HSE People - Health and Safety Community

These past few days have been horrific across the U.S. The stunning tragedy at Fort Hood claiming the lives of 13 people along with many injured, and then today’s workplace shooting in Orlando. All that seems to come to mind is, what is wrong with people today and why is it that signs of danger get ignored until it is too late?

In Fort Hood, Texas on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m. suspected shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, gunned down the very soldiers who he was there to help. 13 have died and 30 are seriously wounded. So what made this man crack to the point of violence and were there any signs that could have been an indication of what was to come?

It was reported by several individuals that Hasan was frequently expressing anger about his upcoming deployment. He was also involved in many office arguments about his disapproval of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. His final and most explosive outburst took the lives of his fellow soldiers and he now lies in a hospital bed breathing on a ventilator. Now don’t get me wrong, not foreseeing the future is nobody’s fault in this tragic situation. But being aware and alert to possible dangers is important to everyone. Unfortunately, it seems that our soldiers can’t even feel safe on their own base. It’s hard enough to have to become mentally prepared for the dangers of war without having to worry about your safety at home.

As if that wasn’t enough horror for one week, another shooting occured in Orlando, Florida at the office of Reynolds, Smith and Hills. This shooting left Otis Beckford, 26, dead and five others injured. This incident reportedly occured due to the anger of disgruntled former employee, Jason Rodriguez. Rodriguez is currently in police custody facing a charge of first-degree murder.

With two fatal episodes of workplace violence taking place within two days, one has to wonder – could anything have been done to prevent such tragedies? From 1992 to 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) found that 11,613 workplace homicides took place. Many have even indicated that this type of violence is expected to grow due to the stress of the economy and job market. Employers need to take the extra time to ensure their employees’ safety by taking extra security precautions as well as training efforts.

Here are some helpful tips on creating a safer work environment to avoid workplace violence:

- Do thorough background checks on employees.

Many employers currently do this, but some have become more lax due to financial reasons. If you find out that a potential employee has a violent past, it may be in everyone’s best interest if you pass.

- Provide proper training.

All employees should be administered not only training for the physical hazards of their jobs, but the emotional ones as well. There is a reason companies have a Human Resources department. Take advantage of all of the recommended HR training, such as Violence in the Workplace at www.safetyskills.com.

- Create an open-door policy and protocols for safety concerns.

Make sure that employees feel safe when coming to a supervisor about a possible safety issue. All discussions should be respected and stay confidential. Create a protocol for reporting a concern for violence and follow-up on the matter with discretion.

- Have a no tolerance policy.

Never condone or forgive a violent matter of any kind in your workplace. It doesn’t matter how minor the incident or if it was a joke gone awry. This needs to be embedded into the minds of your staff that your number one concern is their safety.

- Get security.

Get some type of security in your workplace. This can mean an actual security guard, a monitoring system or a personal keycode system that can be removed upon the termination of an employee. The harder it is for a disgruntled employee to get into the building, the less likely they will try.

Introduction

Fred A. Manuele, author of On the Practice of Safety, considers occupational ergonomics to be "the art and science of designing the work to fit the worker to achieve optimum productivity and cost efficiency, and minimum risk of injury." To best fulfill the goal to achieve these benefits through ergonomics, a sound program should be developed. A program that includes a written plan, education, training, and effective procedures to identify, analyze, and evaluate work for ergonomic risk factors.
As with other workplace safety and health issues, managers and employees both play key roles in setting the stage: developing and carrying out an ergonomics program. It's important that management understand the benefits of an effective ergonomics program.
Ergonomics as part of a company safety and health program
Ergonomics programs should not be regarded as separate from those intended to address other workplace hazards. Aspects of hazard identification, case documentation, assessment of control options, and health care management techniques that are used to address ergonomic problems use the same approaches directed toward other workplace risks of injury or disease. Although many of the technical approaches described in this course are specific to ergonomic risk factors and MSDs, the core principles are the same as efforts to control other workplace hazards.
Reactive vs. Proactive approaches
Proactive ergonomics activities emphasize efforts at the design stage of work processes to recognize needs for avoiding risk factors that can lead to musculoskeletal problems. The goal is to design operations that ensure proper selection and use of tools, job methods, workstation layouts, and materials that impose no undue stress and strain on the worker.
Essential considerations
Ergonomics issues are identified and resolved in the planning process. In addition, general ergonomic knowledge, learned from an ongoing ergonomics program, can be used to build a more prevention-oriented approach. Management commitment and employee involvement in the planning activity are essential. For example, management can set policies to require ergonomic considerations for any equipment to be purchased and production employees can offer ideas on the basis of their past experiences for alleviating potential problems.
Planners of new work processes involved in the design of job tasks, equipment, and workplace layout, must become more aware of ergonomic factors and principles. Designers must have appropriate information and guidelines about risk factors for MSDs and ways to control them. Studying past designs of jobs in terms of risk factors can offer useful input into their design strategies.
Expressions of management commitment
Management commitment is a key and perhaps the most important controlling factor in determining whether any worksite hazard control effort will be successful. Management commitment is more than mere "support." Support is merely talk, but real commitment is expressed by actually backing up that talk with action that takes time and money.
Remember, support = talk and commitment = action!
Management commitment can be expressed in a variety of ways. Lessons learned from NIOSH case studies of ergonomic hazard control efforts in the meatpacking industry emphasize the following points regarding evidence of effective management commitment:
Policy statements are issued that:
• treat ergonomic efforts as furthering the company's strategic goals
• expect full cooperation of the total workforce in working together toward realizing ergonomic improvements
• assign lead roles to designated persons who are known to "make things happen"
• give ergonomic efforts priority with other cost reduction, productivity, and quality assurance activities
• have the support of the local union or other worker representatives
• allow full discussion of the policy and the plans for implementation
• set concrete goals that address specific operations and give priority to the jobs posing the greatest risk
Resources are committed to:
• train the workforce to be more aware of ergonomic risk factors for MSDs,
• Provide detailed instruction to those expected to assume lead roles or serve on special groups to handle various tasks,
• bring in outside experts for consultations about start-up activities and difficult issues at least until inhouse expertise can be developed, and
• implement ergonomic improvements as may be indicated.
• provide release time or other compensatory arrangements during the workday for employees expected to handle assigned tasks dealing with ergonomic concerns.
It's important to furnish information to all those involved in or affected by the ergonomic activities.
Misinformation or misperceptions about such efforts can be damaging: If management is seen as using the program to gain ideas for cutting costs or improving productivity without equal regard for employee benefits, the program may not be supported by employees. For example, management should be up-front regarding possible impacts of the program on job security and job changes. All injury data, production information, and cost considerations need to be made available to those expected to make feasible recommendations for solving problems.
Employee involvement
Promoting employee involvement in efforts to improve workplace ergonomic conditions has several benefits. They include:
• enhanced worker motivation and job satisfaction,
• added problem-solving capabilities,
• greater acceptance of change, and
• greater knowledge of the work and organization.
Worker involvement in safety and health issues means obtaining worker input on several issues.
• The first input is defining real or suspected job hazards.
• Another is suggesting ways to control suspected hazards.
• A third involves working with management in deciding how best to put controls into place.
Employee participation in an organization's efforts to reduce work-related injury or disease and ergonomic problems may take the form of direct or individual input. A common involvement process is participation
through a joint labor-management safety and health committee, which may be company-wide or departmentwide in nature. Membership on company-wide committees includes union leaders or elected worker representatives, department heads, and key figures from various areas of the organization.
Two factors are critical to the different forms of worker involvement. One is the need for training both in hazard recognition and control and in group problem solving. The second is that management must share information and knowledge of results with those involved. No single form or level of worker involvement fits all situations or meets all needs. Much depends on the nature of the problems to be addressed, the skills and abilities of those involved, and the company's prevailing practices for participative approaches in resolving workplace issues.
Who should participate?
Ergonomic problems typically require a response that cuts across a number of organizational units. Hazard identification through job task analyses and review of injury records or symptom surveys, as well as the development and implementation of control measures, can require input from
• safety and hygiene personnel,
• health care providers,
• human resource personnel,
• engineering personnel,
• maintenance personnel, and
• ergonomics specialists.
In addition, worker and management representatives are considered essential players in any ergonomics program effort. In small businesses, two or more of the functions noted on this list may be merged into one unit, or one person may handle several of the listed duties. Regardless of the size of the organization, persons identified with these responsibilities are crucial to an ergonomics program. Purchasing personnel in particular should be included, since the issues raised can dictate new or revised specifications on new equipment orders.
How best to fit these different players into the program could depend on the company's existing occupational safety and health program practices. Integrating ergonomics into the company's current occupational safety and health activities while giving it special emphasis may have the most appeal.
Conclusion
Taking a proactive approach to ergonomics is so important to the success of the program. Maximizing employee involvement is one of the keys to a successful proactive ergonomics program. When employees identify and help devise solutions, they gain a degree of ownership. We value what we own. Ownership increases the probability that "EC" (ergonomically correct ;-) behaviors are performed when employees are not being directly supervised.

Ehi Iden
Ceo
Occupational Health and Safety Managers Ltd
Ikeja-Lagos
Nigeria
234 (1) 480 509
234 (0) 803 339 1619
e: ehi@ohsm.com.ng
w: www.ohsm.com.ng
 blog: www.ohsmcomng.blogspot.com

Reference to my mentor and Friend:
Steve Geigle