Category: Safety

Peculiarities Of Health And Safety Management

Introduction

One mode of transportation, which has stood the test of time is the shipping industry. According to the North American Marine Environment Protection Association “The first major trade routes were formed, 5000 years ago between India and Pakistan along the Arabian Sea’’. As stated by the business.un.org, “Maritime transport is essential to the world’s economy as over 90% of the worlds trade is carried by sea and the most cost effective, to move en masse goods and raw materials around the world”. A major contribution to this is the regulatory framework put in place throughout the industry especially in terms of safety to sustain the industry. Regulatory framework has numerous meanings but is usually noted as principal regulations and other important materials such as relevant laws, rules and regulatory bodies. It should be considered as model to follow to modernize and execute regulations in a decisive fashion. It displays ways to appropriately comply and respond to situations. Thus, containing all necessary policies and laws which oversee safety, occupation and health. Therefore, it can be used as a hinder to malpractice and help standardize activities across the board. An individual may feel obliged to do more without breach of minimum safety levels. Regulatory framework should be followed by both navigational officers and shipping executives in the industry since there operations are so closely linked with each other, therefore they are both able to use the same Safety Management Systems (SMS).

Need for Regulatory Framework and Safety Management

Safety management is managing business activities, applying principles, processes, procedures, plans and instructions, including checklists as appropriate along with framework to help prevent accidents, injuries and to reduce other risk. A Safety Management System (SMS) should be inclusive of all aforementioned. Therefore, it can be deduced that SMS and regulatory framework go hand in hand whereby the regulatory framework determines the standard legally and then it may be internally integrated into your company or organization using procedure and policy. The regulatory framework acts as a guide of minimal stipulations to all businesses or organizations.

Why Is safety management essential?

Safety can have both social and economic reasoning. Socially the impact safety has on a worker as well as the stature of the company. The worker and management initially may be unwilling to invest time into safety training and awareness as it results in a loss of man hours. Although, individuals can be won over if they are made to understand that safety deals not only with complying with regulations but geared towards the benefit of the entire organization. Furthermore, workers can feel safer making the workplace more inviting, which can translate into better business relations making their pursuits more successful. If a company is noted to comply with regulations and laws, pertaining to safety of their workers and clients, it promotes the idea that they are above board in their doings. Individuals are often motivated to work for those of good character and so more business is created. Safety from an economic point of view, may cut profits as implementation and training comes at a cost. Profitability must co-exist with safety, as without safety the loss of man hours, legal liability and a tarnished image will impoverish business and profit margins. Safety versus profitability is a delicate balance but in the long-term it’s better to be safe than sorry. Overall safety management increases effectiveness and productivity of maritime operations as procedure sets directives and solutions when problems arise. From the above it has been established that regulatory framework exists and operates as a guideline, but what are the substantive documents? Documents examined are SOLAS, STCW AND MLC.

Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)

SOLAS stands for the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea. As stated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) its role is” to specify minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships, compatible with their safety. Flag States are responsible for ensuring that ships under their flag comply with its requirements, and a number of certificates are prescribed in the Convention as proof that this has been done”. This convention was established in 1914 after the horrific accident of the titanic in 1912. Since then it has had three new versions with 1974 being the latest and enforced from 25th May 1980. The current convention has articles laying out amendment procedures, general obligations along with an annex divided into fourteen chapters. The SOLAS Convention has been ratified by 164 States representing 99.19% of the worlds merchant shipping tonnage. Contracting Governments can also inspect vessels of other Contracting States if there are clear grounds for believing that the ship and its equipment do not substantially comply with the requirements of the Convention. This is also known as port state control.

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW)

Another convention is STCW. This stands for the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. According to EduMaritime,” The convention helps and enforces a series of standards for the safe keeping of shipping environment and keeping the oceans clean. Also sets qualification standards for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships.”. This convention was adopted by the IMO in 1978 in London and enforced from 28th of April1984. Prior to the standards of training, certification and watchkeeping of officers and ratings were set by individual governments, generally without reference to practices in other countries. As a result, standards and procedures varied widely, despite shipping being the most international of all industries. This Convention establishes minimum standards in relation to training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers which countries are obligated to meet or exceed. Nonetheless, the Convention was lambasted for being too vague which resulted in multiple interpretations of the same thing. Thus, the technical annex was split into regulations in 1995. It was most recently amended on 25th June 2010 to include the Manila amendments in the eight chapters of the convention. This convention is so important due to accidents such as the ovit tanker accident. According to Safety 4 Sea, “In the early morning of the 18 September 2013, the Maltese-registered tanker ‘Ovit’ was transiting the Dover Strait, on passage from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Brindisi, Italy, carrying vegetable oil. The intended route through the Dover Strait was prepared using the ship’s ECDIS. AT 0230, the chief officer arrived on the bridge and took over from the second officer as the officer of the watch (OOW). The deck cadet, who was the assigned lookout, joined him. Ovit was following an autopilot-controlled heading of 206° at a speed of between 12 and 13 knots. The OOW selected the scale on the ECDIS display that closely aligned with the 12 nm range scale set on the adjacent radar display. He then sat in the port bridge chair where he had a direct view of both displays. At 0300 the heading on the autopilot was adjusted to 225°. As Ovit approached the Varne Bank, the deck cadet, who was standing on the starboard side of the bridge and using binoculars, became aware of flashing white lights ahead. He did not identify the lights or report the sighting to the OOW. At 0417, Ovit passed close by the Varne Light Float. From 0432 the ship’s speed slowly reduced until the vessel stopped when it grounded on the Varne Bank at 0434.The ship remained aground for just under 3 hours. There were no injuries and damage to the vessel was superficial. There was no pollution. The ovit refloated on the rising tide and subsequently berthed in Dover”. Probable causes to this accident were due to the passage being planned by an inexperienced and unsupervised junior officer, lack of proper knowledge on how to use electronic display information systems and failure to follow SMS procedures. This is further reason why STCW competency is critical for the preservation of life and the environment.

Finally, there is the Maritime Labour Convention.

The Maritime Labour Convention was adopted by the International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on February 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. It sets out seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work and helps to create conditions of fair competition for ship-owners. It is intended to be easily understandable, readily updatable, uniformly enforced and globally applicable. The MLC, 2006 has been framed to become a global legal instrument that will be the “fourth pillar” of the international regulatory regime along with SOLAS, STCW, MARPOL conventions. The Convention came into force on 20th August 2013. Ships will need to obtain a Maritime Labour Certificate issued by the Flag State which is a party to the MLC Convention and need also to carry and maintain on board a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance (DMLC). According to Marine Insight,” Nearly 1.2 million seafarers will be affected by the terms and conditions of this human rights act, which will lay down a set of regulations for protection at work, living conditions, employment, health, social security and similar related issues”. From January 2019, ninety countries had ratified the MLC 2006, thus resulting in 91% of the world’s shipping fleet being regulated.

The International Safety Management Code (ISM Code)

Moreover, since the regulatory framework to be applied has been established above, how do we put it into effect? Certain principles should be taken into consideration by shipping companies when construction of a Safety Management Plan. These principles or standards can be found in the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. This code was adopted into SOLAS in 1994, it is complied with in accordance to chapter IX of SOLAS. The code requires that protection be established against pollution and safety risk in handling shipboard operations. The ISM Code has objectives and requires the creation of a safety management system (SMS) by ‘the Company’, which is stated as the ship-owner or any individual, who has assumed responsibility for operating the ship. The Company is then required to produce and enforce a policy for achieving these objectives. This includes shore-based support and other adequate resources where deemed necessary. The procedures required by the Code should be documented and compiled in a Safety Management Manual, a copy of which should be kept on board. The code consists of two parts;

• Part A(Implementation)
• Part B (Certification and Verification)

Integration of Management Practices Under SMS

Safety Management Systems (SMS), is deemed as a planned system put into effect by shipping companies to guarantee safety of the ship and environment. It encompasses all safety functions for ships at sea. Thus, ensuring every ship with an SMS follows all relevant safety policies, recommendations and guidelines proposed by the IMO. This reduces any potential pollution, disaster or collision from taking place on board. Safety Management is critical for competent maritime operations. There are some basic guidelines to assure safety of all vessels and the surrounding environment that should be integrated under management practices include:

• Method for reporting forms of non- conformities.
• Procedural acts and preparation in emergency situations
• The implementation of an environment and safety protection policy.
• Vessel particulars
• Procedures to verify safe operations on vessels to protect marine environments in compliance with relevant flag state and international legislations.
• Procedure for internal audit and review.

The SMS really takes into consideration the day to day operations. As to procedure for emergency, how training and drills are undertaken also who be the designated individual etc. This responsibility mainly lies with the owner of the vessel but usually the ships Captain and crew are most competent to make an SMS as they know everything about the vessel. For easy reference the SMS is divided into sections. The sections are:

• General
• Safety and environmental policy
• Resources and personnel
• Reporting of accidents
• Operational procedures
• Designated person (DP)
• Master’s responsibilities and authority
• Emergency procedures
• Maintenance and records
• Documentation
• Company’s responsibility and authority
• Review and evaluation

These items are deemed to be the main aspects of basic SMS, although the plan may vary according to the cargo carried and the type of vessel. In the functioning of the ISM code application on ships, SMS plays an important role.

Role as Officer/ Executive in Maritime Operations Regarding SMS

Firstly, as a navigational officer/ executive I should ensure that the roles and responsibilities are enacted into the governance structure. There must be adequate bridge deck assistance to enable designated individuals to carry out their duty. Secondly, it’s my duty to lead by example in implementation of safety and health by being involved in policy making, approval and signing to show the shipping company executives. In development of the system, communication of the concerns of one’s subordinates should also be established. As an officer I would coordinate to have someone represent the workers on health and safety matters as it impacts and concerns them, also workers should be notified of risk involved and possible solutions to them. If employees feel included in the process, they would be inclined to see the system work especially with clear and regular feedback. Afterwards the management of the system should ensure the development of these health and safety policies and procedure. Policies, procedures and plans would be in keeping with standardized regulations defined by the regulatory framework of MLC, STCW AND SOLAS. As master, the nature and size of the vessel should be taken into consideration to make necessary adjustments as the ISM code permits. Hence it would be wise to consult with fellow officers/ managerial team for ideas and recommendations to be disseminate these policies to those workers on the vessel. Furthermore, drills and exercises must be carried out in order to prepare for emergencies. This allows for the enacted policies and procedures and includes everyone, due to upkeep of safety being everyone’s business. Incidents of non-conformity and accidents will be logged and analyzed to allow for improvements to be made within the system. If the system is replaced or updated time should be allocated for all individuals involved within the organization to be reeducated and trained accordingly.

One case study is the Herald of Free Enterprise. According to safety4sea,” In the afternoon hours of the 6th March 1987, the UK-registered Ro-Ro ferry ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’ sailed in the inner harbor at Belgium’s Port of Zeebrugge, with 80 crew members, 459 passengers, 81 cars, 47 freight vehicles and three other vehicles onboard. Leaving for Dover, the ‘Herald’ passed the outer mole at 18.24. She capsized about four minutes later. During the final moments, the ferry turned rapidly to starboard and was prevented from sinking totally because her port side took the ground in shallow water. The ‘Herald’ came to rest on a heading of 136′ with her starboard side above the surface. Water rapidly filled the ship below the surface level trapping people inside the hull. As a result, 193 people onboard (others say 188) lost their lives, mostly from hypothermia. Many others were injured”. The article further stated the court findings which indicated the causes of the accident were due to negligence, poor communication and lack of directions, ship design, squat effect and pressure to leave birth. Factors which lead to the grounding were not following standard practice for executing and planning a voyage along with not following proper navigational watchkeeping.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, safety should not be followed only when desired but constantly as it improves productivity and efficiency of the vessel and the company it belongs too. The regulatory framework through SOLAS, STCW, MLC and the ISM Code should be considered always as an improvement to the maritime industry and a continuation in strengthening the industry. At the end of the day it’s all done to preserve safety of life at sea and protect the environment. With conviction health and safety should not only be values held fast to by individuals in the maritime industry but all industries.

Reference

1. business.un.org (n.d.) Retrieved from https://business.un.org/en/entities/13
2. EduMaritime (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.edumaritime.net/stcw/what-is-stcw-an-introduction
3. International Maritime Industry (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/ListOfConventions/Pages/International-Convention-for-the-Safety-of-Life-at-Sea-(SOLAS),-1974.aspx
4. MARITIME KNOWLEDGE (07/06/19) SAFETY4SEA Retrieved from https://safety4sea.com/cm-ovit-grounding-ecdis-incompetence-and-inexperienced-crew-in-vital-positions/
5. Bikram Singh (October 4, 2019) Marine Insight Retrieved from https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-law/a-guide-to-maritime-labour-convention-mlc-2006-for-maritime-professionals/
6. MARITIME KNOWLEDGE (25/04/19) SAFETY4SEA Retrieved from https://safety4sea.com/cm-herald-of-free-enterprise-a-wake-up-call-for-ro-ro-safety/
7. North American Marine Environment Protection Association (n.d.) Retrieved from https://namepa.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Lesson-3-The-History-of-the-Maritime-Industry.pdf

Health And Safety Conditions At The Workplace

Introduction

The focus on this assignment is to sought research and analyse that the Union and workers will know best to identify ill-health caused by work. Common work-related injuries are stress, anxiety and depression, musculoskeletal disorder, occupational lung disease and work place injury such slips and trips, handling/lifting and carrying, falls from a height, struck by an object and acts of violence. The benefits of a unionised workplace are that the Safety representatives have the best training, education and development to perform their duties properly conforming to legislation and law and to ensure employers conform with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA). The employer must work with the Safety representatives and set up Safety committees ensuring a safe workplace environment without risk to health and to ensure all Health & Safety policies, procedures, rules and regulations are adhered to and are regularly reviewed, updated and communicated. The employer is responsible to The Health Safety Executive (HSE) who is a government body and a national regulator that enforces to prevent workplace death, injury and ill-health. The HSE works with other regulators, environmental agency and government bodies such as the local authorities, to intervene on individual businesses. Effective research is essential as work security protecting against hazards, injury and work-related ill-health. Every year workers suffer from work-related ill-health through accidents and diseases. The latest figures from the HSE website show that 1.4 million working people suffer from a work-related illness. According to the [Hazards 71, 1 August 2000] every year 25,000 workers are forced out of their jobs due to work-related ill-health. In 2016/17 an estimated £15 billion is the cost of injuries and ill-health from working conditions. An overwhelming 28.2 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and injury.

Body

Union involvement in the workplace makes a real difference in the workplace. The benefits of union involvement in Health and Safety is to reduce accidents, improve ill-heath and help change the Safety structure. The best way to track down workplace ill-health is directly from the workers to provide effective methods of communicate which is key to collating accurate information to promote well-being and a safe workplace. Workers own experience provide vital information and knowledge of issues in the workplace that directly impact on them and affect their well-being. Workers must be involved and have their say in decision making as only the worker knows what works for them. Research is essential to identify problems such as health problems, hazards and opinions to negotiate improvements. A stronger work force acting collectively with the Safety representative tends to be more effective putting in place solutions with the employer. Managing risk and promoting behaviours to improve standards of good health and safety is absolutely vital and we must share the responsibility of ensuring everybody is aware of what they need to do by preventing work-related incidents and making it a safer place to work. All employers have a common-law duty of care to their employees. In addition, under HASAWA every employer has a duty to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees are protected. As well as in non-unionised workplace workers are being forced out of their jobs due to work-related ill-health. No interest and no regard is given to workers for their health conditions, hazards and opinions. When workers well-being is not protected in the workplace everyone suffers. The figures given in the introduction highlights there are no significant changes and there is high risk of sustaining injury and ill-health in the workplace. It highlights the scale of challenge on employers and there are still areas to improve on fatalities, injuries and ill-health. Lack of involvement and lack of understanding by the employer results in lack of effective research. Many employers do not consult with their workforce and get away with it and improvements can be made if the HSE and Local Authorities enforce the existing regulations where employers are not consulting with their workersf over Safety issues, despite the legal requirement on them. There are greater risks when you speak up alone the employer is reluctant to listen to your opinions some may suffer retaliation or reprisal. It is much better for workers to communicate with the Safety representative to have theirs view and wishes listen to.

Trade union Safety representative make a difference because they help reduce injuries which reduce the levels of ill-health caused by work. The union encourages the reporting of injuries and near misses this helps develop a more positive safety environment and makes workers more confident. There is still much to be done so workers are healthy and safe. Workplace inspections play a vital part in active research through observations, surveys and one-to-one which provide current, up-to-date and accurate information. A survey helps how our members are experiencing and how they are coping with heavy workloads. A written survey would be more appropriate to gather confidential and sensitive information. The more questions and more individuals being approached provides more data to analysis to help improved workers well-being and working conditions. In interviews and in one-to-one situations it is more relaxing and informal and provides more clarity due to the personal and interactive nature, and this can also resolve literacy issues. Workers may have witnessed an accident or ill-health and have an opportunity to talk about their own concerns and to contribute to action planning. Other forms of active research are to collate information in small groups and Work Time Learning Listening (WTLL) it allows information to be gathered quickly and encourages workers become involved collectively, looking at the workplace, it highlighting the attitudes, feelings and beliefs as well as developing an action plan. The importance of obtaining information from inspections, risk assessments and body mapping highlights shared experiences, ill-health and pain in a particular part of the body and evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures. Past sick records, past risk assessments/inspections and past Safety Health Environment (SHE) reports can identify unnoticed problems and trends, to build up evidence to support further investigation or add weight to existing problems. These different types of research methods performed correctly are effective as long as the workers have an involvement and had their say will ultimately provide effective solutions. Strengths and weaknesses are involved in all research methods it depends on how quickly you need the information, as long as its valid, reliable and is inclusive bearing in mind everyone needs are different. There may be a need to carry out more than one method of research to reach to as many workers as possible to identify ill-health and how to best support their health and working conditions. Workers are the best people to understand and experience the risks in the workplace, to identify hazards, carry out a risk assessment to prevent hazards, injuries and ill-health. Trade union involvement is of paramount in the workplace and proper methods are available to identify causes of ill-health. Working together with the employer will protect workers from anything that may cause them harm and effectively controlling any risk to injury and ill-health. Workers must be consulted about hazards, injuries and ill-health at work to prevent further injuries, dangerous occurrences and to raise awareness of others health conditions could be life changing/threatening to certain groups of people. Employers must consult with the Safety representative on Health and Safety matters affecting the employees they represent as in the [Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977]. Safety representatives could have better rights as currently Safety representatives can raise any safety matter and the employer can legally ignore any questions that are raised as there is no legal duty for the employer to respond. HSE needs to do more to ensure employers are consulting with the workers on Health and Safety matters and if the employer is not complying with the Health and Safety regulations there must be a legal right to issue improvement notices and to call in the enforcement officers if the employer does not put things right.

Summary

In summarising there is evidence that effective research provides better outcomes for workers and offers good intentions to recognise ill-health and finding workplace solutions. Unions in the workplace are key to ensure people are not forced out if their jobs due to work-related ill-health, and to safeguard and support for people to remain in work. Ill-health because of your disability is defined by the Equality Act 2010 and your employer has a duty of care to make reasonable adjustments to help alleviate any disadvantages that the disability causes. Employers policies also protect disability under the Attendance procedure, Flexible working and Phased return to work. Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination, victimisation and harassment. It is vital for workers to have an involvement and have their say to the way they work to prevent work-related ill-health. We all must have regard that the workers know what works best for them.

Occupational Health And Safety

Introduction

In this particular paper, the scenario has been taken to discuss the management responsibilities in an organization along with Occupational Health & Safety (OHS). Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or workplace health and safety (WHS), is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work. These terms also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc.

The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe and healthy work environment. OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment. In the United States, the term occupational health and safety is referred to as occupational health and occupational and non-occupational safety and includes safety for activities outside of work. In common-law jurisdictions, employers have a common law duty to take reasonable care of the safety of their employees. Statute law may in addition impose other general duties, introduce specific duties, and create government bodies with powers to regulate workplace safety issues: details of this vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Responsibilities of the management in an organization

Entrusted with a leadership role, a manager is responsible for overseeing a department or group of employees within a specific organization or company. Managers are utilized in every sector, and the business model relies on their leadership and ability to operationalize the management structure. Working as a manager is an accomplishment because it reveals a professional’s ability to successfully lead, oversee multiple business operations, manage stress, and effectively communicate with coworkers. Across every sector, managers contribute to businesses in significant ways, which are reflected in company profits, organization, and overall workplace morale.

The three vital determinants of teamwork are the “leader”, subordinates and the environment. These factors are interdependent (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis 2015). It is the leader’s responsibility to make the environment conducive to work. The leader studies the employees individually and insists interest in them. By encouraging the inquisitive employees and by prohibiting insidious elements, hygienic environment is created (Wolf 2012). Management can show leadership on preventing safety and health risks at the workplace. Three underlying management principles are the key for enhancing safety and health as effective and strong leadership, involvement of workers and their constructive engagement along with ongoing assessment and review.

Equity Principles

Equity can be identified in many societies and religions even if in different forms. The Greeks called it clemency. The Romans termed it aequitas or equality. Ancient Chinese law described it as compassion and in Hindu philosophy is found the doctrine of righteousness.5 In some Islamic schools istihsan is employed to avoid undue hardship from the application of the law.

Equity as it has been recognised and developed in international law is most closely related to Western legal traditions. This is no doubt because the body of international law rules were developed in Europe after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the rise of statecraft in Europe in the 19th century.

Equity at workplace or Equity principles, as an expansive guideline or a principle, guarantees the reasonable representation and full interest in the working environment of women, native people groups, individuals from minority, different nationalities, and people with incapacities. Employee equity is accomplished when organization or occupations hones that avert and right impediments in business for these people through exceptional measures.

Equity principle in the administration association is managed by the Employment Equity Act. The inspiration driving the acts is “to achieve equalization in the work place so that no individual is denied of occupation opportunities or points of interest for reasons superfluous to limit and, in the fulfilment of that target, to change the conditions of injury in employment experienced by the women, local social orders, people with ineptitudes and people who are a consequence of their race or color, in an observable minority.

So how come here we have an unfortunate situation? If we analyze the case scenario here, we have Maris who is looking for an opportunity to finally influence her boss in this male dominant work environment. This clearly focuses on one of the Equity issues women face in their work environment. Such issues should be resolved as mentioned above in the description.

Meeting Issues

The main issue you can experience in meeting administration is when members don’t go to gatherings reliably. On the off chance that members need to go to the meetings are not coming to them, there might be various diverse reasons as to why, and as a meeting organizer, you have to ask the member his or her explanations behind not going to. (Streibel, 2002)

The case scenario also says so, Paula and Lennie have such meeting issues because they weren’t aware of the sudden meeting and have already given their commitment somewhere else. The meeting was already deferred from the given time. The boss ordered that no one will go home till everything is discussed which creates issues and worries for the employees (Moscovick and Robert, 1996).

On the off chance that members are neglecting to come to meetings, you may need to give more indications of up and coming gatherings or give them a schedule ahead of time. And here there should not be any major deviation. In serious cases, you may even need to actually approach members quickly before and addressing to help them to remember their need to go.

A more difficult issue is when members choose not to go to meetings.

Another issue connected with meeting administration is when individuals don’t take an interest fittingly, either by commanding the exchange or not adding to the talk. The facilitator may need to help members to remember meeting, decorum or standard procedures or particularly request that a few members voice their assessments.

The Belbin description of the division head as a shaper tells you how he will approach the meetings. It should inform your assumptions about what he will focus on and the group culture. (Belbin, 2012).

Effective and innovative solutions to OH & S, equity and meeting issues

Effective solutions are as follows:

For OHS- there can be proper planning and arrangement of particular things as per the medical history of employees and even their family members.

To decrease the stress of parents having young children, there can be a facility of crèche in the campus of the organization. It might cost but it will increase the productivity of the employee.

Meeting issues: The deferred meetings should be informed much earlier to employees so that they can arrange and get their prior commitments done with. Moreover, this can be done through internal instant messaging groups/ software. This will help the employees to know about the happenings instantly.

Equity: The position of women should be encouraged and an equal opportunity should be given to all employees. A well unbiased panel should judge various solutions and proposals given by any gender of employees.

Conclusion

To conclude it can be said that the issues of equity, meeting and OHS should be taken seriously because it can actually affect the organisation in excess. It should be done with proper planning; else it creates issues and effects the productivity of the employees.

References

1. Belbin R.M., 2012. Management teams. Routledge.
2. Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organisational change. Kogan page publishers.
3. Clegg, S.R., Kornberger, M. Pitsis, T., 2015. Managing and organisations: An introduction to theory and practice. Sage.
4. Rice, A.L., 2013. The enterprise and its environment: A system theory of management organization (Vol.10) Routledge.
5. Resnik, M.L., & Zanotti, A. 1997. Using ergonomics to target productivity improvements. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 33(1-2), 185-188.
6. Davis, V., Tomasin, K. 1999, Construction safety handbook, 2nd ed., Thomas Telford, NY.
7. Hale, A., Baram 1998, Safety management, Pergamon books, Amsterdam.
8. Micale, F.A.2002. Not another meeting! A practical guide for facilitating effective meetings. Central point, OR: Oasis.
9. Moscovick, R.K., And Robert B. N. 1996. We’ve got to start meeting like this: A guide to successful meeting, management, Indianapolis, IN: Jist publishing, 1996.
10. Streibel, BJ. 2002. The manager’s guide to effective meetings. New York, McGraw-Hill.

The Implementation Of Safety Process For Operating Plant

Following are some universal strategies for safety in any Functioning Plant.

Inform Supervisors of Risky Conditions

If you see somewhat that could hypothetically hurt somebody, confiscate the object or clean the zone if you can do so carefully. Then, inform your manager. Since your administrator is officially grateful to keep you and your fellow workforces’ working condition safe, they must take act.

Use Apparatus Properly

Abusing tools and apparatuses is the most predominant cause of workroom injuries. When using apparatus, make sure that you are by means of each part of apparatus for its intended resolution and are using it correctly. Additionally, regularly clean and inspect apparatus to ensure that it is safe.

Clothing Safety Apparatus (PPE)

When cleaning up confusions and using apparatus, make sure you clothing the appropriate safety apparatus. Making sure you clothing the good safety apparatus and checked that your protection apparatus is pure knowingly lowers your prospect of getting injured.

Prevent Slips and Trips

As the next most prevalent cause of nonfatal professional injuries, it is vital to ensure that walkways are clear and spills are cleaned to prevent workforces from tripping or sliding. If you are dealing with a liquid, use dribble pans and sentinels. Clean up any falls directly to keep situations safe. Also, check your workroom to make certain there are no hovels, loose boards, or pins proud from the floor. If any of these features exist, replace the injured flooring. In areas that cannot easily be cleaned, consider fixing anti-slip flooring.

Keep Work Areas and Emergency Exits Clear

Make sure to eliminate any clutter delaying emergency exits, apparatus shutoffs, and areas that you are employed. A cluttered work zone can lead to not having sufficient space to use tools and pick up heavyweight substances properly. Moreover, if an exit is filled, you may not be able to swiftly escape if an emergency arises. Placing apparatus in proper storing areas after use motivation help keep the work zone and emergency exits clear.

Eliminate Fire Hazards

If you are consuming explosive materials in the work situation, only keep the amount you need for the task at finger. When you are not using the combustible material, supply the chemical in an assigned safe storage zone away from sources of detonation. Also, store explosive waste in metal holders and dispose of it day-to-day.

Avoid Tracking Hazardous Materials

To guarantee that hazardous resources are not unintentionally tracked into other zones, make sure that work sector mats are maintained and kept clean. Prevent cross-contamination by means of changed cleaning ingredients such as wipes for various spills, and change outfits if you spill toxic materials on them. Also, if you work with poisonous materials, do not dress your work dresses at home.

Prevent Objects from Falling

To keep objects after falling, use defenses such as nets, toe boards, and toe rails. In adding, stack containers straight up and down, and place weighty objects on lesser shelves. Moreover, keep weighted objects out of the way of pathways and work zones.

Use Correct Posture when Lifting

To avoid hurting your back when you are annoying to pick up an item, have your back traditional, use your legs to lift, and pick up the item without slouching or twisting. Every time conceivable, use mechanical supports such as a conveyor belt, wheelbarrow, or forklift.

Take Work Breaks from Time to Time

Many work-related damages occur when a employee is tired and cannot sufficiently observe risks in their surrounds. By taking regular disruptions, you are able to break more alert when at work.

Safety Procedure for Building

Structure sites are dangerous places to work. Simple structure site safety rules to keep yourself, and others, safe.

• Clothing your PPE on site at all times. PPE is your preceding line of defense should you come into interaction with a hazard on place. Dress your hard cap, safety gumboots and Hi-Viz vest as a smallest, along with any supplementary PPE mandatory for the duty being approved out.
• Do not start work without an induction. Each site has its own single hazards and work actions. Make sure you distinguish what is up-to-the-minute so that you can work carefully. Your training is important, don’t start short of one.
• Keep a tidy site. Structure work is messy. Remember to keep your work zone tidy during your alteration to reduce the number of slip and journey hazards. Pay precise attention to high danger areas such as entree and discharge routes.
• Do not put yourself or others at risk. You are accountable for your own conduct. Structure sites are hazardous places to work. Kind sure you endure safety alert during your shift.
• Follow safety signs and procedures. Your manager should confirm a risk taxation is carried ready for happenings. Make certain you recite and understand it. Track signs and actions – control actions are put in apartment for your protection.
• Never work in unsafe areas. Kind sure your work zone’s safe. Don’t work at stature without suitable protector rails or other decrease anticipation. Don’t enter unsubstantiated trenches. Make certain you have safe entrée. Don’t work beneath crane tons or other treacherous procedures.
• Report defects and near misses. If your poster a problem, don’t disregard it, report it to your controller proximately. Act cannot be busy rapidly if administration is not alert of the problem, and the preferably problems are resolute the less chance for a fortune to occur.
• Never tamper with apparatus. Never take away guard rails or scaffold ties. Do not eliminate guards. Do not effort to fix imperfect apparatus unless you are knowledgeable to do so. Do not ever meddle with apparatus without permission.
• If in doubt – Ask. Better safe than regretful. Mistakes on structure sites can cost breathes – don’t let it be yours. If you requirement help or further data speak to your manager.

Safety Procedure for Commissioning

Ordering of process plant is the real-world test of the capability of prior measures, including working out of operating personnel and running of tolerable operating instructions. Since the opportunity of unpredicted eventualities cannot be removed through this period when functioning skill is being gained, the need for safety measures should be studied. This should form part of the HAZOP / Risk Taxation processes functional to the fixing. Full written effective instructions should be providing for all commissioning happenings.

Commissioning Measures document a common-sense movement of steps needed to verify that fixed plant is fully resolutionful and fit for resolution. A general classification of steps in ordering may typically include:

System Configuration Check;

The determination of this movement is to trace all pipework and networks to verify the system outline, and to visually examine items of tackle to ensure that they are fresh, empty and fit for resolution as appropriate prior to commission water trials.

Instrumentation System Check;

The resolution of this movement is to confirm that all arrangement, alarm surroundings, microprocessor signals and hardwire trips relating to the installation are handy. This will also square that signals from the field instrumentation are demonstrated locally and are being suitably relayed to the computer crossing point rack, as well as to the computer system.

Flushing and Cleaning of Lines and Vessels with Water;

The resolution of this motion is to clean all items of pipework and the vessels that kind up the installation. This task shall also guarantee that there are no blocks, blockages or any probable poisons in any of the process lines or vessels that may have caused from constituents being left inside the system after the structure phase. If chemicals discordant with water are to be used, it is imperative that the pipelines and apparatus are systematically dried prior to outline of the chemicals. This is customarily done by ephemeral dry air through the plant.

Assessment of Ancillary Apparatus;

The main intention of this taxation is to verify the routine of all ancillary tackle. This may contain pumps, fans, heat exchangers, condensers etc.

Calibration of Vessels and Instrumentation;

The steadfastness of this activity is to square the calibration and routine of all vessels and arrangement relating to the installation. To a certain amount this will be accepted out in unification with the system pre-checks to confirm that the correct set ideas and alarm points have been well-known for use in the water prosecutions.

Start Up Protocol;

The determination of this technique is to provide management for bringing the fixing online opening from an empty outdated system.

Shut Down Protocol;

The steadfastness of this technique is to provide supervision for taking the fitting offline starting from a fully functioning system.

Safety Procedure for Planning

The conception of a safety plan must be a highest priority for businesses, whether your business is huge, small, has one position or many. Initial deliberation should be assumed as to who will have “ownership” of the security plan, since the administration of the plan is life-threatening to its success. A solid safety plan should include the following five steps:

Set Strategic Safety Goals

A company must reflect how it will use leading pointers to prevent workroom related safety occasions, how it will retort if an incident occurs, and how it will use sheathing indicators of safety recital to progress safety within the party. These three premeditated goals will guide the protection program to success if instigated correctly. Safety goals and metrics are most efficacious and useful when supported by supervision, and tied to other concern goals and aims.

Identify/Control Safety Hazards

One selection is to use the profession threat analysis process. This evolution focuses on the household tasks that workers wide-ranging, describes the period hierarchy of those tasks, and weighs the integral deathtraps to those tasks. Once these hazards are identified, the company can focus on supervisory them with the use of the resulting methods:

Engineering Control

Rejects exposure to a chemical or physical hazard finished the use of replacement or trade machinery or apparatus. Two cases really capture what a production control is a machine guard on a part of apparatus. The guard is in apartment to guard workforces from a explicit hazard of the apparatus and the regulating saw blade guard on a ban saw is cast-off to protect workforces from experience to the blade while in action.

Administrative Control

A modification in work trials such as written safety guidelines, rules, schedules, or working out that is intended to reduce the period, frequency, or severity of introduction to hazardous chemicals or situations. An example of an administrative control is plain when we discuss tedious motion exposures. The employment of a job turning plan may put workforces in changed jobs for changed extents of the day to diminish exposure to tedious motion. The capability to prevent an worker from echoing the same duty all day, every day, is an administrative or work preparation control.

Another example is verified in jobs that require experience to occupational racket. OSHA provides a permissible exposure limit (PEL) to work-related noise and by rotating jobs and moving workforces out of high noise areas; a company would be able to reduce worker’s exposure to noise below the permitted threshold. If manufacturing controls or administrative controls cannot reject the hazard, the use of personal protecting apparatus may be required.

Develop and Maintain Written Safety Programs

Companies must focus on developing company detailed written safety database papers to address company procedure on how to tactic those hazards. However, all programs would be calculated to summary the potentials of workforces when it derives to safety in the workroom as healthy as how the company will meet controlling rations. These programs can protection many unlike topics such as Bloodborne Pathogens, Emergency Action Plans, Machine Guarding, and Personal Protective Apparatus, just to name a few. Written safety plans should only cover related topics and be made-to-order to the workforce and their hazards. Dissimilar programs could restrict with worker sympathetic of the programs.

A written safety program is conventionally a assembling of company policy and regulatory agreement documents. The lowest requirement of any proposal is to meet the compulsory local, state, and state regulations. Regulatory compliance prescriptions how some programs ought to be developed and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides control on this development. OSHA expects all managers to complete a workroom hazard taxation to identify hazards and then after defend their workforces since those hazards. OSHA skeletons the following steps for progress of a job hazard investigation.

Evaluate Progress

It is also very central to ensure that the program is supportable, continuously better-quality, and evaluated on at smallest an annual base if not more often. New protection technologies and practices are introduced on a frequent basis and it is important that the party stay on top of the new trends in safety administration.

Continuous estimation and upgrading of the safety program and developments is crucial to the success of the plan. An annual inspection of the workroom to evaluate procedure conformance and monitoring compliance is important to ensure developments are being followed. This would customarily be a physical audit of the facility procedures and documentation. The audit will allow the employer to identify gaps in the program and to ensure that curative actions are employed to protect labors.

Implement Safety Program

This wants the employer to provide route to their workforces on the topics sheltered in the safety program. This is customarily completed by only if job task detailed training to workforces associated to the hazards that they will meet in the workroom. These drills should be developed via the job hazard analysis used to create the printed safety programs as a leader.

The focus of the job hazard investigation process is to identify pardon could go wrong, the significances of something going wrong, and how likely the hazard will ensue. A good job hazard investigation will define a hazard state and then sketch who it could occur to, how introduction to the hazard could happen, pardon could activate the hazard, the possible product or injury, and any other paying influences.

Industrial Safety At The Workplace

Labour intensive, low technology manufacturing gives a win-win partnership opportunity between underdeveloped or developing economies and the developed ones. While these help economic growth for the developing / under-developed countries through the engagement of abundant workforce with very low capital investment, the developed world gets the advantage of low-cost sourcing to fuel their insatiable consumption needs. However, in the process, what gets compromised is health-safety-environment at the workplace

Apparel manufacturing is one such labour-intensive industry which keeps moving from developed to developing countries. With China, the largest apparel manufacturer and exporter even today, becoming more and more expensive with its economic growth, Bangladesh has become the most lucrative sourcing destination for all developed countries (“What Makes Bangladesh — A Hub Of Garment Manufacturing?” 2019). I will be discussing in this report perils attached to the economic needs of “sourcing cheap” vis-à-vis “responsible sourcing”, which the globally renowned brands and retails should follow.

Companies, broadly, have two aims, to be competitive in their business and to be sustainable with adherence to social welfare on humanitarian grounds. Western companies, who primarily imported from Bangladesh, chose to be commercial over holistic by sourcing cheap labour and other resources without concerns over subcontracting, inadequate working conditions and wages (“Occupational safety and health in the textiles, clothing, leather and footwear sector” 2019). Moreover, developing countries like Bangladesh are primarily focused on providing food and shelter to their citizens and often compromised on their physical safety and wellbeing Sobuj, K. M. Mostafizur. 2011). It is important to realise that industrial safety and development extremely important on social and humanitarian grounds. Physical safety should not be sacrificed or compromised in order to benefit financially

In FY 2019, manufacturing sector accounted for 24.2% of Bangladesh’s GDP. 45% of manufacturing GDP and 7% of total GDP came from export of garments alone (Business Today, 2019). The manufacturing industry accounts for 11.6% of all industrial employment with the industry employing nearly 5 million (Ali & Habib, 2012). Bangladesh’s garment industry has contributed to over 80% of its total exports since FY’13 (Business Today, 2019). Bangladesh exports its apparel products worth nearly $5 billion per year to the United States, European Union (EU), Canada and other countries of the world and it is the sixth-largest apparel supplier to the United States and EU countries (Ali & Habib, 2012).

In this front, I will be talking about an incident that took place in Bangladesh. The deadliest structural failure accident in modern human history and the destructive garment factory disaster is ‘The 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse’. Often referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Rana Plaza collapse caused death of 1,134 people and left about 2,500 people injured. Originally Rana Plaza was built for commercial purposes and not for factories. The foundation was said be not strong enough to either carry the weight or sustain the vibrations caused by heavy machinery. The additional three floors, on which the factories were running, was built without a permit. Moreover, even though signs like cracks on wall were indications of the forthcoming disaster, the owners had neglected the warnings leading to the 2013 fatal incident.

The Rana Plaza accident was one of many other incidents which put industrial safety on a global spotlight i.e., poor labour practices, safety standards and other policies that might be hindering the progress and development of this industry (Ahmed & Paul, 2012). The government, the importing companies, and other stakeholders of these labour-intensive countries should take more initiatives to ensure non-compromise of industrial safety. Had the existing policies been in place prior to the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, the accident could have been completely avoided and saved hundreds of lives.

Another huge industrial accident which took place around the same time was the ‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’ in Tazreen Fashion factory, haka. This accident resulted to the death of at least 117 people and over 200 injured (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). The factory was flagged with an ‘orange’ grade in May 2011 by a Walmart ethical sourcing official for ‘violations and/or conditions which were deemed to be high risk’ and received a ‘yellow’ grade, medium risk rating, in August 2012 which was connected to the 2012 factory fire (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). The fire started due to a short circuit on the ground floor of the 9-storeyed factory building. As the building was filled with yarn and fabric, the fire spread very quickly and took firefighters close to 17 hours to fully extinguish it (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). Due to the fire starting on the ground floor, all exits from the building were blocked, trapping all the on-site workers inside (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). Three supervisors of the factory were later arrested on account of criminal negligence (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). Moreover, when the fire alarm had gone off, the factory manager had asked the workers to carry on working as “The fire alarm had just gone out of order” (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019).

These two incidents indicate the poor working conditions in Bangladeshi factories, from little enforcement of safety laws, and overcrowding to locked fire doors were common causes for these incidents (‘2012 Dhaka garment factory fire’, 2019). Other developing countries like Pakistan and China are also in dire need of laws and policies to improve the safety conditions of their labourers. Data suggest that nearly 2600 fatalities were recorded in China in the construction industry alone. Although the Ministry of Health takes numerous steps towards safety, industrial/construction safety was not of high priority.

Lack of industrial safety of labourers in Bangladesh, like other developing countries, was thus not new as the existing labour and factory laws, policies and regulations were not strict adhered to. These disasters, among the worst industrial accidents on record, awoke the world to the poor labour conditions faced by workers in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019). In the absence of a well-functioning labour inspection system and of appropriate enforcement mechanisms, decent work and life in dignity are still far from reality for the vast majority of workers in the garment industry and their families (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019). Since the Rana Plaza disaster, over 109 more accidents have occurred among which 35 were textile factory incidents where 491 workers were injured with death of 27 others (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019).

During the 2012 and 2013 incidents, the only form of monetary protection available to workers and their dependants was through the labour code, which requires employers, when liable, to provide specified payments to injured workers or survivors. However, amendments to the labour code stated the employers to insure themselves against liability, but this obligation was not in force when the Tazreen caught fire, or when Rana Plaza collapsed (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019). The monetary compensation estimated are also extremely minuscule and are paid in form lump sums, offering insufficient protection to recipients against health and poverty in medium and long terms. The system is also inundated by numerous practical application issues like circumvention, lack of proper implementation, and absence of useful recourses, which often resulted to rare instances where legal entitlements came through (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019).

Despite the losses suffered by the victims of the Tazreen and Rana Plaza accidents and their survivors, no compensation was paid under the labour code provisions on employers’ liability. A handful of international importers and local players compensated the victims in the months following the disasters, however only on voluntary basis.

In order to redress the situation more effectively and to ensure that injured workers and dependents of the deceased were effectively compensated, ‘both financially and in respect of medical and other relevant care’ , along with the aim to prevent similar incidents to occur in the future, both global and local stakeholders collaborated and agreed to an unprecedented coordinated framework (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019). With the ILO (International Labour Organisation) acting as a neutral chair, an arrangement, convened by the IndustriALL Global Union, was adopted which provided a singular approach to compensation in application with not only the ILO standards, but also with the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019). An ACCORD (Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development) on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was drawn immediately after the Rana Plaza disaster (“Major Retailers Join Bangladesh Safety Plan” 2013). This was initiated by H&M and Inditex. It was legal binding of retailers to help finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh (“Major Retailers Join Bangladesh Safety Plan” 2013). It was soon joined by other major companies like C&A, Primark, and Tesco. The ACCORD consists of independent, rigorous factory safety inspections with public reports and compulsory maintenance underwritten by Western retailers (“Major Retailers Join Bangladesh Safety Plan” 2013). This legally binding contract also prohibits retailers to do business with any factory that refuses to follow the required safety measures, and also allows workers and their unions to have a voice in industrial safety (“Major Retailers Join Bangladesh Safety Plan” 2013).

This arrangement led to the formation of the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee which consisted of representatives of the Bangladesh government, 220 international brands, national employers, various unions and international and local non-governmental organisations (‘The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety’, 2013). A total of 34 million US dollars was paid out to families of the deceased and to the injured workers from the collapse by October 2015 (‘The Rana Plaza Accident and its aftermath’, 2019).

As mentioned, the United States and the European countries are the major importers of textile and garment from Bangladesh. Large brands like Walmart, Gap, Target, H&M, Zara, UNIQLO, Cotton On and Macy’s are major importing companies of apparel from Bangladesh. When the 2013 Rana Plaza incident happened, many of these companies had taken a step back from actively participating in improving the industries’ condition in Bangladesh. It is important to note that numerous North American brands, in specific Walmart, did not sign the accord. Officials from Walmart said that they had launched an ‘enhanced safety programme’ earlier that year in 2013 and had flagged factories that did not meet their safety standards (“U.S. Retailers Offer Plan for Safety at Factories” 2013). According to critics, Walmart did not want to bind itself to a 5-year contract with the prospect of paying up-to US$500,000 annually towards development of safety measures (‘Bangladesh Factory Safety Accord’, 2019).

One agreement that had previously aimed to improve industrial safety was the “Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents” is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) convention that took force from 19th April 2000. This convention aims to prevent accidents from occurring, reducing their frequency and severity and trying to mitigate their effects if possible. It promotes active international cooperation between countries, before, during and after an industrial accident. States or certain regional organizations that have signed the Convention take measures to prevent industrial accidents that can have transboundary effects and to prepare for and respond to, accidents if they occur. This convention, however useful, did not play any role during the recurring disastrous incidents in Bangladesh.

As of 2018, Bangladeshi garment factory workers can see significant improvements in their workplace safety (‘After the Rana Plaza Collapse, Are Garment Workers Any Safer?’, 2018). A report by Mark Anner who is the director of the Center for Global Workers’ Rights at Penn State states that the accord has increased the safety of more than 2.5 million labourers in Bangladesh (Anner, 2018). As a result of the accord, over 73% (97,000) of risks at factories in Bangladesh have been successfully prevented (13). An additional 12,000 hazards have reportedly been addressed.

The challenges, however, are still there. Even though the working conditions have enhanced, wages are stagnant, the rate of growth of unions are extremely slow and overtime without pay has increased due to fast fashion’s strict deadlines. The risk for incidents like Rana Plaza to occur has dropped substantially but the risk still exists. Around 155 factories were running in multipurpose establishments which were not properly equipped for operating machinery. Since the ACCORD in 2013, the number has dropped by 49% to 79 factories in the span of 5 years (‘After the Rana Plaza Collapse, Are Garment Workers Any Safer?’, 2018). Unions played a huge role in the improvement of the workers but by 2015, when the government deemed the Rana Plaza no longer to be a major issue started suppressing new organisation of unions. Additionally, wages are a very small portion of the fast fashion clothes’ prices and increasing the wages twice or thrice won’t impact the companies heavily. However, wages have remained stagnant since the initial increase in 2013. Workers of H&M, Gap and Zara have demanded their wages to be increased threefold to which H&M has promised to increase their pay to a living pay but no actions have been taken towards it, deeming it to be a publicity stunt.

Southeast Asian Safety Trends: The Rise of Low-Cost Carriers

Abstract

Due to the rapid expansion of the middle class throughout Southeast Asia, the aviation industry has experienced world-leading growth which is forecast to continue. The scale of passenger growth has presented varying safety trends. This report will focus on three major developments including, The Rise of Low-Cost Carriers and Pilot Shortages

Southeast Asian Safety Trends

Aviation and air travel have proven itself as fundamental economic and social resources in modern times. As the global population increases and becomes ever more interconnected, the requirement for air travel will only escalate. By 2034, air travel is expected to reach 7.3 billion passengers annually. This is an increase of 4.3 billion passengers carried in the financial year 2018(IATA, 2017). The axis for global aviation is moving east. By 2030, the Asia-Pacific region will have exceeded both North America and Europe in terms of passenger quantities. And by 2034, one in every five air travelers will be traveling to, from, or within China(IATA,2016), expecting to generate a large impact on Southeast Asia. Although there is an expectation of a thriving Asian tourism market, there is the inevitability for impacts on safety trends. This report will document two of the major issues relating to safety in the region and how these are related to the growth in the industry. These issues include the rise of low-cost carriers and pilot shortages and the safety concerns that stem from these subjects.

The Rise of Low-Cost Carriers

Low-cost carriers have been heralded as a major innovation to the way the population travels both domestically and internationally and has proven to be an innovative aviation business plan. Offering significantly lower prices in comparison to legacy airlines, low-cost carriers omit the typical extras in favor of optional á la carte options. The rise in low-cost carriers in the age of social media has led to the common belief of these carriers cutting costs when it comes to things such as quality of aircraft, maintenance, aircrew training, airports, and compliance. While passengers mostly concerned with the price of an airline ticket are willing to compromise on things such as food and in-flight entertainment, an extremely small minority would be willing to compromise safety in any aspect.

The investigation into the crash of Lion Air flight 610 highlighted the growth of the low-cost carriers in the region as well as the organization needed to support operations (Johnsson, Levin, & Rusmana, 2018). The inquiry into the crash of the Lion Air flight criticized the low-cost carrier’s safety standards and maintenance routines. This led to the belief that some factors of the commercial operations cost-cutting would leave low-cost carrier operations vulnerable. While not directly blamed, the accident is mainly put down to poor maintenance actions as the flight before the crash reported an issue which was not fixed properly. It is arguable that as aircraft maintenance is prescribed by the manufacturer, an airline should have a minimal effect of quality of maintenance so long as regulations are followed however it is inevitable that human factors, as well as poor compliance, are bound to contribute to lapses in safety. Low-cost carriers place tight restrictions on turnaround times to maximize aircraft usage. In the case of the Lion Air accident, it is feasible that the maintenance engineer was rushed in completing the required maintenance leading to the cause of the accident.

Furthermore, due to the relative age of a low-cost carrier, it is feasible that the age of aircraft would be less than that of legacy airlines. Practically this is not a true indicator as low-cost carriers regularly purchase second-hand aircraft as well as inheriting aircraft from legacy carriers for those that have one as a parent company. Excluding recent incidents with the 737 maxes, it is reasonable to conclude that older aircraft provide a greater risk to safety. In the current aviation climate of high fuel prices, most airlines are favoring upgrading older aircraft for new models as they offer significantly better fuel economy. Largely this is having the overall effect of lowing average fleet ages. For example, despite being one of the oldest low-cost carriers in Asia, Cebu Pacific has an average fleet age of a little more than five years contrary to the Asian average of 9.7 years.

Pilot Shortage.

As the aviation industry continues to experience growth and the number of low-cost carriers rises, many airlines are struggling to retain experienced pilots and train new pilots in line with the growth figures. This is especially the case in Asia as Boeing forecasts 790,000 new pilots will be needed over the next 20 years, of which Asia will require 260,000 new pilots. Boeing goes on to estimate that of the 260,000 pilots, China will need 128,500 pilots, Southeast Asia will need 48,500 and South Asia will need 42,500. See Figure 1

The shortages of pilots have Airlines and flight schools pushing to train as quickly as possible, with the implication that less experienced pilots are at the controls of larger aircraft quicker than ever before leading to a growing concern in safety standards. Due to the speed of the growth of pilot demands airlines may hire people whom they would normally reject (Matsumoto, 2019).

The pressure is already presenting itself. Asia’s biggest budget, IndiGo, was forced to scrap dozens of flights every day through the month of March 2018 after many of its pilots exhausted their annual limit on flying hours. Taiwan’s China Airlines averted a crisis in February this year by deciding to improve working conditions at an annual cost of almost $4 million after the pilot’s union went on a seven-day strike sighting amongst its complaints fatigue. ‘Complex training of pilots requires time, so the rate of supply growth doesn’t meet market demand,’ said Dang Tat Thang, CEO of Vietnam’s Bamboo Airway (Park, 2019). In response, many airlines have opted to set up training academies to increase the overall number of training output as well as having some control of the quality of training being undertaken.

AirAsia Group, IndiGo, Indonesia’s Lion Air as well as Australia’s Qantas and Virgin have all opened academies recently. The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) Harbison says Southeast Asia and India are likely to face the brunt of the shortfall, with the most impact felt by four carriers — AirAsia, IndiGo, Lion Air and VietJet (Park, 2019). See Figure 3. Certain airlines are also soundlessly cutting the minimum hours required for pilots to be qualified as captains as they struggle to fill positions quite quickly (Park, 2019).

Conclusion.

Aviation is an industry in which not only its professionals but the general public are safety conscious and being a contemporary environment, the potential issues are always evolving. The increase of low-cost carriers, as well as general industry growth, presents a safety issue which affects perceived confidence in the industry. Many airlines have seen both operational and safety issues stemming from the shortage of pilots and the nature of cost-cutting in low-cost carriers. Asia generally has been a focal point for most of the issues in the industry as it slowly becomes the largest market globally.

References

1. Iata. (2017, October 24). 2036 Forecast Reveals Air Passengers Will Nearly Double to 7.8 Billion. Retrieved August 15, 2019, from https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2017-10-24-01.aspx
2. Iata. (2016, October 18). IATA Forecasts Passenger Demand to Double Over 20 Years. Retrieved from https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2016-10-18-02.aspx
3. Johnsson, J., Levin, A., & Rusmana, Y. (2018, October 30). The Mystery of the New Boeing Jet That Plunged Into the Sea, Killing 189. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-29/boeing-s-first-737-max-crash-leaves-mystery-with-plunge-into-sea
4. Boeing Forecasts Nearly 1.5 Million Pilots and Technicians Needed by 2035. (2016, July 25). Retrieved from https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2016-07-25-Boeing-Forecasts-Nearly-1-5-Million-Pilots-and-Technicians-Needed-by-2035
5. Matsumoto, F. (2019, June 01). Pilot shortage hits Asian airlines as passenger traffic surges. Retrieved from https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Pilot-shortage-hits-Asian-airlines-as-passenger-traffic-surges
6. Park, K. (2019, February 27). Asia’s Travel Boom Is in Trouble as a Pilot Shortage Worsens. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-26/asia-s-travel-boom-in-trouble-as-pilot-shortage-worsens

Importance Of Sun Safety In Australia

Investigation – Analytical exposition

Introduction:

In Australia, the importance of sun safety should be extremely high as Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. In 2013, more than 2,200 Australians died from this disease because of the lack of understanding of sun safety. (Cancer Council, 2018) In Queensland one in two people will develop cancer before 85 years old. Though, some cancer cases (one third) can be prevented through lifestyle choices, such as wearing sunscreen, T-shirts and hats. (Cancer Council, 2018). Skin cancer is formed by too much ultra violet (UV) radiation (caused by the sun) which can damage the genetic material (DNA) in skin cells, if enough DNA damage builds up over time the cells can spread out of control which then can cause skin cancer. (Together We Will Beat Cancer, 2019)

Sun safety should be implemented into the education plan for all schools. This is because the most skin damage happens while in childhood and adolescence. It’s important that young children follow all sun safety measures as many children by the age of fifteen have already done irreversible damage to their skin which is a result of sun exposure. In Australia skin cancer is the most common cancer, it’s approximated that ninety five percent of skin cancers can be prevented by lowering the exposure to UV radiation (the sun). Therefore, sun safety lessons should be implemented into all schools. (NSW government, 2019) If we can lower the risk of skin cancers, why wouldn’t we want to?

The purpose of this report is to identify the trends in skin cancer(students are in high risk), investigate why these trends exist(not using sun safe materials), analyse the trends(students don’t wear school hats) and lastly suggest new sun safety strategies(crazy hat days, free hats). This will be present throughout this report.

The primary data was collected through two surveys; one for the students (years eight and nine), and one for the teachers; to try and get an understanding of their knowledge of sun safety.

Topic 1:

Through the primary sources (student surveys) it can be identified that when asked, rate your sun safety importance on a scale of one to ten most students (one hundred and forty one) answers ranged from four through to seven on the continuum and fifty one students believe that sun safety doesn’t really matter, whereas only fifty seven students believe that sun safety is important. The students clearly do not believe that sun safety is important therefore they do not care about it, instead students continue their bad habits of not implementing sun safety measures. (Teachers don’t let primary school students out without a hat. So why do we let teens?, 2019)

The students were asked “In what circumstances do you wear sunscreen?”, only eight out of two hundred and fifty people answered that they wear sunscreen every day. This can clearly be linked to the students understanding of how they find sun safety not that important. (Sun-safe behaviour among secondary school students in Australia , 2000)

The survey asked if students protect their eyes or feet from the sun, the most common answer of thirty-two-point five percent of students answered, “I don’t protect either”.

The students were asked if they knew what UVA and UVB means, approximately ninety-five students said no they didn’t know what these were. These results can be attributed to students not being health literate regarding the sun’s risk.

When asked if students wear a hat while at school the common answer was no. fifty eight-point four percent don’t wear a hat while at school. The reason for this could be because of the hat design, not owning a school hat, not liking the hat policy and not wanting to wear a hat. The students were then asked if not wearing their own hat prevented them from participating in physical activity in lunch times, one hundred and thirty students out of two hundred and thirteen students said yes it does. With the high rate of obesity, childhood diabetes and a general lack of exercise it is important to encourage students to wear hats and participate.

The teachers were also asked to participate in a survey. When asked if you knew that sunscreen is supplied for students by the school, twenty nine out of sixty-seven teachers did not know this. Therefore, if the teachers are unaware of this how would the students know this is also linked to not having enough knowledge around sun safety. Forty six out of sixty-seven teachers believe that students should be able to wear their own sun safety hats while at school as it wouldn’t impact on the students learning and it could protect more students from skin cancer. Approximately sixty-four teachers were surveyed and not one of these teachers knew what seek or slide meant, this is linked to the lack of understanding surrounding health literacy. Most teachers did not know what UVA and UVB means, this proves that there is not enough understanding of the sun safety requirements at Dalby State High School. Teachers have a lack of knowledge to do with sun safety therefore every teacher should participate in several sun safe meetings.

Topic 2:

The Social Ecological Model impacts people’s sun safety as relationships, community and society have a major influence about the decisions an individual make. For example, for relationships at school some students find wearing the school hat makes them “uncool” whereas wearing their own hat makes them “cool”. The community needs to consider improving opportunities for everyone to participate in learning better policies to do with sun safety. To create a climate in which all of society take part in trying to reduce the level of melanoma, education should include all sectors of society.

The school policy for sun safety is a barrier in the fact that it has not been updated since two thousand and ten and doesn’t meet many of the requirements that are included in the document. For example, point three on the first page states “create an awareness to reschedule outdoor activities to support sun safety requirements”, this does not occur and has not occurred in the four years I have attended Dalby State High School. Utilising under cover areas (which are already available) and introducing a no hat no play policy would improve in the reduction of risks to the students.

At DSHS the teachers lack a full understanding of sun safety. This is a barrier towards all students as students understanding will never be any better until the teachers gain the knowledge needed to teach the students the importance of sun safety.

Everyone is consistently moving through the river of life, with barriers and enablers. The barriers listed above are impacting a person’s river of life as the school policy lacks enough protocols for the teachers to gain a proper understanding of sun safety.

Other schools are implementing sun safety through being a Sun Smart School. They have a no hat no play policy. Hats are worn year-round and sunscreen is available everywhere. Peek sunlight hours are avoided. (Creative, 2019)

Other countries are enabling sun safety by implementing educational interventions promoting sun protection for outdoor workers by including hats and sunscreen as part of the uniform. (implementaion science , 2015)

Schools that do not follow the same protocols as Sun Smart Schools are enabling students to take the lazy approach to the importance of sun safety. Other countries are reaching out to all their outdoor workers and are trying to improve their sun safety. This changes people’s positions on the river of life because they can move up the river rather than down the river. A lack of knowledge lowers a person’s chance of survival where sun cancer is concerned.

Conclusion:

Some suggestions that Dalby State High School could do to enable sun safety would be to health classes should be mandatory for all year levels, no hat no play policy, applying sunscreen every lesson before going outside, moving PE lessons to indoors for summer, investing in an indoor sport area, letting students get/ have water when they need it and if all of these are accomplishment their chances of developing skin cancer in the future is reduced.

Task 2

Introduction:

By investigating sun safety at Dalby State High School (DSHS), the conclusion found was the policy was outdated and underused. This was assessed by surveys and letting students wear a non-school appropriate hat for one day. The group then decided to do a hat day as not even half of the students wear a hat while participating in sports. The findings from the participation levels on the non-school hat day were predominately only the year eight and nine’s. For one day and one day only students could wear any appropriate hat they wanted to.

Topic 1:

The year ten health class became aware of the fact that most students at DSHS do not wear a hat at all while they’re at school. Survey results showed that students didn’t like the school hats and that they would much rather wear their own hat around school to try and form their own identity. The group decided that holding a day where students can wear a non-school hat to raise money for cancer counsel (Cancer Council, 2018) would be a good idea to see if more students would participate in wearing a hat.

The RE-AIM framework (Russ Glasgow, 2019) influenced the group’s decision making by firstly getting us to think about how we are going to reach the students and make them want to participate (letting everyone wear a non–school hat). Secondly how we know our plan is working (surveys, how many students participated). Thirdly, getting support from Doctor Russel (for the students to be able to wear their own hats). Fourthly, making sure everyone knows what is happening and when it is happening (being prepared). Lastly, seeing if the plan can be implemented in the long term. Therefore, RE- AIM helped to produce the idea of our plan to implement non-school hats at DSHS.

The enablers of the action (plan) would be most students did wear a hat; most students did then wear sun safe hats; money was raised for a great cause; the school wouldn’t have to manufacture school hats and the money could then be used to buy something of importance. The barriers of the action (plan) would be that not all students were able to participate (as they were at a different school function); not being able to talk about skin cancer as much (as of the assignment dead line) and the hats not being in the uniform policy (not getting approval). These are the barriers and enablers (healthschool, n.d.) for our action (plan).

The target group was the junior school (year’s seven to nine) but everyone was invited to participate on the day. This target market is known for not wearing a hat (proven in the survey results). By allowing students to wear their own hat the students then participated in wearing a hat so it can be assumed that not all the students like the hat design and that the school hat policy is not helping the students be sun safe. The school is then failing to fulfil their responsibility in their duty of care to their students (School’s Duty of Care, 2019).

Topic 2

The Social Ecological Model ( National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, 2019) influenced everyone’s decision to participate or not participate in the hat day. This is shown by financial resources as some students may not have the sun safety equipment due to financial problems. Stigma in schools is another contributing factor as there is stigma around students not being cool if they were the school hats. Social networks such as Instagram, snapchat, Facebook and more are also contributing factors as everyone loves tanning and an inexpensive way to tan is by the sun. Tanning beds are another factor some people like fake tanning instead of sun tanning and this exposes them to too much ultraviolet radiation.

The social ecological model can support sun safety practices for students by a change of attitude and or belief change. This could include starting to participate in sun safety strategies. Having a change of attitude could make the students want to have more knowledge on sun safety.

The health group could have produced more posters, spoken on assembles and year levels for better advertising. With more time to prepare, it may have been possible to approach business owners to see if we could get sponsors and receive free hats which then allows free advertising for these businesses. The school could’ve had crazy hat days. The group could’ve displayed better teamwork skills and had more time to prepare these marketing strategies. RE-AIM and the social ecological model help improve the strategy by advertising more, participating in crazy hat days, giving out free hats this is because it allows the health class reach individual students. This plan would’ve been effective as the younger grades would’ve wanted to get more involved as there would’ve been prizes (free hats). The businesses sponsoring the free hats would be adoption (community) as they would have been supporting a school function. Producing the day with the speeches and hard work would have been implemented. Maintenance would have been the better team working skills, everyone participating and helping in some way.

Conclusion

It is necessary for DSHS to rethink their sun safety policy and strategies because the policy is meant to be changed every few years and hasn’t been therefore it is old and outdated. The students are clearly not participating in the current sun safety policy so there needs to be a change. The future of DSHS, if the attitude towards sun safety changed would be the teachers and staff leading by example by wearing hats and sunscreen and by implementing this with the students. Overall the health of all students, teachers and staff would be greatly improved from the risk of melanoma (Clift, 2016) and other skin cancers and it would set the students up for great sun safe practices as they go into adulthood.

School Violence: Safety of the School Setting from the Educator’s Perspective

School safety is a complex problem without a one size fits all solution. Trauma associated with school violence can have a profound impact on schools, families and entire communities. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention (2019) describes school violence as acts that disrupt learning and is a subset of youth violence. School violence has a negative effect on students, schools, and communities as it includes fighting, bullying, gangs, cyberbullying, and the use of weapons. It can occur at school, at school functions, or on the way to or from school or school functions.

Teachers and students cannot live in fear and must believe the system is doing everything possible to protect them from any form of violence happening in the learning environment. For learning environments to be safe sanctuaries there must be a collaborative effort between stakeholders to both reduce violence and improve the school environment. There is no one factor to isolate or prevent school violence several things have been learned, yet the only common denominator has remained there is no school that is 100 percent safe. Flaws remain in the system as time after time breaches in security occur. This leaves room for multiple prevention strategies to be explored. This proposed study is to investigate the safety of the school setting from the educator’s perspective. This study is needed to fill voids in current literature and to provide new information which can be furthers researched.

Literature Review

To begin the literature review keywords including school safety, school violence, fighting, bullying, gangs, cyberbullying, and bullying will be identified. Then databases including ERIC, Google Scholar, Proquest, and SAGE were used locating sources for this literature review. Resources included peer-reviewed articles, books and journal publications. As articles were found the abstracts were skimmed to ensure relevance to the topic of school violence. School violence is evident in professional literature while the focus is on a variety of topics. There is a void on literature focusing on school violence from the perspective of the teachers.

While school violence may only physically involve a few students, the ramifications surrounding the issue can be too numerous to count. The first known act was a school shooting in 1764 known as the Pontiac Rebellion School Massacre 10 of the 13 students enrolled were killed (Dixon, 2005). While school shootings are the most lethal means of school violence, they have been a constant and have occurred in thirty-six of the states and the District of Columbia as established in research conducted by Woodrow-Cox & Rich (2018). Most people were unaware of such events until the Columbine shooting in 1999 became a nationwide media spectacle playing out live on television. Since Columbine, there has been a rise in school shootings as noted by Lee (2013) as they have risen from 23 to 245 between 1980 and 2013 and between 1760 and 2013 there had been 593 deaths associated with school shootings. Between the 1999 Columbine High School shootings and the 2018 Santa Fe High School incident there have been an estimated 141 individuals killed, and 284 injuries in school settings. Woodrow-Cox, Rich, Chiu, Muyskens, and Ulmanu, (2018) noted 214,000 students had experienced gun violence in more than 216 schools across the nation.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2016), over 20 percent or one in five students have reported being bullied and they were bullied at least monthly. Modecki, Minchin, Harbaugh, Guerra, & Runions, (2014) reported traditional bullying consisted of 35% and cyberbullying involved 15% of students ages 12-18. Of those bullied the National Center for Educational Statistics (2016) note 13% were victims of name calling, 12% were victims of rumors; 5% were physically assaulted. They also reported the bullying event happened 42% of the time in the hallways, 34% in classrooms, 22% in the lunchroom, 19% on school property, 10% on the bus and 9% in bath or locker rooms. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2016) continued noting 43% of students that were bullied reported the incident to school officials.

Popp (2012) focused on student risk factors including the risk of students being bullied. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2016) noted 19% of students which were bullied had low self-esteem, 14% stated it affected their relationships home and school life and 9% indicated it affected their health. According to the Center for Disease Control (2017) students who were bullied had difficulties sleeping experienced depression and anxiety. Gini & Pozzoli (2013) suggested students who were bullied were two times more likely to have their health effected including stomach and headaches. Wynne and Joo (2011) noted victimization can be predicted using individual characteristics as well as family, and school characteristics and Harrison, Vannest, Davis, & Reynolds (2012) examined how behavior problems leading to violent school acts. This was backed by Jackson, Hanson, Amstadter, Saunders, & Kilpatrick (2011) as they investigated how constant exposure to victimization can lead to aggressive behaviors. Lee (2013) indicated over half of the attackers had no prior history of violence but when bullied they were left feeling humiliated and wanting revenge and actions taken against the bully were pre-meditated with the intent to harm.

Zaykowski & Gunter (2012) defined how school’s climate can reduce violent risk and Johnson, Burke, and Gielen (2011) work was based on developing violence prevention strategy and the relationship between school staff and students. Vossekuil et al. (2002) noted the importance of addressing potential signs associated with school violence and the need for immediate action if behaviors are identified. Others have devoted their research to combating school violence including Fahsl & Luce (2012) while Booren, Handy, & Power (2011) investigated how school environments impacted both violence and the prevention of violence. Lee (2013) added the attackers often engaged in behaviors which indicated a cry for help telling others of their intent prior to the actual event and Reed, Nugent, & Cooper (2015) suggested there was a strong link between bullying and suicide related. Watkins & Maume, (2011) studied the effect school climate had on students’ comfort in reporting possible violent crimes. Articles in the past have laid blame to tv and media as the cause of school violence as noted by Bushman & Anderson (2015) and Warnick, Kim, & Robinson (2015), article gun violence and schools, additionally, articles have focused on anger management skills and on the school shooters.

Importance

Previous research has examined school violence and there is limited research related specifically to the opinions of educators regarding violence in the schools. This qualitative study which is exploratory in nature will provide valuable information needed to fill the void associated with school violence and investigate school safety from the perception of the educator. This information will be evaluated to determine if educators believe adequate measures are being taken to ensure the safety of the students in the school. Then the information can be bridged and integrated when possible with existing literature.

School violence undermines both safety and security of the students which results in schools failing to be a productive learning environment as noted by Burdick-Will (2013). The occurrence of these negative behaviors has prompted schools to become more aware of and address the issues as noted by Bradshaw, Debnam, Koth, and Leaf (2008). Additional information is needed to in the review of current policies and the implementation of new policies as they address the challenges of preventing school violence. While there are many factors regarding school violence much of the existing research focuses on the shooters and their similarities which leaves several voids in the literature regarding school violence as noted by Vossekuil, Fein, Reddy, Borum, & Modzeleski, (2002).

With the number of school violence incidents increasing public schools are requiring school safety initiatives to create safer, supportive school environments. Teacher’s perceptions of school violence and aggression are critical in not only the development but the implementing of these policies as the teacher is the front line when it comes to understanding what is happening in the school buildings. Burdicl-Will (2013) stated when school violence is tolerated, the safety and security of students are undermined, and the learning environment becomes ineffective. Schools must address and identify the possible causes of school violence in order to develop effective strategies which are both proactive and reactive.

Theoretical Perspective

Broody (2001) explained Robert Agnew general strain theory (GST) and identified four categories of strain 1) failure to obtain valued goals, 2) disconnection between hopes and successes, 3) lack of positive stimuli and, 4) the beginning of negative stimuli. James, Brunch, & Clay-Warner (2014) noted the use of general strain theory (GTS) as a method of studying school violence since students which feel as though they have been treated unfairly are more likely to engage in such acts. This thought was backed by Agnew (2001) as he suggested the feeling of being treated unfairly is critical in GST. Included in GST is safety, acceptance, and support which can create stress. GST also includes anger and depression along with problem-solving skills and self-control which as Moon and Morash (2012) stated influence school violence. James et al., (2014) used GST as a survey to measure the unfair treatment of teachers from the students’ perception regarding students’ involvement in school violence and noted how research fell under the GST umbrella. When students feel as though the climate is not safe aggressive behaviors such as fighting occurs along with bullying, harassing, and insulting. James et al. (2014) stated how students that feel they are in unsafe environments are prone to carry weapons to school or retaliating in some form or another.

Research Questions

The goal of this study is to answer the question “What are teachers’ perceptions of school violence?” in order to help schools and school districts gain a better understanding of school violence and review current school violence policies and adopt new policies. The research questions will be specific, clear, and manageable. The following three semi-structured open-ended questions will be asked of participants in the study.

1. Describe how you feel about school violence.

The rationale behind this question is there is a fear of school violence which resonates in the back of many teachers’ minds as they have seen an overload of media regarding the subject. Not only responsible for educating a class of students they must now be prepared to defend and protect themselves and their class. Teachers must trust that everything possible is being done to ensure their safety and their students while at work. In order to maintain a conducive learning environment teacher must feel confident that the building is secure from intruders. They must also trust any discipline or emotional concerns are adequately handled and students receive the proper support, guidance, and referrals. Teachers need to be aware of all policies that are in place and the procedures that will be used to handle any unsafe situation. The following prompts and probes will be used if needed: tell me about a time when you were concerned about your safety at school, and what are your feelings about the violence Sandy Hook and Parkland experienced?

2. How are programs including school resource officer’s effective means of protecting a school campus?

The rationale behind this question is teachers should be aware if there are resource officers available at the school campus and what hours these officers are available. Additionally, teachers should be aware of the resource officer’s role on the school campus. If they are to contact the officer what method should be taken and any specific terms which should be used once contacted teachers need to be aware of response time and how the incident will be handled. Since one resource officer cannot be in all places always is their presence on the grounds enough for safety and adequate protection. Staff must feel a connection that the resource officer is adequately able to protect the staff and children throughout the day. Additionally, the teachers must feel they can utilize the resource officer and they are knowledgeable about what to identify and address regarding security. Prompts and probes for this question include: can you describe your school’s safety measures, and what precautions does your school have on the playgrounds, and what could you do to make the environment more secure?

3. How effective is school safety training?

The rationale behind this question is training needs to be conducted in a formal manner and teachers given the opportunity to address concerns. Once a concern is addressed actions should be taken to solve the concern and there should be follow up as to what actions were taken. Staff needs to feel the training is adequate and covers topics as it relates to the matter. Is training provided hands-on or simply a lecture-style presentation. Staff should be knowledgeable of the key stakeholders involved and their roles. Once training has taken place there should be practice training developed and implemented along with different case scenarios. Practice drills should be reoccurring, and any issues associated with prior scenarios addressed. The system needs to be second nature to all staff involved as well as stakeholders along with knowledge of who is responsible for what and how to follow the chain of command regarding communication procedures. Prompts and probes would include tell me about your school’s security and/or crisis preparation procedures in the event of a violent intruder and are practice drills established and routinely performed and revised as needed, along with how prepared do you feel you are if such a situation occurred.

Methodology

The intent of this qualitative case study will be to explore and understand the perceptions of teachers regarding school violence. The study will allow for a clear connection between the problem school violence and the research question What are teachers’ perceptions of school violence. The research topic will be the teachers’ perceptions of school violence and the unit of analysis will be the teachers as participants. Once approval has been granted from the IRB the Board of Education for Atlanta and the surrounding counties will be sent letters asking them to participate in the research study. Once permission is granted by the school board, school principals in the districts will be sent a letter asking them to participate in the study. Once the principals grant permission teachers at the schools will be emailed asking for volunteers to participate in one-on-one interviews. As pointed out by Reinhartz (1992), one-on-one interviews provide the researcher with the opinions, thoughts, and ideas of the interviewees rather than those of the researchers. This process allows the researcher and the interviewee a chance to both share and learns in an equal manner.

Guidelines, as established by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), will be followed to assure participants’ rights were protected in this research study. Since humans are involved there will be ethical considerations. The interviews will take place in conference rooms at local libraries which are considered neutral environments. The interview will last approximately one hour. Once the interviewee arrives, they will be advised of the study and the purpose and benefits of the study and will be told notes will be taken and the interview will be audiotaped. Each participant will be told all information provides will be kept private and confidential. Information will be electronically stored on a password-protected desktop computer and any notes or audiotapes will be kept in safely locked files for five years before destroyed. Interviewees will be allowed to give me a pseudonym to ensure their privacy. They will also be told the interview is voluntary and if at any time they do not feel comfortable answering a question just let me know and if they want to end the interview at any time to tell me. They will be advised there are no risk involved with the study and there will be no cost nor will there be any compensation for the study. Prior to the interview participants will be asked to sign an informed consent agreeing to participate in this research project. There will be a short time of building rapport followed by the interview questions. My role in the study will be that of a researcher.

In addition to the one-on-one interview, participants will be observed for body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. If available qualitative documentation including newspaper articles, emails, or personal journal entries from participants regarding school safety concerns will be obtained. The study will be completed over a two-semester period.

Coding

After interviews are completed, transcripts will be completed using both the observation notes and the recording of the interviews. The transcripts will then be read quickly, and notes will be made concerning the first impressions. Content analysis will be analyzed as transcript are reread line by line using open coding identifying relevant and specific words including bullying, harassment, safety, security. These words will be color-coded and organized into categories, patterns, and commonalities such as bullying and harassment as a form of violence and safety and security as a solution. From these emerging themes will be developed. Coding will also be conducted on changes of tone, body language and other cues which take place during the interview. Once the coding is complete and axial codes will be defined.

Analysis

School violence affects virtually every school in the United States, in some form or another. For that reason, data will be collected and analyzed from teachers to gain an understanding of their perceptions on school violence since they are at the forefront of the matter. This will allow for the framework of the recommendations to be research-based and data-driven and designed for student’s academic success. School districts can use this information to design training for teachers which can be both efficient and effective. Teachers will be able to use the info to minimize disruptions in the classroom thus decreasing violence associated with schools. Data will be collected analyzed and interpreted systematically based on the field of research and the research problem. Data will be coded by hand, highlighting transcripts then categorizing into reoccurring patterns and emerging themes.

The content will be verified for accuracy using triangulation of data which includes the interviews, the current policies and the observations conducted during the interviews. The reader will be the one that determines if the research is transferable to a different setting. This will be determined as the descriptions will be noted as rich in detail and the triangulation will confirm the data. The dependability of the research will be determined if there is a noted change in conditions during the study. Confirmability will depend upon other researchers being able to confirm the findings. This will be accomplished through control of interpretation bias.

Limitations

There are several limitations to this exploratory study. Expected limitations include limited participation in the study by districts, schools, and teachers which could limit possibilities of generalizations. The results of this study are specific to teachers in the greater Atlanta area, therefore, limiting the number and scope of participants. Additionally, the number of participants’ perceptions of school violence and the study only of Atlanta and its suburbs and not in the state or nation. No data was gathered from teachers outside the designated area. Data will be collected over a two-semester span, thereby limiting both the longevity of the study as well as the potential participant pool. Teachers will participate in voluntary, and there will be no pre-screening to identify the possible existence of personal characteristics linked to school violence. Since the survey is voluntary and the number of participants limited, the findings of the study may not reflect the perceptions and beliefs of the general teacher population. The topic may make some teachers uncomfortable.

Since invitations to participate in the program were sent to gatekeepers there could be further restrictions of the pool of potential participants if they chose what schools can participate. It is anticipated there will be a low response rate. The questions may have further limitation and participants may interpret the questions differently than was intended. There is the possibility that participants falsely answer one or more questions. Additionally, once information is gathered school districts may not have the desire or the funds to fully develop a program to combat school violence. Stakeholders may not support the research thus they may not be committed to implementing a program once it is developed. Not all school districts may have a desire to address the issue of school violence or they may not value the opinions of the teachers. There is the chance that the stakeholders may not have the resources to devote to reviewing current policies or implement new ones or could be of the mindset of “if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Still, other districts may be in denial of issues or problems within their schools. Districts may find that time could be a limitation along with participation. Once problems are identified both schools and teachers must “buy-in” to the program and cooperate with the new policies to ensure district-wide consistency. Without commitment and positive reactions, students cannot see the program as important and be cooperative.

Another limitation of this study could be the approach of the study. Additional or different information could be obtained with different questions. The method of qualitative may not gain as much information as a qualitative or mixed-method study thus there is the potential of lost information. The use of a different survey design could have increase participation and obtained a more generalized representation of the teacher population. The use of one school or on county or even adding more schools as a statewide of area-wide study may have altered the results as variables would have been different. There may have been different results had only teachers from elementary, middle, or high schools been interviewed verses teachers from the district.

Core Values

This research proposal aligns with Saint Leo’s core values and the findings will further address these matters. First, excellence can be noted as school districts want to ensure positive violent free learning environments for the students they serve. These learning environments ensure students are developing character while learning life skills they will need to become responsible citizens and leaders in the community. The research is noticed in the second value of the community as the students feel safe and respected in a comfortable environment free from violence. Respect is established in this research project as schools provide environments where students are valued for their diversity and ability to learn in a pleasant atmosphere. Results from the study will allow students to develop fully establishing a balanced lifestyle. Results will also foster community resources which will be used to develop responsible adults. Finally, the research will be conducted in a manner of integrity and honesty.

Conclusion

This qualitative case study is designed in hopes to bring light to school violence and will add to the research regarding teachers’ perceptions of school violence. The topic of school violence needs to be included in school discussions as it, directly and indirectly, impacts students, school staff and the community. Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews. Then data will be analyzed through coding identifying themes. The goal is the data obtained will meet help school districts review their current school violence policies and revamp as needed or create new policies. Additionally, this data will be useful in creating training for teachers regarding identifying and being proactive in solutions regarding school violence. This qualitative study will provide valuable information which is exploratory in nature allowing for the ability to bridge and integrated the existing literature to formulate new ideas. The goal of the proposed study is to identify if indeed the perceived effectiveness of preventative programs such as zero tolerance and school resource officers regarding the feeling of safety on a school campus.

Lab Safety Essay

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Safety Precautions among Laboratory Tech

Abstract

Background:

The technicians that are working in the medical laboratories are exposed to various health hazards like infectious clinical samples & infectious waste, toxic chemicals, and fire & electrical hazards. It is important for laboratory workers to be aware of the potential hazards and ensure safety in practices. Carelessness, negligence, and unsafe practices may result in serious injuries, not only to the individual but to co-workers and patients as well.

Objectives:

To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of laboratory safety precautions among technicians working in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

Material and Methods:

The study was a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of laboratory safety precautions among technicians. A close-ended structured questionnaire was canvassed to the technicians and responses were analyzed.

Results:

A total of 30 laboratory workers participated in the study. The overall correct responses regarding knowledge of laboratory safety precautions were 74% (673/900) and practices of the same were 79% (427/540). Few (10/30) perceived BMW management as a burden and some (9/30) felt that too much effort is required to follow optimal hand hygiene.

Conclusion:

Training and re-training on Laboratory safety precautions are required along with counseling to induce a positive attitudinal change.

Keywords:

Occupational hazards, Laboratory safety, Laboratory workers, Safety precautions, Laboratory acquired infections

Introduction

The technicians that are working in the medical laboratories are exposed to various health hazards like infectious clinical samples & infectious waste, toxic chemicals, and fire & electrical hazards.

Laboratory acquired infections (LAI) are the infections that are acquired by workers while working in medical or research laboratories. The technologists working in the medical laboratories are exposed to various infectious clinical samples and may acquire an infection while processing these clinical samples. The technologist working in the microbiology laboratory are even more prone to LAI as they are not only exposed to clinical samples but also to cultures of various pathogenic micro-organisms. The most common LAI reported among staff working in medical microbiology laboratories were tuberculosis and enteric infections (1).

The risk factors that are involved in the occupational health hazards in the medical laboratory can be minimized by the use of safety devices, containment facilities, engineering control, and compliance to good clinical laboratory practices while handling infectious materials. All laboratory personnel should be sensitized to laboratory safety practices. The laboratory management should also develop a laboratory safety program and ensure adherence to the safety program to reduce the risk of occupational health hazards. Carelessness, negligence, and unsafe practices may result in serious injuries, not only to the individual but to co-workers and patients as well (1,2).

As it is important for laboratory workers to be aware of these potential hazards and ensure safety in their practices, the present study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of laboratory safety precautions among technicians working in a medical microbiology laboratory.

Material and Methods

Study Design

The study was a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of laboratory safety precautions among technicians. A close-ended structured questionnaire was canvassed to the technicians. The questionnaire was developed based on standard guidelines and updated literature (2,3,4). The questionnaire included demographic details (age, gender, qualification, experience), KAP about eating, drinking, smoking & applying cosmetics in the laboratory; mouth pipetting, standard precautions, Hand Hygiene (HH), Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) management & disposal of sharp, hazardous material, spill management, immunization, and fire safety plan. In total there were sixty-eight questions.

Site of Study

The study was conducted in the clinical microbiology laboratory of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & associated Safdarjung Hospital. The Hospital is multispecialty, tertiary care, public hospital situated in Delhi, India. The Hospital has a clinical microbiology laboratory that performs microscopy, serology, culture, identification, and sensitivity of various microorganisms by conventional and/ or molecular techniques as per standard microbiological protocols.

Inclusion Criteria

The technicians working in the clinical microbiology laboratory were included in the study. Participation in the study was on a voluntary basis. The confidentiality of the participants was ensured by avoiding the use of the name or other identifying characters.

Data Collection

The data points were coded and entered into an excel sheet for further analysis.

Ethical Considerations

The study was approved by the Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital Ethics Committee.

Results

Thirty laboratory technicians participated in the study. There were 13 male and 17 female technicians. Their age ranged from 21 to 57 years and years of experience from one to 25 years. Seventeen technicians had the qualification of BSc MLT or MSc MLT.

Figure 1 depicts the knowledge of laboratory technicians regarding laboratory safety precautions. In total there were 30 questions to assess the knowledge and overall correct responses were 74% (673/900). The majority of the technicians had knowledge that standard precautions should be taken while handling clinical samples 90% (27/30). There were more than 90% correct responses regarding knowledge about the prohibition of eating/ drinking/ smoking/ mouth pipetting/ applying cosmetics in the laboratory 92% (110/120), the requirement of wearing gloves while doing venepuncture or handling clinical samples 100% (60/60) and indications of using bio-hazard symbol 100% (60/60). Only 17% (5/30) of the technicians reported knowing about personal protective equipment and 13% (4/30) about the right duration of hand hygiene by alcohol hand rub. (Figure 1)

Figure 2 represents the practice of safety precautions as reported by the laboratory technicians while working in the clinical microbiology laboratory. In total there were 18 questions to assess the practice and overall correct responses were 79% (427/540). The majority of the technicians reported not eating/ drinking/ smoking/ applying cosmetics/ mouth pipetting in the laboratory 98% (118/120). They also reported wearing gloves during venepuncture or when handling clinical samples 98% (59/60). 63% (19/30) of the technicians were immunized against Hepatitis B (Hep B). On further questioning, it was found that these technicians indeed received the Hep B vaccine in the past but some of them were unable to recall whether they had received all three doses of the vaccine. Only 23% (7/30) reported being tested for a protective Hep B antibody titer. (Figure 2)

Figure 3 shows the attitude of the staff towards laboratory safety precautions. Overall there were 20 questions on attitude (15 on safety precautions and 5 on measures to improve HH). All technicians agreed that Hep B immunization and wearing gloves at the time of phlebotomy are essential for their safety (30/30). However, 10/30 of technicians perceived BMW management as a burden, and 9/30 perceived performing hand hygiene as too much effort to comply. (Figure 3)

Figure 4 shows the attitude towards the effectiveness of actions to improve HH in the laboratory. The majority of the technicians felt that the suggested measures will improve HH compliance in the laboratory. (Figure 4)

Discussion

Laboratory technicians are exposed to a variety of potential occupational health hazards. Although all occupational hazards are important, Laboratory acquired infections have gained much attention and undermined the other hazards that are inherent in laboratory activities. The laboratory practices also include the use of chemical reagents, gases, and solvents that may constitute a non-microbiological hazard. These agents may be explosive, flammable, or toxic, and fires, gassings & explosions may occur in laboratories. To these immediate hazards, the long-term risk involved in handling carcinogenic chemical reagents must also be added (5).

It is difficult to measure the actual risk of LAI in India. It is not mandatory to monitor or report the LAI to any professional body. Although an accredited laboratory is bound to do surveillance of LAI and take corrective and preventive action. However, it is difficult to collect surveillance data on LAI as the infections are either subclinical or have an atypical clinical presentation (6).

“International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a standard that will help organizations to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions in the medical laboratory” (7). It is important for every laboratory worker to be aware of potential hazards and safety practices. Hence the present study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of laboratory safety measures among technicians working in a clinical microbiological laboratory.

Standard precautions are developed to minimize the risk of transmission of micro-organisms from both known and unknown sources of infection like clinical samples. Hand hygiene, PPE, and proper handling of needles and sharps are components of standard precautions (8). In the present study, it was observed that the majority of the technicians had reported having good knowledge about standard precautions (90%) in contrast to the study conducted by Shekhar et al (9). However, only 17% of the technicians reported knowing about PPE and 13% about the right duration of HH by alcohol hand rub. There were only 58% correct responses regarding the right method of disposing of needles (Figure 1). This suggests that further training is required regarding the various components of standard precautions. Also, not even half of the technicians were aware of the hazardous material in their laboratory or eyewash facility.

The majority of the technicians reported practicing safety precautions while working in the laboratory. As the correct responses about the knowledge of the right way of disposing of needles were 58%, the same was reflected in the practices also (57% correct responses). The status of a protective Hep B antibody titer was known only to 23% of the technicians; hence active measures are required regarding immunization against Hep B infection.

Few studies have been done to study the behavioral pattern of laboratory workers who are more involved in laboratory accidents (10, 11). It was observed that “persons involved in the laboratory accidents tend to have low opinions of safety programs, to take excessive risks, to work too fast, and to be less aware of the infectious risks of the agents they were handling” (6). In the present study, the technicians perceived various components of laboratory safety precautions as an important measure for their own safety (Figure 3). However, few perceived BMW management as a burden, and some felt that too much effort is required to follow optimal hand hygiene. Behavioral change regarding these aspects may be incorporated into the training program of the technicians. Also, training and re-training on Laboratory safety precautions are required along with counseling to induce a positive attitudinal change, especially on BMW management and hand hygiene.

There are some limitations of the study. Firstly, the findings are based on a self-reported questionnaire and not on observations hence some bias in the results cannot be ruled out. Secondly, the study is a single department study with a small sample size. This limits the generalizability of the results.

Conclusions

The laboratory technologists had poor knowledge about personal protective equipment, alcohol-based hand rub, eyewash facility, and hazardous material. Overall staff is following good laboratory safety precautions. However behavioral change in the management of bio-medical waste and hand hygiene is required.

Why Is Lab Safety Important Essay

HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from chemical and physical hazards in the production process that can cause the unfinished product to be unsafe. Cross-contamination is a transfer of harmful bacteria from one substance to another, it causes microorganisms to food that may also occur when raw food touches cooked foods. Covid19 and food safety, Covid 19 is a disease caused by a coronavirus that was identified in 2019 and it can spread easily. Students in the lab kitchen should know about these kinds of diseases for them to keep safe including food in the kitchen.

Today the way of living has totally changed because of Covid19 that took place. Now working in a lab kitchen is no longer the same, they are rules that must be followed in terms of safety. Students in the lab kitchen should be aware of these changes as new things are being introduced such as wearing a facemask. The way students can prevent cross-contamination in a lab kitchen is to make sure they separate the equipment. Each type of food should be handled with a separate piece of equipment. The easy method to separate equipment is to use colored cutting boards. They must clean out the sink as well because when you place dishes in the sink, bacteria from the dishes transfer to the sink and bacteria can transfer to other items. Hand washing and sanitizing should also be followed to keep safe and the food must also be washed before being used such as vegetables.

Food safety in a lab kitchen is one the important thing. Students in a lab kitchen should handle and store food in a good way to best reduce the risk of individuals becoming sick from foodborne illness. Maintain a high level of hygiene, especially hand washing with hot water before handling food to ensure that your hands have no germs because germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around the kitchen. Store food properly by identifying which foods must be refrigerated. Students in a lab kitchen must also ensure which food requires washing before it is cooked. Making example, vegetables require washing with cold water before they are prepared. It is important to clean any chopping boards and other surfaces that are in contact with food to prevent bacteria from growing in a kitchen, never put cooked food on a chopping board that raw meat has touched unless it is washed.

Damp cloths, sponges, and tea towels tend to be where bacteria grow. It is important to keep them clean all the time to prevent bacteria from spreading. Social distancing in a kitchen lab should be followed by students to prevent coronavirus and students must also avoid touching their faces while dealing with food. If one student is affected by a coronavirus, all students must be checked immediately.

It is very beneficial to know about food safety in general because living a healthy life is one of the best things. Knowing that if food safety and hygiene are not maintained, students in a lab kitchen could become seriously ill with food poisoning and foodborne illness is important. I would recommend food safety in my kitchen to ensure daily healthy family living and that no one gets infected by a certain virus or bacteria. Everyone must keep safe in the kitchen and keep their place clean.

HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from chemical and physical hazards in the production process that can cause the unfinished product to be unsafe. Cross-contamination is a transfer of harmful bacteria from one substance to another, it causes microorganisms to food that may also occur when raw food touches cooked foods. Covid19 and food safety, Covid 19 is a disease caused by a coronavirus that was identified in 2019 and it can spread easily. Students in the lab kitchen should know about these kinds of diseases for them to keep safe including food in the kitchen.

Today the way of living has totally changed because of Covid19 that took place. Now working in a lab kitchen is no longer the same, they are rules that must be followed in terms of safety. Students in the lab kitchen should be aware of these changes as new things are being introduced such as wearing a facemask. The way students can prevent cross-contamination in a lab kitchen is to make sure they separate the equipment. Each type of food should be handled with a separate piece of equipment. The easy method to separate equipment is to use colored cutting boards. They must clean out the sink as well because when you place dishes in the sink, bacteria from the dishes transfer to the sink and bacteria can transfer to other items. Hand washing and sanitizing should also be followed to keep safe and the food must also be washed before being used such as vegetables.

Food safety in a lab kitchen is one the important thing. Students in a lab kitchen should handle and store food in a good way to best reduce the risk of individuals becoming sick from foodborne illness. Maintain a high level of hygiene, especially hand washing with hot water before handling food to ensure that your hands have no germs because germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around the kitchen. Store food properly by identifying which foods must be refrigerated. Students in a lab kitchen must also ensure which food requires washing before it is cooked. Making example, vegetables require washing with cold water before they are prepared. It is important to clean any chopping boards and other surfaces that are in contact with food to prevent bacteria from growing in a kitchen, never put cooked food on a chopping board that raw meat has touched unless it is washed.

Damp cloths, sponges, and tea towels tend to be where bacteria grow. It is important to keep them clean all the time to prevent bacteria from spreading. Social distancing in a kitchen lab should be followed by students to prevent coronavirus and students must also avoid touching their faces while dealing with food. If one student is affected by a coronavirus, all students must be checked immediately.

It is very beneficial to know about food safety in general because living a healthy life is one of the best things. Knowing that if food safety and hygiene are not maintained, students in a lab kitchen could become seriously ill with food poisoning and foodborne illness is important. I would recommend food safety in my kitchen to ensure daily healthy family living and that no one gets infected by a certain virus or bacteria. Everyone must keep safe in the kitchen and keep their place clean.