Report on Cheapo Oils' Health and Safety Issues.

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Anthea Carlisle                      Principals of Health & Safety Management                         Assignment 1                

Report on Cheapo Oils’ Health and Safety Issues

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Anthea Carlisle

The following report is based on a company called Cheapo Oil and the main safety issues faced by the company. Cheapo Oil is an oil Supplier for domestic users. They store approximately 200,000 litres of oil, have 8 delivery tankers and 7 full-time and two part-time drivers. There are 3 administration personnel and one receptionist. There are also two managers, one of which is responsible for Health and Safety. The director of the company is also the owner. The premises consist of a large yard with the oil tanks bunded at the bottom. The gantry (where the oil delivery vehicles fuel from) is a few feet to the right of the tanks. There is an area where the oil delivery vehicles can be parked at night. The office is at the opposite end of the yard to the storage tanks, beside the main gates. This is so that the office workers can easily get to the assembly point in case of fire. There are many issues that face an oil distributor but only the major issues will be dealt with in this report. They are required to comply with the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations, in the delivery of the oil, but again that area will not be covered in this report. The main safety issues concerning the yard are:

  • Falls from height (either from the gantry or the top of the vehicle)
  • Fire risk, either in a vehicle or near the oil storage tanks Sensitisation to the oil
  • Oil spillage or leaks (slip hazard)
  • Oil splashes into eyes
  • Risk of personnel being hit by moving vehicle

The basis of successful safety management is the installation and maintenance of effective systems aimed principally at the prevention of accidents, ill-health and other forms of incident which result in loss to an organisation. Such systems should identify the standards to be maintained and the systems for monitoring and measuring performance in the achievement of these standards1.

Safety management is also concerned with influencing human behaviour, and with limiting the opportunities for mistakes to be made which would result in harm or loss. To do this, safety management must take into account the ways in which people fail (fail to do what is expected of them and/or what is safe). The techniques are aimed at the recognition and elimination of hazards, and the assessment and control of those risks which remain. The practical objectives of safety management are:

  • Gaining support from all concerned for the health and safety effort
  • Motivation, education and training so that all may recognise and correct hazards
  • Devising and introducing controls based on risk assessment
  • Compliance with regulations and standards

To achieve these objectives, a safety policy statement is required. The key elements of successful health and safety management are:

  • Policy
  • Organising
  • Planning and implementing
  • Measuring performance
  • Reviewing performance and auditing2

Policy

A common characteristic of successful policies for H&S is that they accurately reflect the value and beliefs of those who devise and implement them. Effective policies are not simply examples of management paying lip service to improved H&S performance but a genuine commitment to action3. Successful H&S management demands comprehensive health and safety policies which are effectively implemented and which are considered in all business practice and decision-making. Written policies are the centrepiece of good health and safety management. They insist, persuade, explain and assign responsibilities. As an organisation Cheapo Oil will endeavour to successfully manage health and safety and recognise the relationship between the control of risks, general health and the very core of our business. Our Health and Safety Policy will align with our Human Resource Management Policy, and this should secure the commitment and involvement, and to promote the well being of our employees (acknowledging that people are the key resource). Cheapo Oil intends to carry out health surveillance in association with EMAS to guard against sensitisation to oil products (Derv, gas oil, kerosene).

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Effective prevention and loss control has to focus on the causes of incidents because outcomes may be random and uncontrollable. For instance, if a person slips on a patch of split oil they may be unhurt, damage clothing or equipment, break an arm, or fracture their skull and die. Examining the causes of all such outcomes can provide valuable insights into inadequacies in risk control and point toward action which can prevent future injuries and losses. A key feature of an effective health and safety policy is to examine all unsafe events and the behaviours which give rise to them. ...

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