INTERNAL MEMO Date:
February 15th, 2008.
To:
Management
Thro:
Operations Manager
From:
Safety Officer
Subject:
REPORT ON HAZARDS ANALYSIS AND CONTROL FOR THE BARGE CONSTRUCTION SITE.
Sir, In view of the safety concerns of the company, (Gladwyn Investment Company Limited) a detailed safety audit was carried out at the barge fabrication area. The purpose is to identify, analyze and adopt control measures for hazards associated with the job. The safety audit is also meant to assess the present state of the company’s Health Safety and Environment (HSE) – Management system in order to bring about improvements. HAZARDS AND UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS During the audit exercise, we identified a number of hazards and unsafe working conditions associated with the barge construction project, and are stated below. 1. Incomplete personal protective equipments (PPEs): Most of the workers were
seen working without their personal protective equipments because they were not given. The absence of these protective equipments is of great risk because some injuries which would have ordinarily been prevented are left unguarded due the absence of these equipments. The most essential required personal protective equipments (PPEs) for the barge fabrication job are: 1
• Safety Boots • Hand Gloves • Splash Goggles •
Safety Glasses
• Safety Suits • Safety Caps • Safety Belts 2. Absence of fire emergency response personnel and facilities: •
Absence of fire extinguisher at the barge fabrication site.
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There is no trained and competent fire watch on site.
• Absence of fire alarm, flash point detectors and other fire safety aids around the company premises. 3. Occupational Health hazards to the workers resulting to their exposure to adverse
weather conditions: • The direct effect of the sun rays on the welders coupled with the heat and smoke from the welding activities (Heat Stroke). • Absence of workshop shade to prevent rain and electrical discharges that might result from thunder strikes. •
The work site lacks a standard toilet facility, hence the worker take advantage of any available space within the company premises for such needs. This action is very unhygienic, coupled with the man hour lose it takes.
4. Some of the very essential working equipments/tools are defective and in some
cases absent. This has left the workers with no option but to resort to unsafe actions. • Absence of comprehensive scaffolds and ladder for climbing heights.
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There are no facilities for lifting heavy equipments; hence the workers resort to manual carrying even without their PPES.
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Some of the welding cables are old, defective and potential sources of electrical leakage/shock.
5. Complete absence of barricades and caution signs along the River blank which
happens to be very close to the barge construction work. In fact the River blank is just a few meters away from the work site and is a major safety concern, especially because most of the workers working around there are unable to swim. 6. General lack of awareness to safety, good house keeping and contingency management. HAZARDS ASSESSMENT AND CONSEQUENCE Having identified some of the hazards and unsafe conditions associated with the barge construction job, we also need to analyze the consequence in order to understand and avert the impending contingencies that might arise. When we place the frequency level of hazards and unsafe conditions around the work area, against the ISO1400 risk assessment matrix, there is a very high probability of an impending undesired occurrence (accident). The potential damage that might result to life, assets, environment and reputation of the company is such that cannot be over looked. The situation is one that calls for immediate response by management to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to control the above risk factors to “as law as reasonably practicable” (ALARP).
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HARZARDS ANALYSIS AND CONTROL In an effort to minimize the safety concerns analyzed above, it will be highly productive for management to consider, review and implement the following recommendations below. 1. Pre task planning: - There should be a health safety and environment (HSE)
management system in place to ensure that every task to be performed is carefully planned and all the hazards associated with it, clearly identified. This involves the following processes. • All the personnel to perform the task should be identified and their competence assured. • The various tools and equipments to be used for the job should also be identified and tested. Any noticed short falls in performance rectified and made ready for use. • The hazards associated with the tasks are fully discussed with all concerned. • All the personal protective equipment required should be identified, provided and the understanding of the usage is explained. 2. Adequate provision of personal protective equipments (PPES): This is a statutory
requirement of the factories act of 1990 and thus should be looked into by management. It has been commonly observed that most of our workers carry out their duties without these pieces of equipment and apparels which are suppose to be worn to protect them against the hazards existing in the job. It is therefore highly recommended that these Personal protective equipments (PPEs) be made available at all cost. I also advice that an experienced personnel be involved with the purchase to ensure that the proper types meant for the job are procured and issued to workers.
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It is also very necessary to note that the life spam of the personal protective equipments (PPEs) as well as the frequency with which they should be issued to worker depends on the manufacturer’s catalogue. 3. Safety policy for subcontractors and other forms of workers working within the
company premises: Our establishment plays host to a good number of external works, subcontractors and visitors, hence management should come up with a clearly defined safety policy on the following related issues. •
When a job is subcontracted out by the company, who takes sole responsibility for the safety execution of the job as well as the provision of personal protective equipments (PPEs) for the job.
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There should be strict adherence to our company’s safety policy by other companies/external workers who make use the company premises for their dealings.
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To make a firm decision on the issue of “NO PPEs NO ENTRY” into work sites for visitors and personnel.
4. Training and retraining of personnel: As part of our plan in Gladwyn Investment
limited to attain a very high level of safety culture, management needs to look into the area of training and retaining its personnel. Allocations should be set aside for safety training programs both in house and outside. At the moment we are in dire need of a well trained lifeguard, first aider and fire watch to manage the event of an injury, a person drowning or fire incident. As a matter of necessity, specific periods should be set aside for special safety courses for personnel in order to update their knowledge. A major way of achieving this is by inviting expert instructors from the Nigerian institute of safety professionals Warri and other companies where the culture of safety is already well established, to give lectures on the most recent development in the area of safety as it relates to our operations.
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5. Reward for safety: As a way of motivating the workers on safety, a little token can
set aside to reward workers who adhere strictly to safety. It will go a long way to show forth management’s commitment to safety issues. A situation where the most safety compliant worker is identified monthly (Safety man of the month) and rewarded will encourage other. This reward can be in terms of monetary value or management’s recognition during our monthly general meetings. 6. Provision of safety signs, pictures and slogans: This is another project that will
involve some little expenditure but will serve as veritable tool in the course of our safety awareness drive. Considering the literacy level of some of the workers, it will be most effective to communicate safety to them by means of boldly printed safety signs pictures and slogans around the company premises. 7. A general upgrade of our working equipments and infrastructures: Critical attention
needs to be given to our barge fabrication work site toward completing the project within the shortest possible time as this will help to minimize a lot of the hazards and unsafe conditions being experienced on the job. The present condition of the area where the barge is been constructed is faced with a lot of hazards/unsafe working conditions and should be put in order. As earlier pointed out in the hazard analysis above, the workers are exposed to occupational health hazards one of which is heat stroke due to excessive exposure to the sun. The presence of a shade over their heads by the time the workshop is completed will go a long way to reduce the occupational heath hazard. It will also bring about good house keeping as this will facilitate the proper arrangement of working materials and equipment in a safe and orderly manner. Efforts should also be made to provide adequate toilet facilities around the work site for the worker, it is a necessity that will enhance productivity and cub man hour lose. In the area of tools and equipments, I will recommend that there should be an assessment of the effectiveness and safety status of all the company’s equipments 6
so as to carry out checks and rectifications or total replacement as the case maybe. Finally, I want to strongly recommend that management should take an inspection tour around the company’s facilities and equipments so as to afford you the opportunity to obtain first hand information about the issues raised up in this report. Safety is an essential tool in the overall development, productivity and efficiency of a company, it is therefore hoped that management will put me more commitment to Safety. Yours faithfully
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