SMMH5203: Managing Safety Hazards Report - Axiata Telecommunications

This report, prepared for a university assignment, focuses on managing safety hazards within Axiata, a telecommunications company. The report begins by identifying hazards associated with working at height, common in Axiata's operations, using methods such as team formation, information review, and workplace inspections. It then details five specific safety hazards, including those related to working on roofs, vehicles, electric towers, water tanks, and cliffs. The report further provides a comprehensive explanation of risk assessment findings, emphasizing the importance of organizational safety measures and governmental regulations. It examines risks such as unprotected roof edges, unguarded openings, and areas without safety covers. Finally, the report proposes control measures, supported by literature reviews and illustrations, for the safe execution of work activities, which includes a safe operating procedure for electrical work. The report underscores the need for comprehensive safety protocols to protect employees from potential dangers.

Running head: MANAGING SAFETY HAZARDS
Managing Safety Hazards
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the risk assessment findings..........................8
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the control measures. Support the
explanation with relevant literature reviews and illustrations...................................................10
Figure 1: Hierarchy of Control Measures Chart........................................................................13
Title of the Safe Operating Procedure.......................................................................................14
Date and Revision......................................................................................................................14
Introduction................................................................................................................................14
Purpose......................................................................................................................................14
Scope..............................................................................................................................................15
Definitions.................................................................................................................................15
Legal Requirements:......................................................................................................................15
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994:...............................................................................15
Factories and Machinery Act 1967:...........................................................................................16
Hazards:.........................................................................................................................................17
Habitat alteration hazards:.........................................................................................................17
Visual hazards:...........................................................................................................................17
Hazard due to materials:............................................................................................................17
Safety hazards:...........................................................................................................................18

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Responsibilities:.............................................................................................................................18
Procedure:......................................................................................................................................18
Training:........................................................................................................................................19
Emergency Arrangements:............................................................................................................19
Records:.........................................................................................................................................19
Reference:......................................................................................................................................20

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Part 1
Section A
Selection of the Organization
Axiata has been selected as the organization in this particular project. The particular
project is based on the identification of the safety hazards and the discussion of the possible
hazards and the ways to avoid such hazards have been provided in the following report in a
detailed and effective manner.
Providing Comprehensive Explanation and Relevant Illustrations
Working at height is very common for the employees who work for Axiata. Axiata is a
telecommunications company of Malaysia and therefore the employees in the company have to
climb certain good heights in order to install towers and electronic and technical instruments that
are capable of providing uninterrupted and smooth connection to the users of the service. Some
of the examples that can be beneficial to explain about the Work from Height can be termed as;
a. Working on trestles
b. Working on a ladder
c. Erecting false work
d. Climbing at great heights that can be very risky
e. Working near electricity towers can be harmful
f. Working on flat roofs of houses and apartments
g. Working of formwork without an excavation

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The above mentioned activities are believed to be dangerously risky and any types of loss
in concentration can lead to heavy loss for the employee or the employees involved with such
kind of works.
Section B
Three Appropriate Methods to identify hazards associated with the working at height
activities
A workplace is generally filled with a large number of different hazards. These hazards
can lead to a large number of problems and can risk the life of the individual employees. An
employer has the legal, social as well as the moral responsibility to look after their employees so
that they can ensure a safe and hassle free workplace. The workplace hazards are termed as the
aspects of work that have the capability to cause health and safety risks and also has the potential
to harm the employees. Some of the most common workplace hazards are physical hazards,
ergonomic hazards, and hazards from height, chemical hazards and biological hazards. The
hazards from height have been provided special concentration in this particular report. The
identification of the hazards from that of height thus depends on a number of different factors
which are as follows;
 The formation of a team by the management of the Axiata group which will be given the
charge of identification of the different kinds of risks that may be involved within the
operations of Axiata. The team members must be provided with the necessary support in
the form of different kinds of technological assets along with the needed support to help
the team easily identify the different hazards

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 Collection and review of the information about the hazards present or that are mostly
present in the workplace
 Conduction of an initial and periodic workplace inspections of the workplace in order to
identify different kinds of latest and recurring hazards
 Consideration of the floor type and the type of the roof and the arrangement of the roof
 Identification of any miscellaneous hazard that may be indirectly related to hazards of
height
 Thorough investigation of any kind of illnesses, incidents, misses and close saves that
may have happened to get a clear idea about the problems and identify the best possible
ways to mitigate the hazards
Apart from this the management of the Axiata group has also identified a number of
techniques in order to identify and mitigate the hazards caused from height issues in a simple yet
much strong manner. The presence of a strong leadership in the form of the health and safety
managers has been one of the best ways to make and manage the different types of risks that
occurs in the Telecommunication Company like the one mentioned here. The risk identification
process of Axiata is noted under the “Hazard Identification and Prevention Control
Measures”. The Action Items to be implemented in the organization includes the likes of the;
a. Action Item 1: Collection of existing information about different types of workplace
hazards
b. Action Item 2: Inspection of the workplace for safety hazards
c. Action Item 3: Characterization of the nature of the different kinds of the hazards
d. Action Item 4: Conduction of incident investigations
e. Action Item 5: Identification of the hazards from that of height

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f. Action Item 6: Identification of the employees who have health problems like Vertigo
Identification of Five Safety Hazards in relation to height activities 600
The employees of Axiata who are employed in the tower installation and installation of
the different machines and technological features are at severe risk from height. A small mistake
or a small loss of concentration can lead to severe consequences like death. There are certain
special activities involving height that presents an obvious hazard. These mainly include working
on ladders, scaffolds as well as platforms. Some of the other example that is especially
applicable to that of Axiata includes the likes of;
1. On roofs- There are roofs where the company may install tower. These roofs in most of
the cases are not safe enough for the workers. The roofs may be either flat, either broken
or may have slippery grounds. These kinds of roofs provide serious threats to the lives of
the employees of Axiata Company.
2. On top of vehicles or trailers- The installation of mobile towers on top of vehicles is a
tough task for the employees of the organization. There have been cases when the
vehicles have started moving causing great cause of risk and accidental hazards to the
lives of the employees. The cases are quite similar fro large trailers where the risk gets
doubled because of the enormous size of these vehicles.
3. On top of any electric towers- The most risky as well as the most critical task in this
particular case has been the installation of towers and other technical items over the
electric towers. There are always risks of getting electrical shocks from high tension
cables that may lead to incidents of spot fatality. The absence of safety equipments and
accessories in most of the cases doubles up the risk of fatality.

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4. Working on water tanks or deep pits- The work on water tanks and deep pits is another
great risk for the employees. Absence of proper check up of the health hazards can lead
to health problems of the employees. It is important for the management of the
organization to make a mandatory health check up before selecting people to work in
deep waters or pits.
5. Working on cliffs and steep peaks can also be dangerous- The installation of towers and
mobile accessories on cliffs and hills can be dangerous task as any loss of concentration
or any mistake in engineering calculation can risk the life of the employees who will be
involved in the installation of these items on the cliffs and the hilltops. The height factor
can also be a problem for the employees who have problems like Vertigo. Therefore it is
again recommended for the organization to ensure a health check up for all the employees
who will be involved in such kind of works in order to avoid any forms of fatal incidents.
There are cases when earlier a worker who fell from a height of two or more meters
sustained fatal injuries. There have been also cases when people falling from such height have
received such serious injuries that led to permanent disabilities. These kind of permanent
disabilities made the person disable for the rest of his life. An independent and neutral safety
audit carried out recently by the management of the company revealed that there were a number
of different procedures and regulations that are not followed by the management of the
organization. The non following of such kind of methods often leads to large number of risks and
other kinds of hazards. This includes the likes of the;
 Non-Protection of the edge of the roofs Unguarded Openings Working in areas that do not have safety covers and guardrails

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 The items being stored in a casual manner
Section C
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the risk assessment findings:
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the risk assessment findings
It is important for the organization to ensure the safety of the workers and the other
employers by implementing and following the different types of the organizational risk and
safety measures that are undertaken by the organization along with the other kinds of measures
as specified by the Government and other authorities regulating the safety procedures. The
employers of Axiata must examine and write down the different workplace risks and sort down
the actions that are needed to be taken by them accordingly (Sarshar Haugen and Skjerve 2016).
Ultimately the assessment of the risks means that anything in the workplace that can be a cause
or source of harm for the employees must be examined carefully and must be assessed
accordingly to avoid any kind of dangers or any kind of problems that could cause harm to the
workforce of Axiata Group of companies. On the other hand according to, Reason (2016) the
following task allows the management of the organization to assess the risk and decide on
whether the risk is acceptable or not and whether any more precautions are needed to avoid any
form of problems. The management of the organization must implement different kinds of the
improvements that are considered to be necessary by the form of the risk assessment. The aim of
the organization must be only concentrated towards no one getting hurt or becoming ill.
Some of the major risk that has been assessed by the risk assessment team of Axiata
Group of Companies is as follows;

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 Non-Protection of the edge of the roofs- As said by, Reason (2016) there are several
instances when the workers and the different employers of Axiata who are engaged with
the installation of new towers, new connections, new data cables and supporting electrical
lines have to climb to non guarded roofs of high rise buildings and also face roofs with
different kinds of other risk like flat roofs, roofs with water soaking in them, weak roofs
that were built in an improper manner.
 Unguarded Openings- Unguarded openings of the roofs and different kinds of roofs and
other areas with unguarded openings can be a cause for great risks and dangers
(Schardong Simonovic and Tong 2019). The workers are vulnerable to such kind of
dangers as they are the ones who works in such extreme situations. The management of
the organization must take appropriate care regarding the same to ensure the safety and
security of the different kinds of workers along with the employees of the organization. Working in areas that do not have safety covers and guardrails- There are cases when
the workers of the telecommunication company has to work in places where there are no
safety rails or guardrails that can act as a major factor for the safety of the employees
who are involved in performing different kinds of risky works. The items being stored in a casual manner- According to, Willmer and Haas (2016) the
safety items or accessories that are to be used during the risky works like tower
construction in heights and doing work over heights must be stored in the most
appropriate and effective manner that can help the organization to provide its employees
with the best of the safety accessories like safety belts, safety helmets. Ropes, safety
torches and many more similar accessories as such.

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Section D
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the control measures. Support the
explanation with relevant literature reviews and illustrations:
Provide comprehensive and clear explanation on the control measures. Support the
explanation with relevant literature reviews and illustrations.
Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of the different kinds of
occupational fatalities as well as major injuries in life. Most of the cases in these particular
events are related to over-reaching, misbalancing and working on fragile surfaces. This kind of
risks can hamper the life of an individual and in worst cases lead directly to death. There may be
falls from height can also be because of unguarded holes and inspection pits which are in bad
shape. It can also happen due to falls from different types of process tanks and other machineries
that are generally used in the organizations.
The Hierarchy of Control measures includes the likes of;
a. Avoidance of such tasks wherever possible
The underlying principle of working at height regulations is that working at height must
be avoided to a certain limit if possible. This essentially means doing most of the work from the
ground. The management `of the organization must ensure to avoid using risky items that can
cause great concern for the employees and the workers (Willmer and Haas 2016). This includes
the use of extenders instead of ladders, lowering something at the ground level to repair it instead
of climbing up. The management must also take utmost care and avoid working at heights and
fragile surfaces that can be harmful for the workers and the employees of Axiata.

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b. Prevention of falls using the existing workplace
The working on a height can’t be avoided, prevention is better than facing the dangerous
consequences of any kind of danger. Prevention generally starts by the use of an existing safe
place to carry out the work wherever possible (Willmer and Haas 2016). Thus the management
does not need to provide additional protective equipment as preventive measures are already in
place in such cases. The preventive measures include the presence of guardrails, safety balconies,
extra machineries that has safety equipments and many more similar as such.
c. Prevention of falls using the collective equipment
The presence of collective equipments is one of the most necessary things that must be
taken care of by the management of the business organization. Axiata is not able to provide its
employees a safe place to work as because most of the employees are involved in different types
of work involving the installation of towers and different kinds of other external activities that
involves height (Wills et al. 2016). The use of collective equipment by the employees helps to
prevent falls. The use of the collective equipment by the management of Axiata in this case helps
to protect each and every of the employees who are at potential risk from external sources. The
use of external advanced guardrails and other similar kind of safety equipments are the answer to
this problem.
d. Prevention of falls using the Protective Equipments