Report: Identifying Occupational Safety Hazards at Proseq Asia Pte Ltd

This report identifies and assesses occupational safety hazards at Proseq Asia Pte Ltd, a civil engineering company in Singapore. The report details ergonomic, biological (mosquito breeding), and electrical hazards, along with their associated risk levels. Risk control measures are proposed, including improved workstation ergonomics, elimination of stagnant water to prevent mosquito breeding, and safe electrical practices to avoid overloading. The report recommends a hierarchy of hazard control, encompassing elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. The rationales for these actions are grounded in moral, standard, legal, and financial considerations, emphasizing the importance of a safe and healthy working environment. The resources required for effective hazard management, such as training materials and safety equipment, are also outlined. Desklib provides access to similar past papers and solved assignments for students.

Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
Title: Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Existing Hazards and the Risk Level...............................................................................................2
Risk Control Measures....................................................................................................................3
Recommendations for Management................................................................................................4
Rational for the Actions...................................................................................................................6
Resources Required.........................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
Introduction
It is important to have a proper control of safety hazards at the workplace. The effectual
control measures protect the workers from various safety hazards, help in prevention and
avoidance of injuries, illness and minimize the health risks. The employers are then able to
provide healthy and safe working environment to their employees. In this section, several
hazards along with their risk levels are discussed. Further, it will help the management to prevent
and effectively control the hazards mentioned in the previous assignment.
Existing Hazards and the Risk Level
1. Ergonomic hazards and its risk level- Ergonomic hazards as discussed in the previous
report are factors that are harmful to the musculoskeletal system. These injuries are a
result of strain on the body. Since these are not visible soon, they are hard to diagnose.
Ergonomic hazards can result in sore muscles or a condition as serious as long term-
illness. These might be due to several reasons, improper workstations, poor body posture,
and frequent weight lifting and so on (1). Some employees have been seen who did not
sit straight and were shifting their positions every few minutes. On watching closely, it
has been noticed as a common gesture by most of the workers on the desk duty. They
touched or rubbed their backs more often. This is an indication of the ergonomic hazard.
2. Biological hazard and its risk levels- On a visit to the Proseq Asia Pte Ltd., I paid close
attention to details, which might point towards any safety hazard. Another hazard that I
noticed was a biological hazard. The industry is a civil engineering one and it has repair
workshops as well. In these repair shops, I saw plants that had some stagnant water. This
stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This can result in increased
population of mosquitoes and thus more bites. These bites can be as normal as a rash or
as dangerous as dengue or malaria (2).
3. Electrical hazard and its risk levels- The electrical hazards can be caused by a simple
thing as an extension cord. Too many wires attached to one platform can be very
disturbing and it increases the chances of people falling or tripping over. Improper circuit
fitting can also be a very serious issue for the safety of the employees.
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
Risk Control Measures
Any safety hazard poses a great risk, but some are more dangerous than the others. I
believe that ergonomic hazard, biological hazard, and electrical hazard are the risky ones as
compared to the other hazards. Ergonomic hazards are one of the most common, yet most
ignored safety hazards at workplaces. It is directly associated to a person’s well-being, his
physical health and it should be a matter of concern. I noticed people who had very poor sitting
postures, the chairs or workstations weren’t comfortable enough. This might strain their backs
and cause some severe illness. Several people suffer from spondylitis, backache, slip disk due to
ergonomic hazards present at work. The management should take effective measures to reduce
the risk-level of these hazards. These measures can include comfortable workstations and chairs,
tea or lunch breaks so that people don’t have to sit continuously for long durations. Awareness
about better sitting postures can also help maintain and control the ergonomic hazards (3).
The second hazard that I chose is biological hazard. The biological hazard can be of any
type, in the Proseq Asia Pte Ltd. It is related to mosquito breeding caused by the stagnant water
in plant pots. This might seem a very general and small issue, but it can have some serious
consequences. Therefore, it is important to keep a check on this bio-hazard (4). These
mosquitoes can cause dengue and it is communicable so it can easily be transferred to another
and then some other. This is a very serious medical condition and can have adverse effects on
health. It attacks the immune system and can even cause death.
In Singapore, there are some laws regarding the prevention of dengue. The infectious
Disease Act (IDA), the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Act (CVPA), and Environmental
Public Health Act (EPHA) have given various authorities to control and prevent dengue. Also,
penalties are imposed on people who fail to meet these requirements. But completely depending
on the legislation to control this hazard is not enough, there should be awareness among people
and communities and workers. Everyone should be aware of the risks associated with this
particular Biohazard. Taking small steps and initiatives at the individual level can help eradicate
the whole problem. I would advise the management to use environmental programs weekly or
biweekly to encourage cleaning of stagnant water. The workers should take the initiative to water
the plants daily and empty the pots of any stagnant water. The cooperation on each level can be
very helpful to avoid and prevent this hazard (5).
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
The last hazard that I am going to discuss is the Electrical Hazard. The risk factors in this
type of hazards are overloading or electrical short-circuit. This hazard not only is risky in
electrical terms, it also poses a risk of fire hazard. There are many cases in which fire started
because of short-circuit. While using extension cords, proper attention should be given to avoid
overloading. It is a misjudgment that extension cords can bear any level of load and we can use
all the points in one go. Any electrical appliance is not built to handle the overloading of any
sort. It increases the risk of short-circuit, damaging all the items that are connected and also
poses a threat of short-circuit (6). As mentioned, an electrical hazard can lead to multiple other
hazards especially fire hazard. The overloading can also cause blackout and poses great difficulty
while evacuating the building. To maintain and control this hazard, proper utilization of
electrical items should be done. There should be no overloading at any cost. Also, the extension
cords should be used properly and the wiring should be maintained effectively (7).
The risk control measures in the industry were not up to the mark and need improvisation.
Recommendations for Management
The employees are the backbone of any organization. Therefore, it is important to ensure
employee safety to the maximum possible level (8). As I mentioned, the safety measures of the
Proseq industry were not good enough and I would like to recommend a few safety measures.
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
Image Source: (www.hierarchystructure.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/risk-management-
hierarchy.jpg)
The hierarchy of hazard control is generally concerned with eliminating or minimizing the
risks in industries. It is the most common method of risk control and is used worldwide. There
are five levels in this hierarchy-
 Elimination- The process of elimination is removing the hazard completely from the
workplace so that no one gets affected by it. At Proseq, management could stop using
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
plants at repair workshops so as to avoid stagnant water and thus breeding of mosquitoes.
This can help eliminate the entire risk of a biological hazard.
 Substitution- This is the second most used hazard control measure. The word substitution
means replacing (9). Therefore, any equipment that poses hazard can be replaced with the
equipment that is not hazardous. The chairs or workstations can be replaced to more
comfortable ones.
 Engineering controls- This means controlling the hazard at its very source. In order to
control the biological hazard, the management could move the plants to a more separate
location where workers need not go (10).
 Administrative controls- This includes developing such work programs which involve the
management and the employees’ active participation. This can be turned to remove the
stagnant water from the plant pots or checking the extension cord for overloading.
 Personal protective equipment- This is the last step in the hazard control hierarchy. It is
like a resort, people move to it when all other measures fail (11). These include hand
gloves, safety footwear, protective glasses, etc.
Rational for the Actions
To have proper safety control measures is important for every industry. The workers need
to feel secure and safe in their workplace. The management should take suitable steps to ensure
the same. On the basis of my visit to the industry and observing various safety hazards, I am
going to recommend a few measures in support of a properly maintained hazard free workplace.
Further, in support of these measures I am going to present some arguments in relation to moral,
standard, legal, and financial aspects.
Moral: It is a reflection of the accidents and disease rate of workplace. Accidents at
workplace can cause injuries or sometimes might result in death. The work-related ill health can
result in absence from work, loss of wages, and at times death (12). Every employee has a right
to work in a safe and secure workplace. Therefore, the management should ensure proper safety
and hazard free working conditions.
Standard: There are certain standards of safety, according to the Singapore legislation
that every organization needs to follow. These standards ensure the safety of the employees at
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their workplace and provide them with a healthy working environment. The management should
follow these standards to avoid any legal problems (13).
Legal: It is the legal duty of the employer and the employees to care for one another and
fellow employees. This includes keeping an eye for any risks and avoiding situations leading to
any possible hazards which also might lead to serious injury or death. The management bears the
responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for the employees. The awareness of safety
hazards is an important factor.
Financial: These include insurance, premium costs, loss of production, the decline in
output rate, sick pay, damage to plants and property, fines, penalties, business reputation, the fall
in stock prices, etc. are the financial factors that should be kept in mind (14). The management
should work around the safety procedures to avoid incurring these extra costs.
Resources Required
Every workplace has its own set of hazards. It is vital to identify the hazards and be
prepared to eliminate or control them. The hazards might result in accidents, injuries, illness, and
in some cases death. A proper hazard assessment should be done by the management to identify
and control the hazards present at the workplace. To counter these hazards some resources are
required for the control and safety of the workplace and the workers. These resources are proper
presentations, articles, checklists, and training materials. Other resources might include fire
alarms, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, practice drills, and proper hazard management
programs (15).
Some of the best organizations use plans like environmental health and safety,
ergonomics programs, risk management, worker’s compensation, workplace doctor, critical
incident management plan, and many more. These resources can be used to completely eliminate
or control the workplace safety hazards. The management should be well aware of the potential
hazards and should work to maintain safety for the sake of both workplace and the workforce
(16). Therefore, to have a productive and healthy working environment the management should
actively participate in the hazard management programs.
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Occupational Safety Hazards at Workplace
References
1. Are you aware of these 6 types of workplace hazards? [Internet]. SafetyLine. 2019 [cited 20
March 2019]. Available from: https://safetylineloneworker.com/blog/workplace-hazards/
2. OSHA | Young Workers - Hazards | Occupational Safety and Health Administration [Internet].
Osha.gov. 2019 [cited 20 March 2019]. Available from:
https://www.osha.gov/youngworkers/hazards.html
3. Workplace hazards [Internet]. WorkSafe Queensland. 2019 [cited 20 March 2019]. Available
from: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/injury-prevention-safety/workplace-hazards
4. Hazard Identification and Assessment | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Internet]. Osha.gov. 2019 [cited 20 March 2019]. Available from:
https://www.osha.gov/shpguidelines/hazard-Identification.html
5. Bahn S. Workplace hazard identification and management: The case of an underground
mining operation. Safety Science. 2013;57:129-137.
6. Building a Health Literate Workplace. Workplace Health & Safety. 2012;60(8):370-370.
7. All-Hazard Preparedness: The Occupational and Environmental Health Nurse Role.
Workplace Health & Safety. 2013;61(7):285-286.
8. Keller J. California Workplace Safety. Neenah: J.J. Keller & Associates; 2012.
9. Building a Health Literate Workplace. Workplace Health & Safety. 2012;60(8):370-370.
10. Leveraging Best Practices to Promote Health, Safety, Sustainability, and Stewardship.
Workplace Health & Safety. 2013;61(8):371-371.
11. Moynihan M. Wind Energy Presents New Challenges for Worker Health and Safety.
Workplace Health & Safety. 2013;61(5):232-232.
12. Grantee Materials - By Topic | Occupational Safety and ... [Internet]. [cited 2019]. Available
from: https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-20839-10/circle_chart.pdf
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13. Weiss M. Leveraging Best Practices to Promote Health, Safety, Sustainability, and
Stewardship. Workplace Health & Safety. 2013;61(8):365-370.
14. Sari R, Syahputri K, Rizkya I, Siregar I. Identification of Potential Hazard using Hazard
Identification and Risk Assessment. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering.
2017;180:012120.
15. Dahal P. Investing on Occupational Safety and Health. International Journal of Occupational
Safety and Health. 2017;7(1):1.
16. Animashaun O, Odeku K. Industrial Accident and Safety Hazards at the Workplace: A
Spatio-Physical Workplace Approach. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
2014;5(20):2949.
Image Reference:
17. [Internet]. Hierarchystructure.com. 2019 [cited 20 March 2019]. Available from:
https://www.hierarchystructure.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/risk-management-
hierarchy.jpg
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