Human Resource Paper

Healthy and Safety Policies for Borty Plc

Name

Institution

Healthy and Safety Policies for Borty Plc

Introduction

Health and safety issues at the workplace can be costly yet largely preventable if the right measures are taken. The firm chosen for this case was Borty PLC textile industry that is based in the UK. The textile industry is comprised of various units that include spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, and finishing. These and other processes are used when converting fiber into a finished product such as threads. The production sector in the textile industry is exposed to numerous and potential hazards due to the involvement of heavy machinery and raw materials such as dyes that may negatively affect the health of individuals (Singh, 2016). In this regard, three policies that are consistent with Occupational Safety and Health Policies (OSHA) provided by the department of labor would be detailed to manage such risks at the firm.

Identifiable Risks and policies

High Level of Noise

First, there is the risk of having destructive noise that may be produced from working with machinery. Most of the units in the industry operate machinery which produces a lot of noise (Singh, 2016). Long-term exposure to irritabilities such noise causes hearing problems. Additionally, high levels of noises may cause, fatigue, annoyance, anxiety, changes in blood pressure and sleep disorders (Basner, Brink, Bristow, De Kluizenaar, Finegold, Hong, & Matsui, 2015). The effect of long term noise is that it reduces the workers’ efficiency.

Policy

Legal limits have already been established for noise exposure in the industry. In this case, a noise-level policy would be established to ensure that the firm operates within the required limit to protect workers from any negative impact. The noise level policy would require the participation of the Human Resource department and the department of health and safety to implement and monitor it. Apart from bolstering the relationship of clients by improving the quality of products delivered to them, the Human Resource department is also concerned with the management and welfare of works within the firm. After all, excellent customer service can only be delivered if employees have good working conditions.

The Human Resource department should communicate the hazard information to employees through frequent meetings depending on the updated information from the federal department of labor. Increasing awareness not only demonstrates that the workers are valuable but also improves their productivity and minimizes incidences of harm (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). The set organizational policy would require the firm to have a hearing conservation program for all employees who are exposed to more than a noise level of 85 decibels in an 8-hour working shift. At the same time, the policy would ensure that Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) used to lower high levels of noise are not shared among workers to prevent the risks of infections (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). For instance, a worker with a bleeding year exposes other employees to blood-borne infections if they share the equipment. In relation, the employees working with heavy-duty machinery should be assessed using a verified sound level meter app as their Personal Protective Equipment that would help in the reduction of occupational noise (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). Under cumulative trauma disorders, individuals affected with high noise levels or have hearing problems would not be assigned tasks that expose them to high noise levels (Friend & Kohn, 2018). Potentially dangerous work assignments should only be given to highly trained individuals who are medically fit to perform riskier duties.

Exposure to cotton Dust

Second, there are harmful raw materials such as cotton dust. Spinning and processing cotton exposes workers to huge amounts of cotton dust. Additionally, the workers are at risk of being exposed to pesticides and soil pathogens while processing the cotton (Singh, 2016). According to Christensen, Lavoué, Rousseau, and Siemiatycki (2015), long-term exposure to these substances causes respiratory problems such as the brown lung disease also known as byssinosis. The signs of the disease include coughing, wheezing, tightening of the chest and wheezing.

Policy

OSHA has already established standards with the aim of reducing exposure of the employees to cotton dust. In this regard, there are already set standards for the permissible exposure limits in the different operations. The relevance of the standard is a reduction of the cases of byssinosis (Levenstein, DeLaurier, & Dunn, 2018). In this regard, there is a need to fix a standard depending on the number of hours that an individual works in the company. In essence, for a person working 8 hours a day, the standards should be set at 200mcg for those working in yarn manufacturing. The standards change depending on the units that the employees are working (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). For those working with textile wastes, the standard is set at 500mcg while in weaving operations and textiles recycling the standards are at 750mcg and 1000mcg respectively.

As a policy, the HR and the health and safety departments should communicate the information to employees through frequent meetings that teach them how to measure the required levels of dust and how to report incidences. The employer, on the other hand, should provide procedures of writing steps that are to be taken to reduce levels of cotton dust in the atmosphere (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). Workers should measure the amount of cotton dust that is often exposed to people to ensure that in cases where the levels are high, the management adopts the required measures to reduce it. Equipment used should not be sharp to prevent cuts and individual ones such as nose masks should not be shared among employees to prevent the transmission of blood-borne infections. Additionally, respirators should be made available to all employees and should be worn at all times to ensure that the employees do not breathe in the dust in uncontrolled levels (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). Most importantly, workers should work in shifts and not for extended periods of time to reduce the possibilities of developing cumulative trauma disorders (Friend & Kohn, 2018). At the same time, pregnancies should be reported to the HR who would then provide notifications to relevant departments that would prevent pregnant women from handling risky tasks that would expose them to health and safety hazards.

Exposure to Chemicals

Third, people working in the industry are at risk of being exposed to chemicals and harmful dyes. The industry uses benzidine based chemicals in the processes of dyeing printing and finishing. Such chemicals are often used in providing optical brightness, as resistance agents and as fixatives. In the end, formaldehyde is released together with other organophosphorus and organobromine products (Singh, 2016). Rim 2017, states that, exposure to these compounds may bring about various health complications such as leukemia, brain cancer, and lung cancer. More so, exposure of the chemicals to the skin may lead to skin problems such as eczema.

Policy

The third organizational policy would require only trained individuals that are medically fit to deal with the storage and handling of any chemical and dyes used in the processes. The policy should also ensure that every employee working either directly or indirectly with the chemicals are authorized and have the required PPE. Safety manuals and standards are to be placed in visible places for employees to know what is required.

In this regard, the HR and the health and safety departments should communicate to employees concerning regulations in the handling of the chemicals through frequent meetings. They should also organize training where outside experts train employees on how to handle chemicals and dyes in the procedural steps from storage and dissemination to use, containing chemical spills, and waste management. Handling accidents such as burns from chemicals should be done by trained employees in first aid services to prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). For instance, first aiders should have gloves on when helping fellow employees who have been wounded. Most importantly, all employees should put on protective gears when working within or outside the areas exposed to chemical substances. PPEs such as gloves, nose masks, headgears, boots, and overalls among others should be used (Shaikh, Weiguo, Shahid, Ayaz, & Ali, 2018). On the other hand, employees working in such areas should be medically fit and rotated with no permanent stay in one area. For instance, an employee storing chemicals could work in that area for 3 months before being moved to a different region that is chemical-free for a certain duration before returning to reduce the risks of having cumulative trauma disorders. Potentially dangerous assignments such as handling chemical spills should be done by trained professionals or personnel and the area zoned off until cleared to be safe for working (Friend & Kohn, 2018). Women who are either pregnant or have not yet had any children should be strictly prevented from working in such zones.

Conclusion

Borty PLC is at risk of having health and safety hazards similar to any production firm. Various processes in the firm expose employees to hazards such as chemicals, cotton dust, and noise from machinery. However, OSHA provides regulations and limits that factory processes should follow. It is, therefore, critical to set noise limits, train personnel on handling chemicals and dyes, as well as set limits on the amounts of cotton dust workers could safely be exposed to within different production units. Most importantly, the policies communicate to people on health and safety risks, how to protect themselves from blood-borne infections, what PPEs to use, how to prevent cumulative trauma disorders, and handling riskier tasks.

References

Basner, M., Brink, M., Bristow, A., De Kluizenaar, Y., Finegold, L., Hong, J., ... & Matsui, T. (2015). ICBEN review of research on the biological effects of noise 2011-2014. Noise & health, 17(75), 57.

Christensen, K. Y., Lavoué, J., Rousseau, M. C., & Siemiatycki, J. (2015). Lack of a protective effect of cotton dust on risk of lung cancer: evidence from two population-based case-control studies. BMC cancer, 15(1), 212.

Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2018). Fundamentals of occupational safety and health. Rowman & Littlefield.

Levenstein, C., DeLaurier, G. F., & Dunn, M. L. (2018). The Cotton Dust Papers: Science, Politics, and Power in the" discovery" of Byssinosis in the US. Routledge.

Rim, K. T. (2017). Reproductive Toxic Chemicals at Work and Efforts to Protect Workers' Health: A Literature Review. Safety and health at work, 8(2), 143-150.

Shaikh, M. A., Weiguo, S., Shahid, M. U., Ayaz, H., & Ali, M. (2018). An Assessment of Hazards and Occupational Health & Safety Practices for Workers in the Textile Industry: A Case Study. Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(12), 333-347.

Singh, N. (2016). Safety and health issues in workers in clothing and textile industries. International Journal of Home Science, 2(3), 38-40.