Recent orders
HEALTH AND SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
HEALTH AND SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
by Student’s name
Course code+name
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission
HEALTH AND SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Legal requirements have been set to ensure that workers health and safety is a priority to the organization. At a national level, the requirements have been set by the government through different legislations. Organizations have gone a step further to create modified internal laws to ensure that their employees are working in a safe environment. All organizations are bound by law to provide a safe working place to their employees. However, providing a safe workplace for workers lies in the best interest for the company itself. To the company, a safe workplace will ensure that the workers productivity is maintained and that the company is in good terms with the government which regularly conducts inspections. This report will consider the benefits of designing and implementing a health and safety system at the workplace. It will also look at different organizations and their implementation strategy (David & Tetric et. al 2003). At the same time the report will present a comparison between the organizations practices and the set legal requirements. Finally the report will look into the management aspect, how does the management team handle different incidents of workplace safety and does management implement the regulations to please the government or for personal satisfaction as an organization.
Health and safety in the workplace entails
A health and safety system is set by the organization to ensure that the workers have a safe environment to work in. It entails a health and safety policy as well as an environment policy. The company should have a well detailed explanation on how to deal with accidents and health hazards in the workplace.
The first stage of having a safety system involves development of policy(David & Tetric et. al 2003). This is done after surveys are conducted by the management team, to have an understanding of the safety issues on the ground. Management may do this by taking surveys or interviewing the workers. Coming up with the specific policy is the next step. After considering the threats to workers safety, policy is set and implemented. The managers set a team that monitors and evaluates the implementation of the set policy. After a set period of time, the managers review the policy and change the aspects that have various shortcomings.
On the environmental policy, companies seek to satisfy concerns raised by the government through various environmental agencies it has created as well as meet the international standards set for environmental management (Elearn et. al 2008). Organizations go an extra mile to consider concerns raised by consumers of their products and the society around them. Management aims at implementing environment conservation policies through consultations with researchers and other stakeholders. Organizations take part in environmental conservation as a part of their corporate social responsibility.
The management of health and safety at work regulations 1999, regulation 5 is the regulation that forms the basis for health and safety regulations. It requires that all organizations adhere to the policy on health and safety at the work place. It also requires that all organizations come up with a health and safety policy to ensure that workers are safe at the workplace. Each organization is also required to set up a board that regularly checks and monitors the implementation of the health and safety policy (Kelloway & Cooper et. al 2011). The board is also responsible for improving health and safety policy in the organization.
The board is answerable to the top level management. The board presents evidence of all its workings to the managers by presenting minutes recorded during their meetings. Employee training on health and safety procedures is also a requirement that is met by the health and safety board in an organization. All employees need to be trained on how to handle accidents and report safety threats; this is the duty of the board (Kelloway & Cooper et. al 2011).
The role of management in provision of health and safety at workplaces
Management has the role of appointing a board of professionals who design and implement policies for the organization (Redmill & Rajan et. al 2009). This is delegation of duties in the workplace since not all managers are conversant with health and safety concerns. The board will be answerable to the management. Therefore management does not only appoint the board it also expects the board to deliver results. Management also seeks financing for the board and for the implementation of health and safety policy.
Management must also ensure that all employees are well informed on the health and safety threats that are present at their work place (Redmill & Rajan et. al 2012). However, it is the duty of the management to inform all employees that their health and safety is a priority to the organization. Management is responsible for ensuring that all information regarding health and safety at the workplace is well disseminated. So it is the role of management to reassure all employees of their safety and that their health issues will be taken care of.
Management must also be available and participate in consultations regarding health and safety issues. Employees are represented in such consultations by their union’s leaders, while managers are represented by the board (Channing et. al 2013). Consultations are necessary since the employees are able to raise their concerns regarding health and safety and also make suggestions on what they would like the organization to do for them. Consultations also present a forum for management to inform the employees on how they are planning to handle various health hazards.
Analysis and Justification
Benefits of designing and implementing a health and safety system
There are various benefits that an organization gets for designing and implementing a health and safety system. These include:
The organization is able to maintain its workers productivity. This is an advantage to the organization as well as the workers. When an organization maintains workers productivity, the output levels are maintained since there are no threats to the human resource (Friend & Kohn et. al 2010). An organization with a well designed health and safety system is also able to attract highly skilled workers; such workers desire to work in an environment where their safety is ensured.
The organization is able to set the trend and become a global leader/example to other companies. Being a trend setter in the industry, will translate to high ratings and receiving of awards. This is the pride of the company, to gain recognition in a certain sector. The organization is also in good terms with the government, which regularly checks to see that all organizations take care of their employee’s health and safety needs (Friend & Kohn et. al 2010).
The organization is able to guard the environment that surrounds it. The health and safety system regulations require that a company also takes care of the surrounding environment. Companies with a health and safety system take care of the environment, by reducing pollution since it may affect their workers. Thus having a safety and health system also goes a great way in environmental conservation.
Examples from different organizations
The Petroleum development Oman Company- this is a leading global company. It has designed a unique health and safety system that does not only cater for the workers but also for the family members. This goes beyond the government set requirements to provide health and safety services to the workers. Workers get motivated in such a corporation, while the company maintains good relations with the government. The organization also has set up the Heart Garden for its workers to enjoy psychological help (Simmons et. al 2013. The company has gone a step further to not only consider the physical health of their workers but also the mental health. This is a step that has not been implemented by many organizations. The company considers the requirements that are set by the government as the minimum health and safety requirements. Managers go ahead to design and implement more competitive policies using the government requirements as the base requirements.
On environmental conservation, Petroleum development Oman Company`s management engages in consultations and employees researchers who conduct experiments to consider whether the company poses any threats to the environment. Researchers play an important role in product development at Petroleum development Oman Company, they are able to inform the management on the environmental threats that their production process poses as well as the health risks that their products may cause. With such information, the company is able to manufacture gadgets that are user friendly at the same time maintain the health and safety of both their workers and their customers. This shows that the company considers its workers and customers as their greatest asset.
Being an oil and petroleum company, it may be considered as a high risk company due to the nature of work and tools that workers use (Hughes & Ferrett et. al 2012) . It is at the best interest of managers to continue producing by maintaining the workers safety. Being a global company, it is under the limelight and many companies look up to it. The company also abides with the requirements of the management of health and safety at work regulations 1999, regulation 5. A board has been appointed, comprising of researchers and top management officials who come up with the safety policy. The board is also responsible for addressing and responding to concerns raised by employees as well as receiving complaints from the workers. The board meets every month to look into arising issues in the health and safety of workers. The board corresponds with the company’s medical department which is also answerable to the management and workers unions in terms of the health and working environment for workers.
Public authority for electricity and water- this is a national company which handles many employees at a national level. Workers are face with many health and safety threats and there is need to minimize these threats as well as take care of the health issues for their workers.
For health, the organization has a health scheme that ensures that all employees are covered. The health scheme covers all employees’ issues, from physical to mental health. To make it effective, all employees undergo a compulsory health check up each quarter of the year; the reports are then forwarded to the management for further analysis (Hughes & Ferrett et. al 2012). The scheme also caters for hospital bills for the workers when emergencies arise. Workers also enjoy personal counseling from the medical scheme, such services are important because health professionals working for the organization are able to understand and deal with health needs at a personal level. Other company’s only cater for the medical bills, with the intention of having the employee return to work. The Public authority for electricity and water goes a mile ahead in making follow ups on the health of their employees.
The organization also meets the legal requirements for health and safety at the workplace. There is a board that is appointed to handle health and safety issues for different water and electricity projects. There are unique boards in this organization that all deal with the health and safety of workers (Whittingham et. al 2008). On board is appointed to look into the health and safety of workers who work as engineers and manual laborers while the other board deals with non-manual employees. The organization has also appointed a board which works handles the environment. The board acts as the oversight body that looks into the environmental threats that the company poses. The board also ensures that it is the priority of the management to safeguard the safety and health of all its workers and provide a suitable working environment.
The organization is thus able to take care of its employee’s health and safety needs as well as participate in environmental conservation (Whittingham et. al 2008). This is an addition to what is required by law, to have one board that handles all health and safety issues in the organization. Considering the company’s size and employee base, it is able to implement the policies it sets through the three boards.
Samsung C& T company- this is a global company that produces electronic gadgets. They are able to take care of the health and safety of their workers through the “Employee Health and Accident prevention scheme. The management team seeks to provide the best working environment for the workers who are mainly researchers and product developers. The risk involved in the line of duty is not as high as that in previous organizations discussed. However, the organization ensures that it abides with the rules and regulations that have been put as legal requirements for health and safety of workers by the government (Whittingham et. al 2008).
The management team understands that in such an environment the major health issues that are likely to arise include stress and depression as well as anxiety. For this reason, the management focuses on providing mental health and psychological health solutions to all employees. The organization also caters for health and medical bills belonging to family members of their employees (Soyka et. al2012). This helps in reducing the situations that may lead to stress arising.
The organization also abides with the set environmental conservation regulations. Being a company that produces gadgets that are used globally, the organization produces items that do not pose a threat to the environment. Thus their products are globally accepted.
Arising issues in health and safety at the workplace and Recommendations
Paternal and maternal leave- organizations have adopted the requirements to give leaves to parents of newly born babies. However, the time period is short and the health of the newly born baby is not put into consideration (Soyka et. al2012). The development of the baby, at this stage the child needs to be surrounded by the parents. Considering that it is not possible give all workers an extensive paternal or maternal leave organization should come up with day care centers. The day care centers should be run by a current mother, who will play an important role in the development of the babies. It is not possible for the organization to give a paternal or maternal leave for a long period of time.
Use of technology-organizations should adopt the use of technology for quick alerts on possible safety hazards. For example, the use of earthquake and tsunami detectors for companies that deals with underground drilling and mining. This would make it possible for the company to alert their workers and evacuate them from danger zones where they would otherwise lose their lives.
Technology may also be used to research further on the effects of gasses and chemicals that the employees deal with in their daily lives. Continued research on the work conditions that employees are exposed to shows a concern by the management to take care of the employees.
The direct involvement of management in policy design and implementation- this helps the organization in design and implementation of policies that are effective (Soyka et. al2012). A manager will only be able to source for financing and implement a policy that he/she understands. With the direct involvement of managers in this process, workers are more assured that the health and safety issues that they face will be dealt with appropriately.
Conclusion
The most valuable asset to an organization is its workers. All organizations have to appoint a board that will handle the health and safety issues (Friend & Kohn et. al 2010). The board is responsible for formulating health and workplace safety policies for the organization. It is also responsible for training workers on how to handle various health hazards that they may face in their working environment. For such a board to be effective it should comprise of health experts, employee unionists and researchers. Such a board is all round and is able to design and implement health and safety policies in the workplace.
Each and every organization is different from the other; therefore all organization cannot implement a common set of rules and regulations that pertain to health and safety at the workplace. Thus the need for a team of experts that is able to consider the specific environment in an organization and to design policies based on that (Friend & Kohn et. al 2010). However, there are the minimal requirements that are set by the government to ensure that all organizations provide a safe working environment for their workers.
A safe working environment does not only favor the employee but also favors the employer. With a safe working environment and having all health issues addressed, a worker is able to become much more productive. With a stable level of productivity, the organization is able to maintain its levels of supply (Friend & Kohn et. al 2010). Thus provision of a safe working environment motivates workers and also helps the organization in maintaining stable output. Policies that have been set by an organization for the health and safety of their workers need to be revised on a regular basis with a consideration of changes in the workplace and trends in technology.
Reference List
David, A. Louis, E. 2003. Health and Safety in Organizations: A Multilevel Perspective. New Jersy: Pfeiffer. p 7.
Elearn, A. 2008. Managing Health, Safety and Working Environment. Manchesther: Routledge. p44.
Kelloway, E., Kelloway, E. & Cary L. 2011.Occupational Health and Safety for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. p52.
Redmill, F. & Rajan, J. 2009. Human Factors in Safety-Critical Systems. Pitsburg: Routledge. p88.
Redmill, F. & Rajan, J. 2012. Human Factors in Safety-Critical Systems. 2nd ed, Pitsburg: Routledge. p12-40.
Channing, J. 2013. Safety at Work. Manchesther: Routledge. p20-28.
Friend, M, A. & Kohn, J.P. 2010. Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health. Manchesther: Government Institutes. p68.
Simmons, M. 2013. Leading Health and safety at work. Colonge: wileys. p22.
Soyka, P. 2012. Creating a Sustainable Organization. London: FT Press,. p 44.
Hughes, P. & Ferrett, E. 2012. International Health and Safety at Work. London: Routledge. p35.
Whittingham, R. 2008. Preventing Corporate Accidents. London: Routledge. p78.
AMERICAN IDENTITY The walk from school
AMERICAN IDENTITY: The walk from school
Student’s name
Instructor
Department of affiliation
Course
Date
The walk from school
My high school was exciting, and it was here I met my best friend, John. As we got from school, one of the Fridays, we decided to walk and see how the environment was beautiful. We got tired before we got so far, but it was worth the exercise and the chat. “John! Why don’t we walk today instead of using the bus?” I suggested. Without even thinking twice about it, John agreed that we were to walk our way home since both of our families were so close to each other. As we began our journey home, John began to ask me what I thought about politics and if I could vie for a political position at any moment. I was shocked at his view. “You know, it is only president Obama whom I liked. The other presidents have just been acting and doing so little and I` feel bad that America is going in this way”, he stated.
To add to his sentiments, I tried to remember the most significant achievement of President Obama, and I could not hold back to the Obama care. “You know I also admire him, and he is like a role model to me; my grandmother could not be alive if it were not for Obama care which he introduced.” John believed Obama was an outstanding president, and he always tried to compare him with President Trump, which I found uncouth and tried to mention to him that it was not the best thing to do. He always insisted that president Obama build the American economy to a very great extent. What president trump was doing was making the economy fall to its lowest points. “He just does not care about anything, not even his family.” When he started this, I remembered Michelle Obama and the Obama family. I had always admired how they were in love and cared for one another.
“I think having a family like that of the Obamas is one of the sweetest things a person can achieve, plus the achievement of being the president and having such an intelligent and lovely wife,” this I stated as John put on a song ‘make America great again’ by Frank Turner. We listened as we paused a little bit in our talking to contemplate what it means to be Americans. Before the music ended, John asked me a question that I still have not found an answer to, “by the way, I always ask myself, and now I ask you, do you think the rest of the world is jealous of America?” With this kind of question, the straightforward answer that came to my mind was yes, but then thinking deeply, I realized that some countries were not jealous of America but hated the country and its people. Watching international news at one point, I had discovered that some countries and some individuals hated the country which encouraged same-sex marriage, and they termed our beautiful country as a place of the devil. Even though this does not hold as John insisted, it still made a person feel bad about it.
“Hey, look over there; I want to buy one of those,” John signaled me to an old man who was selling caps written make ‘America great again’. I tried to look into my pockets for money, and I only found 3 dollars, yet it was being sold at 5 dollars. “Hey John, I do not have money, but I need the cap,” He looked at me and grinned as he took two caps and paid for both of them. He also put one on my head, and I was happy I had a friend like him. We continued with our walking, and John suddenly asked, “What were we talking about” I also could not remember since we had talked about president Obama, trump and how other people view America.
“What do you think is the place of religion in American lifestyle and governance” asking me this question; I remembered that I had been given such an assignment in one of my college courses, and therefore this was the perfect time to answer him. I tried to remember what I had written, but I was unable to grasp it completely. However, I remembered that religion had a role to play, especially during Martin Luther King junior and the fight for the rights of women and the black people. “I think I will share with you my answer to that question later when I am at home because I did such an assignment. I really cannot remember what I wrote.” With these words, we found ourselves at the junction that led to our different homes. This was where we parted ways, still thinking about American patriotism and what the presidents meant for the American people.
Health and Medical
Health and Medical
Students Name
Institution of Affiliation
Course Title
Date
Eradication of a disease refers to the permanent reduction to zero cases of the global incidence of infection that are caused by a specific infectious agent due to the application of deliberate efforts (Bailey, Merritt & Tediosi, 2015) and therefore, in the case of eradication, intervention measures are not applicable at the process. A majority of the diseases can be eradicated with the presence of the right tools and resources that are directed to the elimination and the eventual eradication of the transmission agent as well as the eventual eradication of the condition. Among the diseases that are targeted for extermination are those that have a global concern affecting a vast geographical region and at the same time has a higher prevalence and incidence. Disease eradication is aimed at the maintenance of the health of the population as the conditions weaken the individuals rendering them weak and unable to work, and therefore the general productivity of a country is reduced. Having a healthy community that is free from diseases is one of the most significant challenges that are faced by the health sector, and therefore proper measures need to be put in place to control, eliminate and as well ensure the complete eradication of the conditions that affect a large population as well as a vast geographical region.
Various factors define whether a condition has attained the threshold for eradication as not all the conditions meet the defining criteria for eradication (Browne, Smith & Bourouiba, 2015). For one, for a condition be considered to be eradicated, an effective intervention should be available so that the transmission of the agent is interrupted denying the agent a chance to complete its life cycle. Cutting the transmission implies that the agent does not complete its life cycle and thus the successful transmission of the agent is not possible. Another condition that has to be fulfilled so that a disease can be termed to have qualified for eradication is the availability of practical diagnostic tools that can define the specificity and the sensitivity of the condition. The tools aid in identifying the people who have the condition of interest and those who have not. Another compliance that makes a disease qualify to be eradicated is that the humans play a significant role for the life cycle of the agent that leads to the condition of interest, implying that there is no other vertebrate reservoir and therefore does not amplify the environment.
Guinea worm is one of the conditions that have been targeted for eradication in accordance from the documentary Foul Water, Fiery Serpent. Guinea worm qualifies for the eradication since it affects a vast geographical area and in the same time affect a large population and therefore become a condition of interest. Apart from its significant contribution from the ill-health on a majority of individuals, Guinea worm qualifies as a condition for eradication. The first reason is that there are effective intervention programs to which interrupt the transmission of the agent to the intermediate host that include treatment of the water to kill the intermediate host, barring the infected individuals from contaminating the water sources and sieving the water to get rid of the intermediate host from being consumed by humans. Again, there is a clear-cut for the identification of the individuals infected with the worm and those who are not as those infected develop a swelling which eventually ruptures releasing the larvae cysts into the water. The development of the blisters, therefore, is a notification that the individual may be infected and consequently barred from wading into the water sources to prevent contamination of the water with the parasite aiding to the interruption of the transmission cycle. Besides, the humans are the primary host and play an important role to the life cycle of the agent, there are no other vertebrate host or reservoir, and therefore the manipulation of humans implies that Guinea worm qualifies for eradication. A prolonged interruption of the transmission for a longer duration in a large geographical area is another factor that qualifies a condition to be liable for eradication. An extended disruption completely denies the agent from completing its lifecycle and eventually to effective elimination and eradication.
During eradication, several primary factors contribute to the eradication of a condition. The elements need to pose no challenge in the process of extermination at any stage be it initiation phase or the evaluation phase. For the eradication process to be effective, some factors need to be in place such as the biological and technical feasibility, political and societal support and as well a consensus on the favorable costs and benefits (Aylward et al. 2000). In consideration of the case of the Guinea worm eradication, the society plays a vital role in the ensuring that the process of extermination has been made a success. Different cultures react differently, in South Sudan, the community was collaborative, and this secured a higher rate of success compared to Ghana. The people in South Sudan despite the area being too big were cooperative with the Carter Center adhering to the advice provided and as well reporting new cases of guinea worm infestation in their region. In Ghana, most of the members of the society were not collaborative and that a significant population believed that Guinea worm infestation was a curse and therefore did not understand what they were being told. The myths and misconception in the community concerning Guinea worm led to a prolonged duration before the management of the infestation.
Political support is another primary factor that contributes to the eradication of conditions (Newby et al. 2016), based on the evidence in the documentary, South Sudan was sometimes on crisis due to political instability leading to the country being torn into war, this made it impossible for the surveillance team to manage their work shifting their concentration to peacemaking. In Ghana, there existed political stability, but the government indulged into projects that were not immediately needed to control the infestation of the Guinea worm and therefore the installation of pumped was faced by significant challenges such as break down of the pipes. During this time most of the people returned to the old ways of obtaining water from the fields, contaminating it again leading to infestation.
The costs and benefits are also among the primary factors that contribute to the eradication of diseases (Schiller et al. 2010). The cost of eradication should be minimal while the benefits are expected to be at the maximum. The eradication of the guinea worm was only made difficult in times of war and traveling during the rainy season making the transportation of the necessary equipment’s to be hard. The essential tools for the eradication of Guinea worm were not costly, and straightforward measures such as creating awareness and restricting infected individuals from accessing or bathing at the water sources required very minimal amounts. The overall benefits of the eradication process were restoring the health of the individuals who were previously in pain and in the risk of losing their limbs to disability. Besides, the presence of the effective intervention measures contributes to the success of an eradication program in that the condition is wiped out with minimal time and resources. Another factor includes the availability of technical staff who are dedicated to the program providing support either as volunteers and professional staff. From the documentary, many local volunteers devoted their time in ensuring that the natives were a well-advised creating awareness on the cause, distributing and the control of the Guinea worm. The presence of willing and collaborative staff volunteers made it a success and therefore can be termed as a primary factor that is necessary for eradication.
Since the eradication of smallpox, the international community has not been able to completely eradicate most of the diseases or conditions that are targeted for eradication. From the efforts of the smallpox eradication program, various lessons can be learned that include the presence of the necessary vaccination technology at hand, the practicality of the eradication must be demonstrated in the field before the consideration of eradication. Besides, proper preparation needs to be done in advance to avoid failure and the loss of credibility for the public health professionals as well who are among the leading initiatives of the eradication program (Beigbeder, 2017). The inability to completely eradicate other conditions may, therefore, be due to the lack of enough preparedness or even the absence of the necessary technology at hand. It can also be speculated that inadequate pretesting and demonstration in the field may have failed in eradication.
ReferenceAylward, B., Hennessey, K. A., Zagaria, N., Olivé, J. M., & Cochi, S. (2000). When is a disease eradicable? 100 years of lessons learned. American Journal of Public Health, 90(10), 1515.
Bailey, T. C., Merritt, M. W., & Tediosi, F. (2015). Investing in justice: ethics, evidence, and the eradication investment cases for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. American journal of public health, 105(4), 629-636.
Beigbeder, Y. (2017). The World Health Organization: Achievements and Failures. Routledge.
Browne, C. J., Smith, R. J., & Bourouiba, L. (2015). From regional pulse vaccination to global disease eradication: insights from a mathematical model of poliomyelitis. Journal of mathematical biology, 71(1), 215-253.
Foul Water Fiery Serpent, 2016. Retrived from: https://youtu.be/THWLBNvCQm0?t=126Newby, G., Bennett, A., Larson, E., Cotter, C., Shretta, R., Phillips, A. A., & Feachem, R. G. (2016). The path to eradication: a progress report on the malaria-eliminating countries. The Lancet, 387(10029), 1775-1784.