Safe Operation Of Plant: Hazards, Risks, And Measures Essay.

Write a six page report that is intended to provide management with an overview of what needs to be done in relation to the safe operation of plant. Your report is to cover three items of plant involving: 

• Mobile plant such as a forklift
• An item of plant operating under electric power such as an industrial lathe, and
• An item of plant operating under pressure like a pressure vessel 

Your report must identify the hazards associated with the plant, the risks involved in its operation and the measures that must be in place to control those risks. You will need to alert management to the development of safe working procedures covering both the operation of plant and any maintenance issues including permit-to-work procedures that are required. You will also need to identify any particular statutory requirements, such as registration and operator licensing, and/or where specific training needs are required for operators. 

Your objective in this undertaking is to ensure that management is fully informed about the safety measures which must be taken from the time plant is commissioned, installed and operated, giving particular regard to legal requirements for the safe operation of the plant. 

Possible hazards in the plant

In the case of health and safety of employees, the organisation has their specific measures to protect them, as their employees’ responsibility is under their authority. There are different organisational hazards in the workplace and authority have to make a secure look over this, so that undesired accidents will not happen. Abrasive blasting, abrasive material, dry abrasive blasting and wet abrasive blasting all these processes are under international act of ‘Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993’ (No. 130 of 1993). Employees’ works under the act and organisation ensures their safety and security. Migrant people will also under the same act as the process saves their life as well in organisation. The exposure standard and corporation agreement was with the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. There was a good amount of penalty as well for those, who would violate the rules and make their own provision of legal process. Occupational Safety and Health Regulation 1996 was implemented in commercialised areas (Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2015).

The paper highlights different hazards in the workplace due to the use of types of machinery. The paper also provides the safety measures in the organisation so that employees will find the right way and company will be benefitted by the uses of those equipment. In mobile plant operated areas injury through collision is a concerning aspect so preventive measures are taken for this reason. Traffic control and segregation are formed in case of controlling the risks. Forklifts, robotic arm movements, pallet jacket, earthmoving equipment, industrial lathe machine, pressure vessel and some other mechanical appendages are helps in easy acceleration in work rate in organisation.

There are different hazards in the plant that are segregated in the different genre as the mobility of the work is not the same in every situation. Unsafe and misused machinery handling is one such issue and training and skill development of employees is the major work that ensures their productivity for the organisation (Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2015). There are some biological hazards, chemical hazards that make additional stress for employees.

To manage these amount of risk confronted by the organisation, safe environment policy and safe use of equipment are used. Mechanical and non-mechanical hazards need to be controlled in a proper manner so that mitigated outcome will come in organisation (Idris et al. 2012).

Any types of machinery or equipment tool can be used in plant. There are some hazardous situations in the workplace but projected action planning will help to mitigate the risk driven by that process (Thomas 2012). The controlling process need awareness of employees and management needs to provide some training for guiding employees in a right way.

• System procedure of the work is important and employees need to take the proper approach to handle the situation. Their life sustainability is depending on the awareness and maintenance of the work safety legislation.
• The machine guiding is the important aspect to control the risk factor. There are some physical and skill level improvements from the employees and administration so that machine handling is not considered as the risk.
• Commissioning a plan before making any action will be helpful for the organisation as the process mitigate risk and also analyse for better recommendation for the sustainable development of the organisation.
• Workers’ exposure in workplace and without safeguard workers may face some difficulties in the organisation. The reasonable steps form their end is needed. OHS Act requires workers to be more practicable and skilful to avoid those hazards in workplace.

Safe working procedure in organisation

Forklift is one of the useful materials to lift industrial truck or to move materials from one place to another. However, the use of forklift in different places help in industrial sectors. In case of the workplace design, surface making and pedestrians and laid outputs this equipment are used. A readable load chart is the selection procedure of forklift. In case of hazards from forklift, operator competence need valid licencing and employees required LF or LO authorisation for that. The supervision process along with protective improvement of safe work practice is there and in case load lifting, fuel handling or storage, safe work areas, ramp and loading docks, battery charging areas safety measures need to be taken. Assortment of a forklift for practise in a poorly publicised part such as a cool stock or restricted space wants to comprise deliberation of the consume releases, the period that the forklift will be obligatory to activate and whether people are working in the extent. The hydraulic pipelines are also a hazardous aspects and activity through those pipeline need some effective steps to ensure health safety. Travel control on the neutral position setting for forklift is important, if these are not established in a right position, then chances of hazards can be created. Among truss plant apparatus, forklifts rate exceedingly in their impending to cause sombre injuries or demise to driver, associates, or onlooker (Harpur and James 2014). These process of using the equipment is an operating skill.

The industrial lathe is one of the major machines in case of making shaft design, values, or any kind of lathe related products. The centre lather, multiple-tools lathe, turret lather, capstan lathe, copy-turning lathe, automatic lathe, vertical lathe all these are important of types of lathe and functions of all these types are different. The maintenance and procedure to use the machine is a skilled process (Chan-Mok, Caponecchia and Winder 2014). Faulty equipment of metal lathe create some hazards and slow revolving axes are creating difficulties in that case. Slip and trip of lathe in workplace create hazards in many cases, so effective maintenance is needed for the development of the operational safety. Chuck key is needed to be removed before starting the lathe, else some major problem in case of start up the process will be there. No equipment will be placed on top of lathe machine, the vibrating nature can drop the machine from top and that can create hazards as well. Sense of workplace safety is needed to mitigate the injuries due to the operational process of lathe. Employees, those are able to control or handle the machine need to be appointed for the particular post. There are some accidents like power disconnection or machine space-related issues are the main reason. Other than this, the absence of auxiliary devices, unguarded belt and pulleys, flying chips hinged and sliding covers also need to control by the employees (Ketelaar et al. 2014). The reliable source of hydraulic power vent is safe rather than another source of power and the entire working zone is based on that, but the emergency situation will be there and that need to be mitigated by the effective use of technology and skill.

The safety factor of forklift

The operation of the pressure vessel is to provide sustainability of holding container that filled with liquid or gases. The ambient pressure for the liquid containers need to be handled in a proper manner and vessel operation process checked by engineering authority, which is authorised by the government (Barr and Welch 2012). The pressure can be a reason for fatal exploitation and the range of chemical uses in container will be a reason behind that. The erection, installation and commissioning use of workplace maintenance is the key approach that Schedule 4.1 ensures in that case. The plant design is the regulatory authority of the process and it readily accessible in controlling the registration of those licencing. The valve involvement and installation of vessel is the key approach and educated and skilled people are there for the acceleration of the work. The metallic or non-metallic container contains all the pressure and technician have to control the process so that fatal exploitation will not happen (Reed et al. 2013). In that case, skill use of employees is the key part and to handle and manage the situation in the workplace.

Work safe process and legal legislation due to the applied WA occupational safety is the concern reason for codes of practice. Employers’ obligation is feasible, deliver and continue a working atmosphere in which the workers are not uncovered to threats and risks (Cliff 2012). In case of licensing the process in workplace, section 3.118, which is implemented for the employees workplace safety needed to be established in that case. There are some specific options of licensing and granting the approval from the government. The specific requirement for the legislations signify health and safety process that generate better process for employees. The right to cease act or the process of discrimination act represent the OSH handling of the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, was established initially and postal service for the covered employees are there and the government has to take control over the situation (Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2015).

Conclusion

Therefore it can be concluded that safety processes are needed for the employees' safety and their working nature is under challenge if they have fear to handle any equipment in the workplace. The technological evolution and upgradation help in case of training and skill development of employees is also important in such cases. Employees have that right to maintain their health in workplace and company is liable for their protection as well. The use of the forklift, industrial lathe, and pressure vessel are some of the examples of handling the situation and skilled labour will handle the procedure in an effective manner.

References

Barr, J. and Welch, A., 2012. Keeping nurse researchers safe: workplace health and safety issues. Journal of advanced nursing, 68(7), pp.1538-1545.

Barrett, R., Mayson, S. and Bahn, S., 2014. Small firms and health and safety harmonisation: Potential regulatory effects of a dominant narrative. Journal of Industrial Relations, 56(1), pp.62-80.

Chan-Mok, J.O., Caponecchia, C. and Winder, C., 2014. The concept of workplace bullying: Implications from Australian workplace health and safety law. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 21(3), pp.442-456.

Cliff, D., 2012. The management of occupational health and safety in the Australian mining industry. Crawley, Western Australia: International Mining for Development Centre. Accessed on January, 22, p.2012.

Harpur, P. and James, P., 2014. The shift in regulatory focus from employment to work relationships: critiquing reforms to Australian and UK occupational safety and health laws. Comp. Lab. L. & Pol'y J., 36, p.111.

Idris, M.A., Dollard, M.F., Coward, J. and Dormann, C., 2012. Psychosocial safety climate: Conceptual distinctiveness and effect on job demands and worker psychological health. Safety Science, 50(1), pp.19-28.

Ketelaar, S.M., Nieuwenhuijsen, K., Bolier, L., Smeets, O. and Sluiter, J.K., 2014. Improving work functioning and mental health of health care employees using an e-mental health approach to workers' health surveillance: Pretest–posttest study. Safety and health at work, 5(4), pp.216-221.

Reed, S., Douphrate, D.I., Lundqvist, P., Jarvie, P., McLean, G., Koehncke, N., Colosio, C. and Singh, T., 2013. Occupational health and safety regulations in the dairy industry. Journal of agromedicine, 18(3), pp.210-218.

Thomas, M.J., 2012. A systematic review of the effectiveness of safety management systems (No. AR-2011-148). Canberra, Australia: Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

Worksafe.qld.gov.au 2015 Guide to machinery and equipment safety retrieved from: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/82783/guidetomachinery-equipmentsafety.pdf [Accessed on 9th October 2018]