Procedures In Accident Investigation And Reporting Practiced Construction Essay

Procedures In Accident probe And Reporting Practiced Construction EssayChapter 1 IntroductionBackground of the taskSection 15 (1) of the Occupational foreseeative and wellness Act 1994 (Act 514) says It shall(a) be the duty of every employer and every self-employed person to ensure, so far as is practicable, the safety, health and welf be at plow of all his employees. It is a well known fact that no matter how trustworthy and well established a billet safety program is, calamitys do happened from time to time. There argon many factors that contribute to these misfortunes, not to mention the degree of severity and it is the romp of the sanctuary and Health police officer to determine precisely what really happens when an happening occur.It is important to conduct accident probes with accident prevention in mind. Investigations atomic number 18 NOT to gear up blame. Too often investigations degenerate into fingerprinting, blame fixing and fault-finding exercises beca intention the persons involved do not understand the reasons for or real value which tin buns be gained from good accident investigations. Accident/ disaster investigations atomic number 18 a tool for un going hazards that either were missed earlier or feature managed to slip out of the controls plotted for them.It is also important to brace a standardized and appropriate structure of accident investigation and insurance coverage in order to get an accurate vista of what really transpired in an accident. Inaccuracies will most likely point to the prostitute deliver of accidents and this will inadvertently pose errors in deduction and also the wrong recommendations being made for the mitigation steps. In order to get a true representation and a clear picture of what causes an accident, there must be a standard in carrying out investigation, standard perfoma to be used, a set of general questions to be asked and equipments to help a Safety and Health Officer in carrying out his duties.By having a standard operating surgery for accident investigation and reporting, and with the help from the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH), statistics could be derived and study contributors to accidents could be identified and properly studied mitigation steps could be wreakulated. This will undoubtedly benefit the industry as a whole.Problem pedagogyWhat is an accident? Accident can be defined as an unplanned and uncontrolled event that led to, or could have led to injury to persons, price to property/plant/equipment, and impairment to the environment or some other loss to the company.Problem that was observed at the Senai Pasir Gudang Desaru state highway with regards to accident reporting is the conference breakdown that occurs where the personnel involved does not know whom to call in a case of an emergency or fatality. Could this be because of insufficient training? miss induction courses? Ineffective tool-box concussion? This paper will try to f ind the root cause of this conference breakdown and in doing so will hopefully purify on the accident reporting and investigation procedures.The Research FrameworkWe gather up to have a good understanding of the existing research results, on which to build new and relevant research activities for Occupational Safety and Health approaches. We also need to understand the appropriate research approaches for producing new knowledge. To make these activities manageable, we use a research framework. A research framework defines the categories of outputs that research can produce. It also defines a set of different research activities. Moreover, it defines what kind of research activities can be used to produce specific outputs.In tackling the questions brought herewith, a combination of primary information obtained from real research undertaken at site in the form of questionnaires and interviews involving personnel from specific department of a company and secondary data from mater ials taken from magazines, newspapers, internet etc will be used. Data derived from both of these data skill activities will hopefully answers some of the questions to the problems faced by the Safety Officers and Supervisors at site.Objective of StudyThe objectives of the study undertaken ar toTo standardized the accident or misfortune reporting and investigating procedures in effect(p) at siteTo address any shortcomings concluded from the study undertakenTo ascertain the accident report mechanism currently practiced at siteResearch QuestionsSpecial consideration has to be taken in asking questions about accidents reporting and investigation. In order to ascertain where the communication breakdown occurs in an event of an accident, the main question that needs to be asked isDo you know whom to call in case of an emergency?Is the Emergency speck List prominently displayed at the site office or the work place?Have you been given proper induction training before offset work?Have you been given talks on what to do in an accident at your workplace?These questions have to be asked to workers of many ethnicity and considerations have to be given to the sensitivity of different cultures and religions.Significance of StudyIt is hoped that after conclusions have been made from the study undertaken, the accident reporting and investigation procedures could be further improve in line with the Occupational Safety and Health Management principles.Scope of StudyThis study encompasses the accident reporting and investigation procedures practiced at the Senai Pasir Gudang Desaru Expressway project. Two fatalities have been recorded at the worksite thus far and improvement to the overall work safety is of par bill importance to avoid any more than than fatalities.Accidents can yield positive results if we learn from what went wrong and prevent a reoccurrence. To achieve this we need to investigate the pot that led to the accident and report, record, analyses and cor rect its effects. explanation of TermsBelow argon the definitions of terms used for the purpose of this study.SAFETY AND HEALTH OFFICER a person appointed by the contractor at site to be answerable for maintaining safety and protection against accidents. This person shall have the authority to issue instructions and take pro sprightly measures to prevent accidents.HOT tame use of open flames, other heat sources and/or spark-producing devices where there is a potential for explosion or fire.INCIDENT an undesirable event, which has the potential to cause a full accident.LOSS PREVENTION a before-the-loss procedure designed to identify and correct potential causes of accidents before they result in essential injuries or financial loss.MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET a summary sheet supplied by the chemical manufacturers that identifies the hazards, proper handling procedures and emergency treatment for a specific chemical.REGULATION a rule, ordinance, law, legal regulation or de vice by which conduct or performances is controlled.SAFE WORK PERMIT a permit issued as a written record by which the employer or employee in charge of a unit, equipment, building or area authorizes a worker and/or mob to do a specific job at the worksite. It identifies the safe work practices required for the type of work to be performed in the specified job location. undecomposed INCIDENT a life endangering event to people, property and environment, such as major collapse of structure or plant or any incident causing multiple injuries to workers.SUB-CONTRACTOR a business, firm, partnership, consultant or individual hired by the Contractor to perform a specific task or job or any business, firm, partnership, consultant or individual, other than employees of the Contractor, working on or around Contractors property.VISITOR any person temporarily on the worksite who is not regularly involved in the daily worksite activities. This includes, but is not limited to, delivery personn el, invited guest, the general public, etc.WILL, SHALL OR MUST to be understood as a mandatory condition.Chapter 2 Accident Investigation and ReportingIntroductionThe failure of people, equipment, supplies, or surroundings to behave or react as evaluate causes most of them. Accident investigations determine how and why these failures occur. By using the information gained through an investigation, a alike, or perhaps more disastrous, accident may be prevented. It is important to conduct accident investigations with prevention in mind.Definition of Accident Investigation and ReportingThe term accident can be defined as an unplanned event that interrupts the completion of an activity, and that may (or may not) include injury or property damage.An incident commonly refers to an unexpected event that did not cause injury or damage this time but had the potential. Near miss or dangerous occurrence is also terms for an event that could have caused deadening but did not.Accidents occu r when hazards escape detection during preventive measures, such as a job or process safety depth psychology, when hazards are not obvious, or as the result of combinations of circumstances that were difficult to foresee. A thorough accident investigation may identify previously overlooked physical, environmental, administrative, or process hazards, the need for new or more extensive safety training, or unsafe work practices. The primary focus of any accident investigation should be the use of the facts surrounding the incident and the lessons that can be learned to prevent future similar occurrences.Importance of Accident Investigation and ReportingThe first priority whenever an accident occurs is to deal with the emergency and ensure that any injuries or illnesses receive prompt medical attention. The accident investigation should begin immediately thereafter. This ensures that details of what occurred will be fresh in peoples minds and that witnesses dont influence one another b y talking about the accident. It also minimizes the likelihood that important evidence is not moved, lost, taken, destroyed, or impel away before the scene has been thoroughly inspected. There are indeed significant gains from good quality accident investigations. Most importantly, accident investigation are carried out to find out the cause of accidents and to prevent similar accidents in the future. Apart from this, accident investigation is also carried out to learn from what went wrong. Determination of the cause of the accident is also an important factor. Preventing recurrence of the accident, improving the work environment, compliance of regulatory requirements, finding out the cost of the accident, to fulfil moral obligation, defining trends, purvey of information in case of litigation, reduction of operating costs by control of accidental losses and to express concern by the management are some of the importance of carrying out an effective accident investigation and repo rting.ConclusionAll accidents should be investigated. The depth and complexity of the investigation will vary with the circumstances and seriousness of the accident. The Safety Officer or other individual responsible for operations involved in an accident should ensure that an investigation is conducted and that when appropriate, corrective actions are taken. Incidents that involve no injury or property damage should still be investigated to determine the hazards that should be corrected. The same principles apply to a quick enquiry of a minor incident and to the more formal investigation of a serious event.Note The term incident is used in some situations and jurisdictions to cover both an accident and incident. It is argued that the word accident implies that the event was related to fate or chance. When the root cause is determined, it is commonly found that many events were predictable and could have been prevented if the right actions were taken making the event not one of fa te or chance (thus, the word incident is used). For simplicity, we will use the term accident to mean all of the above events.When accidents are investigated, the emphasis should be concentrated on finding the root cause of the accident rather than the investigation procedure itself so we can prevent it from happening again. The purpose is to find facts that can lead to actions, not to find fault. Always look for deeper causes. Do not exclusively record the steps of the event.Chapter 3 MethodologyIntroductionThe important criteria in adopting a research methodology should depend on what information we need to stack away in order to make an informed conclusion to questions that arises from problems that needs to be addressed. The more focused we are about what we requirement to gain by our research, the more effective and efficient we can be in our research, the shorter the time it will take us and ultimately the less it will cost us (whether in your own time, the time of your emp loyees and/or the time of a consultant).There are trade offs, too, in the breadth and depth of information we get. The more breadth we want, usually the less depth well get (unless we have a great deal of resources to carry out the research).Study LocationThe study location would be the project site of the Senai-Pasir Gudang-Desaru Expressway with emphasis on the personnel involved at the work site. These personnel would be the Safety and Health Officer and Supervisor, the work supervisors and foremen whom are responsible over several workers.QuestionnaireQuestionnaires are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents. Often they are the only feasible way to reach a number of reviewers large enough to allow statistically analysis of the results. A well-designed questionnaire that is used effectively can gather information on both the overall performance of the test system as well as information on specific components of the system. If the question naire includes demographic questions on the participants, they can be used to correlate performance and satisfaction with the test system among different groups of users.For the purpose of this study, I have prepared a simple questionnaire directed at key personnel at the work site with questions encompassing various aspects of occupational safety and health such as written safety and health program, managers responsibility, supervisors responsibility, safety managers role, employees, safety committees, safety and health inspection, regulatory compliance, safety and health training, injury and illness prevention activities, accident investigation and reporting and lastly on emergency preparedness. A sample of this questionnaire is attached together with this project paper in appendix 1.Analysis of DataWhen analyzing data from questionnaires, always start from review of the research goals, i.e., the reason we undertook the research in the first place. This will help us organize our d ata and focus our analysis. For example, if we want to improve a program by identifying its strengths and weaknesses, we can organize data into program strengths, weaknesses and suggestions to improve the program. If we want to fully understand how our program works, we could organize data in the chronological order in which customers or clients go through our program. If we are conducting a performance improvement study, we can categorize data jibe to each measure associated with each overall performance result, e.g., employee learning, productivity and results.Chapter 4 Research ResultsIntroductionA total of 10 questionnaires have been distributed to Safety Officers/Supervisors at the Senai Pasir Gudang Desaru Expressway project site and various other project sites in Melacca and Kuala Lumpur to gauge the accident investigation and reporting mechanism. Out of the 10 questionnaires given out, 8 responded. The sample of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix I.Respondence Bac kgroundAll of the respondence are qualified Safety Officers and Safety Supervisors appointed by their several(prenominal) companies and are registered with the Department of Safety and Health Malaysia (DOSH) or at least have attended courses conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Malaysia. They were chosen as respondence base on their vast experience and knowledge on Construction Safety and Health issues. It is hoped that their valuable feedback could improve the accident reporting and investigation procedures practiced at their respective site.Research OutcomeResponse from the questionnaires is tabulated and the result is shown in the spreadsheet below.NoDescriptionRespondentYESNOYES %1 compose Safetya. Management commitment880 light speedb. Safety performance standard85362.5c. Employee involvement880 cytosined. Written safety rules/procedures880 cokee. Safety inspection87187.5f. acquittance prevention880 carbong. Regulatory compliance880 s peed of lighth. Safety and health training880 cytosinei. Accident reporting/investigation86275j. Safety and health promotion880100k. Return to work policy81712.5Average YES85.22Do Managersa. Conduct/attend safety meetings86275b. Review serious accidents/near misses880100c. Ensure supervisors accountable84450d. Conduct safety inspection86275e. Recognize safety performance82625f. result safety training session82625g. Talk to employees about safety86275h. stick to safety rules and procedures87187.5i. Require supervisors to complete one safety project/year8080j. Encourage supervisors to attend outside safety training86275k. Provide adequate resource for accident prevention85362.5l. Include safety in supervisors job description/performance84450m. Review the quality of accident investigation reports86275Average YES59.63Do Safety Officers/Supervisorsa. Conduct safety meetings with their employees880100b. Perform safety inspections of their department880100c. Take appropriate action(s) to correct safety rules880100d. Talk to their employees880100e. Promptly complete and submit accident investigation reports880100f. take to heart supervisory safety training programs880100g. Conduct periodic planned safety observations880100h. Identify and complete at least one safety project annually83537.5i. Review and respond promptly to employee suggestions880100j. Initiate immediate action(s) to correct unsafe conditions/acts880100Average YES93.754Do Safety Managera. Conduct formal safety and health inspections84450b. Encourage employees to submit safety suggestions8080c. Attend at least one departmental safety meeting each quarter880100d. record in investigation of serious injuries/near misses880100e. Coordinate regulatory compliance activities84450f. Conduct safety training for employees/supervisors82625g. Conduct induction training880100h. Attend 1-2 professional development courses annually880100i. Review accident statistics and workers compensation costs880100j. Serve as C hairperson or member of the Safety Committee880100Average YES72.55Do employeesa. Follow all established safety rules and procedures86275b. Report unsafe conditions/accidents to their supervisor87187.5c. Attend all required safety training programs880100d. Submit safety suggestions82625e. Maintain proper housekeeping at their work place86275Average YES72.56Safety Committeesa. Do your company have an active safety committee880100b. If yes, does the Safety Committeei. Perform safety inspections880100ii. adjoin at least quarterly880100c. Review all serious accidents880100i. propose safety program improvement880100ii. Monitor safety program effectiveness880100iii. Take timely action on safety suggestion86275iv. Maintain and publish minutes of each meeting880100Average YES96.97Injury/Illness Prevention Activitiesa. Does your company use engineering controls and/or administrative controls to prevent or control workplace injuries and illnesses880100b. Does your company use safety posters, health fairs etc to promote health and safety880100c. Has a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) been completed for each hazardous job880100d. Has your company developed an effective ergonomics program82625e. Are safety and health requirements and concerns considered when purchasing new machines, equipment and chemical products880100Average YES858Accident Reporting and Investigationa. Are all workplace injuries and illnesses reported and investigated880100b. Are near misses and vehicle-related accidents reported and investigated880100c. Have all supervisors and managers been trained in accident investigation procedures880100d. Are Safety Officers/Supervisors required to complete a separate Accident Investigation Report880100e. Are incomplete reports returned to the appropriate Safety Officers/Supervisors880100f. Are accident prevention programs and activities establish upon an analysis of accident reports and injury and illness rates86275Average YES95.89Emergency posednessa. Does your compan y have a current Emergency Response Plan880100b. Are emergency phone numbers and building maps/site maps posted880100c. Do all personnel know how to respond to an emergency such as fire86275d. Do your company conduct periodic disaster drills84450e. Are alarms tested at least once per month880100Average YES85%Main Elements StudiedThe main elements studied are the Accidents Investigation and Reporting procedures. The targeted questions with respect to this area are as below-Does your company have a current written safety and health program that addresses the pursual elements?i. Accident reporting and investigation? (75% answered YES)Do managersm. Review the quality of accident investigation reports? (75% answered YES)3. Do safety officers/supervisorse. Promptly complete and submit accident investigation reports? (100% answered YES)4. Do safety managersd. Participate in the investigation of serious injuries and near misses? (100% answered YES)5. Do employeesb. Report unsafe conditions and accidents to their safety officers/supervisors? (87.5% answered YES)6. Safety committeesc. Review all serious accidents? (100% answered YES)8. Accident reporting and investigationAll questions in this section are relevant to the topic discussed. (Average YES 95.8%)9. Emergency PreparednessAll questions in this section are relevant to the topic discussed. (Average YES 85%)Generally almost all of the respondents reported positively on aspects of accident investigation and reporting in their respective companies. From having a clear written policies to having an emergency response plan in place are sure signs that accident investigation and reporting are taken ill and thus, the standards of safety and health could only improve.Chapter 5 ConclusionIntroductionWith every company taking a serious stand on aspects of safety and health at the work site, so does accident investigation and reporting procedures. From the feedback gathered through questionnaires, the accident investigat ion and reporting mechanism are properly in placed and practiced.DiscussionAccidents are usually complex. An accident may have 10 or more events that can be causes. A detailed analysis of an accident will normally reveal three cause levels basic, indirect, and direct. At the lowest level, an accident results only when a person or object receives an amount of energy or hazardous material that cannot be absorbed safely. This energy or hazardous material is the DIRECT CAUSE of the accident. The direct cause is usually the result of one or more unsafe acts or unsafe conditions, or both. Unsafe acts and conditions are the INDIRECT CAUSES or symptoms. In turn, indirect causes are usually traceable to poor management policies and decisions, or to personal or environmental factors. These are the BASIC CAUSES.In spite of their complexity, most accidents are preventable by eliminating one or more causes.Accident investigations determine not only what happened, but also how and why. The inform ation gained from these investigations can prevent recurrence of similar or perhaps more disastrous accidents. Accident investigators are interested in each event as well as in the sequence of events that led to an accident. The accident type is also important to the investigator. The recurrence of accidents of a particular type or those with common causes shows areas needing special accident prevention emphasis.The actual procedures used in a particular investigation depend on the nature and results of the accident. The agency having jurisdiction over the location determines the administrative procedures. In general, responsible officials will appoint an individual to be in charge of the investigation. The investigator uses most of the following steps1. Define the scope of the investigation.2. Select the investigators. Assign specific tasks to each (preferably in writing).3. Present a preliminary briefing to the investigating team, includinga. Description of the accident, with dama ge estimates.b. Normal operating procedures.c. Maps (local and general).d. Location of the accident site.e. List of witnesses.f. Events that preceded the accident.4. predict the accident site to get updated information.5. Inspect the accident site.a. Secure the area. Do not disturb the scene unless a hazard exists.b. Prepare the necessary sketches and photographs. commemorate each carefully and keep accurate records.6. Interview each victim and witness. Also interview those who were present before the accident and those who arrived at the site in short after the accident. Keep accurate records of each interview. Use a tape recorder if desired and if approved.7. Determinea. What was not normal before the accident?b. Where the abnormalcy occurred.c. When it was first noted.d. How it occurred.8. Analyze the data obtained in step 7. Repeat any of the prior steps, if necessary.9. Determinea. Why the accident occurred.b. A likely sequence of events and equiprobable causes (direct, ind irect, basic).c. Alternative sequences.10. Check each sequence against the data from step 7.11. Determine the most likely sequence of events and the most probable causes.12. Conduct a post-investigation briefing.13. Prepare a summary report, including the recommended actions to prevent a recurrence.Distribute the report according to applicable instructions.An investigation is not