Analysis of the Accident on the Job
2016-07-29
Analysis of the Accident on the Job
Introduction
This paper is aimed to analyze the problem of industrial accident in the production shop. The main goal of the paper is to analyze issues, possible solutions and propose the most appropriate decision. During the task, I have analyzed the accident presented in the case study as several outside resources (information that is presented on the website of the OSHA) related to the topic.
It should be noted that problem of safety at the workplace remains relevant for the majority of the companies. It can be explained by the human factor that plays a great role in ensuring the high level of safety at the workplaces.
Explanation of the Issue or Problem
According to the case study, an employee John Schmidt has injured his hand in the workplace and at the working hours. This accident has become the cause of the dispute over who is responsible for the employee’s injury. It can be the company or the employee. Also, the participants in the dispute included:
co-workers;
shop manager David Donald;
shop foreman Harry Hiller.
It should be noted that co-workers have supported the position of the injured employee and claimed that machine has not worked well and it has not been safe for the workers. At the same time, shop foreman has insisted that the equipment works correctly.
Analysis of the Information
It needs to analyze available information from the case study in order to determine possible solutions of the problem. It can assume that it is the first accident in the production shop. Secondly, employees have argued that they have already claimed foreman about issues with the safety guard of the machine. However, the foreman has supported the opposite position. He even claimed that employees behaved lightly, they laughed and joked.
One the one hand, it can suppose that discipline of the employees is low in the production shop. On the other hand, it can be bad relationships between employees and shop foreman or mistrustful atmosphere in the team, when employees and foreman are on the opposite sides and cannot communicate effectively.
As we know, the labor discipline in enterprises, institutions and organizations is provided by the creation of the necessary organizational and economic conditions for the normal work of a high-performance, conscientious attitude of employees to work, methods of persuasion, education, and promotion for their conscientious work. It should be noted that list of worker's rights is presented on the website of OSHA (Official Site of OSHA, 2016). According to it, each employee can get a free advice through the site on how to act in case of accident or injury in the workplace.
At the same time, favorable psychological climate also plays important role in the ensuring effective and safe work of employees. Such climate can contribute communications between employees and shop foreman and quickly answer to the possible issues. In this case, the situation, when employees claimed about issues with the machine and it remained unnoticed by the shop foreman, could be avoided. The leader within the team can coordinate all issues related to the equipment as well as other aspects (Sanborn, 2013).
One more important aspect is that safety and health report identified that safety guard has been poorly designed. Thus, the opinion of the injured employee and co-workers has been confirmed.
After analyzing information, one can say that there are alternative viewpoints and as a result several solutions for this problem.
Analysis of Alternative Viewpoints, Conclusions or Solutions
The dispute that has arisen among staff in the production shop assumes the existence of two alternative viewpoints. One of them is that employees do not pay necessary attention to the safety guard, to the safety conditions; they do not adhere to the discipline at the workplace. This has caused the accident.
According to the case study, some employees claimed foreman about certain safety issues with the machine. In this case, employees should not work with the machine until it will be repaired or changes will be added to the safety guard. Thus, one can suppose that directly employee is responsible for his injury, because he knew or realized about possible issues, but continued to work with the machine.
On the other hand, foreman must be informed about the actual state of the machine, possible issues and problems. Also, the foreman must keep an eye on the employees’ discipline and prevent possible violations.
Nevertheless, the shop foreman together with the shop manager can be responsible for the accident, because they have not identified the issues with the safety guard despite the claims of the employees, and have not taken any actions in order to improve it. Finally, the safety and health report confirmed the issues with the safety guard. In this case, shop foreman together with the shop manager must be responsible for the accident with the employee.
Personal or Summarized Conclusions and Proposed Decisions
As a rule, the occupational injuries are the set of the industrial accidents. The non-compliance with the operating and safety can lead to the industrial accidents or injuries. Exactly these factors were crucial in our case. At the same time, poor communication, and even ignorance the claims by the company's management can also lead to the low discipline and high risk of accidents.
After analyzing information presented in the case study and some outside related resources, one can say that the injured employee as well as the company is responsible for the accident. According to the case study, employees claimed the shop foreman about issues with the machine. In this case, they understood that accidents could be, but continued to work. At the same time, it can suppose that the shop foreman ignored the claims of employees and did not take any measures to avoid possible accidents. Thus, the company should compensate all costs for the treatment of the injured employee. The main reason of it is that employer must provide protective equipment to its staff (Citizens Information, 2016). At the same time, the disciplinary measure could be applied to the employee.
As for further activity of the shop, it recommends to perform the following tasks;
Conclusion
In summary, one can say that accident with the employee John Schmidt has been caused by several factors. A low discipline, ineffective relationships between employees and the shop foreman, the ignorance of the shop foreman to the claims and issues were the main causes, which lead to the accident. After analyzing the case study and other resources, one can say that the company must be responsible for the accident as it has not provided employees with safe working conditions.
References
Citizens Information,. (2016). Health and safety at work. Citizensinformation.ie. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/health_and_safety/health_safety_work.html
Official Site of OSHA,. (2016). OSHA Worker Rights and Protections. Osha.gov. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from https://www.osha.gov/workers/index.html
Sanborn, M. (2013). 7 Steps to Keep Employees Safe In The Workplace. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228735
