INTRODUCTION

Ricardo Steel is an establish well-known company in Sabah and has been producing quality

steels for constructions At Ricardo Steel, we are well known for our key values of safety, quality

and productivity are the foundation of our business – while character and integrity are the pillars

of our success. The company strives to hold itself to the highest ethical standards in order to

serve the long-term best interests of all of our stakeholders. As a world leader in the production

of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, RICADO Steel operates the most

flexible facilities in the steel industry – and that places us among the very best at adapting to

ever-changing market conditions and customer needs. However, on a tour made by our

Occupational Health Management Department, we found out that it is not as reported by the

Management.

Accidents in the workplace happen for a number of reasons. The results of a workplace accident

can be minimal or tragic, causing minor injury, damage to equipment or even in some cases,

major injury or death. Employees need to stay alert and aware at all times to avoid accidents,

while managers need to know the most common causes for workplace accidents and be able to

spot the risk factors early to prevent one. One of the challenges every employer faces is

maintaining a safe workplace. Besides fines for failing to comply with federal and state

workplace safety regulations, employers are in danger of injuring valuable employees or even

lawsuits from employees who are inured on the job due to negligence or a failure to follow

procedures. But employee actions also are key to keeping their environment safe. Employee

safety is implemented in workplaces to keep workers safe from harm and danger. While safety

measures are most often practiced in environments where heavy equipment and hazardous

substances are used, safety procedures should also be established in office environments where

other types of potential dangers can be found. Employee safety is not only about keeping

employees safe as they work, but also about giving the company a credible reputation in

employee safety standards and regulations.

On the 13 and 15 of October, a tour made by the Occupational Health Manager team lead by me ,

in order to make sure the safety in the factory is in a good standard. The tour was made at 11.00

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am with the assistance of the factory manager. It was found during plant visits that employees

were not carrying portable carbon monoxide (CO) meters to detect gas leakage in the blast

furnace area, which is a serious safety violation. The number of fixed online CO alarm monitors

in the plant is also not clear. More attention needs to be paid on CO tracking and the accessibility

of CO monitors for the steel plant .The plant also does not under the Ricado special health tests

for coke oven battery workers. Existing safety monitoring and coordinating structures lack

expertise or enforcement capacity to regulate safety measures in these steel plants.

Workplace safety is the employer's and management's responsibility. It involves the formation

and implementation of safety programs. Employee insurance schemes and employee safety

policies help cover the risk an employee might suffer at work. Jobs, which require the employees

to travel or stay out of their city or country, should cover the risks involved in the journey and

the on-site stay. Certain jobs require the employees to engage in life-risking work; they require

the employees to be part of dangerous industrial processes. Jobs, which put the safety of their

employees at stake, should also provide the employees with the safety costs. No one can argue

with the fact that workplace safety is important, yet it’s often unintentionally overlooked, leaving

workers and others on the job site exposed to risk. Safety Management Group’s trained safety

advisors can identify unsafe acts and conditions and provide practical solutions for minimizing

those risks. Additionally, Safety Management Group’s safety professionals can help clients to

develop a culture of safety on their job sites. The on- or off-site training that Safety Management

Group provides can equip all the members of a construction team with the tools they need to

perform their job safely, whether they need basic safety training or project-specific safety

training

THE REPORT

Referring to three accidents involving the workers in a span of three days in May and June 2012,

the report had noted that 'it shows that occupational safety needs to be overhauled and improved

particularly for the contractual staffs. As a number of contractual and daily wage laborers are

employed in hazardous working areas, their health and safety aspects also need to be given equal

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importance, the manager and workers in the factory were not aware of safety precautions or

chose to ignore them. These factors should be handled in order to prevent accidents in the

workplace to happen and to maintain the company’s image on safety of workers in the workplace

area.

After a meeting with the Material and Handling board, safety in our factory has been the major

agenda discussed and we had come out to a few conclusion on steps for solving and handling the

safety of our workers. The present situation were identified and these are the major problems and

careless situation that occurs in the factory :

Workers are lack of training especially in handling dangerous materials and how to

behave in the factory. They are found smoking in the area and handling the materials

without proper safety clothing such as gloves, safety boots and helmets. They are also

found eating and drinking in the area and behave carelessly. The worker sat on the

chemical cans and some are using cell phones while working. These careless actions may

lead to accidents in the workplace and should be prevented.

Knowledge of the worker on safety management was also found to be poor. Before the

result of the rating was announced earlier this month, the technical advisory panel of

Health Manager found that these comments and recommendations were totally ignored.

The panel also included senior steel industry and pollution control experts. During the

visits we were concerns of poor safety conditions were conveyed to highest management

of the company, including the chairman, because we found that the management had not

made any remedial measures on the lapses we had pointed out in July 2012.

Safety rules were not displayed accordingly. The posters of rules and regulations in the

factory were found in a poor condition. It was blocked from the factory workers by

shelves and other furniture. The posters and pictures displaying safety rules were not

displayed properly and some has been displayed in hidden areas.

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During the visits, it was also found that employees were not carrying portable carbon

monoxide (CO) meters. These meters are very important for detecting gas leakage in the

blast furnace area. This is identified as a major problem that will lead to safety violation.

We also found that some of the existing fixed online CO alarm monitors in the plant is

also not clear. More attention needs to be paid on CO leakage tracking and the

accessibility of CO monitors for the steel plant .

SUGGESTION ON ACTIONS

Valuing your employees’ safety should be the number one priority of every business. The

reasons behind valuing employee safety range from the mundane concerns about lawsuits,

productivity and insurance premiums to the more humanitarian idea that employees are people

and as such deserve the respect and treatment that does a soul good. Empathy is a great quality to

practice even when it negatively affects the bottom line. Because of the very nature of

manufacturing, managers of this type of business are always looking for ways to improve safety.

Safety in the workplace should always be a high priority. The bottom line is that having

accidents on the job, can lead to a loss in productivity, and can cost the company a lot of money.

It can also have a huge effect on how your employees perform their work. This is because if they

do not feel as if they are in a safe environment, they will not perform to their best potential.

Below are some suggestion on how the company could help to manage the safety of the workers

and prevent accidents from happening in the workplace.

Visual reminders to improve safety can include everything from posters and count boards

to videos and books. These visual reminders are important for those times in between

when safety can be covered in a formal meeting and for during a formal meeting. The

only thing is that management must use visual reminders in a smart way that does not

make employees feel like they are being talked down to or like the company is wasting

money on unneeded things.

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Posters are the most commonly used visual reminders. One overlooked safety poster is in the

bathroom that reminds people to wash their hands. Even with this reminder, men and women

walk out of the bathroom with even so much looking at the sink. Someone else may even be at

the sink washing his or her hands when the offender leaves without having done the same – so

much for peer pressure. Still all health is a matter of safety and that includes illness. Whether an

employee is out because of an injury or an illness, the result is still loss productivity for the

business and several unpleasant moments for the employee. Another popular safety poster

involves the steps for first aid and safety. Of course, these procedures are applied after there has

been one failure of safety protocol, so the posters may not be the best for keeping people from

getting hurt. They are, however, useful in allowing people to remember how to deal with an

emergency when it occurs. The visuals are handy and usually well-presented depending on

where they were bought and how old they are. CPR and First Aid generally change every five

years coinciding with the recommendations from the Emergency Cardiovascular Conference that

takes place on the fives, i.e. 2005, 2010, 2015, etc.

All employees should have workplace safety training before they begin a new job. Lifting

injuries can happen to any employee, so proper instruction on the safe lifting of heavy

materials should be part of basic safety training. Basic training should include how to

report medical and fire emergencies. This includes the proper forms necessary to report

accidents. Training in fire extinguisher usage should be mandatory. Employers should

also hold periodic drills for evacuation of the building in case of emergency as well as

where to shelter in the building in case of severe weather.

Depending on the type of work, specialized safety training should be available. For

example, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires all

lift truck operators to have specialized safety training. If employees work with hazardous

materials, they should have training in how to handle them and how to react in case of an

emergency around them. The safe use of an eye wash station or chemical shower is vital

training for someone working around chemicals and other hazardous materials.

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In order for the workplace to be safe for everyone, managers must enforce safety rules.

Once employers set safety guidelines, they expect every employee to follow them with

absolutely no exceptions. Instructions must be clear and readable:

i. Supply new employees with reading material. The most critical part of

employee training and development is retention of the training information. A

new staff member has a great deal to absorb. The ability to refer back to

printed information can help the process. Even if you don't have a company

manual, custom-made worksheets outlining procedures and expectations can

be a useful addition to your training program.

ii. Walk through procedures several times. Explain each step thoroughly and

encourage questions. When the new recruit is ready, have him or her perform

the tasks as you watch. Correct mistakes kindly; it takes time to learn a new

set of procedures.

iii. Assign a mentor. The "sink or swim" approach rarely works among employee

training techniques. Assigning a guide to ease the transition to independent

working helps the new employee acclimate to the position while freeing your

time for other duties.

iv. Give credit where it's due. As your new employee masters job skills, praise his

or her efforts. A feeling of appreciation can go a long way in employee

training and development.

It's impossible to hold workers accountable for workplace safety unless they

understand what makes for a safe workplace and how to make changes to reduce

the risks associated with their own workplace. This means that an accountability

policy can only come once employees receive safety training. This training should

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focus on specific common tasks, equipment and dangers in the workplace. For

example, safety training for office workers should include information about

ergonomics and repetitive stress injuries, while factory workers need training in

electrical, chemical and fire hazards. Retraining employees as new risks arise, or

to refresh their understanding of safety, will help prevent lax behavior and

enhance accountability.

Employees are the experts on their own work spaces, which means they also are

best able to report safety issues or violations that they observe. To encourage this

type of accountability, provide incentives for workers who report safety hazards

that result in a policy change or correction. Rewards may include bonus cash, gift

cards, vacation time or company merchandise. This will help get employees in the

habit of being on the lookout for dangers and reporting them to supervisors.

Under certain circumstances, maintenance workers may need to work on live

electrical systems for the purpose of diagnostic testing or troubleshooting. If this

is the case, workers must be qualified, trained in safe working practices and

equipped with personal protective equipment. Electrical systems must be

grounded to prevent the risk of hazardous voltage, which can result in shock or

arc flash, leading to personal injury or possibly death. Maintenance workers may

need to establish a temporary ground to work safely on a particular task.

The levels of dust and harmful gases in the factory should be closely monitored,

but the workers in our factory may still be at risk of respiratory diseases, such as

pneumoconiosis or silicosis, caused by metal and zink dust. The workers Safety

and Health Administration stipulates that factory operators must provide

protection, in the form of protective clothing and respirators, against any such

hazards; workers also have the right to have their lungs X-rayed periodically at

company expense.

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Every employee should be made educated of the necessary steps to be adopted in

case there is an emergency. As we know, most of the offices are located in high

rise towers and the incidents like fire, elevator emergency, power cut have

manifold impact at these places. Especially in incidents like fire, it is necessary

for the employee to take some basic steps so as to arrest the magnitude of the

casualty. In case of high-rise towers, it becomes difficult for fire-fighters to carry

100pund gears at the top of the buildings. In that case fire fighting devices like

fire extinguishers should be kept within the reach of everyone.

CLOSURE

Hazards are considered to be potentially dangerous substances or behaviors that can cause harm

or injury to an employee. There are several hazards employees can be exposed to in the

workplace. Health hazards can range from infectious diseases spread from one worker to another

to poisonous chemicals that are not properly stored and maintained. For example, some

industries are exposed to dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide. These industries must

follow specific safety procedures in the event of an emergency situation involving the substance.

Workplace health and safety practices are important because they help prevent inter-office

violence and raise employee awareness of the potential dangers they face. Violent acts and

behaviors of employees and other individuals within the workplace are cause for concern

because they threaten a company’s overall well-being. Companies must take an active approach

in educating workers on the importance of practicing safe habits in order to maintain a healthy

and safe working environment. We are committed to our goal of ensuring zero harm to our

employees, our contractors and the communities in which we operate. This is integral to our

business process and is laid down in our company’s wide health and safety policy that was

implemented since it was operated. Our policy principles include amongst other that all injuries

and work-related illness can and must be prevented and that excellence in health and safety

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drives excellence in business results. Health and safety are integrated into all our business

management systems and processes.

Health and safety is a key performance indicator and one of the prime drivers of our corporate

vision. On our journey towards an accident-free workplace, it is our goal to achieve a lost time

injury frequency rate of less than 0.7 by the end of the reporting year 2012/13. Creating safe and

healthy environment in the workplace benefits everybody.  When people feel safe and are

healthy their productivity at work increases.  This in turn benefits the company.  The number of

work hours lost due to illness and injuries is also decreased in a safe and healthy workplace.

Everyone will be more productive. Ensuring the safety at workplace does not require huge

investment of time or money or other resources. All you need is to establish the basic framework

and pathways to achieve the desired targets. Everyone working in the company should be made

aware of their responsibility to follow the local policies, provided training with regular updates

then the whole environment will become safe and healthy. When individuals practice the safety

at workplace on daily basis it becomes a second nature. Workers should be encouraged to report

near misses which are critical in developing new strategies and safeguards against possible

mishaps. Safe and healthy workplace leads to confident and productive workers.

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REFFERENCES

http://www.safetymanagementgroup.com/why-safety.aspx

http://safetyandworkplace.com/safety-and-workplace.html

http://www.utem.edu.my/fkp/images/format%20penulisan%20psm.pdf

http://www.linkedin.com/skills/skill/Report_Writing

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRaccidents.htm

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