Abstract
A health hazard analysis plays a critical role in assessing an employee’s health risk exposure in different units within any industrial facility. Consequently, an organization’s operation that presents poor working hygiene exposes its employees to an industrial environment prone to risks commonly associated with hazardous materials. The following report presents detailed information addressing employee vulnerability to thermal stressors in their daily work, based on observing the environment in which all the Acme Manufacturing Company operations occur. As a health risk assessor, the management of BSCI must be tasked with supervising the employee’s working environment’s thermal levels in ascertaining its reach of extreme hot or near frigid conditions, which is considered harmful for any worker. BSCI finally must put forward its recommendation for Acme’s organization to improve its working conditions considering its present operational functions at its plant sites. The report is, therefore, aimed at revamping the internal performance of the Acme Company in managing its employee risk exposures to the thermal stressor’s extreme temperature range.
Introduction
The risks that laborers face on their day-to-day job depend mostly on the site’s threats and the level of employees’ subjection to those hazards. The thermal stressor’s range of temperature presents health risks to the workers. For instance, too much heat within the range of 86.4°F and 98.3°F may expose employees to unnecessary burns while on duty. On the other hand, a degree below the acceptable levels will deactivate the body’s normal operations, making an employee too fatigued to conduct their daily operations. The company laborers were also reported to work in some small booths with little access to free air. These cubicles were also observed to be hotter than the accepted condition due to the lack of cooling systems to regulate room temperature (OSHA, 2020). These workers stayed within the power plant’s booth for seven hours with minimal breaks. They were not provided with snacks and water that would regularly help them recover their lost energy from such strenuous duties.
Report Details
Security Personnel
The security personnel was exposed to freezing conditions that resulted in wind chills. Such low degrees exposed them to the risk of developing cold-related conditions such as hypothermia (Yates, 2015). Such cold situations are also attributable to blood-related conditions, which can be fatal. The Plant’s entrance was under a high range of temperatures. Such heat levels exposed all those who used these entrances to the risk of heatstroke. Therefore, the Acme Company employees are constantly exposed to cases where the body may fail to adjust its normal functional levels, making them prone to medical emergency requirements. However, even the full support of medical assistance is no guarantee due to the lack of any health facility within this Plant. Adopting other safety guidelines would, therefore, be necessary for helping the organization provide a risk-free environment for its employees.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The prevailing job environment of Acme is not ideal for safe working conditions. The company’s security staff is, thus, not assured of safety throughout their daily operations. Their ongoing activities within such a context would cause them health problems. Therefore, the following recommendations are possible to help Acme Company adjust its working environment for its employees’ safety.
The company must carry out an evaluation of all the sources of employee risk factors in addressing employee health risk exposures. Also, Acme should incorporate proper insulation that reinforces guard shacks in all its thermal stressors. In particular, the company should have some ventilation and install air conditioning materials, such as fans, to help create a cooling effect within the power plant’s booths. Air conditioning materials should also be provided in the shacks during the summer period, while floor heaters should be introduced during cold seasons to manage weather changes that could worsen employee safety during their duty. The organization needs to make a new exhaust system that eliminates any contact between the flowing hood and the handlers of such industrial materials. Cold and hot water dispensers should be availed for the personnel to help them regulate their body temperature, depending on the prevailing circumstances. All these recommendations will help ensure employee safety throughout their work activities.
By complying with these industrial safety guidelines and recommendations, the organization’s employees can easily equip themselves with all the quantitative measurements and develop their skills and abilities in identifying potential health hazards. This can help them in managing risks associated with threats before they occur. Therefore, the company is in a position to manage the rate of injuries in all its industrial operations. This will lower other costs associated with insurance covers, will improve employees’ productivity, and reduce employee turnover attributable to operational injuries. Managing and implementing safety practices will also boost the profitability of the company in the long run by ensuring smooth and cost-effective operations.
References
OSHA (2020). The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Enforcement. Web.
Yates, W.D. (2015). Safety professional’s reference and study guide (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.