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Workplace safety
Importance of safety and health on construction site
Construction risk case study
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Recommended: Workplace safety
I. Introduction
It would not be too outrageous to call a construction site a “playground for adults.” After all, there are obstacles which require climbing, crawling, balancing, and other activities associated with jungle gyms. However, instead of falling a few feet onto a padded surface or into sand, construction laborers are at risk of falling hundreds of feet onto hard surfaces, or being crushed or struck by large objects. The risks cannot be compared on a similar scale. Hence, it is not surprising that construction ranks itself as being one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. In 2010 alone, there were 774 reported jobsite fatalities to construction laborers, which was the most of any industry in the country (“OSHA’s
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Today it acts as the federal jurisdiction for employers (both in the public and private sector) to provide safe and healthy environments for employees. It covers all occupational industries, covering a wide range of hazards such as chemicals, physical and mechanical danger, pathogenic viruses, and more. The act created the governmental organization, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the United States Department of Labor. The Secretary of Labor and Assistance Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health will oversee OSHA. Besides enforcing workplace safety through inspection, OSHA provides training and information covering the topics in the remainder of this paper. These training sessions are often in the form of OSHA 10- or 30-hour courses, which many employers will require their employees to enroll in ("Occupational Safety and Health Act of …show more content…
The moment of contact will injure or kill the worker. Often times, these types of incidents occur accidentally or due to events out of control of the workers. Still, workers must remain attentive on the jobsite to insure that they are never located too close to moving objects. In particular, when a crane is in operation, workers should avoid being anywhere near its radius in the event that the crane drops its load. Wearing protective personal equipment cannot always fully guard a worker, but it is best always wear it to protect one’s head, eyes, and hands. The bright orange or yellow color on a safety vest will also help machinery operators notice that there is a worker in the vicinity. If a worker does need to cross an area blocked by machinery, it is always best for the worker to make eye contact with the operator before proceeding ("OSHA 's Focus Four: Mitigating Jobsite
McGuire, C. (2011, April). Workplace Safety 100 Years Ago. Safety Compliance Letter(2524), 1-6. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=60166397&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Western Australian Department of Education. (2010). Occupational Safety and Health. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/policies/occupational-safety-and-health.en?bbp.s=9&bbp.e=select&bbp.v=4&bbp.i=d0.1&bbp.8.policyID=10918572&g11n.enc=UTF-8&bbp.9.pane=0
Site-specific safety concerns I have identified at the work site have been fall hazards from a hydraulic-powered cranes with a telescoping boom mounted on truck-type moving material and hoisting structures
Occupational Safety and Health Administration also known as OSHA is a U.S. regulatory agency that is used to implement the safety of employees, patients and the enviro...
...lothing and equipments in the industry. These will greatly ensure the safety of the employees and hence minimize the injuries. Use of the administrative control and work practices will also lead to the production of quality products safe for consumption (OSHA Quick take, 2010).
I have done an extensive search on the internet finding much of your needed information for the upcoming OSHA audit. You should find it helpful in answering all of the questions you had. I have attached the first page of every website in case you would like to check them out in more detail.
The OSH Act gave OSHA the authority to come into work places and inspect facilities for health and safety risks. Due to shortages in personnel, OSHA inspects accidents and safety complaints that are filed, and those facilities that have a high volume of accident rates. If an individual state has an approved safety and health enforcement plan, than they may be exempt from yearly inspections by OSHA and have their own state personnel conduct the inspections. The Act sets a maximum penalty for safety and health violations, but OSHA has the authority to calculate fines. If an industry objects to the citation or fines, they can go before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. OSHA has been criticized on both ends, by industries for being too strict, and by unions for not being strict enough. In the 1980s, OSHA had instituted a policy that would exempt some workplaces from a complete inspection if they had a lower than average injury rate. However, that policy was abandoned when an employee died from a workplace that OSHA had not fully inspected. OSHA has implemented new procedures that have set higher penalties and increased the maximum fine for all types of infractions.
United States Department of Labor (2004) Occupational Safety & Health Administration. In Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care & Social Service Workers. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3148/osha3148.html
Reese, C.D. and Eidson, J.V. (1999). Handbook of OSHA construction safety and health. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press
As opined by Cassidy (2006), these are intrinsically demanding, hazardous and actually challenging lines of work. Consequently, it is important to consider workers’ health related issues and others connected to the place of work to diminish the effects of drug use in construction sites and to augment the protection contained by the workers in addition to the place of work.
Introduction Canadian health and safety legislation requires companies and organizations to make a commitment towards occupational health and safety. Maintaining a safe workplace environment has numerous benefits. A safe work environment can boost employee morale, increase productivity, and improve job satisfaction. For companies and organizations, these benefits can lead to less turnover and increased employee retention. They can also reduce absenteeism while improving the culture and image of a company or organization.
Construction is one of the most dangerous works during this era. The advanced technologies are to be utilized in the construction work but still it is not really safe work. Many of the human beings are now involved in the construction work. It is one of the most typical working fields. Most of the persons who have lack of knowledge, degree and skills join the construction teams in order to earn living. It is said that most of the workers related to the construction industry are not really well educated. This becomes that major cause of their less focus on the work. This proved sometimes very critical condition. One of the most important things in this regard is that workers sometimes not really work with taking great care.
Ensuring the health and safety of employees is of primary importance to the Organization. Organization is committed to maintaining safe facilities, sponsoring appropriate training programs, and providing necessary safety equipment. In addition, Administration and staff shall cooperatively develop appropriate procedures and regulations for ensuring employees' health and safety, with special emphasis on the handling of potentially hazardous equipment or substances and for investigating and reporting any accidents and mishaps. All newly employed staff shall be required to comply with the physical examination. Every employee must provide annually, at a minimum, an updated health history of current health problems.
Accidents occur in the workplace but in secret. These most of the time lead to physical and mental injuries that might affect the worker way of living for the rest of their lives. It is estimated that more than 337 million workers get injured in their place of work or in the course of work every year leading to work-related diseases causing about 2.3 million deaths per year (United States Department of Labor, n.d.).
In the early 1900s industrial accidents were commonplace in this country; for example, in 1907 over 3,200 people were killed in mining accidents. At this time legislation and public opinion all favored management. There were few protections for the worker's safety. Today's industrial employees are better off than their colleagues in the past. Their chances of being killed in an industrial accident are less than half of that of their predecessors of 60 years ago. According to National safety Council (NSC), the current death rate from work-related injuries is approximately 4 per 100,000, or less than a third of the rate of 50 years ago. Improvements in safety up to now have been the result of pressure for legislation to promote health and safety, the steadily increasing cost associated with accidents and injuries, and the professionalization of safety as an occupation. When the industrial sector began to grow in the United States, hazardous working conditions were commonplace. Following the Civil War, the seeds of the safety movement were sown in this country. Factory inspection was introduced in Massachusetts in 1867. In 1868 the first barrier safeguard was patented. In 1869 the Pennsylvania legislature passed a mine safety law requiring two exits from all mines. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was established in 1869 to study industrial accidents and report pertinent information about hose accidents. The following decade saw little progress in the safety movement until 1877, when the Massachusetts legislature passed a law requiring safeguards for hazardous machinery. In 1877 the Employers' Liability Law was passed. In 1892, the first safety program was established in a steel plant in Illinois, in response to the explosion of a flywheel in that company.