Practitioners Often Believe Safety Knowledge-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Practitioners Often Believe Safety Knowledge? Answer: Introduction Practitioners often believe safety knowledge means an expensive formal training course. Sometimes it does, but by using reflective practice, we can create our own opportunities to develop our skills. We can creatively tap into the skills and knowledge of others professionals in various industries and beyond, to develop competency.In this module, I had the opportunity to gain competency in various industries including those, which are latent and not visible immediately, but a key part of any HSE role (Schulte et al. 2014). To become an effective practitioner, commanding the respect of other professions, we need to take a different approach) to accelerate our effectiveness in a work environment, which may be complex, conflicted and uncertain. I owe it to the people whom had come in the various classes to lecture of the various hazardous industries and share their knowledge with the class. The session was a cost effective session, which was beneficial for the entire class and me. I will now start on my learning journey of the various hazardous industries, which I believe will improvise my professionalism in workplace safety. Asbestos The first hazardous industry that I would like to talk about is the building construction industry. Since I had 6 years of experience in building construction, this session has helped me expand my knowledge regarding some of the risks that are associated with the building construction industry. Asbestos, which was widely, used in buildings, ships and plants owing to its excellent heat, chemical and fire resistance properties. However, the use of asbestos was banned in Singapore in 1988 by the Building and Construction authority due to the harmful impact it had on heath, which often resulted in serious diseases. The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) (Asbestos) Regulations 2014 has been enacted by the Minister for Manpower in exercise of the power conferred upon him under section 65 of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (Crawford et al. 2016). The regulations act as a guideline to ensure workplace and health safety of the workers engaged in activities involving asbestos-containing materials and the occupants of the building, which has asbestos-containing material. However, several old buildings in Singapore still include asbestos-containing materials, which if released into the air can affect the occupants of the building. Hence, it is important to manage asbestos used in workplaces and buildings to prevent harmful exposure of the asbestos-containing material. Since I was in the building construction industry for six years, I was already aware of the health related risks that are associated with harmful exposure of the asbestos. The guest lecturers and people who shared their experiences discussed about the various safety measures that could be adopted to prevent the risks arising out of exposure of the asbestos containing material. I learnt in details about the responsibilities that an occupier of a workplace should undertake to ensure that asbestos containing materials are removed safely that were installed in a building, plant, ship or workplace. I learnt how carrying out the removal of the asbestos in confined spaces is to be undertaken and how workers are to be equipped appropriately to prevent any heat-related hazards that may arise from working in confined places. Industrial Hygiene The next topic that is related to the workplace safety in hazardous industries is industrial hygiene. The exposure levels of workplace health hazards indicate the conditions in the work environment. Workplaces having specific hazards must maintain industrial hygiene medical and monitoring surveillance. Such surveillance shall include biological monitoring of workers who are exposed to hazardous substances or circumstances (Halford 2016). In this module, I have learnt that factories having 10 or more workers who are exposed to excessive noise must be subjected to regular monitoring of the environmental noise level once in a year. It is important to have a competent person to monitor air contaminants at workplace regularly if there is too much exposure to toxic substances. The occupiers and the employers must ensure that the employees and the workers are not exposed to toxic substances above the Permissible Exposure Levels (PEL). The people who have imparted knowledge about the monitoring and maintaining health and hygiene at workplace, talked about the legal framework that regulates the monitoring of the industrial hygiene at workplace. The Factories (medical Examinations) Regulations, stipulates that workers who are exposed to nineteen specified hazards must undergo mandatory medical examinations to be conducted by the registered and designated medical professionals. It is a known fact that every industrial worker must be subjected to periodical medical checkups, especially, those workers who are engaged in hazardous activities but this module has helped me to learn that the medical surveillance program is an important part of the integrated surveillance strategy of Singapore (Waldron 2013). The classes have helped me to understand the legal requirements of an employer to submit a notification declaring that it had successfully implemented risk management in the workplace to ensure safety of the workers. Aviation industry and CAAS aerodrome safety requirements Earlier, I only had the idea that the cabin crew play significant role in ensuring the safety of the passengers from managing unruly passengers to ensuring smooth and expeditious evacuation of passengers in the event an emergency evacuation is required. In this module, I have the opportunity to learn more about the safety measures that is required to be maintained in the aviation industry to ensure safety of the passengers and the cabin crew as well. The Civil Aviation authority of Singapore (CAAS) have introduced various systematic measures that would address the challenged faced or experienced by the flight operators yet such measures assures safety of the passengers as well as the cabin crew. The Aerodrome Safety Publication issued by CAAS purports to promote additional guidance to the aerodrome operators in formulating procedures with respect to activities that are usually conducted by the ground handling service providers so that these activities are safely conducted at its respective aerodromes (Yeun, Bates and Murray 2014). Ground handling accidents have an adverse impact upon the operations of the aircraft at the confirmed aerodromes in Singapore. In the event, I get an opportunity to work in the aviation industry; I would certainly apply this information in practice. I have learnt about the requirements stipulated by the Manual of Aerodrome Standards (MOAS) regarding the safety of the ground handling operations at confirmed aerodromes in Singapore such as Aircraft fueling; Aircraft power back, Aircraft marshalling, Aircraft towing, etc. Since the Ground Service Providers are primarily responsible for safety of the flight operations and the aerodrome operators must monitor the operations of the GSPs and ensure that people performing ground-handling operations must undertake proper trainings related to safety. This newly obtained information shall help me implement safety measures to ensure safety in the aviation industry. Electrical and Electronics regulatory agency In regards to my experience in the Construction industry, I had knowledge about the fact that when the developers and the construction companies possess a site for any development project, they usually experience inconveniences relating to the underground electricity cables that are found in the site. The activities involving electricity is the most difficult job in a construction site as it has several risks associated with it, hence it becomes pertinent to ensure that electrical equipments and systems are kept in safe place (Wells and Hawkins 2014). The employer is required to ensure that the workers who are engaged in the electrical works are prevented from coming in contact with any electrical source, as it might result in risk of shock or burn injuries caused due to faulty electrical equipment or shirt circuits. The statutory regulation that governs the prevention of hazardous risks associated with electrical works in this industry is the Electricity (Electrical Installations) Regulations which requires that every employer must ensure that the electrical works conducted in the industry are performed by licensed electrical worker of the appropriate class stipulated in the Electricity (Electrical Workers) Regulations. The information that I have obtained regarding the risks associated with the hazardous industry shall assist me in implementing the rules in compliance with the statutory framework, and enable me to improve my performance as a HSE practitioner. Marine Driving In Singapore, the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) has introduced workplace safety and health applying the systematic approach with respect to the companies in the marine industry. Since I did not have any experience in the marine industry the module proved to be very useful to me as I have gained adequate knowledge about the risks that are associated with this form of industry and the measures that are adopted in order to prevent the workers from such workplace hazards. In the marine industry, any work that is likely to jeopardize the life of any person in a shipyard or on board a ship in a harbor is considered as hazardous work. The other hazardous risks associated with the marine industry include damage caused to the ships or plant or property; contamination of the environment or injury caused to any worker, etc. The workers must be adopting a systematic approach that would ensure safety of the workers without compromising with quality of work (Feng 2013). The people who have experiences in the marine industry provided us with important information regarding the risk assessment and safe work practices prevalent in the marine industry. For ensuring that proper safety measures and risk management plan is being implemented in the marine industry, the Singapore government has passed a statutory regulation under the Workplace Safety and health (Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing) Regulations 2008. Before joining the course, I did not have any adequate knowledge about the risks associated with the marine industry. The persons experienced in dealing with such risks explained the safe work practices that are prevalent in the marine industry. In the industry, any procedure that is undertaken safely and which purports to safeguard the health and safety of any person, in case of emergency shall be considered as safety measures. Such safe work measures may include written instructions about the safety measures that should be implemented in the workplace; the instructions may be conveyed in pictorial form or by way of training. The activities being conducted in the industry shall be subject to strict monitoring and surveillance. Work Place Safety Health Legal Requirements According to the Workplace Health and Safety Act (WHS) Act, the employers, contractors and self-employed persons are under statutory obligation to manage risks at work while the employees must comply with the safe work practices in their respective workplace. The statute safeguards the workers and the employers from all forms of injuries and occupational disease that the workers and the employers may become subject to at workplace, thus creating and maintaining a workplace that healthy as well as safe for the people working in the environment (Tubosun 2015). This module has assisted me to understand the significance of the work health and safety practices at workplace. As per the legal requirement of the statute, the management department of every organization must inform the employees, suppliers and customers about the purpose of the WHS Act and that the act is binding upon the employers as well as the employees of any industry. The statute requires every organization to adopt risk management strategies to determine the risks associated with the concerned type of industry and the work activity, and then communicate the same with the contractors, employees and other relevant parties (Zou and Sunindijo 2015). The risk management regulations must be conducted in a manner that it ensures health and safety of the persons who are engaged in hazardous activities at workplace. After the proper evaluation of the risks, the company is required to implement effective measures to overcome the risks and provide the employees with a healthy and a saf e working environment. PSB and STU Certification Earlier I had knowledge about the fact that strict statutory requirements are required for occupational health and safety in all the areas where business operates. This module has provided me with information relating to Occupational health and Safety Management System OHSAS states that every employer must maintain and ensure health and safety of the employees as it should be a priority in any organization. The module has helped me enhance my information about the fact that it is imperative for any industry to verify the quality of products to avoid later complications and degrading work quality. In order to determine any issues, it is best to conduct independent testing on the various products. The early determination of issues helps the industry to avoid delays and prevent unnecessary expenses. The TUV and SUD is a world leader in product and testing certification in Singapore, which ensures safety of the industry products. I have further gained knowledge about the Standards and Conformance Framework, which requires every employer to assure quality of products and services; enhance health, safety and environmental protection and assures Trade and Market Access (Wells and Hawkins 2014). The statutory regulations governing the quality for services and products include compliance with the Consumer Protection, Consumer Goods and Safety requirements. In the process of product certification, there are various kinds of determination that is used to establish evidence for reviewing the products. The various kinds of determination include testing of the products, inspection and auditing of the products. The product certification bodies must be satisfied that the determination activities with respect to the products have been conducted in a competent and reliable manner. Facilities management, Singapore Sports Hub Facility management plays a significant role in the effective operation of the built facilities, in particular, office buildings, schools, hospitals, and housing estates. The facilities manager is responsible for performing several activities to ensure functionality of the concerned built environment. Initially, I had restricted knowledge about the functions carried out by the facility managers of the company. The significant role played by the facility managers to ensure smooth functioning of the organization includes cleaning services; lift maintenance, landscaping and pest control. The activities performed by the Facility managers have various risks associated with workplace hazards, which includes trips and slips, electrical accidents and falls, etc. Under such circumstances, it becomes imperative to introduce safety measures to prevent the workers and the customers from unwanted accidents and injuries (Safety 2016). The Work Health and Safety Act has set up guidelines that deals with the proper management of the issues and concerns related to the facility management of any organization. The Facility management must ensure that the building and the people occupying it have access to safety in the event of any emergency. The module has helped me learned to what extent facility management is responsible for ensuring safety of the occupants, staffs and reduce risks associated with emergencies. The facilities management of the Singapore Sports Hub strives to manage and improve operational procedures, conduct periodical surveys and make necessary recommendations to improve services. The staffs or members of the company must comply with the statutory requirements and policies to ensure safety and health of the workers and the employers of the company. General Industry Singtel Facilities management The Singtel Group is well-known to be the leading communication group in Asia and the primary responsibility and duties of the management is to look after the planning and execution of the building and the ME projects that ensures smooth functioning of the organization and the and safety of the workers and the staffs in the organization (Tubosun 2015). We were provided with the information related to the responsibilities of the facilities management, which is to organize, plan and comply with necessary protocols that is mandatory to maintain the physical structure, mechanical, electrical, fire alarm and other emergency options to provide an effective and safe operating working condition to the employees and staffs of the company. The facility management is required to manage and act as a guide in implementing and smooth functioning of the site systems and building infrastructure. As it is already a well-known fact that the facility management is accountable for maintaining mechanical, electrical, architectural and civil areas and implementing the smooth functioning of the same (Teo et al. 2015). The other essential information that I have learnt from this module through the people who have been kind enough to share their experiences in these workplaces, is that the facility management is also responsible for developing policies and procedures relating to the engineering construction, safety management that would be beneficial for the members and the staffs of the organizations. The facility management of the Singtel Group establishes an Emergency Planning Committee and has a Fire Safety Advisor; written emergency plan and set up Emergency Control Organization to ensure access to safety during emergency. The facility managers of any organization must encourage a safety culture and ensure that they are safe in the workplace. Overview of the course The reflective statements on the above-discussed topics demonstrate the importance of the work and safety practices in various hazardous industries irrespective of the risks associated with each of the industries. It can be inferred from the information that I have received with the help of this module, that in order to become an effective practitioner, it is imperative to possess adequate knowledge about the workplace safety practice. This is because an adequate knowledge of workplace safety practices can be implemented in the work environment irrespective of the complex and uncertain nature of work environment, in the practical world. While the knowledge imparted by the experienced people has provided me with sufficient information about the hazardous industries, initially I faced minor difficulty in understanding the hazardous risks that are associated in the other industries other than those, which I have, work experience due to the lack of adequate knowledge about such industries. Nevertheless, I am thankful to all those people who shared their knowledge with the class that enabled me to broaden my knowledge about such industries. Since I have work experiences in construction industry and the oil and gas industry, I was aware of some of the basic safety practices that are prevalent in the workplaces to prevent the risks that are associated with the industries, which helped me to identify some of the hazards and control measures related to the industries. 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