Fantasy Organization
Workplace safety is paramount in every organization, and OSHA requires that there should be OSH standards that have to be complied to ensure that the work environment is safe for the employees. Companies lose millions of dollars every year due to work-related injuries and penalties due to lack of compliance with this standard (Safety and Health Add Value, 2016). The US Department of Labor formulates safety policies, requires that every company comply with those regulations. Employee safety is often a priority for every company, and it is the role of the management to ensure that attaining the safety goals of the organization becomes a priority.
Workplace safety in the Organization
Employees are crucial elements of the organization, and so is their safety. Employers who see the value of safety in the workplace and invests on it saves reduces workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses associated with the work environments. When they do so, they make significant savings in several areas, for instance, lowering the worker’s compensation and insurance costs, medical expenses, avoidance of OSHA penalties, reduction in training costs for accident investigations among the employees among other costs (Safety and Health Value, 2016). With improved safety, employers also can start experiencing significant improvements in the productivity and the financial performance of the organization.
Our organization implements safety standards through the health and safety committee. The committee formulates policies that guide the work standards and gives procedures for handling workplace hazards and exposures (Health and Safety Committees, 2014). Through the policies, the implementing teams ensure that the policies are placed in visible areas in the workplace, hence, promoting access to both employers and employees. The committee also plans for regular workplace inspections that are often mandatory as dictated by the OSHA regulation. Through the inspections, workplace hazards can be identified, and risk assessments carried out on these hazards analyzed for its potential to cause injuries in the workplace.
In line with ensuring that workplace safety is a priority, employee training on how to prevent workplace hazards and injuries is done quarterly every year. Employee orientations are also mandatory to all the new employees that are recruited in the workplace as per the OSHA standard (Labor Program, 2014). We also ensure that implementation and regular monitoring of the program that ensures that employees are fitted with personal protective equipment, clothing, devices, or any other protective material in the workplace. The program ensures that the employees are always guarded with those devices to minimize hazard exposures and injuries.
Policy changes that affect occupational health and safety such as changes in work procedures and processes are also implemented in our organization. Policy changes are often made in line with OSHA standards because with changes in technology production processes and procedures keep changing, and this could mean increase or decrease in workplace hazards and injuries (Health and Safety Committees and Representatives, 2014). As an organization, we also take employee complaints about safety very seriously. These complaints are often responded to depending on its urgency and practicability. Records of workplace accidents and incidents are also kept for future referencing and for our local policy developments and implementation.
Over the years, as we improved our safety and health programs in the workplace, the costs of strict observation of these standards in the workplace reduce injuries and hazard exposures in the workplace. Inevitable costs as a result of minor injuries are very minimal in the workplace (Safety and Health Add Value, 2016). The workers are trained on how to minimize these injuries, by wearing of PPEs and maintaining safe work practices. Reduced productivity due to absenteeism as a result from ill health due to hazard exposures and mechanical injuries have also reduced drastically in the workplace. The organization is enjoying maximum work output due to the practice of safe work procedures and processes among the employees. Low-profit margins are experienced in the workplace when work output is low. In addition, low work output result due to increased absenteeism due to ill health and injuries among the employees (Safety and Health Add Value, 2016). Our organization has minimized this trend by ensuring that our employees are protected from hazardous exposures and injuries by practicing safe work procedures and observing safety all the time.
Employee Safety Training Manual
Amplified Safety and Health Solutions
The purpose of Safety Training- the purpose of the following safety manual is to train employees not only to have knowledge of safe working procedures but also to develop safety discipline in the workplace. As Amplified Safety and Health Solutions, we intent to instigate and maintain complete safety training and accident prevention programs (Construction Site Employee Safety Training Manual, 2016.)
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Manual Outline
Employee orientations- all employees in the workplace will be given a safety orientation when they are hired. The orientation covers accident prevention programs, injury reporting, and location of first aid kits. It will also include accident and incident reporting protocols and the procedures for safety (Construction Site Employee Safety Training Manual, 2016.)
Accident reporting- all employees are required to report accidents and incidents directly to their supervisor.
Temperature Extremes- Gives a description of what temperature extreme is; the dangers of temperature extremes and how to protect oneself from the extremes. It would also include methods of assessing the risks of these extremes and information on what employers will do when working in extreme temperatures.
Emergencies
The section will outline the emergency exit routes and the requirement for any emergency exit.
Fire emergency- orientation on the location of fire extinguishers should be covered. Emergency telephone numbers and reporting of fire incidents should be trained on. The classification of fires and the required fire extinguisher for each type should be clearly stated (Construction Site Employee Safety Training Manual, 2016). Employees should be trained on evacuation procedures and the location of the fire assembly points.
Other Emergency Procedures
Training on identification of hazardous chemicals and its handling procedures should be done. Training on the use and care of personal protective equipment is also part of our manual. Electrical safety is also done to the employees.
Housekeeping- training on proper housekeeping as a method of reducing accidents and incidents is also done.
Employee Safety Meetings And Self-Inspections
This gives an outline of the purpose of safety meetings and how to reduce accidents in the workplace by being one’s keeper and others keepers in the workplace.
Safety disciplinary policy- the policy informs the employees on the consequences of not observing safety rules and procedures in the workplace.
Working in heights- employees are trained on fall preventions and caution while working in heights.
Drills- Fire drills are also performed in the workplace to assess the employees’ knowledge on the use of fire escape routes and emergency fire reporting.
References
Construction Site Employee Safety Training Manual - SafetyInfo. (2016). Safetyinfo.com. Retrieved 2 July 2016, from https://www.safetyinfo.com/guest-library/materials/written-safety-programs/construction-safety-employee-training-manual
Health and Safety Committees and Representatives - Labour Program. (2014). Labour.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 July 2016, from http://www.labour.gc.ca/eng/health_safety/committees/index.shtml
Safety and Health Add Value. (2016). Osha.gov. Retrieved 2 July 2016, from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/safety-health-addvalue.html
