Workplace Safety Strategies to Prevent Hazards

This article discusses workplace safety strategies to prevent hazards and protect workers. It covers topics such as insulation, guarding, grounding, circuit protection devices, and more. The article also highlights the importance of appointing qualified safety officers and implementing safe work practices.

RUNNING HEAD: WORKPLACE SAFETY 1
Workplace safety
Name:
Institution:
Tutor:
Date:

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Table of Contents
Executive summary 3
Introduction 4
Discussion 5
strategies 5
conclusion 10
References 11

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Executive summary
There is a report in an article in 2012 where a worker at the Canberra Construction
company died after the truck he was driving came into contact with over hanging power lines.
The company had not implemented workplace safety strategies such as the use of conspicuous
warning signs at the entry and the use of flags. In this regard, the company was fined $1.1
million. Besides, the company did not have a qualified safety officer. The acting officer was
appointed due to the fact that he was the son of the general manager of the same company.
Safety at the company could be improved through the use of warning signs, flags, insulation,
grounding and training of the workers. Workplace safety is an essential component that all
companies should always adhere to in order to protect its workers from different hazards.

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Workplace safety
INTRODUCTION
In the article, there is a certain construction company known as Canberra construction
Company. This Company was fined $1.1 million after the death of one of the truck drivers. The
incident happened back in 2012.The truck driver who perished was known as Mr. Brooks and he
perished due to electrocution after the tip of the truck came into contact with the low slung
power lines at the work site. This was in contrast to the safety regulations. The company had no
warning signs about the hanging power line and neither did they attach flags to the lines. Another
safety issue at the construction company was poor corporate culture in which the son of the
general manager was appointed as the safety officer at the company yet he was not qualified. The
company was also hindering the process of investigation into the death and one of the officers at
the company even went ahead to interfere with the attendance record of the deceased. According
to the article, this was the heaviest penalty ever subjected to any company. But according to
pundits, the fine is justified since this was a case that could be avoided.
From the case of Canberra Construction Company and the death of Mr. Brooks, it
indicates the need for workplace safety to avoid such penalties. The maximum penalty for such
accidents is around $1.5 million. To avoid such an accident for example, the company should
have included warning signs at the entrance. It is the duty of the company to provide
conspicuous warning signs so that the drivers and the workers can judge on how they should go
past the hanging lines. Another safety issue with the company is the hiring of unqualified staff.
The Canberra Company should therefore seek competent personnel to fill the position of the
safety officers. A qualified and competent safety officer will with no doubt come up with safety
strategies that will reduce potential harm or injuries due to the hanging power lines.

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It is therefore clear that the incident or rather the death of Brooks occurred due to lack of
safety standards at the construction sites. Despite the accident, the company also did not respond
well. Some of the officials were hindering the process of investigation by altering the attendance
records of the deceased. This is not the best response to any accident.
DISCUSSION
What could be done differently to avoid hazards at Canberra Construction
Company.
There are certain things that I should have done differently if I was a worker at the
Canberra construction site to avoid the electrocution hazard. Insulation is the first workplace
safety practice to prevent electric shock to the workers. In this case, I would use an insulator
which is a material that has high resistance to the flow of electric current. Materials that are good
insulators include glass, mica, rubber and finally plastic. Insulation prevents people and other
conductors like trucks from coming into contact with the electric current. Before an insulation
material is used, there should be an evaluation on the material if it is suitable to the voltage and
other existing conditions like the temperature, moisture, oil and corrosive fumes. Insulation
should be color coded (Zhao, McCoy, Kleiner, Du, & Smith-Jackson, 2016). Green color is used
for the equipment grounding conductors while the white color is used is used for grounded
conductors that can complete a circuit .Finally, any other color can be used for the ungrounded
conductors or the hot wires. They are however colored black or grey in most cases. This would
protect the workers from electrocution hazards.
The use of flag system is another important workplace safety. Drivers of different
excavation equipment and trucks are always urged to take note of the flags when moving around

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working sites. In this case however, the flags were not attached to the power line and this is one
of the reason that Brooks succumbed to electrocution (Vergara et al., 2015). In future, I would
therefore consider attaching flags to the power lines so that the drivers can be very careful when
passing the power lines. The flags that are usually used are orange in color and should be very
conspicuous from the ground so that the truck drivers at the construction site can make
judgement. An example of the flags that should be used is shown in the picture below.
A picture illustrating the orange flags that are used on power lines (Vergara et al.,
2015).
Guarding is another strategy that can be used to prevent electrocution. It is recommended
that for any electric equipment that has the ability to electrocute, it should be guarded against any
contact that can cause harm or damage. There are different ways in which guarding can be
accomplished (Sokhal, Lodha, Kumari, Paliwal, & Gothwal, 2017). In the case of Canberra
Construction Company, guarding could be achieved through elevation of the electric conductors.

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They should be elevated to the highest level possible where there should be no contact with any
truck even if it is loaded with other materials (Rådman, Nilsagård, Jakobsson, Ek, &
Gunnarsson, 2015). Besides the elevation, the Canberra Company should also mark entrances to
exposed live wires with very conspicuous signs that prohibits the entry of unqualified persons or
encouraging the workers to exercise caution when going past the location. All the indoor electric
wiring with more than 600 volts which by any chance is open to the unauthorized individuals
should always be made with a metal enclosed equipment that can be controlled by a lock (Mitolo
& Montazemi, 2014). All this equipment should always be marked with conspicuous warning
signs.
In future, I would ensure that the attendance records are kept well for reference.
According to the information provided in the article, there were attempts by some of the officers
to alter the attendance records of the deceased. This is not a good move since attendance records
could be used in case of an emergency to be accountable to all those deceased (Lu & Tolliver,
2016). Without the records, it can be very difficult to find out the workers that were at the site
and those that were absent.
Grounding can also be used to prevent electric hazards at the Canberra Construction
company. Grounding can be defined as the connection of an electric electrical system to the
earth. This method provides secondary protection from shock (Hernandez & Mac, 2016).
Grounding provides a low resistance to the earth and this prevents the buildup of excess voltages
that can cause electric shock. However, this method does not entirely protect the workers from
shock but it only reduces the possibility of the accidents. There are usually two types of grounds
that are used (Glass, 2016). The service or the system ground for instance involves grounding
either the neutral conductor or the grounded conductor. In the second option of grounding known

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as ordinary low voltage circuit, it is the white or the gray wire that is grounded at either the
generator or transformer and at the service entrance to the building or at the gate of the Canberra
Company. This mode of ground is used to protect machines, tools and finally provide insulation
against damage (Floyd & Cole, 2015). To exclusively protect the workers from electrocution, an
extra ground that is known as the equipment ground should be provided through providing an
alternative path from the tool that current flows to the ground (Fischer et al., 2015). This method
is known to create an open circuit incase an electrical equipment is energized and this will
protect electrocution to all the workers within the company.
I would consider setting up circuit protection devices. This devices are designed to cut off
current if it there is an overflow that can cause electrocution. They are usually placed in the
circuit to monitor the amount of current flowing through the circuit. Whenever the current is in
excess to cause potential harm to any worker, they break up the circuit (Crow, Liggett, & Scott,
2018) .Fuses are the most commonly used and they melt when the current is in excess. Circuit
breakers on the other hand are meant to cut down the flow of electricity if it can cause shock.
The two devices are designed to protect conductors as well as equipment by preventing
overheating of the wires that can lead to hazards to the workers.
Intensive training of the workers can also be implemented in the Canberra Construction
site. All the workers must be educated on how they should protect themselves from electrical
hazards. They can be trained on how to deenergize electrical equipment. Sudden starting of
electrical equipment can lead to severe injuries or even death (Campbell & Dini, 2016).
Therefore before any electrical equipment is started, the switch should be initially off then an
inspection of the devices should be done to ensure that the current is within the normal range that
cannot cause injury or death to the workers.

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Overhead lines should be implemented followed by certain considerations. The death or
Mr. Booth was as a result of contact with the overhead lines. To prevent such accidents at the
company, I would consider de-energizing the power lines anytime the tricks are passing. If
switching on and off is tedious, I would then consider guarding or insulating the lines. There
should also be considerations to ensure that all the workers within the company stay at least 3.05
meters away from the overhead power lines (Bugaris, 2017) .In the case where more than 50,000
volts, then the clearance must be elevated by more than 4 inches for each of the additional
10,000 volts. All the works who come in contact with electrical devices should also be provided
with protective devices. This devices can include rubber, line hose as well as the industrial
protective helmets. The workers should also exercise good judgement to protect themselves
against injuries and death from electrocution (Boini, Colin, & Grzebyk, 2016). Judgement in this
case involves judging if the truck can come into contact with the overhead power lines or not.
A picture illustrating hanging power lines that are potential hazards at workplace
(Boini, Colin, & Grzebyk, 2016).
To resolve hazards at the workplace, it is also necessary to appoint qualified safety
officers. In the case of Canberra Construction Company, the safety officer was just appointed

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due to the fact that he was the son to the managing director (Barlas & Izci, 2018). The safety
officer therefore did not have any skills to promote workplace safety. In future, it is therefore
necessary for all the workplace to employ safety workers who are qualified and possess the
necessary skills and knowledge that will ensure implementation of safety at the workplace that
will protect all the workers.
Conclusion
From the article, there was one of the workers at the Canberra construction company who
died from electrocution when the tip of the truck came into contact with the electric line. This
attracted a hefty fine from the magistrate. This therefore implies that to prevent such hazards and
ensure workplace safety in future, there should be strategies that should be utilized. Control of
electrical hazards is very important in ensuring safety of all the workers at their workplace.
Different measures can be used in this case and they include good judgement, use of overhead
lines, training of all the workers to protect themselves against electrocution and enhancing safe
work practices. Other important measures to prevent electrical hazards include circuit protection
devices such as fuses and circuit breakers. Grounding, guarding and insulation are also
important. Could the Canberra Company considered all this workplace safety measures, Mr.
Booth would have not been electrocuted and there would have not been any fine as directed by
the magistrate.

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