Safety and Risk Management (PDF)

SAFETY AND RISK
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Safety and Risk Management refers to a combination of procedures which is adopted by
organisations in relation to identification, assessment as well as elimination of several hazards,
along with certain risks which could be quite catastrophic for the organisation as well as for lives
of workers and associated stakeholders (Zou, Kiviniemi and Jones, 2017). It is very much
essential for each and every company, irrespective of their industries, to indulge in appropriate
and ethical practices which could contribute in safety and well-being of each and every person
that are somehow linked with the organisation. The report below is based on case study of
Kenoss Contractors, which is a construction organisation in Canberra, Australia. It covers a
detailed analysis of safety aspects leading to a major accident involving a truck driver., along
with response to the incidents and ways to improve the same.
MAIN BODY
Safety breaches is one of the most contributing factors to hazards at a workplace.
Moreover, non-compliance with the regulations and acts associated with safety and risk
management leads to mishaps which could be quite severe in terms of consequences. One such
evident case has been associated with Kenoss Contractors Pty Ltd. This organisation was found
in 1995 and operates as a Non-Residential Building Construction organisation. Moreover, other
projects of the company include road resurfacing as well as several other commercial
construction. The firm supports a corporate culture where positions are given on the basis of their
relationships with people with power and authority. Furthermore, there are several hazards that
the firm was required to assess and take necessary actions against. For instance, the most
prominent ones were Electrical faults, material as well as manual handling, safety equipment
failure, etc. The incident in question happened on March, 2012, where a truck driver by the name
of Michael Booth was electrocuted while delivering a load of material to the firm in a road
resurfacing project in which they were indulged (Leveson, 2015). Due to low hanging power
lines, an electrical arc created as soon as the truck came in contact with the same, which led to
deflation of tyres, which led to death of the driver.
There were several hazards and safety breaches which led to such an incident. The very
first aspect which construction companies are required to undertake in informing the necessary
stakeholders regarding the associated hazards surrounding the construction site. Furthermore, a
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clear information must be either published or communicated to people using warning signs and
barricades. However, within this incident, a detailed investigation pointed our that a major safety
breach was regarding the informative system of the company related to the hazards. For instance,
while the workers were fully informed about the low hanging power lines, the firm did not
bother to communicate the same to other passer-bys (ACT company Kenoss found guilty of
breaching work safety laws after truck driver's electrocution, 2019). Such aspects could have
been avoided by a number of ways. For instance, during planning of the same, the firm must
have had a detailed risk plan, which would have outlined the issue of power lines, which could
then be addressed and have appropriately avoided the accident. Another manner through which
the issue could have been avoided is appropriately getting third-party help in site inspections for
quality and safety issues.
However, the investigation also pointed out that that access to the construction site was
managed quite poorly. In fact, the power lines were not turned off while the work was in process,
which posed a severe threat to the factory workers, as well as visitors. The instructions too were
not given on point and were only confined to not using bigger and larger equipment, which was
not adequate enough to comply with the workplace safety regulations (Contractor fined $1.1
million for truck driver’s electrocution death, 2019). Furthermore, another safety breach which
the firm led onto was related to appointment of an incompetent and under-qualified individual,
based on being the general manager's son. It reflects the poor corporate culture of the firm, where
in people who are unable to comply with standards of safety and health are given responsibility
of overall management of the same. Such breaches in compliance with laws and regulations like
Work Health and Safety Act, 2011, led to such incident and such loopholes in the firm's safety
and health management could have been improvised by taking appropriate and effective action to
ensure precautions (Boyle, 2015).
The response was equally severe in context with appropriately handling the situation and
send a message to the society that it is mandatory to comply with the ethical and regulatory
standards regarding Workplace Health and Safety. The response by agencies like SAFEWORK
and statutory bodies like Industrial Magistrate was to appropriately carry out a detailed and
effective investigation which was associated with finding out all the factors which led to such
severe accident. Each and every attribute and compliance with Health and Safety regulations
were investigated, which presented a very rapport of the company. On top of that, while the
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investigation was on point, it was found out that the firm tried to tamper with the attendance
record of the truck driver, as well as did not show any sort of ownership or remorse for the
consequences by breaches in their safety compliance. To deal with the same, the response of
these statutory bodies was to impose a heavy fine against the company. This accident by safety
breaches of Kenoss Contractors was one of the first cases to be registered under new National
Work Safety Laws, under which, any corporation, that is subjected to any sort of carelessness in
regards with workplace health and safety, or indulged in breaches, is confined to pay a maximum
amount of $1.5 million. Hence, to resolve the issue, Kenoss Contractors were fined $1.1 million,
despite the firm already being in liquidation (Canberra construction company fined $1.1 million
over death of truck driver, 2019). Such a high level of penalty imposed against the firm was
intended to send a message to associated companies and others within the country, regarding a
strict compliance to the new laws in context with promoting the workplace health and safety. In
addition to this, despite the firm being already in liquidation, the magistrate and other statutory
agencies did not hesitate in imposing such a charge to the firm and its unreliable actions. This
strict action was quite an appropriate manner to deal with the loss as it is necessary for
organisations to mould their attitudes and develop a corporate culture which supports and
complies with the laws and regulations of workplace health and safety (Glendon and Clarke,
2015). Furthermore, such heavy fine has a deep impact on firm as not every firm is financially
stable to pay such a heavy amount. Moreover, the response taken against the company by the
statutory bodies also targeted its reputation in the market. Within Construction industry, each
organisation works effectively in context with developing a positive perception of themselves
within the market. However, the response in case of Kenoss Contractors, very much caused
development of quite a negative perception. Moreover, the way this situation was dealt with
enhanced the scope of improvement for other companies in context with their adherence to the
laws and regulation that promotes safety and appropriate risk management (Ho and et. al., 2015).
However, there are always alternatives as well as better ways to deal with such situations.
Companies, their project managers as well as other employees must effectively work towards
identifying factors and possible hazards that could lead to disasters or could expose people
around the site with risks that could lead to catastrophe. If I would have been an associated
worker, working together with Kenoss Contractors would have contributed in addressing the
issue differently, which could also lead to improvement in safety. For example, in such cases
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where a site is exposed to such severe risks and hazards, then such sites shouldn't be used at the
first place, before necessary actions are taken to ensure safety of the users. This could be done by
blocking all the access points that are leading to the site. Furthermore, another safe option which
would have ensured improvement in safety system of the firm is to only allow access to
immediate workers and supervisors, and blocking entrances using roadblocks and barricades.
This would surely safeguard the visitors and other suppliers that the site was exposed to a certain
level of danger (Khan and et. al., 2016).
The incident which took place was due to the truck driver coming in contact with the
power lines. Thus, in order to improve the same, an appropriate measure could be to cut the
power supplies of the wires, so that such risk of disaster and accident could be avoided. Another
way through which improvisation in safety could be achieved is through is that information
related to disaster prone areas of the site should be posted on all the access points as well as on at
least a mile radius, for suppliers and visitors to gain knowledge about the same and take different
routes. Moreover, spotters play a crucial role in assisting truck and bus drivers related to any
risky signs or collision with power lines. Thus, another way to address the issue and deal with
the same differently could be to employ a spotter would would be guiding the supply trucks
towards the accessible and safe areas around the construction site. I would have indulged in
warning passer-bys and visitors by attaching long fences or gates till the time the construction is
not completed. Furthermore, to ensure safety in such case, “Tiger tails” or flags would also be
placed surrounding the area by me, which could be more visible even during the day time. This
would be quit helpful for truck drivers that are not accompanied by spotters. A clear visible sign
would indicate risk to the drivers and would not lead them to crossing the area which gets them
prone to risk.
However, one of the best ways to deal with the situation as well as to ensure that each
associated member of the project, along with visitors are properly informed. For this, security
guards could be employed in context with ensuring safety and appropriate monitoring related to
the vehicles which approach the site (Grote, 2015). In addition to this, if I would have been
working with the company, I would have also indulged in developing an appropriate risk
management plan, which would include each and every criteria of risk, along with their severity
and corrective actions that should be taken in context with dealing with the risk in question.
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Having this measure would help in assisting the company in dealing with hazards related to
power lines, or other electrical disasters that could likely take place within the construction site.
Thus, in case incidents which led to death of the truck driver in March, 2012, have to be
reduced, and ensure improvisation has to be attained within safety and risk management
practices in companies like Kenoss Contractors, employees could work towards developing a
culture where well being and safety are considered as a priority of the organisation. Furthermore,
the numerous actions like the ones which are mentioned above could be taken appropriately
which would develop a safe environment for fellow workers as well as visitors, along with a
strict and effective adherence to safety standards and regulations set within the country (Clothier
and Walker 2015).
CONCLUSION
Thus, it could be concluded by the information above, that safety and risk management
are important areas for a company to indulge into. Furthermore, it is highly essential to discuss
the possible hazards which a workplace or a construction site is exposed to, in order to find out
the exact causes behind several accidents and hazards. In addition to this, responses by statutory
bodies must also be analysed which could give insight on to the ways and approaches which
these parties adopt in context with dealing with such situations. Lastly, new approaches and
different ways to deal with such situations must also be presented, which would help individuals
in dealing with such situations in a better manner and through which effective and appropriate
improvements could be achieved.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boyle, T. (2015). Health and safety: risk management. Routledge.
Clothier, R. A., & Walker, R. A. (2015). Safety risk management of unmanned aircraft
systems. Handbook of unmanned aerial vehicles. 2229-2275.
Glendon, A. I., & Clarke, S. (2015). Human safety and risk management: A psychological
perspective. Crc Press.
Grote, G. (2015). Promoting safety by increasing uncertainty–Implications for risk
management. Safety science. 71. 71-79.
Ho, W. & et. al., (2015). Supply chain risk management: a literature review. International
Journal of Production Research. 53(16). 5031-5069.
Khan, F. & et. al., (2016). Dynamic risk management: a contemporary approach to process
safety management. Current opinion in chemical engineering. 14. 9-17.
Leveson, N. (2015). A systems approach to risk management through leading safety
indicators. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. 136. 17-34.
Zou, Y., Kiviniemi, A., & Jones, S. W. (2017). A review of risk management through BIM and
BIM-related technologies. Safety science. 97. 88-98.
Online
ACT company Kenoss found guilty of breaching work safety laws after truck driver's
electrocution. 2019. [Online] Available Through: <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-
06-23/kenoss-company-found-guilty-over-truck-drivers-electrocution/6568268>
Canberra construction company fined $1.1 million over death of truck driver. 2019. [Online]
Available Through: <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/construction-company-
fined-1-million-over-workplace-death/6708032>
Contractor fined $1.1 million for truck driver’s electrocution death. 2019. [Online] Available
Through: <https://www.cgw.com.au/publication/contractor-fined-1-1-million-for-truck-
drivers-electrocution-death/>
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