Columbia Southern University Assessment Environmental Health and Safety HW QUESTION 1 In the not-too-distant past, it was common for Occupational Safety an

Columbia Southern University Assessment Environmental Health and Safety HW QUESTION 1 In the not-too-distant past, it was common for Occupational Safety and Health professionals to consider the hierarchy of controls according to the following priority order: Engineering controls,Administrative controlsPersonal Protective Equipment However, eliminating the hazard and substitution have usurped engineering control’s position at the top of the hierarchy although they have always been obvious best options, just not always included in discussions of the hierarchy of controls. Identify two examples where elimination of the hazard or substitution was, or might be, applied as a means of hazard control. Discuss some of the pros and cons of this option as compared to the other options in the hierarchy. You may also select examples from places you have worked or for which you have some familiarity. Your response must be at least 200 words in length. 50 points QUESTION 2 In Unit III, you sent a document in which you informed management at Gemstone Fabricators, Inc. that it would need to enhance its accountability specifications in its performance evaluations for managers. You also pointed out the need to make sure that employees who have been asked to be involved in the safety endeavors at Gemstone understand and are trained in the roles they are expected to play. Cindy is the plant manager from Gemstone, and she has asked you to perform a sound level survey and noise dosimetry in the fabrication shop, which can get pretty noisy when all three mechanical power presses and the 12-foot shear are running at the same time for several hours a day. She also asked that you identify noise level exposures in the adjacent welding department. Your results indicate that the noise levels in the area are just above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure level for an average day in the fabrication department. The welding department is adjacent to the fabrication department, and there is no separating wall. The welding operations are not quite as noisy, although the crackle of a well-adjusted MIG welder can be rather loud when welding mild steel. Noise monitoring and dosimetry of the welders indicated an exposure of just over OSHA’s Action Level of 85 Dba. In addition, you remember taking the survey readings and watching the noise level jump in the welding shop every time the power presses or shear cycled in the fabrication area. After consulting with fellow industrial hygienists, it was determined that setting up a 12′ X 30′ noise barrier wall between the fabrication area and the welding area and adding noise absorption panels to both sides of the barrier wall and to the white-painted concrete walls in the fabrication department would decrease the sound levels in the welding area to several decibels below OSHA’s Action Level. Of course, these engineering controls will cost $33,000 dollars. This is compared to a continuing hearing conservation program to include annual audiograms, or hearing tests, annual training, and providing noise protection for the welding department which is estimated to cost $9,000 per year. This amount would be saved each year if the engineering controls are installed. If the company takes out a loan for $33,000 at 5% interest, what will the payback period be for the loan? Please consult your unit lesson for the necessary formulas. What would be your recommendation to the employer with respect to the options available? Please show your work. Make sure you justify your reasoning and that you consider the hierarchy of controls in your discussion. Your response must be at least 200 words in length in addition to your financial analysis. Running head: SAFETY
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Workplace Safety Report
Jennifer Heid
Columbia Southern University
Date:11/25/2019
Workplace safety
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Safety is important in any workplace, and a safe workplace ensures productivity.
Regardless of the size or the type of business, it is essential to have safety procedures at the
workplace, and they must involve all staff. Having these safety measures protect employees
while on the job and the equipment they are using. A business benefit from instituting safety
procedures since minimized damages on property and injuries means fewer expenses.
However, it is not enough to have a safety accountability requirement for employees only, as
is the case with many organizations. The managers, executives, and safety professionals are
expected to model the desired culture where employee’s safety is guaranteed. An
environmental culture that supports safety increases employees’ commitment to safety
beyond the rules. It encourages employees to talk about safety and pause work when they
perceive that there are safety concerns (Boyle, 2015). Supervisors and managers have the
responsibility of promoting safety in the workplace by giving employees feedback on safety,
encouraging workers to stop work when risks are detected, and by rewarding individuals who
show high levels of compliance. It is also important for the management to help employees
understand what is expected of them and the benefits of safety performance at work.
Importance of Establishing Safety Accountability Measures For Managers, Employees,
and Safety Professionals
Safety needs to be the responsibility of everyone in the organization. Before
submission of the application to OSHA, it is important to show the accountability
requirements for managers and safety professionals besides that for employees. Having a
company safety policy on paper with the signature of the executive points to the corporate
commitment to safety (Roughton, Crutchfield & Waite, 2019). Employees become confident
in knowing that the management prioritizes safety performance and that it is not only
imposed on front-line workers but expected from everyone in the organization.
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On the other hand, having clear health and safety records helps employees to
understand that safety is their responsibility as much as it is management’s responsibility. The
policy should stipulate the responsibilities of everyone regarding safety. Managers need to
train employees on safety performance. They should also conduct orientation for new
employees to ensure that they understand the safety policy of the organization and what is
expected of them on their work. Managers are mandated with the responsibility to enforce
safe work practices. Professional individuals are expected to prevent occurrences that can
lead to harm to people or property. They have the skills necessary to implement processes
and also act as consultants on matters of safety. An application to become a Voluntary
Protection Program (VPP) site must include accountability requirements for all these people
on-site as a way of proving the organization’s commitment.
Assignment of Safety-Related Job Tasks
Members of an organization should understand their safety roles. Being assigned roles
makes everyone accountable, and each worker understands how to report an injury and
concerns. Workers will understand how to recognize controls and undertake other
responsibilities about their roles, such as incident investigation. Assigning safety-related roles
also makes it easy to carry out program evaluation and enhancement. It also increases
accountability since everyone understands his or her roles in safety. Failure of employees to
understand their roles in the workplace leads to more accidents, higher costs of worker
compensations, and the cost of training new employees.
Continuous process
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To ensure that the safety and health management system is consistent and continuous,
Gemstone Fabricators need to use the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach. This approach ensures
that the process continues to improve.
Plan – identify what the safety problems in the organizations are.
Do – come up with potential solutions to these problems and test what works for every
identified safety problem.
Check – observe the results of the implemented solutions to determine their effectiveness.
Act – In case the solutions tested are successful and effective; they should be implemented.
A Plan-Do-Check-Act approach will ensure consistency of the program such that it
is continually improved based on the safety challenges that arise. The approach will also have
proven solutions to be implemented for every problem that arises. Failure to have a
systematic system will lead to poor safety performance.
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Reference
Boyle, T. (2015). Health and safety: risk management. Routledge.
Roughton, J., Crutchfield, N., & Waite, M. (2019). Safety culture: An innovative leadership
approach. Butterworth-Heinemann.

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