Workplace Safety Essay: Breach And Prevention Measures.

Read the online article at the following link:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/construction-company-fined-1-million-over-workplace-death/6708032

In an essay describe the workplace, the hazards and how this safety breach could have been avoided. What actually happened and how did SAFEWORK resolve this issue? What could have been done differently and how would you address this if you worked in this workplace?

Your assignment will be assessed on the following:

• Depth of discussion on the safety aspects leading to the incident
• Discussion of the response to the incident and how safety could be improved.

Hazards Associated with the Workplace

Health and safety are the two words which every individual rather tend to take seriously and they are right in doing so considering their value and importance. Health and Safety play a vital role in the well-being of every individual and in the overall quality of life of every individual. In case of workplaces, health and safety of the individuals of the employees of the company must be the top priority of every organization and above everything else and the healthy being and safety being of the employees of the company also determine the success and failure of a business organization. Regardless of any sector, the chances of accidents are always present for every organization. It is observed that while some industries or organizations presents more chances of an organization than other industries or organization, but the bottom line remains the same regarding the occurrence of accidents and therefore every organization should have strict and distinct protocols in place in order to address various health and safety related hazards in the workplace on the employees as well on the visitors at the workplaces. Every organization can ensure the safety of their employees and workers in the workplace by developing several laws and protocols regarding Workplace Health and Safety and also by implementing various Health and Safety Measures in place in the organizations which will help in reducing the impact of the damages and hazards caused by various accidents in the workplace and will also help in promoting the well-being of the workers and prevention of any kind of serious injuries or deaths of any employee or visitors. Organizations must also invest in various certification courses of the members or individual who are in charge of Workplace Health and Safety in the organization so that they can learn about various new techniques and strategies which will help in the mitigation of various health and safety related issue in the organization and will help in promoting the well-being of the employees and also the visitors of the organization.

This report focuses on the analysis of one such incident of serious safety breaches which occurred in Canberra, which was caused due to the negligence of an organization regarding Workplace Health and Safety, which eventually led to the tragic death of a Truck driver, who was responsible for transportation of materials to the company site and also provides insights regarding what could have been done in order to avoid such circumstances and what approach should have been taken to deal with the situation by the organization.

Safety Breach Analysis

As reported by Byrne (2015 a) Kenoss Contractors was a construction company in Canberra, Australia who were contracted by ACT government for road re-surfacing works at the intersection of Barry Drive and Clunies Ross Street in Turner and the project was known popularly as “Barry Drive Project.” According to information in Jade (2018) during the time of the incident Kenoss Contractors had only one Director named Mrs. Beverly Brendas and her husband named Mr. Spiros Brendas, who was employed as the general manager of the company. Their son Mr. Dimitri Brendas was employed as the safety officer of the company despite having no qualification or experience regarding management of safety system. Mr. Munir al Hasani, a well-qualified person who was managing several projects of the company was the project manager of the “Barry Drive” project. Mr. Sandeep Thorat was the project engineer of the company for the Barry Drive Project and Mr. Louis Clarke was the general foreman of the Barry Drive project of the company.

As reported by Taylor (2015) the Hazards which were associated with the Barry Drive Project was that the Kenoss Contractors used two compounds which were used for storage of materials and piping that were required for the storage. As reported by Byrne (2014) the employees of the company were asked to use the larger compound mainly for the storage of the materials required for the purpose of the Barry Drive project. Also employees of the company were asked by the Foreman of the project to not use the second compound of the site as it was considered to be dangerous due to the presence of low hanging high tension electric wires which could result in electrocution.

The safety breach could have been avoided if there were appropriate danger signs and safety signs on the smaller compound of the company, where the high tension wires lied at a lower level. As reported by Byrne (2015 c) the safety breach could have been avoided if the safety officer in consultation with the project manager would have provided necessary information regarding the presence of low level high tension wires that could have alerted the truck driver. As reported by Byrne (2015 b) the safety breach could also have been avoided if the entrance to the second compound was guarded. A safety guard appointed at compound could have provided necessary information to the truck driver regarding the presence of a low level high tension wire so that the truck driver could have taken necessary precaution. As reported by Taylor (2015) the safety breach could also have been avoided if the company restricted the entrance to the second compound limited to only the visitors. As the truck driver was not an employee of the company it was difficult for him to know the hazards and risks which were associated with dumping materials in the second compound being used in the Barry Drive Project. However, the labourers who were working in the Barry Drive project were all aware of the associated hazard. So if only the employees and labourers of the company were granted access to the second compound of the Barry Drive project and rest visitors would not have been granted access, then the safety breach could have been avoided.

Resolution of the Issue

As reported by Knaus (2015 b) Mr. Michael Booth who was a truck driver at the David O’ Melly truck hiring service was in charge for dumping load of materials in the Barry Drive project of the Kenoss Contractors for the second time in the day. Moreover according to Williams (2012) when Mr Booth entered the Barry Drive project he was signalled by Mr. Clarke, the foreman of the project to dump the materials for the second time in the main compound of the project. But later without any obvious reasons Mr. Clarke instructed Mr Booth to dump the materials in the second compound without providing him any information about the hazards within second compound. Hence in lack of warning Mr Booth entered the second compound alone without being alerted about the danger associated with it and while tipping his load the bucket of the truck either came in close contact or in direct contact with the low lying high tension wires which led to the death of the truck driver as a result of electrocution (Byrne., 2015 d)

As reported by Knaus (2015 a) SAFEWORK resolved the issue by taking strict actions against Kenoss Contractors and against Munir al Hasani, the project manager of the Barry Drive project. Upon investigation it was found that the company had not implemented adequate workplace health and safety measures at their sites so as to safeguard the well-being of their employees and visitors. As reported by Inman (2015) the investigation also charged Munir al Hasani of not performing his responsibility in adequate manner which led to the tragic accident at the project site. But during trial of case he was not found guilty as he lacked the necessary qualification and experience which was required to charge him as a guilty or to address him as an officer. As reported by Byrne (2015 e) though Munir al Hasani was deemed to be non-guilty but the company was fined $1.1 million as penalty for failing to implement the workplace health and safety policy in their company as laid down by the government which led to the tragic death of the truck driver.

In this case the company could have taken the matter in a more sensitive manner which would have helped in sorting out the issue without any complications. After the incident the company could have fired the foreman Mr Clarke and also could have asked resignation of the safety officer by issuing a show cause notice to Munir al Hasani. As opined by Alfers, Xulu & Dobson (2016) the company could have also provided compensation to the family of the truck driver as a gesture of apology and could have asked for forgiveness from the family regarding the death of the truck driver. As stated by Casey, Riseborough & Krauss (2015) the company also could have provided a job to any member of the family or could have taken responsibility for securing the future of the dependents of Mr Booth. By taking a sensitive approach the company could have escaped the huge amount of penalty which was imposed by the Industrial Court as a result of violation of the new laws and policies related to workplace health and safety.

Prevention Measures

If I would have worked there, the first and foremost thing that I should have done was arranging for installation of safety signals and symbols at the various site location where the project was in line. Particularly for those sites which were hazardous to the workers and visitors of the company. As stated by Buhai, Cottini & Westergaard?Nielsen (2017) the next thing that I should have done was evaluating the hazards which were associated with the various sites of the company and would have arranged for session so as to alert the workers regarding the hazards and the potential mitigation strategies for prevention. According to Uroševi?Snežana, Stefanovi?Violeta & ?or?evi? Dragan (2016) the next thing which I would have done in this case was to request the top management of the company to appoint an experienced and trained safety officer. The role of the officer would have been to look after the safety arrangements of the company and taking necessary steps to abide by the laws and policies laid down by the government regarding workplace health and safety.

Conclusion

From the above report was clear and evident that lack of safety measures in place at the work site of the company was responsible for the death of the truck driver. From the report it was also clear that the company was unable to pay the fine as ordered by the court due to insolvency. Also it was inferred that the main individuals who were accused by the court were proven not-guilty due to their limited knowledge regarding the situation and its consequences. But the decision of the Industrial court had sent a strong message to other organizations regarding consequences of safety breaches which would ensure that all organizations pay equal importance to the health and safety-being of their workers just like any other important function of the company such as sales and marketing. Based on the analysis of the above case study it was also concluded that the company which was responsible for such a tragic incident had a very poor corporate culture and the individuals who were responsible for looking after the workplace health and safety policy were not qualified enough to hold such important and responsible post in the company. This resulted in the occurrence of such accident in the company. Based on the analysis of the above situation it could also be said that the adoption of simple and affordable methods regarding workplace health and safety could have avoided such a tragic accident. From the above report it was also clear and evident that the safety breaches which led to the tragic accident of the truck driver could have been easily avoided if the company undertook the matter of employee health and safety at top priority. It is also clear and evident that the company could have approached the situation in a sensitive and different manner which could have resulted in the reduction of the amount of fine for the company but instead they approached the situation in such a way that resulted in more strict penalties for the company. Further it could be also concluded that the verdict which was passed by the Industrial Court ACT regarding the above mentioned accident would serve as an eye-opener to other organizations not withstanding to health and safety measures appropriately. This incident had served as a landmark to all other similar cases as this was the first case whose verdict was based on new nationally harmonized work health safety laws.

References

Alfers, L., Xulu, P., & Dobson, R. (2016). Promoting workplace health and safety in urban public space: reflections from Durban, South Africa. Environment & Urbanization, 28(2), 391–404. Retrieved from doi: 10.1177/0956247816647845

Buhai, I., Cottini, E., &Westergaard?Nielsen, N. (2017). How Productive Is Workplace Health and Safety? Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 119(4), 1086–1104. Retrieved from doi:10.1111/sjoe.12184

Byrne., E (2014) Canberra man says he is penniless ahead of legal action over workplace death. ABC NewsRetrieved from - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-29/man-says-he-is-penniless-ahead-of-action-over-workplace-death/5927306

Byrne., E (2015 a) ACT company Kenoss found guilty of breaching work safety laws after truck driver's electrocution. ABC NewsRetrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-23/kenoss-company-found-guilty-over-truck-drivers-electrocution/6568268

Byrne., E (2015 b) Canberra foreman denies lying over company report into truck driver Michael Booth's death.ABC NewsRetrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-24/foreman-denies-lying-over-involvement-in-company-report/6256630

Byrne., E (2015 c) Canberra project manager blames victim for workplace death during road resurfacing project. ABC News Retrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-27/canberra-project-manager-blames-victim-for-workplace-death/6270404

Byrne., E (2015 d) Canberra truck driver electrocuted because contractor failed to provide safe workplace, court told. ABC News Retrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-23/turner-truck-driver-electrocuted-unsafe-workplace-court-hears/6220392

Byrne., E (2015 e) Safety officer in Canberra workplace death had no formal qualifications, court told.ABC News Retrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-24/safety-officer-in-canberra-workplace-death-had-no-qualifications/6229212

Casey, T., Riseborough, K., & Krauss, A. (2015). Do you see what I see? Effects of national culture on employees’ safety-related perceptions and behaviour. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 78(C), 173–184. Retrieved from doi:10.1016/j.aap.2015.03.010

Inman., M (2015)Kenoss Contractors fined $1.1 million for workplace death. The Canberra TimesRetrieved from - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/kenoss-contractors-fined-11-million-for-workplace-death-20150819-gj2fra.html

Jade (2018) INDUSTRIAL COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. Jade Case Trace Retrieved from - https://www.jade.io/article/416350

Knaus., C (2015 a) Kenoss blamed electrocuted driver for own death, despite alleged safety breaches. The Canberra TimesRetrieved from - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/kenoss-blamed-electrocuted-driver-for-own-death-despite-alleged-safety-breaches-20150224-13n72i.html

Knaus., C (2015 b) Project manager cleared in Kenoss electrocution death case. The Canberra TimesRetrieved from -https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/project-manager-cleared-in-kenoss-electrocution-death-case-20150623-ghvduo.html

Taylor., G (2015 ) Canberra construction company fined $1.1 million over death of truck driver.ABC NewsRetrieved from -https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/construction-company-fined-1-million-over-workplace-death/6708032

Uroševi?Snežana, Stefanovi?Violeta, &?or?evi? Dragan.(2016). ANALYSIS OF THE WORKING CONDITIONS WITH CONSIDERATION-HAZARD POTENTIAL HEALTH AND SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY. Annals of the University of Oradea: Fascicle of Textiles, (1), 213–218. Retrieved from https://doaj.org/article/85605731871644e7af3885eea25fbaa4

Williams., J (2012) Gunning man dies after site incident. The Canberra TimesRetrieved from - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/gunning-man-dies-after-site-incident-20120328-1vz39.html