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REPORT



UNITED BISCUITS (INDUSTRIES) Sdn. Bhd.

REPORT ON THE IGNORANCE OF SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS

AMONG FACTORY WORKERS

On the 9th October 2012, I have been on a tour in the Material and Handling

department with one of the operator, Mr Tan Tong Hock in order to investigate

whether the safety and health regulations which I had created being practised by the

workers in the factory or not. The complaints had been sent to me couple of days

ago which it was reported that the safety and health regulations being abandoned

and neglected among of the workers within the execution of their works. So, this tour

is practically being conducted to get clarification of those complaints and to establish

systems to overcome those problematic areas which it will cause to the potential

hazards, eventually.

Areas of problems and recommendations to overcome it.

The regulations relating to food production are continually being tightened

with the aim of improving the safety of food products and the safety of people

working in food factories.Based on my observation from the tour that have been

conducted, I discovered some of the major problems existed that associated to the

neglection of health and safety regulations that has been set up. There are in the

areas of cleanlines, attire, tools and machinery and lastly lack of training.

Cleanliness

When we talk about cleanliness, it is something crucial that must be apply in

every factory operation. This is to ensure the employees will stay healthy in which it

entails with a great deal of their physical and mental requirement in order to

accomplish their job. As they possess a healthy physical as well as their mental, they

will be more motivated and their enthusiasms will be reflected when they able to

make it as a thorough job. When I was there, I could saw some working areas which

were very muddy and filthy. There were also some employees walked and doing

their job on a wet floor. This phenomenon could create a harmful situation in which it

will lead them to fall and cause severe injuries such as broken fingers and arms,

broken bones, and more dramatically, they might experience some head injuries.The condition was far more aggravated when I saw them carried and lifted packages



and boxes which consists the company products. It will automatically raise up the

chances for them to get major injuries without they realise about it because their

concentration while walking has been reduced and distracted by those products.

Moreover, I also could saw some spill products and rubbish on the floor and

any other working areas. For instance, the pieces of some biscuits and also the

plastics being used to wrapped up the biscuits in it were scattered everywhere on the

factory’s floor. This happened due to the lack of self-awareness among them about

how significant a factory’s image in one’s judgement. For example, let’s say a school

launching a study tour in this factory, and they see such inconvenient happen before

their eyes, their perception will certainly will be negatives. This can be even worse if

any local authority pay their visits in this factory such as the Environmental

Department and Irrigation Department. Definitely, the factory operations in the

nearest future will be interrupted since the hygienic levels not reach to the standard

that they have constructed.

As for preventive measures, I would like to recommend some initiatives that

can be taken based on the inconvenience that had happened. The action taken

would be parallel and standardise with the constructed act which is FACTORIES

AND MACHINERY ACT 1967 [64 OF 1967].For the problem regarding to the spill of

products and rubbish in the working areas, the factory workers will take responsibility

for their own mess by clean up and litter those rubbish in the rightful place provided,

right after they have finish their shift. We also can appoint few numbers of cleaners

to work on the problem. I would like to stand on this action based on the constructed

act which is:

As for the problem regarding to the floor condition, the peoples who have

been appointed need to use barricades to separate the workers away from wet

areas. They shall put safety signs, for instances, “ Be cautious! Wet area.” Through

this method, each individual will raise up their self-precaution towards certain places

that could cause hazards, not only to themselves but to the other person as well.

(a) There shall be provided and maintained a sufficient number of suitable

receptacles for the collection of refuse, rubbish and waste matter and all such

refuse, rubbish and waste matter shall be removed daily from the working area.

Regulat ion 23. Cleanliness .



This also will implant and enhance the spirit of co-operation among themselves as

they will keep remind each other about certain places they are going. Other than this,

the employees also will be required to wear non-slip footwear whenever they start on

their work. This will help them avoid slip-and-fall accidents on the factory floor as the

footwear that they will be provided able to ‘grip’ the surface of the slippery floor . The

cleaning activity on the floor also should be taking over at least once in a week, as

been mentioned in the act:

.

This is to ensure they able to work at ease and in a comfortable environment where

it also will enable them to increase the production of the factory as they are being

inspire and enthusiastic to do their job..

The equipment such as the use of auto-scrubber can also be provided to the

employees in order to clean up the spill products on the floor. Auto scrubbers, also

called as automatic scrubbers, are cleaning tools used for scrubbing floors without

the hassle of scrubbing the floors with a mop or similar cleaning object. With the use

of this equipment in the factory, the cleaning process will be more efficient and

effective.

Attire

Workers’ attire is also another huge problem that can seen when I was on my

tour.There are several inconveniences that had happened based on my observation.

First of all, I found that some of them wore loose clothing. As I watched them

wrapped up the company products and carried them away to be deliver, I saw one of

them was almost falling down on the floor. Due to his carelessness, he stepped on

his own clothes that kept stripped down as he walked along. In line with this, it also

might due to the fabric of the clothes he was worn where it seems heavier and more

likely to cause the discomfort to him. It was a very nerve-wrecking moment. Consider

things that might happen if he could really fall down, together with those products

that he carried with him. The entire situations might turn into chaos among

(b) The floor of every factory shall be cleaned at least once every week by washing

or, if it is effective and suitable, by regular sweeping or other method.

Regulat ion 23. Cleanliness .



employees and even worse if it could affect the whole systems, the way in which this

company running its operations, currently.

To prevent the same thing from happens again, we ought to provide the

employees with clothes made from lightweight materials such as linen and cotton, as

these materials help sweat to evaporate. They also should be provided with clothes

that have good fit which suits them well. Any loose flaps or strings, or any other

loose attire components shall be avoided and forbidden to be wear within the

working period. As been constructed in FACTORIES AND MACHINERY ACT 1967

[64 OF 1967] which saying that:

company products

Apart from the above situation, it seems that some of the employees did not

take into a big concern on the use of glove whenever they wrapped up the biscuits

into the packages. Since this company running a business based on food, which is a

biscuit factory, the used of bare hands in every single operation is unacceptable.

Biscuits will be unfit or unpleasant to eat if they are contaminated in the course of

their manufacture and packaging. This is because the role played by individuals

especially the food workers in the contamination of food has been identified as a

significant contributing factor leading to food borne outbreaks. In order to prevent the

undesirable things to be happen in the future that will affect the company’s

reputation, I would like to suggest an action that can be taken which is the law on the

use of gloves for the employees needs to be enforced, respectively. This is also

compatible with the same act constructed:

Gloves

(f)(i) Every person employed in processes involving handling of sharp-edged,

abrasive objects, corrosive harmful substances, hot metals or other toxic irritating or

infectious substances shall e provided with suitable mittens, gloves or gauntlets.

(ii) All torn gloves shall be replaced immediately.

(iii) No gloves shall be worn by persons operating drills, punch presses or other

machinery with which the hand or parts of the hand may be caught in moving parts.

Regulat ion 32. Working clothes, personal protect ive cloth ing and appl iance .

(a) (i) Working clothes shall be of good fit and there shall be no loose flaps or

strings, loose aprons, loose, torn, or ragged garments and neckties. Key chains or watch chains shall not be worn near moving parts of machinery.

Regulat ion 32. Working clothes, personal protect ive cloth ing and appl iance.



Tools and Machinery

Tools and machines are one of the most important components that must be

use and handle correctly by any factories. As I was there, the employees used one

of the equipment provided by our company to bake those biscuits which is the used

of tunnel oven which have baking bands between 800 -1400mm (31 – 55 in) in width,

approximately, and 150 m in length, probably the average one. But the only thing

that concern me the most is the way how they handled the baking oven, right after

they were done with it. In my point of view at the end of each production, run all

machines should be cleaned and turn-off immediately. This is to ensure the build-up

of dough or other materials does not become hard, or mouldy. Most importantly, it

will not become an attraction for insects to perch to the left over dough that

eventually will spread diseases through the contaminated food. Unfortunately, things

does not going well the way I expected from them. Instead of trying to clean it up,

they just left it over and assume someone else will do the cleaning process for them.

In the aspect of the use of moving machine, especially those where a nip is

involved, it ought to be guarded to prevent hands or clothing becoming trapped. It is

particularly dangerous to run a machine with these guards removed. Based on my

observation there were also some employees that seems to be overconfident and try

to overcome problems by running machines with guards removed. The loose attire

that they wore at the particular moment, plus the inappropriate application on how

they conducted the machine is definitely will increase the undesirable incidents such

as death cases to be happen, sooner or later.

Regarding to both problems stated, I would like to suggest a solution which it

requires immediate reinforcement. For those who disobey and abandon the rules

and regulations stated, they shall be fine or in other words, they will get penalty for

any wrong doing they have done which against to the rules, according to the

employees’ average capability. The penalty can be created in various form such as

money, and as for the critical cases, they shall be fired and dismiss from our factory.

Any person who commits an offence against these regulations for which no

corresponding penalty is provided by the Act, shall on conviction be liable to a fine

not exceeding one thousand dollars.

Regulat ion 41. Penalty.



Lack of training

Lack of training among employees can cause accidents towards certain

industries that they are working on. This is because they are not trained properly on

the use of the equipment or the safety procedures used during the operation and

maintenance of the equipment. To use such equipment provided properly, the

qualified operators have to be appointed so that they will know what to do if

something happens to the equipment. Regarding to this issue, I can highlight the

related incidents when I was on my tour at the department.

From my observation, I could saw some of the employees were inexperience

and used improper techniques when they dealt with machinery or manually operated

equipment. For instance, when one of them used a forklift to carry bunch of boxes

consists of the company products, he looked shaky and not confident. As the result,

one of the boxes fell down to the floor as soon as he tried to turned the forklift

around. Luckily, there was no one nearby and got hit by the box. For your

information, if there is any injury occurs among the employees due to the incident

happened, they will be able to sue our company and claim compensation. This

statement can be referring to the article: The Accidents at Worksites.com, which

stated that it is the employers’ responsibility to provide the employees with sufficient

and adequate training, as well as guidance before they perform certain tasks given.

“Employers have a duty, a legal obligation, to their workers to ensure that they are

fully trained in the use of equipment in and around the workplace, particularly heavy

and specialist machinery. Where employers fail to meet these requirements, the risk

of serious injury and even death is increased”.

So, if there is any problem occurs within the incident happens which entails with the

employees’ injury, we have to take full responsibility for the circumstances.

As precaution, I would like to support another written article entitled: Injury at

Work due to Inadequate Training or Lack of Training which saying that a proper

assessment should be make towards the employees’ abilities and knowledge. This

initiative need to be taken to ensure that they have the capability to carry out the

tasks given and fully ready to deal with any equipment that requires them to use it.

We also must ensure that the training given to them is regularly refreshed and if



there is any new input that they need to know for example new systems of work are

also covered in the training given.

The areas of problems and recommendations that I have stated above are

very important issues and an immediate action have to be carried out in order to

prevent more undesirable things to be happen. This is because our employees also

need to be expose and they need to realise on how important the safety and health

regulations being constructed in one’s organisation. As they realise the importance

of these regulations, it will able to cultivate good safety habits in all individuals so as

to engender a strong safety culture in our workplace.

--------------------------------------

ENGKU ZAMEER BIN ZAIDON

Manager of Occupational Safety and Health

11 October 2012



REFERENCES



Harris, A. (n.d.). INJURY AT WORK DUE TO INADEQUATE TRAINING OR LACK

OF TRAINING. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from

http://www.alexanderharris.co.uk/OurWork/PersonalInjury/AccidentatWork/Pag

es/inadequate-training.aspx.

Accidents caused by lack of training. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2012, from

http://www.theaccidentsatworksite.com/your-accident-type/Pages/Accidents-

Caused-By-Lack-of-Training.aspx.

LAWS OF MALAYSIA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2012, from

http://www.dosh.gov.my/doshv2/phocadownload/Regulations/AKJ/peraturan5.

pdf.

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