1 Workplace Safety

Abstract 

This paper looks at the workplace safety at a power plant/energy plant. It highlights the major concerns on the site and off the site, the organizational roles in ensuring the safety of the employees and what employees should do to make sure of their safety. The paper focuses on an electric plant, the dangers involved with electric shocks and electrocutions and the various ways in which the associated problems can be addressed. In addition, the paper provides recommendations to the organization on how to reduce electric faults and ensuring of a working environment that ensures that employees stay safe in the course of their duties. 

Workplace Safety

To ensure suitable standards of living, people have to engage in productive activities. Working is a daily and normal routine for any average human being who dreams of ever having a good life for his/her families. According to United States Congress House (2011), people go to different work places, working under different working conditions/environments. Do people ever look at the safeties at the work place? Do the conditions people work in appear safe to them? If not, what have they done or what are they doing to ensure a safe work place? I work in a power plant and I cannot guarantee that the working environment is entirely safe based on a number of reasons. Based on this, the immediate team was given the task of conducting a research on the safety risks on the site and pinpointed the key solutions to detected risks. 

Thesis Statement 

This research paper is aimed at looking at the various risks that employees are exposed to in the workplaces, narrowing down the research to focus on power plant risks, exploring their possible causes and how these risks can be addressed for maximum workplace safety. 

Objective 

To provide employees with a suitable and safe working environment for their continued efforts towards fulfilling the desired goals of the organization 

Planning 

To kick off the research, it was critical to put in place suitable plans to arrive at solutions to our problem. The first step was to identify the safety hazards in the organization, which involved collection of relevant data from different employees including the managerial team. This is a crucial step as it gives the different platforms on which to base the research. This was in regards to the views of the employees and the management although employees’ views are hardly similar in any organization. These facts were to help in the definition of the problem so as to start the research on how to solve the problem, and truly, they were productive (Spear 1999). 

Problem Definition 

Approximately 300 people globally die owing to electric faults, leaving thousands injured (Revae 2010). These faults may be minor, and in some cases, major. During this research, most of the minor faults were found to be as a result of negligence by either the organizational management and/or employees. However, a few of the major faults are a result of technical faults, which to some extent point towards management and/or employee negligence. The best part of this problem is that it can be controlled if suitable stern measures are put in place and strictly adhered to with consequences of failure to adherence being quite harsh as stated by Aloise (2010). 

Data Collection 

Collection of data was conducted in two major ways: questionnaires and observations. Observation was chosen because those who carried out the research are among the employees and a combination of junior and senior managers and are always on site during working hours. The questionnaire, on the other hand, was preferred to interviews with regard to senior-most managers who are rarely on site for it is easy to fill and submit with minimal time wastage. 

Data Evaluation/Analysis 

After effective collection of data, it was necessary to present the analyzed data to the management so as it can be put into effect. During the research, a number of safety issues were detected within the organization. From the questionnaire, we asked five questions and collected samples from fifteen different respondents. According to the results collected from the fifteen respondents on the first question, it was found out that most of the workers in the plant had suffered from electric shocks while working in the fields and even some in the office, with the appliances they use. It was alarming to find out that many of the office electric appliances lacked proper insulation, which was the cause of most of the shocks. Outside the office, employees lack proper equipment like gloves to protect themselves from the electric shocks. This is a clear indication that the organization is working below per since such errors should not be allowed. Most employees complained of using old equipment that did not guarantee maximum protection, and most of the appliances also had the same problem of being too old. 

Accidents occur in our day to day lives, and when they do, we should be able to have first hand treatment in place to maintain the injured in good shape until they get to a proper medical facility. Results from these questionnaires show that the first aid team in the organization is not efficient enough, and in some cases, it is totally unavailable. When asked about the kind of medication they got when they suffered electric shocks, most of the employees claimed that nothing was done but they had to wait patiently until the shock was over. This is incorrect for an organization that deals with energy supplies of very high voltages since severe electrocutions can lead to death. 

Inside the offices, it was observed that many departments did not have fire extinguishers, which is a massive blow to the organization. It is advised that one should always prepare for fire accidents through acquisition of a fire extinguisher. In this case, for a power plant that deals with high levels of energy the chances of a fire occurring due to electric faults are remarkably high. In addition, first aid kits should be supplied in each and every department and every employee should also be educated on all the basic first aid procedures to be administered to individuals who suffer from electrocutions and related incidents. 

When errors occur, we always find suitable ways or methods to revert to the normal situation. One major problem in the organization is that nothing much has been done or is being done to solve these problems of shocks at the various stations of work. To make matters worse, there are no future plans in progress to deal with the situation as the results show. When a system error occurs, it probably had a causal agent and when one does little or even does nothing to solve that problem, this is tantamount to inviting more trouble. The results from the questionnaire show that the organization has not done anything to prevent future shocks and electrifications. In essence, the least they can do is install warning signs all over in and around the danger zones. These signs should caution employees about the dangers involved with mishandling of such areas. In addition, electricity cables without insulators should be insulated properly to prevent further shocks and electrifications. The acquisition new safety equipment was the primary subject since most of the employees complained of using old safety equipment and appliances. 

Mixed reactions were realized in the case of whom or what was the cause of most electric faults. Most employees blamed the old appliances for the faults, with a number of them citing ignorance of some employees causing the faults. A case where one handles electric appliances with wet hands when there is a clear warning on the appliance is surely complete ignorance. This is where measures by the organization have to be strict, and those who jeopardize the safety of other employees need to be punished owing to such ignorance. On the other hand, old appliances should be replaced in order to reduce the electric faults associated with them. 

Findings regarding observations were based on observing the working traits of employees mainly without their knowledge, and coming to conclusion on the way their behavior can be a safety hazard. A number of conclusions were drawn: 

i. Most employees do not have proper safety equipments like helmets, proper shoes and gloves (Aloise 2010). 

ii. A few of the employees come to the site with fluids. 

iii. There are no safety cautions/signs on site for the workers to observe (Akinyele 2010). 

iv. There are no standard rules and regulations regarding the safety procedures of the organization (Akinyele 2010). 

v. There are no efficient communication channels in the organization (Aloise 2010). 

vi. There is no direct control of power i.e. a supervisor to monitor the operations on site. 

Recommendations 

According to the data we collected and sampled, it is evident that the organization is running under enormous safety risks, which the organization and employees are doing too little to alleviate them(Revae 2010). It is for this reason that the research team came up with a number of recommendations for the organization to put in place so as to ensure that the safety of employees is guaranteed. It is necessary for any individual going through this paper to note that these recommendations are not only for power plants, but they also apply to the general safety of other workplaces. 

i. It is the duty of the management to ensure that all employees are well trained in a given before hiring. Failure to have clear knowledge of one’s job may result in damage and injuries. 

ii. Make sure that there is a qualified supervisor on site to control the operations of junior employees. 

iii. The supervisor should make sure that all the employees are doing their work accordingly i.e. using the appropriate tools for the specific job. 

iv. All employees, including the supervisor, should wear protective equipment while on site to reduce the risk of electrocutions i.e. clothing, boots, gloves and helmets. 

v. All circuits and electric conductors should be tested before they are installed to avoid shocks. 

vi. All the other equipment should be kept far from the power sources. 

vii. All naked electric wires should be insulated to avoid contact with people or water. 

viii. The organization should lay down strategic guidelines regarding safety of its employees. 

ix. There should be severe consequences to those fail to adhere to the safety rules in place. 

With this knowledge, organizations and employees will abide by all safety rules, and this will bear fruits and reduce deaths and injuries caused by electrical faults. Other evident safety hazards at work places will also be unearthed thereby guaranteeing a safer and more enjoyable workplace. In conclusion, workplaces, specifically power plants, provide numerous risks to their employees and these risks are caused by different factors or people. These risks of course can be handled if proper management and control systems exist. It is evident that employees at various power plants face numerous and dangerous risks while in the line of duty. It also shows that the risks are caused by either the employees, the organization or in some cases mechanical or technical faults. Organizations are stepping up their efforts towards reducing these risks by introducing policies that ensure employees are safe at their work places to avoid injuries and death of employees and property damage to the organization. It is the responsibility of the organization and its employees to work hand in hand to ensure that these safety rules and regulations are adhered to so as to reduce, if not to stop, the safety risks that are faced at the workplaces (Penland 2010). It is crucial to mitigate risks at all cost as their occurrence leaves destruction and even loss of lives. 

References Akinyele, S. T. (2010). The influence of work environment on workers’ productivity: A case of selected oil and gas industry in Lagos, Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management, 4(3), 299-307.

Aloise, G. (2010). Nuclear and worker safety: Limited information exist on costs and reasons for work stoppages at DoE’s Hanford site. DIANE Publishing, 17-19, 47-58.

Penland, D. (2010). Increase profits through workplace safety. Jacksonville Business Journal.

Revae, E. M. (2010). Workplace safety and health: Enhancing OSHAs records audit process could improve the accuracy of worker injury and illness data. DIANE Publishing, 35, 47-58.

United States Congress House (2011). Workplace safety: Why do millions of workers remain without OSHA coverage? General Books LLC, 12-27.

Appendix

Questionnaire

i.        Do the appliances you work with provide you with maximum protection from electrocutions?

MAXIMUM PROTECTION	THEY DO NOT
2	13

ii.       Have you ever been a victim of an electric shock?

YES	NO
14	1

iii.     Is the recovery team good enough after minor or severe electric shocks?

YES	NO
5	10

iv.    Has anything been done to control, if any, the occurrence of electric shocks?

YES	NO
4	11

v.       Is the cause of electric faults in the organization human or mechanical?

HUMAN	MECHANICAL
6	9