Health and safety in the workplace are both important topics that need to be incorporated in the workplace environment so that all parties involved in a company are protected and secure. There are many objectives that have been discussed in this class that are essential to an employee’s general health and overall safety while performing job tasks and responsibilities. The following objectives have been chosen from one particular week of discussion, and they will be discussed in more detail. These objections include: assess when to investigate, what to investigate, and who should investigate accident investigations; describe workplace stress, its causes, and human reactions that may occur; describe preliminary and detailed hazard analysis; define workplace ethics and explain the guidelines for determining ethical behavior; and finally, identify workplace violence reduction strategies and explain them. From week 4 of our assignments, we learned about accident investigations. Accidents need to be investigated as soon as everyone involved in the accident is under control and cared for as needed. According to our text on page 163, “waiting too long to complete an investigation can harm the results.” (Goetsch, 2015) Facts may become distorted if one waits too long to begin an investigation. All accidents need to be investigated, no matter how large or small. The main reason that investigations are conducted is to collect facts, rather than find blame. Investigators
1.2 Identify the lines of responsibility and reporting for health and safety in the work setting
Outcome R2: Exercise leadership skills needed to contain the scene and determine the root cause(s).
Outcome 1 – Understand own responsibilities, and the responsibilities of others, relating to health and safety in the work setting
The health and Safety at work act is the law of health and safety during work times at work. This is normally to do with dangerous equipment and all types of equipment the health and safety law act. This act is to ensure the safety of workers and this is so they do not get injured during work because of the businesses equipment or due to the businesses work that they are making the workers do also the health and safety act is also for the customers, suppliers and anyone who goes to the business site. To take action with the law the businesses do training and they carry out some assessments to see if the worker knows what to do in the situation where there is a slippery floor and there is no sign the worker should know and they should put the
This responsibility motivates the HR department and managers to implement stringent policies to prevent work-related injuries to avoid paying for higher workers’ compensation insurance. Moreover, it inspires the company to promote safety by organizing a safety committee to address hazards in the workplace to prevent injuries or deaths. The committee solicits employee suggestions and participation to increase compliance to company policies. It also develops various safety programs to promote employee wellness to improve their quality of life (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2010).
An identification of the lines of responsibility and reporting for health and safety in the work place.
Workers are protected under the Workplace Health and Safety Act. This act states that all workers have the right to know about the hazards they are working with. This includes what the specific dangers of the task or object(s) are, and what precautions must be taken to prevent any injuries from happening while working with them. Secondly, all workers have the right to participate. They are allowed to participate in any health and safety activities, meetings, and/or plans. Additionally, workers can refuse to work if they believe their task could in any way harm themselves or others. The Vice President of Health and Safety (the supervisor) will then have to investigate the problem and will have to come up with a solution to avoid the potential
Workplace safety is a major issue faced by nurses in healthcare settings. It is said that, hospitals are hazardous workplaces; unsafe workplaces are dangerous for the patients too. Today, many nurses are suffering hospital violence, heavy workloads causing serious injuries, contracting diseases caused by exposures to certain diseases, antineoplastics, and certain health care toxins, that workers bring home to their families. This in turn leads to acute staff shortages. Ample supply of nurses is very important in providing safe and timely care to the patient population. Maintaining a healthy workplace will enable the healthcare systems to control costs associated with healthcare management as well as enhancing the productivity of nurses in health care. It is estimated that creating a healthy environment in the workplace not only benefit nurses, but also benefits patients and other members of the health care team. This report explains some of the safety issues existing in health care, which directly or indirectly affects nurses as well as the health of the Canadian population.
The human resources process has to accompany both the employee and employer in regard to safety issues. An employee wants the assurance of safe and healthy working conditions; anything less exposes danger to their own wellbeing. In addition employees must take heed to precautions design by the organization. However an employer wants to avoid expenditures in overhead by cutting cost or corners often putting their employees at harmful risk. In addition, organizations also have a lawful obligation in which they have to provide a safe workplace by preventing accidents, hazards, serious injuries or accident-related deaths. Negligence on either behalf can result in determination, fines, citations, work-related
Our organization is growing and we are receiving new employees. It has come to my attention that our previous safety policy and procedure seem to be outdated. This paper is to provide all employers and fellow employees information of the policy. There will be many different topics discussed. Please pay close attention to these policies because they are important.
This assignment will focus on one of the extremely important topics of the many hazards in the healthcare work place that may pose as a threat to my health and safety in the Care Industry.
The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022 identifies several priority industries. Priority industries are identified as having a high number of injury and / or fatalities or hazardous in nature (Safe Work Australia, 2012). The foundation of risk management is to prevent incidents from occurring. Accident causation theory are models or tools that are used to assist in investigating incidents in order to prevent recurrence (Boyle, 2012).
The average working person spends an enormous deal of time in the workplace. Therefore, the conditions in the workplace have a significant impact on the workers. A reason why occupational health and safety is critical is due to the fact that it determines a workers quality of life. Similarly, an injury can significantly reduce quality of living. For example, I have worked with power tools and have noticed that my hearing is not as good as it used to be; now I must live with the effects for the rest of my life. Also, mental health is paramount for the workers prosperity; if a worker is constantly being harassed, they might become depressed. Stress has a negative impact on one’s health and is linked to a variety of diseases. Additionally, the
Health and Safety Regulations aim to improve safety in workplaces, making employers and employees equally responsible for ensuring that they protect themselves and others from accident and injury. The regulations refer to such things as clean kitchens, safety guards on machinery etc., If an employee is injured at work because of breaches of these rules then compensation can be awarded. Most health and safety legislation places place the responsibility of health and safety on the employers. The responsibilities may however be delegated to other competent persons such as fire warders, first aiders and care takers but the employer still
The amount of overtime hours being worked in the United States has been increasing steadily for a number of decades. Consequently, concern regarding the influence of overtime and longer working hours on the health and safety of workers has grown amongst both members of the scientific community and the healthcare industry itself. There are many studies illustrating the adverse effects on the general health and wellbeing of workers resulting from frequent overtime shifts and extended working hours. Specifically, evidence of a relationship between long working hours and an increased risk of occupational injuries has been found repeatedly “among nurses, anesthetists, veterinarians, and other healthcare professionals” (Kirkcaldy, 1997). Despite this, there is still much to be discovered until researchers are able to fully understand the impact long working hours have on the health and safety of healthcare workers.