Starting an Occupational Safety and Health Management System:

Creating a plan

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! The action plan described in this section provides the most direct route to getting yourself organized to complete the Four-Point Program outlined earlier

! Having learnt of what constitutes a good safety and health program, the 4 elements can be practically put together to come up with a suitable program for the workplace

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 ! Your plan should consider your company’s

immediate needs, and provide for ongoing, long-lasting worker protection.

! Once your plan is designed, it is important to follow through and use it in the workplace.

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Having difficulties in beginning?

! Call your local occupational safety and health office, or

! a safety advisor or consultant will get you the assistance you need.

! This person will survey your workplace for existing or potential hazards and determine what you need to make your safety and health program effective.

! The consultant will work with you to develop a plan for making these improvements, and to establish procedures for making sure that your program stays effective.

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Rewards for these efforts

! a workplace with a high level of efficiency and productivity, and

! a low level of loss and injury.

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Designating responsibility

! Decide who in your company is the most appropriate person to manage your safety and health program

! The Law requires the appointment of a competent person who also serves as the secretary of the safety and health committee

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Qualities of appointee

! be committed to workplace safety and health

! Should have the time to devote to developing and managing the program,

! Be willing to take on the responsibility and accountability that goes with operating an effective program.

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Note!!!

! Remember, though, that even when you appoint someone as your safety manager and delegate the authority to manage the program, the ultimate responsibility for safety and health in your workplace rests on you, the owner or chief executive !

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Things you ought to know!

! There is need to familiarise oneself with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2007 and subsidiary legislations made under it.

! Before any person occupies or uses any premises as a workplace, he shall apply for the registration of the premises and once a certificate of registration is issued renew the certificate annually

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! No building shall be erected or converted for use as a workplace and no structural alteration /extension shall be made to any existing workplace except in accordance with plans showing details of the proposed construction, conversion, alteration or extension, approved by the director of occupational safety and health services

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! An occupational safety and health officer can enter, inspect and examine your workplace by day or by night

! The occupier of every workplace, shall furnish the means required by an occupational safety and health officer as necessary for an entry, inspection, examination or inquiry, or the taking of samples.

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! You must carry out appropriate risk assessments in relation to the safety and health of persons employed and, on the basis of these results, adopt preventive and protective measures

! You must send a copy of the report of risk assessment carried out to the area occupational safety and health officer

! An employer must establish a safety and health committee at the workplace if there are twenty or more persons employed at the workplace

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! The safety and health committee should be trained to enable them competently perform its functions

! An employee who has left a work place, which he or she has reasonable justification to believe presents imminent and serious danger to life and health shall not be dismissed, discriminated against or disadvantaged for such action by the employer

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! Some jobs require specified protective clothing or equipment, or specified standards of health

! People employed on hazardous processes may have to be medically examined by a designated health practitioner

! You will need an outside expert (Authorised/approved person); to carry out periodic tests and examinations of equipment such as air compressors, boilers, lifts or cranes

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! You must display certain documents, for example the abstract of the Act and also ensure that general register is available for inspection whenever occupational safety and health officers visit

! You must have a trained team of fire fighters! All electrical equipment and related

attachments must be inspected every six months by a competent person and records kept

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! You must have first aid boxes manned by trained first aiders in line with the first aid rules

! You must contract a safety and health adviser to carry out safety and health audit of your workplace every twelve months

! You must contract a fire safety auditor to carry out a fire safety audit of your workplace every twelve months

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Organize the workplace

! Carry out intensive cleanup campaign in all areas of the workplace.

! Get rid of unnecessary items; ! provide proper waste containers; ! store flammables properly; ! make sure exits are not blocked; ! mark aisles and passageways; ! provide adequate lighting, etc.

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! Get everyone involved and impress upon employees that you want to make your workplace safer, more healthful and more efficient.

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Start gathering specific facts about your situation

! Before making changes in your safety and health operations, you should gather information about the current conditions and business practices that comprise your safety and health program.

! This information can help you identify problems and determine what is needed to solve them.

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The workplace assessment consists of two major activities:

! This initial survey should focus on evaluating workplace conditions with respect to safety and health regulations and generally recognized safe and healthful work practices.

! It should include :-! checking on the use of any hazardous

materials, observing employee work habits and practices, and discussing safety and health problems with employees. (Checklists will provide a good guide)

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! The second major activity is to assess your existing safety and health program and identify areas that work well and those that need improvement.

! You should gather as much information as you can that relates to safety and health management in your workplace.

! You should include the following in this review:

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Safety and health activities.

! Examine :-! ongoing activities as well as those tried previously, ! company policy statements, ! rules (both work and safety), ! guidelines for proper work practices and procedures,

and ! records of training programs.

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Equipment

! List your major equipment, what it is used for and where it is located.

! Special attention should be given to inspection schedules, maintenance activities, and plant and office layouts.

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Employee capabilities

! Make an alphabetical list of all employees, showing the date hired, their job descriptions, and experience and training.

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Accident and injury/illness history

! Review first aid cases and workers’ compensation insurance payments and awards, and review your losses.

! Compare your insurance rate with others in your group.

! Give special attention to recurring accidents, types of injuries, etc.

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After gathering facts:-

! See if any major problem areas emerge such as interruptions in your normal operations, too many employees taking too much time off due to illness or injury, too many damaged products, etc.

! General help with this kind of problem identification

can often be obtained from insurance companies, local OSH office, trade associations, relevant government agencies, major suppliers or similarly situated businesses in the same industry.

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! If you discover a major problem, see what can be done to solve it.

! Once a problem is identified, you can work on the corrective action or a plan to control the problem.

! Take immediate action and make a record of what you have done.

! Now it is time to develop a comprehensive safety and health program to avoid any major problems in the future.

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Establishing a Four-Point Safety and Health Program

! There is therefore need to develop and implement an action plan

! An action plan tells you what has to be done, the logical order in which to do it, who is responsible and where you want to be when you finish.

! It describes problems and solutions, but is not ironclad. An action plan can and should be changed to correspond with changes in the workplace.

! A good action plan has two parts:

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! A list of major changes or improvements to make your safety and health program effective. Each item should be prioritized, have a target date for completion and identify who is responsible for implementation.

! A specific plan to implement each major change or improvement, including what you want to accomplish, the steps required, who will be assigned to do what and a schedule for completion.

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! Once a plan is established, put it into action, beginning with the highest priority item.

! Ensure that it is realistic, manageable and addresses the steps you have planned for that item.

! A detailed description of the steps required will help you keep track of your progress.

! Keep in mind that you can work on more than one item at a time and that priorities may change as other needs are identified or as your company’s resources change.

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! Open communication with your employees is crucial to the success of your efforts.

! Their cooperation depends on them understanding what the safety and health program is all about, why it is important to them and how it affects their work.

! The more you do to involve them in the changes you are making, the smoother your transition will be.

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Step 5: Reviewing the program

! Review the elements of the program=how effective are they?=What changes are needed?=Any improvement required?

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Self Inspection

! This is the most widely accepted way to identify hazards

! Checklists can be used to assist in this exercise

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Self inspection scope

! OSHA 2007 and subsidiary legislations should give the scope. The following are examples of what may be covered.

! Processing, Receiving, Shipping and Storage – equipment, job planning, layout, heights, floor loads, projection of materials, material handling and storage methods, training for material handling equipment.

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! Building and Grounds Conditions – floors, walls, ceilings, exits, stairs, walkways, ramps, platforms, driveways, aisles.

! Housekeeping Program – waste disposal, tools, objects, materials, leakage and spillage, cleaning methods, schedules, work areas, remote areas, storage areas.

! Electricity – equipment, switches, breakers, fuses, switch-boxes, junctions, special fixtures, circuits, insulation, extensions, tools, motors, grounding, national electric code compliance

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! Lighting – type, intensity, controls, conditions, diffusion, location, glare and shadow control.

! Heating and Ventilation – type, effectiveness, temperature, humidity, controls, natural and artificial ventilation and exhausting.

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! Machinery – points of operation, flywheels, gears, shafts, pulleys, key ways, belts, couplings, sprockets, chains, frames, controls, lighting for tools and equipment, brakes, exhausting, feeding, oiling, adjusting, maintenance, lockout/tag out, grounding, work space, location, purchasing standards.

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! Personnel – training, including hazard identification training; experience; methods of checking machines before use; type of clothing; PPE; use of guards; tool storage; work practices; methods for cleaning, oiling, or adjusting machinery.

! Hand and Power Tools – purchasing standards, inspection, storage, repair, types, maintenance, grounding, use and handling.

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! Chemicals – storage, handling, transportation, spills, disposals, amounts used, labelling, toxicity or other harmful effects, warning signs, supervision, training, protective clothing and equipment, hazard communication requirements.

! Fire Prevention – extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, smoking rules, exits, personnel assigned, separation of flammable materials and dangerous operations, explosion-proof fixtures in hazardous locations, waste disposal and training of personnel. 39

! Maintenance – provide regular and preventive maintenance on all equipment used at the worksite, recording all work performed on the machinery and by training personnel on the proper care and servicing of the equipment.

! PPE – type, size, maintenance, repair, age, storage, assignment of responsibility, purchasing methods, standards observed, training in care and use, rules of use, method of assignment.

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! Transportation – motor vehicle safety, seat belts, vehicle maintenance, safe driver programs.

! First Aid Program/Supplies – medical care facilities locations, posted emergency phone numbers, accessible first aid kits

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! Evacuation Plan – establish and practice procedures for an emergency evacuation, e.g., fire, chemical/biological incidents, bomb threat; include escape procedures and routes, critical plant operations, employee accounting following an evacuation, rescue and medical duties and ways to report emergencies.

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