HRM554 Health and Safety Practices Plan Wk4

Human Risk Factors

Health and Safety Practices Plan Wk4

Name

Class

Date

Professor

Human Risk Factors

In the manufacturing environment there are human risk factors that must be considered that could potentially impact the employees. Human risk factors involve the dangers associated with the behaviors of the employees in the manufacturing plant. Human risk factors include substance abuse, negligence, stress, and workplace violence. Each of the risk factors can potentially cases harm to the workers which will in turn slow down production and impact the profitability of the Honda manufacturing plant. Human factors are more difficult to control but can be prevented with the proper measures in place and company polices.

Human factors include human failure that can lead to safety issues that cause accidents. Human error can be the result of a lack of training or negligence but the end results are unnecessary harm to the worker or damage to manufacturing equipment. Errors by the employee may be unintended but there are major consequences when errors occur. In the manufacturing environment the employee must be properly trained on the operation of equipment as well as the safety measures that must be employed to prevent harm coming to others or damage is being causes to the production process.

Humans in the manufacturing environment will make mistakes that can create risk to others. Mistakes in the manufacturing environment are the result of poor decision making. This means the workers completes an action believing they are doing the right thing when in fact there decision has put others at risk. This means the employee has not been properly trained on the right thing to do which is a failure of the organization. Violations of the policies or a regulation of the organization is an intentional act than can create harm to the organization or others in the manufacturing environment.

Another human factor impacting the Honda manufacturing plant is workplace stress. In the manufacturing environment workplace stress can cause employees to make errors or to have lapses in judgment that cause harm to others or impact the proper manufacturing process (Lattal, 2009). Stress can have a negative impact on the health of the worker which increases the number of sick days they take or lead to high employee turnover. When the work environment places unnecessary pressures on the employee it can increase their stress. This can lead to negative health outcomes such as, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, and depression. The stressed worker will be less effective at their job impacting others in the work environment.

Substance abuse is a human factor that increases the danger in the work environment. Substance abuse can be the result of stress in the work environment or other internal or external factors but the end result will be the same. The worker will be less effective in the work environment if they abuse drugs or alcohol plus they will pose a risk to others. People that abuse drugs or alcohol will not have the same ability to do their job properly and effectively but more importantly pose a major risk to the safety of others.

Workplace violence is another issue in the workplace. When there is violence in the workplace it causes danger to others. This violence can be the result of stress or built up frustration with the work environment or it can be the result of problem outside of the workplace carried into the work environment. One of the most common causes for workplace environment is an employee that has been fired or that has been demoted within the workplace. Their anger or frustration can pose a risk to other people in the workplace if they react in violence. Identifying workers that are angry, stressed or frustrated is essential to reducing the risk to other employees.

Mitigation of Human Risk Factors

Organizations that do not address the human factors risk being exposed to all types of challenges if a human factor causes risk to others or the manufacturing of the Honda product. In order to reduce human error employees must be properly trained and developed to understand the safety measures that must be taken and their importance to the work environment. Safety measure to be taken by the worker to prevent accidents, errors, or mistakes should be clearly marked in places that can easily been seen.

Reducing stress in the work environment will go a long way in preventing safety issues. In order to reduce stress in the workplace it is important for the organization to take steps to mitigate the elevation of stress in the employee. Stress reduction techniques are a good tool for assisting employees in the manufacturing process. Assisting employees in improving their physical and emotional well-being will reduce their stress. This includes offering exercise and health programs and encouraging employees to get enough sleep and to eat healthy. The organization can provide information on mediation techniques as well as help the employee establish a workable schedule to help reduce work stress.

Workplace drug and alcohol prevention programs should be made able to any employee struggling with substance abuse issues manager should be trained to identify behaviors that could be associated to a substance abuse problem and offer the employee an opportunity to get help (Roman & Blum, 2002). The use of random drug testing will assist in identifying employees with substance abuse issues. When it comes to workplace violence Honda must establish a no tolerance policy any employee that engages in workplace violence should be immediately terminated. Workplace violence as the result of an external threat, such as a fired employee, requires training employees to recognize this threat.

Company Policy

It is imperative that Honda have a company policy to guide the behavior of employees. Managing human violations is essential to keeping the work environment safety. The proper management of human behavior requires a set of policies designed to guide the behavior of the employee in order to prevent human factors causing risk to others. These policies will ensure employees are aware of the safety requirements of the Honda organization and create a culture of safety. The company policy will ensure every employee in the organization is aware of the steps that need to be taken to prevent human error and mistakes (RosPA, 2011).

Secondly the company policy ensures the workers are aware and are compliant with OSHA safety regulations. When a manufacturing plant is not compliant they risk being fined by OSHA and they risk workers becoming harmed. The only potential con of having a company policy to reduce the risk of human factors is the cost of creating the policy in an environment fraught with dangers, a company policy is absolutely necessary.

References

Lattal, D. (2009). Stress and Safety: A Costly Relationship. Retrieved August 30 2014 from

http://aubreydaniels.com/pmezine/Stress-and-Safety

Roman, P. & Blum, T. (2002).The Workplace and Alcohol Problem Prevention. National

Institute of on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved August 30, 2014 from

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-1/49-57.htm

RosPA. (2011). Health & Safety Advice Pack for Smaller Firms. Retrieved August 30, 2014

from http://www.rospa.com/occupationalsafety/adviceandinformation/smallfirms