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Report of Hazards
in the Sawmill Section of
JAVA SDN BHD
By Cornellius Vitalis
Index No.: NS8214
IC No.: 901013-12-6461
Safety and Health Officer Examination (3/2012)
Paper IV Part I: Workplace Assignment
17 April 2012 30 May 2012
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PERAKUAN TUGASAN TEMPAT KERJA
WORKPLACE ASSIGMENT VERIF ICATION
Adalah saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa dokumen ini yang disediakan untuk Peperiksaan
Pegawai Keselamatan dan Kesihatan adalah berdasarkan hasil kerja asal saya sendiri dan
maklumat diperolehi hasil lawatan tapak ke tempat ke tempat kerja yang berkenaan kecuali
sedutan atau petikan yang dinyatakan.
I hereby certify that this document prepared for the Safety and Health Officer Examination is
based on my original work and information are gathered from the site visit except for citation
and quotation made.
Tandatangan :
Signature
No. Kad Pengenalan :
I.C No.
No. Indeks :
Index No.
Tarikh :
Date
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ABSTRACT
This report is compiled and presented as a prerequisite to qualify a candidate to become a
Safety and Health Officer. The objectives of this report is to identify hazard in the workplace,
evaluate and assess the risk of identified hazard then propose a solution or control measures
to eliminate, reduce or control the risk. The methods that been used in this report to identify
hazard are by carrying out documents review, inspection and observation and, hazard analysis
by using Job Safety Analysis (JSA). From the result of the risk matrix and Hazard
Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC), it was found that the most
critical safety hazard is sharp blade and health hazard is wood dust. The control measures
applicable for both safety and health hazard are isolation, engineering and administrative
control as well as PPE. Control measures for each critical safety and health hazard were
proposed to control and reduce the hazard and the rate of accident in the workplace.
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CONTENTS
WORKPLACE ASSIGNMENT VERIFICATION
ABSTRACT
CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS
i
ii
iii
vi
vii
viii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of company1.1 Workplaces1.2 Work activityCHAPTER 2 OBJECTIVES
2.1. ObjectivesCHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Risk management3.1.1 Hazard identification
3.1.2 Risk assessment
3.1.3 Risk control
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Identified hazards4.2 Safety hazards
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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust
4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade
4.2.3 Falling object
4.2.4 Moving parts
4.3 Health hazards4.4.1 Exposed to noise
4.4.2 Exposed to wood dust
4.4 Determination of risk rating4.5 Most critical hazards
4.6.1 Safety hazard
4.6.2 Health hazard
4.6 Impacts of the most critical hazards in the organization
CHAPTER 5 RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 General duty of the employers and employees
5.2 Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard
5.3 Proposed control measures for wood dust
5.4 Summary of regulations
5.5 Review of control measures
5.6 Impact of the most critical hazards to the organization
5.7 Benefit of implementing the control measures
REFERENCES
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APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX E
APPENDIX F
APPENDIX G
APPENDIX H
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX J
APPENDIX K
APPENDIX L
APPENDIX M
APPENDIX N
APPENDIX O
APPENDIX P
APPENDIX Q
APPENDIX R
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LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Title Page
1.0 List of departments. 2
1.1 List of workplaces in the company. 3
3.0 Basic components of risk management. 6
3.1 Formula for risk assessment 9
3.2 Indicates likelihood using the following values 10
3.3 Indicates severity by using the following values 10
3.4 Risk matrix 10
3.5 Relative risk value 11
3.6 List of risk control measures and its description 13
4.0 Breakdown of lumber list of hazards 15
4.1 Risk rating of each hazard. 21
4.2 Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third
Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of
Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and
Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004.
24
5.0 Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First
Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards
of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations
2000.
29
5.1 Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter. 31
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Title Page
3.0 Flow diagram of risk assessment process. 14
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LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Units/Abbreviations Descriptions
OSH Occupational Safety and Health
JISB Jave Industries Sdn Bhd
JTSB Java Timber Sdn Bhd
JRSB Java Resources Sdn Bhd
JSA Job Safety Analysis
HIRARC Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Control
LEV Local Exhaust Ventilation
mg/m Miligram per meter squared
dB (A) A-weighted decibel is an expression of the relative loudness
of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear.
SOP Safe Operating Procedure
ha Hectare
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INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of company
JAVA Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Java Incorporated Bhd) is a public company listed on the
main market of Bursa Malaysia. JAVA has an exclusive right to harvest lumbers from
55,000ha of timber concession areas in Sabah, Malaysia. Located at Mile 5, Nabawan Road
in Keningau, Sabah, sprawling on an area over 3.5 million square feet, houses all the timber
processing facilities for manufacture of quality timber products with high value adding.
Advance technology in timber processing is procured from more than 10 industrialised
countries around the world, such as the US, Italy, Germany, Japan and Sweden. Appendix O
shows JAVA Sdn Bhd development plan. JAVAs production facilities are operated under
three (3) principal subsidiaries, JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB), JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd
(JISB) and JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB). Running this colossal company is a workforce
of over 960 workers. Table 1.0 describes each of the department. The organisational chart of
JAVA Sdn Bhd is displayed in Appendix C.
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Table 1.0 List of departments.
Departments Descriptions
JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB)
JTSB presents the integration of three major timber
manufacturing processes of sawing, slicing and
moulding.
JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd (JISB)
JISB is the plywood and veneer plant comprises of 8
rotary lathes, vertical and horizontal slicers and driers to
produce flitch veneers which are further processed into
rolls and lay-ons.
JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB)
JRSB is the main office of the company responsible for
administration, finance, sales and marketing and
purchasing.
1.1 Workplaces
Table 1.1 Workplaces its activities and potential hazards but not limited to those stated
below.
Workplaces Activities Hazards
Main office Photocopying, typing,
cutting, housekeeping.
Exposed to toxic chemical/gas, UV light from the
photocopier, electric shock, cuts, ergonomic.
Plywood mill Peeling, drying, sorting,
gluing, pressing, sizing,
sanding, packaging,
housekeeping
Exposed sharp blade, moving parts, moving
vehicles, toxic gas (glue), falling object, sharp
edges, exposure to wood dust and noise,
ergonomic.
Sawmill Receiving, sawing,
grading, sorting, kiln
drying and seasoning of
lumber, housekeeping
Exposed to sharp blade, moving parts, falling
object, sharp edges, projecting material,
accumulated wood dust, exposure to wood dust
and noise, ergonomic.
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From all of these workplaces, sawmill is chosen as the workplace to be assessed. The
work activities in sawmill are explained in Appendix A.
1.2 Work activity
In this report, breakdown of lumber using band saw in the sawmill area is chosen as the work
activity to be assessed. Breakdown of lumber is a process where lumber is cut/split into
workable size. In Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulation
1970, Regulation 24 (2) band saw is defined as,
A machine for sawing timber or lumber, equipped with one or more endless steel
bands with a continuous series of notches or teeth on one or both edges and running over a
pair of wheels or pulleys that are usually mounted one above the other or mounted
horizontally.
The work activities involve in the breakdown of lumber is explained in Appendix B.
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OBJECTIVES
2.1 Objectives
The objectives of this report are:
1. To identify at least 6 hazards (with at least 2 health hazards) of the work activityin the workplace.
2. To assess and prioritize each hazard based on their risk rating.3. To determine the most critical safety and health hazard.4. To propose a solution or control measures to eliminate, reduce or control the risk
based on the most critical hazards resulted from the assessment.
5. To recommend review program on the effectiveness of the proposed controlmeasures.
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Hazard identification is the process of identifying hazards in the workplace or for a
work procedure/activity. There are several aspects been taken into account to that can cause
hazard such as; man, machinery, materials, methods and media. And the identified hazard can
be classified into six (6) types of hazards, namely, mechanical, electrical, biological,
chemical, ergonomics and psychosocial hazards. Hazard identification process required an
organized activity such an information gathering. In this report, three (3) main methods are
chosen to gather information in order to identify the hazards that present during work activity
is being performed:
1. Identifying hazards by document review;2. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations, and;3. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis.
a. Identifying hazards by document review
This method identifies hazards through document review. The hazards were able to be
identified by reviewing documents such as:
i.
Accidents reports, Safe Operating Procedure (SOP), investigation and audit to
identify the hazards that are not identified before.
ii. Publications (book, brochure, standard, guideline et cetera) to gain newinformation that are not acquired before and also practical information.
iii. Regulations and act to get the hazards information relating to the situation,materials and acts that had been identified.
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iv. Statistic to gain information about the major accidents that need to be focused on.v. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) to get the information about hazardous
substances, control measure, treatment and emergency response.
b. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations
Visual inspection and observation is the most common and simple way to begin to look for
hazards by regular walk-through visual inspections of the workplace. Look at each task of the
workers performing their tasks and the activities involved, such as operation, cleaning and
maintenance. By doing this kind of hazard identification it will provide the opportunity to
observe whether the documented procedure for performing the task is being followed by the
workers, or whether workers are taking short cuts or speeding up work (e.g. by removing
guards) et cetera.
c. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis
A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is a method that can be used to identify, analyze and record:
i.
the steps involved in performing a specific job,
ii. the existing or potential safety and health hazards associated with each step, and;iii. the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) that will eliminate or reduce these
hazards and the risk of a workplace injury or illness.
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Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is defined as:
Carefully studying and recording each step of a job, identifying existing or potential
job hazards (both safety and health), and determining the best way to reduce or eliminate
these hazards.
In conducting JSA,
i. Select jobs with the highest risk for a workplace injury or illness,ii. Select an experienced employee who is willing to be observed. Involved the
employee and his/her supervisor in the process.
iii. Identify and record each step necessary to accomplish the task.iv. Determine and record the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) for performing
each step that will eliminate or reduce the hazard.
The JSA for the breakdown lumber is shown in Appendix D.
3.1.2 Risk assessment
Risk assessment involves the estimation and evaluation of risks levels taking into account the
existing controls. Risk is estimated by taking into consideration the levels of likelihood of an
occurrence of a hazardous event with specified period or in specified circumstances and the
severity of injury or damage. The level of exposure (e.g. the number of people likely to be
exposed) should also be considered where applicable (DOSH, 2011).
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Risk is defined as:
A combination of likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with specified
period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to the health of
people, property, environment or any combination of these cause by the event.
Risk can be estimated using the following formula shown in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 Formula for risk assessment
L S = R
Where,
L = Likelihood
S = Severity
R= Relative risk
The value of L and S can be acquired from Table 3.1 and Table 3.2, which based on
the likelihood of the hazard to occur or its exposure and the severity of injury or damage it
can cause.
Table 3.2 indicates likelihood and Table 3.3 indicates severity of an occurrence.
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Table 3.2 Indicates likelihood using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011)
Likelihood (L) Rating Description
Inconceivable 1 Practically impossible and has never occurred
Remote 2 Has not been known to occur after many years
Conceivable 3 Might occur at sometime in the future
Possible 4 Has a good chance of occurring and it is not unusual
Most likely 5 Most likely result of the hazard/event being realized
Table 3.3 Indicates severity by using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011)
Severity (S) Rating Description
Negligible 1 Minor and first aid type of injury.
Minor 2 Disabling but not permanent disability
Serious 3 Non-fatal injury, permanent disability (e.g hearing loss)
Fatal 4Fatality, major property damage, chronic diseases (e.g
cancer) if hazard is realized
Catastrophic 5 Numerous fatalities, irrecoverable property damage andproductivity
Table 3.4 Risk matrix. Adapted from DOSH (2011)
LIKELIHOOD
1 2 3 4 5
SEVERITY
1 1 2 3 4 5
2 2 4 6 8 10
3 3 6 9 12 15
4 4 8 12 16 20
5 5 10 15 20 25
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From the risk matrix table, the relative risk (R) can also be acquired by crossing the
likelihood (L) and severity (S) of the hazard.
The relative risk value can be used to prioritize necessary actions to effectively
manage work place hazards. Table 3.5 determines priority based on the following ranges risk
of value.
Table 3.5 Relative risk value. Adapted from DOSH (2011)
Index Description Action
14 Low
A risk identified as low may be considered as acceptable
and further reduction may not be necessary. However, if
the risk can be resolved quickly and efficiently, control
measures should be implemented and recorded.
5-12 Medium
A medium risk requires a planned approach to
controlling the hazard and applies temporary measure if
required. Actions taken must be documented on the risk
assessment form including date for completion.
15-25 High
A high risk requires immediate action to control the
hazard as detailed in the hierarchy of control. Actions
taken must be documented on the risk assessment form
including date for completion
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Table 3.6 shows the example of risk assessment.
Table 3.6 Example of risk assessment
Safety Hazard Health Hazard
Work activity: Sharpening band saw blade
Hazard: Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam
yang terdedah).
Likelihood (L) = 4
Severity (S) = 1
Risk (R) = L S = 4 1 = 4
Risk category: LOW
Work activity: Glue spreading
Hazard: Exposure to formaldehyde gas
Likelihood: 4
Severity: 4
Risk (R): L S = 4 3 = 16
Risk category: MEDIUM
3.1.3 Risk control
The risks must be minimized to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking the
following measures in the following order. The sequence and priority of controls
recommended here is often referred to as the hierarchy of OSH controls, they are:
i. Eliminations,ii. Substitution,
iii. Isolation,iv. Engineering control,v. Administrative control,
vi. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
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Figure 3.0 Flow diagram of risk management process.
Start
Review the effectiveness of control
measures
Propose control measures
Assessment of risk
Identification of hazard
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Identified hazards
From the risk assessment process, the lists in the Table 4.0 below are hazards that had been
identified during lumber breakdown, but are not limited to those listed below.
Table 4.0 Breakdown of lumber list of hazards.
Hazards Types of hazards
Accumulated wood dust
Safety hazard
Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang
terdedah)
Falling object
Moving parts
Exposure to noise
Health hazard
Exposure to wood
4.2 Safety hazards
A safety hazard is something that can cause a person to be injured or killed (Spellman, 2011).
In this report four (4) safety hazards had been chosen namely, accumulated wood dust,
exposed sharp blade, falling object and moving parts.
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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust
Accumulated wood dust has the potential to create fire and explosion hazard. Fire and
explosion may occur if,
i. housekeeping is poor (accumulation of wood dust (Appendix K and L) is high in thework areas which is a fuel, one of the factors in the fire triangle (Appendix M)).
ii. poor housekeeping method (using air compressor to repel dust will only increasewood dust concentration in the air which can cause explosion hazard if source of heat
is present e.g. heat from cigarette, or ignition of lighter);
iii. unsafe act of workers ( e.g. smoking); andiv. no provision of proper ventilation e.g. general exhaust ventilation or local exhaust
ventilation (LEV).
When wood dust accumulates on wood working machinery it acts as an insulator trapping
in the heat. If enough heat is formed then the wood dust will ignite causing a fire. If the dust
floating in the air is concentrated and a fine dust then a fire can cause an explosion
(Spellman, 2011). Based on the accidents reports of this company, there has no any fire or
explosion recorded in the sawmill.
4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang terdedah)
During the operation of band saw, the operators are highly exposed to the sharp blade of band
saw. Workers may come in contact with the blade most probably during the feeding of
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lumber to the blade and also the fact that a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded
(Appendix P). Thus, the likelihood of workers to come in contact with this hazard is high.
Other reasons on how workers may come in contact with the blade are:
i. poor housekeeping, where workers may slip/trip during feeding the lumber to theblade (point of operation);
ii. unsafe act of the workers (e.g. taking short cuts or do not follow SOPs);iii. no barricade to keep a distance between the worker and the band saw blade (Appendix
N); and
iv. no guarding of the band saw blade (Appendix P).
Even though such occurrence has not been reported but there is high possibility for it to
happen as workers are highly exposed to the sharp blade. If the workers come in contact with
the blade it may cause lacerations, cuts, abrasion and amputation and even fatality.
4.2.3 Falling object
From the observation made, transferring lumber to the working platform of the band saw
requires the workers to lift the lumber at knee to waist height (Appendix I) by using a chain
hoist. In which the lumber may fall and crushed the workers feet. This can occur if, but not
limited to the reasons stated below:
i. the grip of the chain hoist hook is not strong enough to hold the lumber;ii. the chain breaks due to the usage of defective chain,
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iii. no inspection on chain before operation; andiv. no provision or worker do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).
However, based on the accident report of this company such incident has yet to occur but
might occur sometime in the future.
4.2.4 Moving parts
Unguarded moving parts of the band saw may cause the workers clothing and part of the
worker body to be entangled or drawn into the moving parts of the machine (Appendix J and
K). From the accident report, one accident had been reported regarding this hazard, in which
a workers foot was drawn in by the moving parts of the band saw that caused injury to his
toes (Appendix R). Such occurrence may occur due to,
i. lack of guarding of the rotating parts;ii. workers do not follow the proper working dress code; and
iii. no provision or workers do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).
Possible injuries from this hazard are cuts, laceration, amputations and abrasions.
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4.3 Health hazards
Health hazard is hazard that can cause harm to health resulting from exposure of the hazard.
In which in this report exposure to noise and wood dust are chosen as the health hazard that
present during work activity
4.3.1 Exposure to noise
The band saw type of noise is continuous which means the noise has noise intensity level
between maximum and minimum lower than 3 dB (A). In Factories and Machinery (Noise
Exposure) Regulations 1989, Regulation 5 (1) stated that,
No employee shall be exposed to noise level exceeding equivalent continuous sound
level of 90dB (A) or exceeding the limits specified in the First Schedule or exceeding the daily
noise of unity.
During the breakdown/cutting of lumber the workers are exposed to noise. Noise level
that exceeds the PEL of noise exposure level can cause hearing impairment to the affected
workers. Appendix E shows the Noise Exposure Monitoring Report of this company and
Appendix F shows the working hours of the workers in the breakdown section, and the PEL
for noise exposure.
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Workers are exposed to noise are due to but not limited to those listed below:
i. lack of awareness about the danger of high noise level, both the workers as well assupervisor/employer; and
ii. no provision or workers do not wear PPE (hearing protection e.g. ear muffs or earplug).
4.3.2 Exposure to wood dust
Sawing of wood produces saw dust, thus workers are exposed to high concentration of wood
dust during operating the band saw. Both the skin and respiratory system can become
sensitized to wood dust. When a worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can
suffer skin irritation (dermatitis), a severe allergic reaction such as asthma, after repeated and
long term exposure it may cause cancer to the workers. From the observation of workers
operating the band saw it was clear that these workers were exposed to wood dust during the
work activity being carried out. Workers are exposed to wood dust are due to but not limited
to those listed below:
i.
lack of awareness about the danger of wood exposure, both by the
supervisor/employer as well as workers;
ii. lack of proper exhaust ventilation; andiii. no provision or workers do not wear PPE (dust mask)
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4.4 Determination of hazards risk rating
Table 4.1 Risk rating of each hazard
Work steps Hazard
Likelihood
(L)
Severity
(S)
Risk
rating
(L S)
Risk
category
Transferring/unloading
lumber onto/from the
cutting platform.
Falling object 3 2 6 Medium
Operating the
machine; feeding
lumber to the band
saw blade (point of
operation)
Exposed
sharp blade
4 4 16 High
Moving parts 5 3 15 High
Accumulated
wood dust 1 5 5 Medium
Exposure to
noise
5 3 15 High
Exposure to
wood dust
5 4 20 High
The HIRARC for breakdown of lumber is shown in Appendix F.
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4.5 Most critical hazards
From Table 4.1, it shows that the most critical hazards based on score for safety hazard is
exposed sharp blade, for health hazard is exposure to wood dust.
4.5.1 Safety hazard
Based on Table 4.1 for safety hazards, exposed sharp blade is the most critical safety hazard
because it scored the highest among all the safety hazards. In order to cut a lumber, the
operator is required to feed the lumber to the blade. The operator must also keep the lumber
flat on the work table/platform. Extreme caution is necessary because the operator has to be
near the band saw blade during feeding of the lumber to ensure that the lumber is properly cut
(Appendix O), as a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded, simple mistake like trip or slip
during the feeding of the lumber may cause the worker to come in contact with the blade.
And from the size of the band saw blade, serious injury or even death can happen if the
contact with the blade is major.
4.5.2 Health hazard
Based on Table 4.1, exposure to wood dust scored the highest risk rating for health hazard.
Wood dust consists of tiny particles of wood produced during the sawing of wood. From the
observation made workers are exposed to high concentration of wood dust during the
breakdown of lumber.
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Exposure to wood dust occurs primarily through skin contact and inhalation as the
workers go about sawing activities. The dust settles on skin and inhaled as it floats around the
saw mill. If the dust is thick enough it can be ingested through the mouth.
Exposure to wood dust may cause health problems. Negative health effects associated
with wood dust exposure include dermatitis and/or allergic respiratory effects. When a
worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can suffer an allergic reaction after
repeated exposures, such as asthma.
Cancers also have been associated with wood dust exposure. The National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers both hardwood and softwood dust to
be potentially carcinogenic to human. The three types of cancers associated with wood dust
exposure are nasal and sinus cavity cancer, lung and other cancers, and Hodgkins disease (a
type of lymphoma which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes)
(Spiers, 1969).
The wood and cancers relationship was studied by Milham (1974), who conducted a
mortality study involving the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO) United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. This
study support the hypothesis that wood contains carcinogen agent. In which one of the
findings was that excess leukaemia lymphoma group cancers in millwrights, mill workers,
and lumber and sawmill workers.
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Table 4.2 shows that it has been stated in the Occupational Safety and Health
(Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational
Disease) Regulations that exposure to wood dust can cause cancer.
Table 4.2 Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third Schedule of
Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous
Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations
2004 (NIOSH, 2011).
Description of occupational poisoning or
diseaseNature of activity/occupation
OTHER CONDITIONS
29.Cancer caused by(p) Wood dust
Any occupation involving
the use or handling of; or exposure to, wood
dust arising from the manufacture of wood
products.
4.6 Impacts of the most critical hazards to the organization
If the hazards are realized, the company has to face direct remedial costs as well indirect
costs which usually cost a lot more than the direct cause and does not only means loss in term
of profit. The direct costs may come from the medical related expenses for treating the
affected workers and also paying the fines if there is non-compliance to the regulatory
requirement.
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The indirect costs can be the loss working days of the affected workers which may
lead to lower productivity and possibility of operation shutdown, facing reduction in its
reputation (negative publicity) from client and their employment status as loss of money and
time spent for investigation processes.
In other words, the company may experienced the ice berg theory, that is most
employers only see the direct cost of an incident and are not aware that an incident will cost
the company a lost more than the direct cost, because they have a wrong perception by
believing that they are protected by insurance for most cost arising from the incident.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 General duty of the employers and employees.
Section 15 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 stated that it is the
responsibility of the employer to provide safe work environment for his or her workers.
Therefore, the hazards that are identified have to be evaluated, then controlled or mitigated to
reduce the risk of hazard if cannot be eliminated as quickly as possible.
In Section 24 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 requires
that the employee while at work to take reasonable care for the safety and health of himself,
co-operate with his employer regarding this Act or any other regulation made under this Act,
to wear or use at all time any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer for
the purpose of preventing risks to his safety and health and to comply with any instruction or
measure on occupational safety and health instituted by the employer.
5.2 Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard
The applicable control measures for sharp blade are isolation, engineering and administrative
control, and PPE, as elimination and substitution controls are not suitable to be implemented.
Isolation control can be done by installing a barricade between the operator and the
band saw blade to isolate the operator from the hazard of sharp blade and to avoid the worker
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from entering the danger zone (Appendix N). Other method is to establish a danger zone by
colour marking, for example, dangerous zone should be mark with red colour.
The engineering control involves in guarding the entire blade of the band saw except
at the point of operation (Machine Guarding eTool, 2011) as shown in Appendix P. This
control measure prevents the worker from making contact with the blade and to restrain the
saw blade in the event of blade failure.
Stated in the Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulations
2000, Regulation 24 (8) (a) (i), that the saw blade except the portion of the band saw blade
between the table and the guide shall be enclosed by a guard.
Administrative controls for sharp blade hazard comprise of,
i. Developing and implementing safe operating procedures.ii. Training and education of operators about the safe operating procedure of the
band saw.
iii. Establishing and maintaining good housekeeping programs and keepequipment well maintained.
And for the usage of PPE, protective gloves are must in which recommended to
protect the hands of workers from being cut or injured.
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Table 5.0 Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First Schedule of
Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals
Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000 (NIOSH, 2011).
Chemical
8-hour time-weighted average airborne
concentration (mg/m)
Wood dust
Hard wood 1
Soft wood 5
Thus, employer shall ensure that his workers exposure to wood dust does not exceed
the exposure limit. There are a number of ways to inspect the work place for excessive
airborne wood dust. A visual check may immediately identify a problem. Look for dust
accumulated on machine, equipment, clothes, face, and hair and around the breathing zone of
workers (Bean & Butcher, 2006). This will help determine where the dust is created and how
to mitigate the problem. Appendix J and K show the accumulation of wood dust in the band
saw area.
Sweeping the floors may also be causing unnecessary airborne wood dust. A clean
work area during machine operation is a good indication that wood dust levels are below
OSHA PELs. However, the only way to be certain is to monitor the air for wood dust. If
necessary monitoring of exposure should be carried out, which is stated in the Occupational
Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health)
Regulations 2000, Regulation 26 (1),
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Where an assessment of risk to health indicates that monitoring of exposure is
required or it is requisite for ensuring the maintenance of adequate control of the exposure of
employees to chemicals hazardous to health, the employers shall ensure that the exposure of
employees to chemicals hazardous to health is monitored in accordance an approved method
of monitoring and analysis.
Elimination and substitution controls are not applicable to control the risk of wood
dust exposure, which leaves isolation, engineering and administrative controls and also PPE.
For isolation other workers should be isolate from the band saw area to reduce exposure of
the wood dust.
The principal engineering control technologies for wood dust is exhaust ventilation.
Dust collection is best achieved if done at the source of the point of operation of the
equipment. Very fine dust that manages to escape the point-of-source collector can be
captured from above by general exhaust points located at the ceiling. The collection unit
should be emptied periodically in a manner which ensures that the dust does not cause further
pollution of the environment.
The preventive and control measures of administrative control that can be taken are:
i. Use suction cleaners rather than compressed air to remove accumulated dust fromledges, corners, pits and floors.
ii. Rotate tasks to reduce workers exposure times.
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iii. Provide education, supervision and training on wood dust hazards for both employersand employees.
iv. Monitor risks to ensure they remain as low as possible.
And for the PPE for protection against the exposure of wood dust is by wearing dust mask
or respiratory mask to reduce inhalation of wood dust. Besides that, wood dust may come in
contact with the eye so workers are also recommended to wear goggle.
Table 5.1 shows the summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.
Table 5.1 Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.
Regulations Descriptions
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,
Section 15 (1)
Employer to ensure safe working
environment to his/her employees.
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,
Section 24 (1)
Employee to follow instruction given by the
employer regarding safety and health and to
avoid from doing any unsafe act.
Factories and Machinery (Safety, Health and
Welfare) Regulations 1970, Regulation 26 (1)
Employer to ensure the air in the work area
of the his or her workers is in clean from
any hazardous fume or dust
Occupational Safety and Health (Use and
Standards of Exposure of Chemicals
Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000,
Regulation 7 (1)
PEL of chemicals/substances as stated in the
Schedule I.
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Occupational Safety and Health (Use and
Standards of Exposure of Chemicals
Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000,
Regulation 26 (1),
Monitoring of exposure to hazardous
chemicals/substances.
Factories and Machinery (Fencing of
Machinery and Safety) Regulations 2000,
Regulations 24 (8) (a) (i).
Saw blade (except that portion of the saw
blade between the table and the guide) shall
be enclosed by a guard
5.5 Review of control measures
The review of the proposed control measure has not been carried out since the control
measures were just introduced thus has not been fully implemented and still under
consideration. However, in order to minimize the hazards identified, all of the control
measures should be implemented properly and accordingly to ensure its effectiveness.
Implementations of the control measures must be followed up and observed. It can be done
by performing regular inspection.
To further strengthen the proposed control measures, regular discussion and meeting
to discuss any problem or issues regarding the control measures are required. The outcome
from the discussion or meeting should be able to come out with ideas to increase the
effectiveness of the control measures or to find better solution to control the risks. Support
from top management is important and also co-operation from other workers is crucial to
achieve the target.
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5.6 Benefits of implementing the control measures
In the OSHA 1994 it is clearly stated that the employer need to control and abate
accidents and diseases in the workplace. Thus, it is compulsory for the company to comply
with this regulation. From implementing these control measures, the company will maintain
its reputation as a caring company and at the same time gain trust from its clients and
employees that will increase profit as well as productivity of the company.
Other than that, through the administrative controls such as training, education and
SOPs, it will expose the knowledge of safety and health to both employers and employees,
thus, this will increase their awareness related to safety and health. This will eventually
reduces the rate of risk and the frequency of accident in the workplace. When the frequency
of accidents reduced, production will increase as no disruptions on the production processes ,
therefore, the company will experience increase in revenue and able to achieve a high
standard of safety and health.
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REFERENCES
Bean, T. L. & Butcher, T. W. 2006. Wood dust exposure hazard. Department of Food,
Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Ohio State University, Ohio.
Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). 2011. Guidelines on occupational
safety and health management systems. Mashi Publication Sdn. Bhd., Selangor.
Factories and Machinery Act with Regulations Act 139 2011 Edition. 2011. MDC Publishers
Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur.
Hubbard, D. W. 2009. The failure of risk management: why its broken and how to fix it. John
Wiley & Sons. New Jersey.
Machine Guarding eTool. 2012. Band saw.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.html
Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical
Investigations.NIOSH Publication, 74129.
Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical
Investigations.NIOSH Publication No. 74129. NIOSH, Salt Lake City, Utah.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 2011. Occupational Safety
and Health Act and Regulations Acy 514 2011 Edition. MDC Publishers Sdn. Bhd.,
Kuala Lumpur.
Spellman, F. R. 2011. Physical hazard control: preventing injuries in the workplace.
Government Institutes, United Kingdom.
Spiers, P. S. 1969. Hodgkin's disease in workers in the wood industry.Public Health Reports,
84(5): 385388.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.htmlhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.htmlhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.html -
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APPENDIX A
Flow diagram of the process in the saw mill.
Receiving of lumber
Logs are received at the log yards and are physically segregated according to its
species, status or certification and sizes
Grading of lumber
A Quality Control (QC) team will then grade all lumber, verify its species and check
defects for each log. Each lumber is documented to ensure proper chain of custodyprocedure is followed, graded lumbers are then labelled and sorted for further process.
Breakdown of lumber
Selected lumber is debarked and loaded into the band saw to be split into workable size
or lengths. At each band saw, defects on lumbers are carefully avoided to maximize
recovery. Timber produced here is then delivered to the sorting plant for grading,
sorting and cross cutting.
Grading and cutting of lumber
Each cross cutting station has a grader who carefully cuts out the defect detected in the
timber. The timber is then sorted by sizes, species and lengths into different bundle.
Each bundle is documented and labelled to maintain the chain of custody.
Seasoning, kiln dry and storage
Timber is then stickered to allow adequate air circulation within the bundle andplaced under shelter for seasoning before being loaded into kiln dry rooms. Seasoning
and kiln drying will take about 1-4 weeks depending on the size and species of the
timber to reach optimum working moisture content of 9-13%. Dried timber is then
checked again by the QC team to ensure its quality. Dried timber is then documented
and labelled to ensure traceability of each bundle. Labelled timber bundle is then
moved to the sheltered storage area, waiting for further processing
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APPENDIX B
Flow diagram of the work activities involved in the breakdown of lumber.
Transfer lumber to working
platform. (Appendix F).
Feed lumber to the band saw.
(Appendix J) for the breakdown
process.
Unload sawed lumber from
working platform. (Appendix L).
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APPENDIX C
CEO
Vice CEO
Production
Plywood mill
(HOD)
Sawmill
(HOD)
Log yard
(HOD)
Main office
Human resource,
Administration
and Safety.HOD
QC/QA
(HOD)
Purchasing
(HOD)
Finance
(HOD)
Purchasing
(HOD)
Engineering
(HOD)
Road maintenance,
Transportation
and Logging
(HOD)
Engineering
(Plywood mill)
(HOD)
CEO: Chief
Executive Officer
HOD: Head of
DepartmentQA/QC: Quality
Assurance/Quality
Control.
JAVA Sdn. Bhd. Organizational Chart.
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APPENDIX D
Job Safety Analysis (JSA): Breakdown of lumber
No Job Steps Hazards Corrective actions
1
Transfer lumber to the
band saw
table/working
platform.
a.Accidently start sawwhile preparing,
b.Awkward posturelifting
c.Forceful exertion securinglumber on table/platform
d.Crushed by lifted lumber
a.Electrically isolate beforestarting anything else
b.Implement lift/materials
handling training
c.Cover in lift/materialshandling training.
d.Wear safety boots.
2
Turn on band saw. a.Electrical shock,b.Exposed blade
c.Exposure to noised.Flying fragments (blade
break/wood chips)
a.Inspect electrical cord andswitch
b.Ensure safe zone is
identified/guard the blade
c.Hearing protectiond.Inspect blade prior to turning
the saw on and wear eye
protection.
3
Feed lumber to the
band saw blade (point
of operation)
a.Knot/nails in wood kickback
b.Amputations or cuts
hand contact with blade(point of operation)
c.Saw dust in eyesd.Saw dust inhaled
e.Accumulation of wooddust (fire hazard)
f.Awkward postures due toleaning and reaching
a.Inspect wood and pushthrough slowly
b.Ensure danger zone is
identified/guard the bladec.Wear eye protectiond.Wear dust mask/ propose
local exhaust ventilation
(LEV)
e.Proper housekeeping/ proposelocal exhaust ventilation
f.Position body to avoidexposure to awkward and
sustained postures
4
Remove material fromtable/platform
a.Material (wood) hit andstrike feet.b.Rotating parts
c.Awkward postures due toleaning and reaching
a.Wear safety boots.b.Install guard at rotating partsc.Position body to avoid
exposure to awkward and
sustained postures
5 Shut off saw
6Clean off saw a.Saw dust in eyes
b.Saw dust inhaled
a.Wear eye protectionb.Wear dust mask.
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APPENDIX E
Noise Exposure Monitoring Report
Workplace: Sawmill
Prepared by: Renny Ong (JKKP IH 127/5/3/3-1 N1011)
Location Noise source Type of noise Noise level dB (A)
Bandsaw Bandsaw 1 Steady, continuous 101.8
Bandsaw Bandsaw 2 Steady, continuous 104.2
Bandsaw Bandsaw 3 Steady, continuous 100.6
Bandsaw Bandsaw 4 Steady, continuous 92.4
Bandsaw Bandsaw 5 Steady, continuous 102.2Bandsaw Bandsaw 6 Steady, continuous 103.2
Bandsaw Bandsaw 7 Steady, continuous N/A
Bandsaw Bandsaw 8 Steady, continuous N/A
Bandsaw Bandsaw 9 Steady, continuous N/A
Bandsaw Bandsaw 10 Steady, continuous 100.2
Bandsaw Bandsaw 11 Steady, continuous 96.6
Bandsaw Bandsaw 12 Steady, continuous 102.1
Bandsaw Bandsaw 13 Steady, continuous N/A
Bandsaw Bandsaw 14 Steady, continuous 102.6
Bandsaw Bandsaw 15 Steady, continuous 99.9
Bandsaw Bandsaw 16 Steady, continuous 98.6
*N/A: Not available.
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APPENDIX F
Table A Working hours of workers for breakdown of lumber.
Time Duration
7.00 a.m.9.00 a.m. 2 hours
9.00 a.m.9.30 a.m. REST
9.30 a.m.12.00 p.m. 2 hours
12.00 p.m.1.00 p.m. REST
1.00 p.m.4.30 p.m. 3 hours
Total hours of exposure to noise: 8 hours.
Table B Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) of noise adapted from the First Schedule
of the Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulations 1989,
Regulations 5 (1).
Noise Level
(db (A)slow)
Duration of exposure Permitted per day
(hoursminute)
92
9394
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104105
6-4
5-174-36
4-0
3-29
3-2
2-50
2-15
2-0
1-44
1-31
1-19
1-91-0
Based on Appendix D it shows the noise exposed to the workers that carry out
breakdown of lumber activity for 8 hours at every bandsaw exceeds the PEL for noise as
stated in Table B.
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APPENDIX G
HIRARC: Breakdown of lumber
RiskControl
RiskControlMeasure
Wear
safety
boots,
inspect
chain
before
operation.
Installguardingatthe
blade
as
shown
in
Appendix
P;
install
barricade
between
workerand
bladeas
shown
in
Appendix
N.
Install
guard
at
rotating/movingparts.
Install
appropriate
ventilation
system;
establish
better
housekeepingmethod
Hearingprotection(ear
muffs,earplugs).
Install
appropriate
ventilation
system,
weardustmask.
RiskAnalysis
Risk
rating
(LS)
61
6
1
5 51
52
0
Severity
(S)
2 4 3 5 3 4
Likelihood
(L)
3 4 5 1 5 5
Existing
- - -House
keeping
- -
HazardIdentifi
cation
Whichcan
cause/effect
Crushworkersfeet
Cuts,
lacerations,
amputations,
and
abrasions
to
affected
body
parts,;
fatality.
Cuts,
lacerations,
amputations,
and
abrasionstoaffected
bodyparts
Fireandexplosion
Hearingimpairment.
Skin
irritation
(dermatitis),severe
allergic
(asthma),
cancer.
Hazard
Falling
object
Exposed
sharpblade
(Pisau
tajam
yang
terde
da
h)
Movingparts
Accumulated
wooddust
Exposedto
noise
Exposedto
wooddust
Worksteps
Transferring/
unloadinglumber
onto/from
the
table/platform.
Operating
the
machine;feeding
lumber
to
the
bandsaw
blade
(point
of
operation)
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APPENDIX H
Chain hoist is used to lift wood to the working platform.
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APPENDIX I
Lumber is lifted in order to transfer it to the working platform.
Worker hooking the lumber.
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APPENDIX J
AA
Unguarded moving parts (sprockets) of the band saw.
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APPENDIX K
Unguarded moving parts of the band saw
and accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.
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APPENDIX L
Accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.
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APPENDIX M
Lumber is fed through the blade.
Fire triangle
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APPENDIX N
Install a barricade between the worker and the band saw blade or establish danger zone.
DANGER
ZONE
BARRICADE
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APPENDIX O
Workers inspect the lumber to ensure that it is properly cut/sawed.
Workers unloading the cut/sawed lumber from the platform.
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APPENDIX P
Proposed fencing of the band saw blade.
Portion of sharp
blade that should be
guarded
Point of operation
(Cannot be guarded)
Table/Platform
Guide
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APPENDIX Q
JAVA Sdn Bhd Development Plan.
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APPENDIX R