-risk and high-frequency. Again, this hazard is controllable by employees through proper waste disposal. The blocks can be immediately disposed in a nearby box. A safety officer or supervisor must go around to inspect the work tables. If any deviation from normal procedure is observed, that must be reported immediately so appropriate action can be taken. 3. Noise – The place is noisy since there are machines being operated for certain number of hours in a day. Thus, it is important that the employees wear a protective earplug so as to filter the noise. As mentioned earlier, noise is an occupational hazard with long-term effects. Aside from proving ear plugs, another controlling mechanism is placing signs such as “wear ear plugs” on areas which has a high noise level. 4. Materials are not in their proper place. As you can see in the picture, the wooden stick is left standing against the counter which is a potential hazard. A worker can bump into the stick and hurt himself by tripping over it. Also, the countertop has many metal boxes with parts scattered around. This can fall from the table and cause foot injury. A controlling measure which can be used are signs and labels indicating where materials should be stored. Training workers is also highly recommended since they are careless or negligent when it comes to storing materials. This risk is aggravated by carelessness on the part of the employee. It is therefore important that the management prescribe policies that can provide clear guidelines to employees about practicing safety in the workplace. A certain part of that guideline can discuss proper storage. Management can enforce sanctions to those who violate the policy. After carefully following the three steps in risk assessment, it is imperative that result be recorded which can be reported to the management. The recommended procedure would be to give a copy to the management the result of the risk assessment. The management then would assign a representative from a department to update the assessment on a periodic basis. Outcome of the assessment Over-all, the risk assessment can be considered comprehensive since most samples of risk assessment are rather brief. However, the group believes that the safety of the workers can be further enhanced if the risk assessment elaborates well the details. Besides, the group members are committed to give their suggestions in improving the quality of the workplace. In fact, there were still many observations that were recorded and we just filtered the information for this report. The technician’s were appreciative of our report since they can further pursue the request for ear plugs. The assessment is an eye-opener for the workers since they finally have a formal and documented risk assessment evaluation. The group believes that as a third party, we conducted an objective and fair assessment. It is our only hope that the management would seriously consider updating the assessment on a yearly basis so that other areas that have been neglected can also be given attention. The engineering laboratory is a big workplace and there are still other sources of hazard which we may not have seen due to time constraints. Moreover, the observation was done under normal circumstances – daily operations. Other situations such as fire , earthquake or typhoon which could reveal the vulnerabilities of the facility did not happen at that time. Nevertheless, the facility also tried to ensure the safety of its workers by putting controlling mechanisms in place such as signs, labels, protective shoes, and stop button. If the recommendations for the evaluation would be implemented, then the engineering facility would decrease the hazards in the workplace making it a safer environment. Conclusion After conducting this activity, it can be concluded that risk assessment evaluation is a necessity for every organization. The exercise of assessing risks makes an organization aware of the potential sources and cause of hazards which can greatly affect the employees. It must be realized by every business owner that they have a legal responsibility towards the safety of their employees. Accidents and injuries can result from neglecting the evaluation presented by the group. It is significant therefore for the management of the laboratory to discuss the findings among the owners as well as officers. A committee can be created to monitor the changes that should be implemented as recommended by the report. As for the group, the activity was rewarding since we were able to come up with a report that can help an existing workplace. We also realized the gap between theory and practice. Moreover, we realized that attitude towards safety counts a lot in creating a safety culture. It is for this reason that management is more accountable since it must provide direction and training to its employees. It can be done by creating manuals that contain policies which must be made clear to all employees. The collaboration of management and employees would determine the effective implementation of such policies. Indeed, this activity has raised our level of maturity towards safety. It is important that students like us undergo this process so as to appreciate the real-life applications of the knowledge we have received in class. Definitely, experience is the best teacher. Read More