niosh - paper iv

7/28/2019 Niosh - Paper IV

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Report of Hazards

in the Sawmill Section of

JAVA SDN BHD

By Cornellius Vitalis

Index No.: NS8214

IC No.: 901013-12-6461

Safety and Health Officer Examination (3/2012)

Paper IV Part I: Workplace Assignment

17 April 2012 30 May 2012


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PERAKUAN TUGASAN TEMPAT KERJA

WORKPLACE ASSIGMENT VERIF ICATION

Adalah saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa dokumen ini yang disediakan untuk Peperiksaan

Pegawai Keselamatan dan Kesihatan adalah berdasarkan hasil kerja asal saya sendiri dan

maklumat diperolehi hasil lawatan tapak ke tempat ke tempat kerja yang berkenaan kecuali

sedutan atau petikan yang dinyatakan.

I hereby certify that this document prepared for the Safety and Health Officer Examination is

based on my original work and information are gathered from the site visit except for citation

and quotation made.

Tandatangan :

Signature

No. Kad Pengenalan :

I.C No.

No. Indeks :

Index No.

Tarikh :

Date


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ABSTRACT

This report is compiled and presented as a prerequisite to qualify a candidate to become a

Safety and Health Officer. The objectives of this report is to identify hazard in the workplace,

evaluate and assess the risk of identified hazard then propose a solution or control measures

to eliminate, reduce or control the risk. The methods that been used in this report to identify

hazard are by carrying out documents review, inspection and observation and, hazard analysis

by using Job Safety Analysis (JSA). From the result of the risk matrix and Hazard

Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC), it was found that the most

critical safety hazard is sharp blade and health hazard is wood dust. The control measures

applicable for both safety and health hazard are isolation, engineering and administrative

control as well as PPE. Control measures for each critical safety and health hazard were

proposed to control and reduce the hazard and the rate of accident in the workplace.


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CONTENTS

WORKPLACE ASSIGNMENT VERIFICATION

ABSTRACT

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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ii

iii

vi

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of company1.1 Workplaces1.2 Work activityCHAPTER 2 OBJECTIVES

2.1. ObjectivesCHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Risk management3.1.1 Hazard identification

3.1.2 Risk assessment

3.1.3 Risk control

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Identified hazards4.2 Safety hazards

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2

3

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5

5

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15

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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust

4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade

4.2.3 Falling object

4.2.4 Moving parts

4.3 Health hazards4.4.1 Exposed to noise

4.4.2 Exposed to wood dust

4.4 Determination of risk rating4.5 Most critical hazards

4.6.1 Safety hazard

4.6.2 Health hazard

4.6 Impacts of the most critical hazards in the organization

CHAPTER 5 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 General duty of the employers and employees

5.2 Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard

5.3 Proposed control measures for wood dust

5.4 Summary of regulations

5.5 Review of control measures

5.6 Impact of the most critical hazards to the organization

5.7 Benefit of implementing the control measures

REFERENCES

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APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C

APPENDIX D

APPENDIX E

APPENDIX F

APPENDIX G

APPENDIX H

APPENDIX I

APPENDIX J

APPENDIX K

APPENDIX L

APPENDIX M

APPENDIX N

APPENDIX O

APPENDIX P

APPENDIX Q

APPENDIX R

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page

1.0 List of departments. 2

1.1 List of workplaces in the company. 3

3.0 Basic components of risk management. 6

3.1 Formula for risk assessment 9

3.2 Indicates likelihood using the following values 10

3.3 Indicates severity by using the following values 10

3.4 Risk matrix 10

3.5 Relative risk value 11

3.6 List of risk control measures and its description 13

4.0 Breakdown of lumber list of hazards 15

4.1 Risk rating of each hazard. 21

4.2 Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third

Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of

Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and

Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004.

24

5.0 Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First

Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards

of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations

2000.

29

5.1 Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter. 31


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Title Page

3.0 Flow diagram of risk assessment process. 14


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LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Units/Abbreviations Descriptions

OSH Occupational Safety and Health

JISB Jave Industries Sdn Bhd

JTSB Java Timber Sdn Bhd

JRSB Java Resources Sdn Bhd

JSA Job Safety Analysis

HIRARC Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Control

LEV Local Exhaust Ventilation

mg/m Miligram per meter squared

dB (A) A-weighted decibel is an expression of the relative loudness

of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear.

SOP Safe Operating Procedure

ha Hectare


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INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of company

JAVA Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Java Incorporated Bhd) is a public company listed on the

main market of Bursa Malaysia. JAVA has an exclusive right to harvest lumbers from

55,000ha of timber concession areas in Sabah, Malaysia. Located at Mile 5, Nabawan Road

in Keningau, Sabah, sprawling on an area over 3.5 million square feet, houses all the timber

processing facilities for manufacture of quality timber products with high value adding.

Advance technology in timber processing is procured from more than 10 industrialised

countries around the world, such as the US, Italy, Germany, Japan and Sweden. Appendix O

shows JAVA Sdn Bhd development plan. JAVAs production facilities are operated under

three (3) principal subsidiaries, JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB), JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd

(JISB) and JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB). Running this colossal company is a workforce

of over 960 workers. Table 1.0 describes each of the department. The organisational chart of

JAVA Sdn Bhd is displayed in Appendix C.


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Table 1.0 List of departments.

Departments Descriptions

JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB)

JTSB presents the integration of three major timber

manufacturing processes of sawing, slicing and

moulding.

JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd (JISB)

JISB is the plywood and veneer plant comprises of 8

rotary lathes, vertical and horizontal slicers and driers to

produce flitch veneers which are further processed into

rolls and lay-ons.

JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB)

JRSB is the main office of the company responsible for

administration, finance, sales and marketing and

purchasing.

1.1 Workplaces

Table 1.1 Workplaces its activities and potential hazards but not limited to those stated

below.

Workplaces Activities Hazards

Main office Photocopying, typing,

cutting, housekeeping.

Exposed to toxic chemical/gas, UV light from the

photocopier, electric shock, cuts, ergonomic.

Plywood mill Peeling, drying, sorting,

gluing, pressing, sizing,

sanding, packaging,

housekeeping

Exposed sharp blade, moving parts, moving

vehicles, toxic gas (glue), falling object, sharp

edges, exposure to wood dust and noise,

ergonomic.

Sawmill Receiving, sawing,

grading, sorting, kiln

drying and seasoning of

lumber, housekeeping

Exposed to sharp blade, moving parts, falling

object, sharp edges, projecting material,

accumulated wood dust, exposure to wood dust

and noise, ergonomic.


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From all of these workplaces, sawmill is chosen as the workplace to be assessed. The

work activities in sawmill are explained in Appendix A.

1.2 Work activity

In this report, breakdown of lumber using band saw in the sawmill area is chosen as the work

activity to be assessed. Breakdown of lumber is a process where lumber is cut/split into

workable size. In Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulation

1970, Regulation 24 (2) band saw is defined as,

A machine for sawing timber or lumber, equipped with one or more endless steel

bands with a continuous series of notches or teeth on one or both edges and running over a

pair of wheels or pulleys that are usually mounted one above the other or mounted

horizontally.

The work activities involve in the breakdown of lumber is explained in Appendix B.


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OBJECTIVES

2.1 Objectives

The objectives of this report are:

1. To identify at least 6 hazards (with at least 2 health hazards) of the work activityin the workplace.

2. To assess and prioritize each hazard based on their risk rating.3. To determine the most critical safety and health hazard.4. To propose a solution or control measures to eliminate, reduce or control the risk

based on the most critical hazards resulted from the assessment.

5. To recommend review program on the effectiveness of the proposed controlmeasures.


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Hazard identification is the process of identifying hazards in the workplace or for a

work procedure/activity. There are several aspects been taken into account to that can cause

hazard such as; man, machinery, materials, methods and media. And the identified hazard can

be classified into six (6) types of hazards, namely, mechanical, electrical, biological,

chemical, ergonomics and psychosocial hazards. Hazard identification process required an

organized activity such an information gathering. In this report, three (3) main methods are

chosen to gather information in order to identify the hazards that present during work activity

is being performed:

1. Identifying hazards by document review;2. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations, and;3. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis.

a. Identifying hazards by document review

This method identifies hazards through document review. The hazards were able to be

identified by reviewing documents such as:

i.

Accidents reports, Safe Operating Procedure (SOP), investigation and audit to

identify the hazards that are not identified before.

ii. Publications (book, brochure, standard, guideline et cetera) to gain newinformation that are not acquired before and also practical information.

iii. Regulations and act to get the hazards information relating to the situation,materials and acts that had been identified.


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iv. Statistic to gain information about the major accidents that need to be focused on.v. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) to get the information about hazardous

substances, control measure, treatment and emergency response.

b. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations

Visual inspection and observation is the most common and simple way to begin to look for

hazards by regular walk-through visual inspections of the workplace. Look at each task of the

workers performing their tasks and the activities involved, such as operation, cleaning and

maintenance. By doing this kind of hazard identification it will provide the opportunity to

observe whether the documented procedure for performing the task is being followed by the

workers, or whether workers are taking short cuts or speeding up work (e.g. by removing

guards) et cetera.

c. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis

A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is a method that can be used to identify, analyze and record:

i.

the steps involved in performing a specific job,

ii. the existing or potential safety and health hazards associated with each step, and;iii. the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) that will eliminate or reduce these

hazards and the risk of a workplace injury or illness.


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Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is defined as:

Carefully studying and recording each step of a job, identifying existing or potential

job hazards (both safety and health), and determining the best way to reduce or eliminate

these hazards.

In conducting JSA,

i. Select jobs with the highest risk for a workplace injury or illness,ii. Select an experienced employee who is willing to be observed. Involved the

employee and his/her supervisor in the process.

iii. Identify and record each step necessary to accomplish the task.iv. Determine and record the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) for performing

each step that will eliminate or reduce the hazard.

The JSA for the breakdown lumber is shown in Appendix D.

3.1.2 Risk assessment

Risk assessment involves the estimation and evaluation of risks levels taking into account the

existing controls. Risk is estimated by taking into consideration the levels of likelihood of an

occurrence of a hazardous event with specified period or in specified circumstances and the

severity of injury or damage. The level of exposure (e.g. the number of people likely to be

exposed) should also be considered where applicable (DOSH, 2011).


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Risk is defined as:

A combination of likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with specified

period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to the health of

people, property, environment or any combination of these cause by the event.

Risk can be estimated using the following formula shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Formula for risk assessment

L S = R

Where,

L = Likelihood

S = Severity

R= Relative risk

The value of L and S can be acquired from Table 3.1 and Table 3.2, which based on

the likelihood of the hazard to occur or its exposure and the severity of injury or damage it

can cause.

Table 3.2 indicates likelihood and Table 3.3 indicates severity of an occurrence.


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Table 3.2 Indicates likelihood using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011)

Likelihood (L) Rating Description

Inconceivable 1 Practically impossible and has never occurred

Remote 2 Has not been known to occur after many years

Conceivable 3 Might occur at sometime in the future

Possible 4 Has a good chance of occurring and it is not unusual

Most likely 5 Most likely result of the hazard/event being realized

Table 3.3 Indicates severity by using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011)

Severity (S) Rating Description

Negligible 1 Minor and first aid type of injury.

Minor 2 Disabling but not permanent disability

Serious 3 Non-fatal injury, permanent disability (e.g hearing loss)

Fatal 4Fatality, major property damage, chronic diseases (e.g

cancer) if hazard is realized

Catastrophic 5 Numerous fatalities, irrecoverable property damage andproductivity

Table 3.4 Risk matrix. Adapted from DOSH (2011)

LIKELIHOOD

1 2 3 4 5

SEVERITY

1 1 2 3 4 5

2 2 4 6 8 10

3 3 6 9 12 15

4 4 8 12 16 20

5 5 10 15 20 25


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From the risk matrix table, the relative risk (R) can also be acquired by crossing the

likelihood (L) and severity (S) of the hazard.

The relative risk value can be used to prioritize necessary actions to effectively

manage work place hazards. Table 3.5 determines priority based on the following ranges risk

of value.

Table 3.5 Relative risk value. Adapted from DOSH (2011)

Index Description Action

14 Low

A risk identified as low may be considered as acceptable

and further reduction may not be necessary. However, if

the risk can be resolved quickly and efficiently, control

measures should be implemented and recorded.

5-12 Medium

A medium risk requires a planned approach to

controlling the hazard and applies temporary measure if

required. Actions taken must be documented on the risk

assessment form including date for completion.

15-25 High

A high risk requires immediate action to control the

hazard as detailed in the hierarchy of control. Actions

taken must be documented on the risk assessment form

including date for completion


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Table 3.6 shows the example of risk assessment.

Table 3.6 Example of risk assessment

Safety Hazard Health Hazard

Work activity: Sharpening band saw blade

Hazard: Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam

yang terdedah).

Likelihood (L) = 4

Severity (S) = 1

Risk (R) = L S = 4 1 = 4

Risk category: LOW

Work activity: Glue spreading

Hazard: Exposure to formaldehyde gas

Likelihood: 4

Severity: 4

Risk (R): L S = 4 3 = 16

Risk category: MEDIUM

3.1.3 Risk control

The risks must be minimized to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking the

following measures in the following order. The sequence and priority of controls

recommended here is often referred to as the hierarchy of OSH controls, they are:

i. Eliminations,ii. Substitution,

iii. Isolation,iv. Engineering control,v. Administrative control,

vi. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)


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Figure 3.0 Flow diagram of risk management process.

Start

Review the effectiveness of control

measures

Propose control measures

Assessment of risk

Identification of hazard


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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Identified hazards

From the risk assessment process, the lists in the Table 4.0 below are hazards that had been

identified during lumber breakdown, but are not limited to those listed below.

Table 4.0 Breakdown of lumber list of hazards.

Hazards Types of hazards

Accumulated wood dust

Safety hazard

Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang

terdedah)

Falling object

Moving parts

Exposure to noise

Health hazard

Exposure to wood

4.2 Safety hazards

A safety hazard is something that can cause a person to be injured or killed (Spellman, 2011).

In this report four (4) safety hazards had been chosen namely, accumulated wood dust,

exposed sharp blade, falling object and moving parts.


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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust

Accumulated wood dust has the potential to create fire and explosion hazard. Fire and

explosion may occur if,

i. housekeeping is poor (accumulation of wood dust (Appendix K and L) is high in thework areas which is a fuel, one of the factors in the fire triangle (Appendix M)).

ii. poor housekeeping method (using air compressor to repel dust will only increasewood dust concentration in the air which can cause explosion hazard if source of heat

is present e.g. heat from cigarette, or ignition of lighter);

iii. unsafe act of workers ( e.g. smoking); andiv. no provision of proper ventilation e.g. general exhaust ventilation or local exhaust

ventilation (LEV).

When wood dust accumulates on wood working machinery it acts as an insulator trapping

in the heat. If enough heat is formed then the wood dust will ignite causing a fire. If the dust

floating in the air is concentrated and a fine dust then a fire can cause an explosion

(Spellman, 2011). Based on the accidents reports of this company, there has no any fire or

explosion recorded in the sawmill.

4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang terdedah)

During the operation of band saw, the operators are highly exposed to the sharp blade of band

saw. Workers may come in contact with the blade most probably during the feeding of


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lumber to the blade and also the fact that a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded

(Appendix P). Thus, the likelihood of workers to come in contact with this hazard is high.

Other reasons on how workers may come in contact with the blade are:

i. poor housekeeping, where workers may slip/trip during feeding the lumber to theblade (point of operation);

ii. unsafe act of the workers (e.g. taking short cuts or do not follow SOPs);iii. no barricade to keep a distance between the worker and the band saw blade (Appendix

N); and

iv. no guarding of the band saw blade (Appendix P).

Even though such occurrence has not been reported but there is high possibility for it to

happen as workers are highly exposed to the sharp blade. If the workers come in contact with

the blade it may cause lacerations, cuts, abrasion and amputation and even fatality.

4.2.3 Falling object

From the observation made, transferring lumber to the working platform of the band saw

requires the workers to lift the lumber at knee to waist height (Appendix I) by using a chain

hoist. In which the lumber may fall and crushed the workers feet. This can occur if, but not

limited to the reasons stated below:

i. the grip of the chain hoist hook is not strong enough to hold the lumber;ii. the chain breaks due to the usage of defective chain,


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iii. no inspection on chain before operation; andiv. no provision or worker do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).

However, based on the accident report of this company such incident has yet to occur but

might occur sometime in the future.

4.2.4 Moving parts

Unguarded moving parts of the band saw may cause the workers clothing and part of the

worker body to be entangled or drawn into the moving parts of the machine (Appendix J and

K). From the accident report, one accident had been reported regarding this hazard, in which

a workers foot was drawn in by the moving parts of the band saw that caused injury to his

toes (Appendix R). Such occurrence may occur due to,

i. lack of guarding of the rotating parts;ii. workers do not follow the proper working dress code; and

iii. no provision or workers do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).

Possible injuries from this hazard are cuts, laceration, amputations and abrasions.


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4.3 Health hazards

Health hazard is hazard that can cause harm to health resulting from exposure of the hazard.

In which in this report exposure to noise and wood dust are chosen as the health hazard that

present during work activity

4.3.1 Exposure to noise

The band saw type of noise is continuous which means the noise has noise intensity level

between maximum and minimum lower than 3 dB (A). In Factories and Machinery (Noise

Exposure) Regulations 1989, Regulation 5 (1) stated that,

No employee shall be exposed to noise level exceeding equivalent continuous sound

level of 90dB (A) or exceeding the limits specified in the First Schedule or exceeding the daily

noise of unity.

During the breakdown/cutting of lumber the workers are exposed to noise. Noise level

that exceeds the PEL of noise exposure level can cause hearing impairment to the affected

workers. Appendix E shows the Noise Exposure Monitoring Report of this company and

Appendix F shows the working hours of the workers in the breakdown section, and the PEL

for noise exposure.


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Workers are exposed to noise are due to but not limited to those listed below:

i. lack of awareness about the danger of high noise level, both the workers as well assupervisor/employer; and

ii. no provision or workers do not wear PPE (hearing protection e.g. ear muffs or earplug).

4.3.2 Exposure to wood dust

Sawing of wood produces saw dust, thus workers are exposed to high concentration of wood

dust during operating the band saw. Both the skin and respiratory system can become

sensitized to wood dust. When a worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can

suffer skin irritation (dermatitis), a severe allergic reaction such as asthma, after repeated and

long term exposure it may cause cancer to the workers. From the observation of workers

operating the band saw it was clear that these workers were exposed to wood dust during the

work activity being carried out. Workers are exposed to wood dust are due to but not limited

to those listed below:

i.

lack of awareness about the danger of wood exposure, both by the

supervisor/employer as well as workers;

ii. lack of proper exhaust ventilation; andiii. no provision or workers do not wear PPE (dust mask)


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4.4 Determination of hazards risk rating

Table 4.1 Risk rating of each hazard

Work steps Hazard

Likelihood

(L)

Severity

(S)

Risk

rating

(L S)

Risk

category

Transferring/unloading

lumber onto/from the

cutting platform.

Falling object 3 2 6 Medium

Operating the

machine; feeding

lumber to the band

saw blade (point of

operation)

Exposed

sharp blade

4 4 16 High

Moving parts 5 3 15 High

Accumulated

wood dust 1 5 5 Medium

Exposure to

noise

5 3 15 High

Exposure to

wood dust

5 4 20 High

The HIRARC for breakdown of lumber is shown in Appendix F.


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4.5 Most critical hazards

From Table 4.1, it shows that the most critical hazards based on score for safety hazard is

exposed sharp blade, for health hazard is exposure to wood dust.

4.5.1 Safety hazard

Based on Table 4.1 for safety hazards, exposed sharp blade is the most critical safety hazard

because it scored the highest among all the safety hazards. In order to cut a lumber, the

operator is required to feed the lumber to the blade. The operator must also keep the lumber

flat on the work table/platform. Extreme caution is necessary because the operator has to be

near the band saw blade during feeding of the lumber to ensure that the lumber is properly cut

(Appendix O), as a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded, simple mistake like trip or slip

during the feeding of the lumber may cause the worker to come in contact with the blade.

And from the size of the band saw blade, serious injury or even death can happen if the

contact with the blade is major.

4.5.2 Health hazard

Based on Table 4.1, exposure to wood dust scored the highest risk rating for health hazard.

Wood dust consists of tiny particles of wood produced during the sawing of wood. From the

observation made workers are exposed to high concentration of wood dust during the

breakdown of lumber.


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Exposure to wood dust occurs primarily through skin contact and inhalation as the

workers go about sawing activities. The dust settles on skin and inhaled as it floats around the

saw mill. If the dust is thick enough it can be ingested through the mouth.

Exposure to wood dust may cause health problems. Negative health effects associated

with wood dust exposure include dermatitis and/or allergic respiratory effects. When a

worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can suffer an allergic reaction after

repeated exposures, such as asthma.

Cancers also have been associated with wood dust exposure. The National Institute

for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers both hardwood and softwood dust to

be potentially carcinogenic to human. The three types of cancers associated with wood dust

exposure are nasal and sinus cavity cancer, lung and other cancers, and Hodgkins disease (a

type of lymphoma which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes)

(Spiers, 1969).

The wood and cancers relationship was studied by Milham (1974), who conducted a

mortality study involving the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial

Organizations (AFL-CIO) United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. This

study support the hypothesis that wood contains carcinogen agent. In which one of the

findings was that excess leukaemia lymphoma group cancers in millwrights, mill workers,

and lumber and sawmill workers.


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Table 4.2 shows that it has been stated in the Occupational Safety and Health

(Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational

Disease) Regulations that exposure to wood dust can cause cancer.

Table 4.2 Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third Schedule of

Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous

Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations

2004 (NIOSH, 2011).

Description of occupational poisoning or

diseaseNature of activity/occupation

OTHER CONDITIONS

29.Cancer caused by(p) Wood dust

Any occupation involving

the use or handling of; or exposure to, wood

dust arising from the manufacture of wood

products.

4.6 Impacts of the most critical hazards to the organization

If the hazards are realized, the company has to face direct remedial costs as well indirect

costs which usually cost a lot more than the direct cause and does not only means loss in term

of profit. The direct costs may come from the medical related expenses for treating the

affected workers and also paying the fines if there is non-compliance to the regulatory

requirement.


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The indirect costs can be the loss working days of the affected workers which may

lead to lower productivity and possibility of operation shutdown, facing reduction in its

reputation (negative publicity) from client and their employment status as loss of money and

time spent for investigation processes.

In other words, the company may experienced the ice berg theory, that is most

employers only see the direct cost of an incident and are not aware that an incident will cost

the company a lost more than the direct cost, because they have a wrong perception by

believing that they are protected by insurance for most cost arising from the incident.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 General duty of the employers and employees.

Section 15 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 stated that it is the

responsibility of the employer to provide safe work environment for his or her workers.

Therefore, the hazards that are identified have to be evaluated, then controlled or mitigated to

reduce the risk of hazard if cannot be eliminated as quickly as possible.

In Section 24 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 requires

that the employee while at work to take reasonable care for the safety and health of himself,

co-operate with his employer regarding this Act or any other regulation made under this Act,

to wear or use at all time any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer for

the purpose of preventing risks to his safety and health and to comply with any instruction or

measure on occupational safety and health instituted by the employer.

5.2 Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard

The applicable control measures for sharp blade are isolation, engineering and administrative

control, and PPE, as elimination and substitution controls are not suitable to be implemented.

Isolation control can be done by installing a barricade between the operator and the

band saw blade to isolate the operator from the hazard of sharp blade and to avoid the worker


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from entering the danger zone (Appendix N). Other method is to establish a danger zone by

colour marking, for example, dangerous zone should be mark with red colour.

The engineering control involves in guarding the entire blade of the band saw except

at the point of operation (Machine Guarding eTool, 2011) as shown in Appendix P. This

control measure prevents the worker from making contact with the blade and to restrain the

saw blade in the event of blade failure.

Stated in the Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulations

2000, Regulation 24 (8) (a) (i), that the saw blade except the portion of the band saw blade

between the table and the guide shall be enclosed by a guard.

Administrative controls for sharp blade hazard comprise of,

i. Developing and implementing safe operating procedures.ii. Training and education of operators about the safe operating procedure of the

band saw.

iii. Establishing and maintaining good housekeeping programs and keepequipment well maintained.

And for the usage of PPE, protective gloves are must in which recommended to

protect the hands of workers from being cut or injured.


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Table 5.0 Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First Schedule of

Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals

Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000 (NIOSH, 2011).

Chemical

8-hour time-weighted average airborne

concentration (mg/m)

Wood dust

Hard wood 1

Soft wood 5

Thus, employer shall ensure that his workers exposure to wood dust does not exceed

the exposure limit. There are a number of ways to inspect the work place for excessive

airborne wood dust. A visual check may immediately identify a problem. Look for dust

accumulated on machine, equipment, clothes, face, and hair and around the breathing zone of

workers (Bean & Butcher, 2006). This will help determine where the dust is created and how

to mitigate the problem. Appendix J and K show the accumulation of wood dust in the band

saw area.

Sweeping the floors may also be causing unnecessary airborne wood dust. A clean

work area during machine operation is a good indication that wood dust levels are below

OSHA PELs. However, the only way to be certain is to monitor the air for wood dust. If

necessary monitoring of exposure should be carried out, which is stated in the Occupational

Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health)

Regulations 2000, Regulation 26 (1),


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Where an assessment of risk to health indicates that monitoring of exposure is

required or it is requisite for ensuring the maintenance of adequate control of the exposure of

employees to chemicals hazardous to health, the employers shall ensure that the exposure of

employees to chemicals hazardous to health is monitored in accordance an approved method

of monitoring and analysis.

Elimination and substitution controls are not applicable to control the risk of wood

dust exposure, which leaves isolation, engineering and administrative controls and also PPE.

For isolation other workers should be isolate from the band saw area to reduce exposure of

the wood dust.

The principal engineering control technologies for wood dust is exhaust ventilation.

Dust collection is best achieved if done at the source of the point of operation of the

equipment. Very fine dust that manages to escape the point-of-source collector can be

captured from above by general exhaust points located at the ceiling. The collection unit

should be emptied periodically in a manner which ensures that the dust does not cause further

pollution of the environment.

The preventive and control measures of administrative control that can be taken are:

i. Use suction cleaners rather than compressed air to remove accumulated dust fromledges, corners, pits and floors.

ii. Rotate tasks to reduce workers exposure times.


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iii. Provide education, supervision and training on wood dust hazards for both employersand employees.

iv. Monitor risks to ensure they remain as low as possible.

And for the PPE for protection against the exposure of wood dust is by wearing dust mask

or respiratory mask to reduce inhalation of wood dust. Besides that, wood dust may come in

contact with the eye so workers are also recommended to wear goggle.

Table 5.1 shows the summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.

Table 5.1 Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.

Regulations Descriptions

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,

Section 15 (1)

Employer to ensure safe working

environment to his/her employees.

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,

Section 24 (1)

Employee to follow instruction given by the

employer regarding safety and health and to

avoid from doing any unsafe act.

Factories and Machinery (Safety, Health and

Welfare) Regulations 1970, Regulation 26 (1)

Employer to ensure the air in the work area

of the his or her workers is in clean from

any hazardous fume or dust

Occupational Safety and Health (Use and

Standards of Exposure of Chemicals

Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000,

Regulation 7 (1)

PEL of chemicals/substances as stated in the

Schedule I.


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Occupational Safety and Health (Use and

Standards of Exposure of Chemicals

Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000,

Regulation 26 (1),

Monitoring of exposure to hazardous

chemicals/substances.

Factories and Machinery (Fencing of

Machinery and Safety) Regulations 2000,

Regulations 24 (8) (a) (i).

Saw blade (except that portion of the saw

blade between the table and the guide) shall

be enclosed by a guard

5.5 Review of control measures

The review of the proposed control measure has not been carried out since the control

measures were just introduced thus has not been fully implemented and still under

consideration. However, in order to minimize the hazards identified, all of the control

measures should be implemented properly and accordingly to ensure its effectiveness.

Implementations of the control measures must be followed up and observed. It can be done

by performing regular inspection.

To further strengthen the proposed control measures, regular discussion and meeting

to discuss any problem or issues regarding the control measures are required. The outcome

from the discussion or meeting should be able to come out with ideas to increase the

effectiveness of the control measures or to find better solution to control the risks. Support

from top management is important and also co-operation from other workers is crucial to

achieve the target.


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5.6 Benefits of implementing the control measures

In the OSHA 1994 it is clearly stated that the employer need to control and abate

accidents and diseases in the workplace. Thus, it is compulsory for the company to comply

with this regulation. From implementing these control measures, the company will maintain

its reputation as a caring company and at the same time gain trust from its clients and

employees that will increase profit as well as productivity of the company.

Other than that, through the administrative controls such as training, education and

SOPs, it will expose the knowledge of safety and health to both employers and employees,

thus, this will increase their awareness related to safety and health. This will eventually

reduces the rate of risk and the frequency of accident in the workplace. When the frequency

of accidents reduced, production will increase as no disruptions on the production processes ,

therefore, the company will experience increase in revenue and able to achieve a high

standard of safety and health.


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REFERENCES

Bean, T. L. & Butcher, T. W. 2006. Wood dust exposure hazard. Department of Food,

Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Ohio State University, Ohio.

Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). 2011. Guidelines on occupational

safety and health management systems. Mashi Publication Sdn. Bhd., Selangor.

Factories and Machinery Act with Regulations Act 139 2011 Edition. 2011. MDC Publishers

Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur.

Hubbard, D. W. 2009. The failure of risk management: why its broken and how to fix it. John

Wiley & Sons. New Jersey.

Machine Guarding eTool. 2012. Band saw.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.html

Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters

and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical

Investigations.NIOSH Publication, 74129.

Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters

and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical

Investigations.NIOSH Publication No. 74129. NIOSH, Salt Lake City, Utah.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 2011. Occupational Safety

and Health Act and Regulations Acy 514 2011 Edition. MDC Publishers Sdn. Bhd.,

Kuala Lumpur.

Spellman, F. R. 2011. Physical hazard control: preventing injuries in the workplace.

Government Institutes, United Kingdom.

Spiers, P. S. 1969. Hodgkin's disease in workers in the wood industry.Public Health Reports,

84(5): 385388.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.htmlhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.htmlhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.html


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APPENDIX A

Flow diagram of the process in the saw mill.

Receiving of lumber

Logs are received at the log yards and are physically segregated according to its

species, status or certification and sizes

Grading of lumber

A Quality Control (QC) team will then grade all lumber, verify its species and check

defects for each log. Each lumber is documented to ensure proper chain of custodyprocedure is followed, graded lumbers are then labelled and sorted for further process.

Breakdown of lumber

Selected lumber is debarked and loaded into the band saw to be split into workable size

or lengths. At each band saw, defects on lumbers are carefully avoided to maximize

recovery. Timber produced here is then delivered to the sorting plant for grading,

sorting and cross cutting.

Grading and cutting of lumber

Each cross cutting station has a grader who carefully cuts out the defect detected in the

timber. The timber is then sorted by sizes, species and lengths into different bundle.

Each bundle is documented and labelled to maintain the chain of custody.

Seasoning, kiln dry and storage

Timber is then stickered to allow adequate air circulation within the bundle andplaced under shelter for seasoning before being loaded into kiln dry rooms. Seasoning

and kiln drying will take about 1-4 weeks depending on the size and species of the

timber to reach optimum working moisture content of 9-13%. Dried timber is then

checked again by the QC team to ensure its quality. Dried timber is then documented

and labelled to ensure traceability of each bundle. Labelled timber bundle is then

moved to the sheltered storage area, waiting for further processing


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APPENDIX B

Flow diagram of the work activities involved in the breakdown of lumber.

Transfer lumber to working

platform. (Appendix F).

Feed lumber to the band saw.

(Appendix J) for the breakdown

process.

Unload sawed lumber from

working platform. (Appendix L).


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APPENDIX C

CEO

Vice CEO

Production

Plywood mill

(HOD)

Sawmill

(HOD)

Log yard

(HOD)

Main office

Human resource,

Administration

and Safety.HOD

QC/QA

(HOD)

Purchasing

(HOD)

Finance

(HOD)

Purchasing

(HOD)

Engineering

(HOD)

Road maintenance,

Transportation

and Logging

(HOD)

Engineering

(Plywood mill)

(HOD)

CEO: Chief

Executive Officer

HOD: Head of

DepartmentQA/QC: Quality

Assurance/Quality

Control.

JAVA Sdn. Bhd. Organizational Chart.


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APPENDIX D

Job Safety Analysis (JSA): Breakdown of lumber

No Job Steps Hazards Corrective actions

1

Transfer lumber to the

band saw

table/working

platform.

a.Accidently start sawwhile preparing,

b.Awkward posturelifting

c.Forceful exertion securinglumber on table/platform

d.Crushed by lifted lumber

a.Electrically isolate beforestarting anything else

b.Implement lift/materials

handling training

c.Cover in lift/materialshandling training.

d.Wear safety boots.

2

Turn on band saw. a.Electrical shock,b.Exposed blade

c.Exposure to noised.Flying fragments (blade

break/wood chips)

a.Inspect electrical cord andswitch

b.Ensure safe zone is

identified/guard the blade

c.Hearing protectiond.Inspect blade prior to turning

the saw on and wear eye

protection.

3

Feed lumber to the

band saw blade (point

of operation)

a.Knot/nails in wood kickback

b.Amputations or cuts

hand contact with blade(point of operation)

c.Saw dust in eyesd.Saw dust inhaled

e.Accumulation of wooddust (fire hazard)

f.Awkward postures due toleaning and reaching

a.Inspect wood and pushthrough slowly

b.Ensure danger zone is

identified/guard the bladec.Wear eye protectiond.Wear dust mask/ propose

local exhaust ventilation

(LEV)

e.Proper housekeeping/ proposelocal exhaust ventilation

f.Position body to avoidexposure to awkward and

sustained postures

4

Remove material fromtable/platform

a.Material (wood) hit andstrike feet.b.Rotating parts

c.Awkward postures due toleaning and reaching

a.Wear safety boots.b.Install guard at rotating partsc.Position body to avoid

exposure to awkward and

sustained postures

5 Shut off saw

6Clean off saw a.Saw dust in eyes

b.Saw dust inhaled

a.Wear eye protectionb.Wear dust mask.


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APPENDIX E

Noise Exposure Monitoring Report

Workplace: Sawmill

Prepared by: Renny Ong (JKKP IH 127/5/3/3-1 N1011)

Location Noise source Type of noise Noise level dB (A)

Bandsaw Bandsaw 1 Steady, continuous 101.8




Bandsaw Bandsaw 5 Steady, continuous 102.2Bandsaw Bandsaw 6 Steady, continuous 103.2

Bandsaw Bandsaw 7 Steady, continuous N/A










*N/A: Not available.


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APPENDIX F

Table A Working hours of workers for breakdown of lumber.

Time Duration

7.00 a.m.9.00 a.m. 2 hours

9.00 a.m.9.30 a.m. REST

9.30 a.m.12.00 p.m. 2 hours

12.00 p.m.1.00 p.m. REST

1.00 p.m.4.30 p.m. 3 hours

Total hours of exposure to noise: 8 hours.

Table B Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) of noise adapted from the First Schedule

of the Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulations 1989,

Regulations 5 (1).

Noise Level

(db (A)slow)

Duration of exposure Permitted per day

(hoursminute)

92

9394

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104105

6-4

5-174-36

4-0

3-29

3-2

2-50

2-15

2-0

1-44

1-31

1-19

1-91-0

Based on Appendix D it shows the noise exposed to the workers that carry out

breakdown of lumber activity for 8 hours at every bandsaw exceeds the PEL for noise as

stated in Table B.


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APPENDIX G

HIRARC: Breakdown of lumber

RiskControl

RiskControlMeasure

Wear

safety

boots,

inspect

chain

before

operation.

Installguardingatthe

blade

as

shown

in

Appendix

P;

install

barricade

between

workerand

bladeas

shown

in

Appendix

N.

Install

guard

at

rotating/movingparts.

Install

appropriate

ventilation

system;

establish

better

housekeepingmethod

Hearingprotection(ear

muffs,earplugs).

Install

appropriate

ventilation

system,

weardustmask.

RiskAnalysis

Risk

rating

(LS)

61

6

1

5 51

52

0

Severity

(S)

2 4 3 5 3 4

Likelihood

(L)

3 4 5 1 5 5

Existing

- - -House

keeping

- -

HazardIdentifi

cation

Whichcan

cause/effect

Crushworkersfeet

Cuts,

lacerations,

amputations,

and

abrasions

to

affected

body

parts,;

fatality.

Cuts,

lacerations,

amputations,

and

abrasionstoaffected

bodyparts

Fireandexplosion

Hearingimpairment.

Skin

irritation

(dermatitis),severe

allergic

(asthma),

cancer.

Hazard

Falling

object

Exposed

sharpblade

(Pisau

tajam

yang

terde

da

h)

Movingparts

Accumulated

wooddust

Exposedto

noise

Exposedto

wooddust

Worksteps

Transferring/

unloadinglumber

onto/from

the

table/platform.

Operating

the

machine;feeding

lumber

to

the

bandsaw

blade

(point

of

operation)


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APPENDIX H

Chain hoist is used to lift wood to the working platform.


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APPENDIX I

Lumber is lifted in order to transfer it to the working platform.

Worker hooking the lumber.


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APPENDIX J

AA

Unguarded moving parts (sprockets) of the band saw.


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APPENDIX K

Unguarded moving parts of the band saw

and accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.


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APPENDIX L

Accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.


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APPENDIX M

Lumber is fed through the blade.

Fire triangle


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APPENDIX N

Install a barricade between the worker and the band saw blade or establish danger zone.

DANGER

ZONE

BARRICADE


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APPENDIX O

Workers inspect the lumber to ensure that it is properly cut/sawed.

Workers unloading the cut/sawed lumber from the platform.


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APPENDIX P

Proposed fencing of the band saw blade.

Portion of sharp

blade that should be

guarded

Point of operation

(Cannot be guarded)

Table/Platform

Guide


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APPENDIX Q

JAVA Sdn Bhd Development Plan.


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APPENDIX R

niosh - paper iv

Documents