Safety Management - Term Paper Example

Total Environments, Health, and Safety Management Abstract The aim of the study is to analyze the existing hazards in the day-to-day workplace and in running a business. It also reveals what can be effectively done to prevent a catastrophe from happening by taking up the case of Toyota Motor Corporation. The paper shows that integrity and ethics in culture cannot be disposed of, in case of business. It is common knowledge by now that each profession has its own set of health hazards, termed as Occupational Hazards. For example, an automobile mechanic has the occupational hazard of exposure to harmful rays or injury from machineries like drills, and honing machines. The range of these hazards is so vast that it is next to impossible to specify or identify them. And, even if the hazards have been identified, adequate solutions may not be provided. The sites of these hazards are varied as well, spanning throughout all industries and organizations. The study considers one such global organization for the evaluation of issues such as Hazard identification and Control, Incident Investment and Safety Training, in this respect. (Stellman, 1998, p.103.8) Toyota Motor Corporation, one of the largest global organizations in the current times, is taken up as the case under study. This corporate giant is a global car-manufacturing company providing employment to thousands and earning millions as profit. We will evaluate the issue of hazard identification and control, Incident Investment and Safety Training, maintaining Toyota Motor Corporation as the point of focus. Hazard Identification and Control Discussion For any given manufacturing organization, the list of occupational hazards is very long. There may be health hazards from operating bulky, dangerous machineries that may injure or even kill the operator, working in improper positions, physical hazards such as too much noise, heat, inadequate lighting, and exposure to harmful radiations. There may also be exposure to chemicals like lead, cadmium, chromium, organic solvents and welding fumes. Plus, there are mental and psychological hazards from working long hours and in shifts. Specifically, in a car-manufacturing industry, there are some activities involved that have serious implications for health. In the manufacturing of battery for cars, there is a high incidence of exposure to lead and cadmium in case of lead-acid batteries and cadmium batteries respectively. Too much exposure to these metals may lead to chronic lung and kidney diseases that may prove to be fatal. Another fairly common activity in this sector is the welding or smelting of metals in order to construct the body of the car. This poses a risk of exposure to toxic materials like Sulphur dioxide and Welding fumes. In addition, the environment in and around the area in which the factory is situated gets polluted and affects the families living in them. All these occupational hazards are evident in the Toyota Group of industries. (Merson, Black and Mills, 2006, P.420) Evaluation In this respect Toyota delivers not just the best cars made out of the most advanced set of tools and techniques but also in terms of high safety standards for its employees. This is one of the most important principles of the company as is evident from the words of “Eiji Toyoda, one of the company’s founders – Safe work is the door to all work” (Colezo and Talpone, 2009, p.1) This is one company where qualitative productivity and industrial safety go hand-in-hand. One of the most important programs applied at Toyota is the Safety Assurance Network or SAN. It is often a problem to maintain proper communication between all the departments at an organization as each of them focus on different issues. As the application of safety requires highly trained professionals like safety engineers, it is vital that the channel of communication between the other workers and this department is kept open. SAN helps in accomplishing this task and aims at a team-based approach to the problem by combining together the efforts of the line workers, production supervisors and the safety engineers. Technologically, it works towards the “identification, class-prioritization and elimination of safety hazards.” (Colezo and Talpone, 2009, p.1) Recommendations Research shows that in order to avoid hazards, managers should be “proactive and constantly alert to potential hazards and unexpected events” (Hart and Aryan, 2007, P.127). Appointment of managers should be done, keeping this requirement in mind. Sometimes, managers prioritize higher and more advanced production at the cost of proper hazard identification and risk management. Such reckless attitudes must be discarded as an individual’s health is obviously worth more than higher production. So, risk taking in any form and ignorance of hazards has to be done away with at all costs. Finally, the system implementation of the programs on Hazard Identification and risk Management must be properly administered, for optimum results to attain safety of employees. Incident Investigation Discussion Incident Investigation is an important step in analyzing the existent hazards of an occupation. Since a failure of hazard analysis will lead to a complete collapse of a system, its methodology of operation, viz, Incident Investigation is an important step, too. Each industry has its own Incident Investigation System based on the culture and sophistication in an industry. (Manuele, 2003, p.4) The investigation, initially, starts with an assessment and then, if required, a hazard management, ending with a solution to the root cause. An investigation procedure for a car manufacturing company will comprise the steps similar to the chemical industry (for chemical batteries) and to the steel industry (used for building the body of cars). Evaluation In 2010, Toyota was found to be violating rules and circulars when the problem manufactured cars with defective accelerators were reported long after it had been discovered. The stipulated time period to inform such defects is 5 days which was not followed. This showed a lack of “leadership effectiveness and integrity” (Maciariello and Linkletter, 2011, p.13) in the management. It was also felt that the management had willfully withdrawn facts from the consumers. Also, they could not provide satisfactory answers to the queries of the customers about their product, even frustrating the distributors in the process. Most importantly, this incident resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. Recommendations The main flaw in this incident is evidently on the part of the management. Hence, recommendations were targeted in that arena. It was suggested that the “performance of top management and individuals” (Maciariello and Linkletter, 2011, p.176) are accurately assessed. Compensations of top management should depend on performance and not their positions. A sub-committee should decide the order of managerial succession. The strategies devised by the top management should be rigorously reviewed before implementation. And, last but not the least, ethics and integrity have to be maintained at all costs. Safety Training Discussion Safety Training has become an integrative part of knowledge of employees in today’s world. Almost all good companies impart some sort of safety training to their employees and other staff, just in case of a crisis. It may include how to evacuate a building in case of a fire or how to use the day-to-day tools and machineries needed for work in a safe manner or how to use a product in a proper, harmless way. In addition, safety training at a car-manufacturing company may include measures to prevent exposure to fumes, chemicals, heat or instructions about how to deal with the various car-related problems. It may also educate its employees about the manner in which to deal with the consequences if a mishap happens. This approach is also much dependent on team effort, in case of employees. So, a part of this program would also inform about how to work harmoniously in times of crisis. Evaluation Toyota’s safety training consists of a daily 5 minutes meeting with all teams. These meetings are called “Kiken Yochi” (Liker, 2008, p.271) or KYT meaning danger forsee. It trains employees to be aware of the environment and anticipate and identify the dangers that may be present in the working environment. All kinds of work is ceased for these 5minutes each day in an endeavor to make the workplace safer and thus, better for employees. This practice stresses the importance, given by the company to the issue of safety. It may be said that Toyota seems to be much more sensitive to the issue of safety and retains a humane touch to commercialization, as opposed to a lot of their contemporaries. Recommendations Safety training methods should be made a regular affair at work, for the maximum results. Even 5 minutes of training, like in the case of Toyota, can be beneficial. Apart from this, specific goals should be decided for safety training and it should be analyzed, thereafter, if the goals of the training have been met. This can be achieved by regular interactive sessions between employees and supervisors. If it is discovered that the meeting has not achieved its goal, steps must be taken to understand why this is the case and rectify the highlighted flaws in it. It may be helpful to maintain written records of the whole procedure, too. (ReVelle and Stephenson, 1995, p.281) Conclusion The need for proper safety measures is of utmost importance, especially because we are living in a world, full of machine-shaped Frankensteins that are capable of eliminating the human race altogether. It may be concluded that Toyota is has been actively participating in the improvement of safety measures for its employees and the world at large, apart from a few incidents here and there. But, altogether, its involvement in safety programs has been spectacular. References Colezo, J.A and Talpone, C (2009). Professional Safety. The Safety Assurance Network: How Toyota makes sure Safety is Everyone’s Job. 54(7), p.1 Hart, S and Aryan, M (2007). Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems: Success Factors and International Standards. P.127. Retrieved on 20.08.2011: http://ojs.acadiau.ca/index.php/ASAC/article/viewFile/1308/1142 Liker (2008). Toyota Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Manuele, F.A (2003). On the Practice of Safety. New Jersey and Canada: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Maciariello, J.A and Linkletter, K (2011). Drucker’s Lost Art of Management: Peter Drucker’s Timeless Vision for Building Effective Organizations. McGraw-Hill e-books. Merson, M.H, Black, R.E and Mills,A (2006). International Public Health: Diseases, programmes, Systems, and Policies. UK and Canada: Jones and Barlett publishers. ReVelle, J.B and Dr. Stephenson, (1995). Safety Training Methods: Practical Solutions for the New Millennium Canada: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Stellman, J.M (1998). Encyclopedia of Health and Safety, Volume IV. London: ILO. Read More