Industrial Security Plan - Assignment Example

Industrial Security Plan al Affiliation) Introduction An industrial safety plan is a set of procedures set forth to protect workers in an industrial setting. Security officers carry out industrial safety plan implementation. In addition, they have responsibilities and roles pertaining to safety inspections, safety training, policy development, and compliance with OSHA, which stands for Federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Implementing and developing safety policies aids employers reduce accident-related expenses and avert losses due to a decrease in productivity. The safety officer determines what policies and procedures needed and solicits effort from managers and employees. Roles of Safety Officers A safety officer supervises workplace activities to make sure that workers comply with organizations government safety regulations and policies. On the formulation of a policy, a security officer would ensure that all employees are alerted and in addition monitor on the compliance. The officer may also find it necessary to ask each employee sign a statement accepting receipt of the information. Safety officers examine interior and exterior workplaces to establish if there are any possible safety hazards. In these inspections, a safety officer checks for broken and damaged equipment, slip and fall hazards and other likely hazards (Subramanian, 2006). The officer also views workers to make sure that they are wearing necessary personal protective gear and following organization safety policies. For instance in the construction business, safety officers verify the stability of scaffolding, make sure that workers use helmets and footwear, and check to certify employees operate construction apparatus in a safe manner. When a workplace accident happens, a safety officer does an investigation to determine causes of the accident. The officer may decide to question witnesses, take pictures of any property damage and inspect the scene. Once the safety officer determines the reason of the accident, he is required to write a report detailing the grounds for the accident and lists recommendations that can assist in future accidents prevention. The OSHA requires the management to provide training on all safety topics and the ever-changing safety routines. These include hazardous materials handling, machine guarding and fire prevention plans. Safety officer’s spot out training needs build up appropriate and proper training programs and convey training to workers. They may solicit feedback from employees and use the feedback to better the existing programs or craft new ones (Subramanian, 2006). Roles of Security Officers The security officers have a wide role in ensuring that the workers are guaranteed of their safety at all times. In addition, they appear at the forefront of any emergencies within the organization. In case of any emergency, a security officer should have a clear knowledge of the protocols to be followed to avert the tragedy. Clear rules and procedures should be established to ensure that the resolution of any tragedy happens promptly. Security officers need to be individuals who have amassed proper training. The training needs to conform to the required country standards. Such training ensures that the security guards are conversant with their rights at workplaces (Subramanian, 2006). For instance, security guards should have knowledge of the particular environment within their jurisdiction. Based on where they work, these officers may have exposed to hazardous materials in case there is an explosion or fire at the job location. If a manager expects a security lookout to provide support during a crisis involving radiation, chemicals, or other dangerous matters, the manager needs to give prior training that is in line with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. Employers must fulfill regulations published by OSHA and other state occupational safety organizations. Regulations include reviewing benchmarks, implementing plans to be in line with those set benchmarks and finally following all record keeping requirements. Employers need also to ensure that they have a poster displayed entitled Job Safety and Health. OSHA regulations should be displayed in conspicuous place within the office, as required by the law OSHA and EPA Regulations OSHA and EPA standards require that workers be trained to do their expected job duties without risking their lives. Detailed emergency response training needs for these personnel must be derived from those roles, which they are assigned, based on the emergency response plan. Based on these protocols established by the government the level of training done on this safety officers will be only be limited to the extent they can handle the hazard. Training should concentrate on how the actions undertaken will be carried in a safe manner with minimal causality getting involved. The function that security personnel have in an emergency is vital with respect to the achievement of emergency response functions. The function they are given by their employer is vital in determining the information, training, and personal shielding equipment they must be given to carrying out their duties. In a majority of cases, they are prone to be the first individuals to a scene and their responsibility should be well understood (Miriam, 2007). Applications of EPA and OSHA in Workplaces The security personnel ought to provide support in an emergency concerning a hazardous occurrence. In addition, they ought to acquire the necessary training in accordance with the OSHA requirements. The OSHA Act protects security personnel that take up an emergency response responsibility. The Act considers sound planning as the first line of defence in all kinds of emergencies and tragedies (Sieglein, 2004). In addition, OSHA provides realistic information to help employers of security workers in addressing employee training and protection as part of the emergency preparation for hazardous substance and natural disaster. Terrorist incidents are not emergencies that OSHA expects a company to anticipate. Tailoring crisis plans to mirror the reasonably expected worst-case scenario in which security staff might work, companies may use these procedures to steer decisions regarding suitable personal protective equipment and training. Nevertheless, OSHA never includes any discussion on security guard licensing. However, some States have licensing for security personnel, including diverse levels of licensing in a number of cases. The licensing procedure in such States cover classroom training, and would include training that is related to the function of security response during an emergency (Miriam, 2007). ICS and NIMS Response Protocols ICS has been in existence for the past 30 years. It was formulated because of the wildfire that was experienced in California. Later on, the Department of Homeland Security came up with NIM (National Incident Management systems) to assist all responders from the different jurisdictional levels to adjudicate their duties more effectively and efficiently. NIM ensures that there is rapid response to disasters within the industrial setting. One of the major important practices that have been included into NIMS was the Incident Command System (ICS), which is an all-hazards occasion management system. This system has been already in use by hazardous materials teams, firefighters, emergency medical teams and rescuers. The ICS was established by the NIMS as a standardized incident governmental structure for the management of happenings. NIMS provide a flexible, adjustable and consistent; national framework within which private entities and government at all levels can work in harmony to manage domestic incidents, despite their complexity, cause, size or location. This flexibility applies to all stages of incident management, which encompasses response, prevention, preparedness, mitigation and recovery. NIMS provide a layout of standardized structures as well as requirements for procedures, processes, and systems to better interoperability between disciplines and jurisdictions in various areas. Homeland Security identifies that overwhelming numbers of emergency incidents handled daily by a single jurisdiction at any local level. The accomplishment of these operations depends on the capability to mobilize and effectively use multiple exterior resources. The resources must come jointly within an organizational framework, which is understood by all and which utilizes a universal plan. This is as specified in the course of incident action planning. The ICS has five major functions, including command, logistics, planning, operations, and finance and administration. In the NIMS ICS, a possible sixth functional part to cover the intelligence purpose can be established for sharing and gathering incident-related intelligence and information Business Continuity and Recovery Process Most companies have a developed disaster recovery and business continuity plans, but most have halted because of the ever-changing economic environments in the recent past. Companies traditionally have reacted well to emergencies for instance power outages caused by tornados and storms. Conversely, there is constantly the risk of a natural disaster, as witnessed in the 2011 earthquakes and the tsunami in Japan. That notwithstanding there is an increase in cyber attacks (Sieglein, 2004). Therefore, the changing business landscape has caused a business to revisit the previously established continuity management policies. Companies need to ensure that the most critical systems can be restored in a timely manner in case there is the occurrence of a tragedy. There should be minimal financial impacts and negative operational impacts during the restoration process. In such environments, industry continuity has become a major part of government preparedness initiatives. The department of homeland security has formed an association with the utility industry to come up with rules and procedures that will be of importance to businesses to ensure their continuity and survival during times of disaster. Based on the collaboration there was formulation of a framework guide that was to assist businesses in the preparedness (Miriam, 2007) Latest Trends in Business Continuity Process Currently, many businesses are investing in technology and business transformations, which include the replacements and overhaul of many legacy systems. In addition, updating business approaches to ensure continuity and recovery in case of a tragedy. Processes that support tragedy recovery capabilities may not work effectively in the contemporary business environment considering the new technologies (Miriam, 2007). With the significant investments in these new systems, it is important for companies to have a clear and complete knowledge of the business technology resiliency required in all areas. This should begin with call centre operations, to power marketing, HR and finance, and plant utilization. Businesses need to transform with the ever-changing technology for the quick response. Interconnected, Streamlined consolidated, efficient, and outsourced, business processes provide those who monitor operational risk and business additional alarm about the immediate and growing impact of a break anywhere within the service chain. While a break in the service chain does not have a similar instant effect of electricity disruption, the effect does build gradually, and can have a long-term effect. Without a comprehensive plan, businesses may fail to respond to technology outages. Conclusion Therefore, it is essential for businesses to be well versed with processes that are necessary for restoration of businesses in cases of disasters. It is an ongoing procedure and processes that business aim at identifying areas potential losses and come up with strategies to counter these risks. Many business processes are interdependent. Therefore, the organization should endeavor in trying to build a high resilience level and continued planning. A solid industry continuity program commences with discovering what is needed to make the organization viable and always aligned with its organization mission in cases of disaster (Miriam, 2007). References Miriam K. (2007) National Industrial Security Program: Operating Manual. Columbia, PA: DIANE Publishing Sieglein W. (2004) Security Planning and Disaster Recovery. New York NY: McGraw-Hill Professional Subramanian S. (2006). Industrial Security Management. New Delhi. India: Gyan Publishing House Read More