Research paper Construction Safety class final

BOS 3401, Construction Safety 1

UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE Safety and Emergency Response

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Explain the rationale for emergency planning. 2. Define OSHA standard and emergency action plans. 3. Identify what an emergency action plan is and how it is used by

employers. 4. Analyze how a company can use a safety policy and promote safety and

health within their organization. 5. Explain how company-sponsored wellness programs help support a

team-oriented environment. Written Lecture Emergencies can be potentially life-threatening situations in which employees can be faced with potential long term issues. They occur suddenly and unexpectedly. Because of this, employers use planning, practicing, evaluating, and adjusting to prepare their employees to respond to any type of emergency situation. Employers develop an emergency action plan (EAP) to cover the actions that employers and employees must take in order to ensure employee safety during emergencies. An emergency at a job site can consist of anything from medical emergencies to potential hazardous chemical emergencies; therefore, emergency action plans must be set into motion to cover a variety of possible emergencies and they must also be location specific. The EAP must consist of a mapped plan, the establishment of the chain of command, a coordination of information, and training for everyone involved. Since trauma for all parties involved can result from an emergency situation, a company’s trauma response team can consist of health and safety personnel who have undergone specialized training to address the counseling of employees in trauma assistance. In order to try to mitigate the possibility of emergencies happening on the job- site, companies can promote safety through the establishment and training of safety for all employees. A company’s safety policy is translated into everyday action and behavior by rules and regulations (Goetsch, 2010). Any company’s safety policy should include the following:

1. a company-wide commitment, 2. the expectation that employees will perform their duties in a safe

manner, and 3. the company’s commitment to include customers and the community.

The defined safety policy must be enforced objectively and consistently. From a legal perspective, the employer has an obligation to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, ensure all employees are knowledgeable about the rules, and assist employees in ensuring that the safety rules are enforced objectively and consistently.

Reading Assignment Chapter 10: Emergency Response Plan Chapter 12: Promoting Safety Key Terms 1. Accountability 2. Chain of Command 3. Commitment 4. Coordinator 5. Emergency 6. Emergency Action

Plans (EAPs) 7. Emergency

notification 8. Emergency Planning

and Community Right- to-Know Act

9. Emergency Response Team (ERT)

10. Employee involvement 11. Incentives 12. Local Emergency

Planning Committees (LEPCs)

13. Location specific 14. Order of response 15. Safety policy 16. Safety training 17. State Emergency

Response Commission (SERCs)

18. Traumatic event 19. Visual awareness 20. Wellness program

BOS 3401, Construction Safety 2

Reference

Goetsch, D. L. (2010). Construction safety and the OSHA standards.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.