Leadership & OSHA Case Study

Read the background information and scenario description in sections I and II, then answer the questions in section III. Be sure you read the complete directions for preparing your case study.

I. Background: OSHA Standards and Bubba’s Materials Handling Equipment, Inc. Bubba’s Materials Handling Equipment is a small corporation that employs between 38 and 55 employees throughout any given year. This firm manufactures materials handling equipment that includes small cantilever racks; hand trucks, some specially designed for moving 55-gallon drums; and various dollies commonly used in the manufacturing sector. The facility was built in 1958 and is roughly 80,000 square feet. The firm receives raw materials in the form of round metal tubing, sheet metal, square tubing, and cold and hot rolled metal rods.

Raw materials are removed from flatbed trailers using a large LP-gas-powered forklift with the assistance of smaller LPgas-powered forklifts. These materials are stored in racks in the receiving department. From there, raw materials are moved via forklift and various heavy duty carts to the fabrication department. This department cuts, punches, bends, copes, and shears the various materials into parts used to make the final product.

The metal fabrication equipment includes two iron workers, two 70-ton part revolution mechanical power punch presses, three 250-ton part revolution press brakes, a 300-ton hydraulic press, two pipe benders, a 12-foot shear, a 10-foot shear, a mill for milling a bevel on hand truck toe plates, several off-hand grinders, and two large drill presses. The fabrication department can get quite noisy for days at a time (>85dBa), especially when making cantilever racks. Two maintenance employees keep these machines running. After being cut, punched, bent, and formed, fabricated parts go to the welding department or the Work in Process (WIP) crib. WIP includes a mezzanine and an area populated with pallet racks for storage.

In the welding department, there are 12 MIG welding machines that are used by welders to assemble the parts into the pre-finished items manufactured by the firm. The welders also use an assortment of hand-held grinders and an oxyacetylene torch. Once welded, items either go in their pre-finished condition into inventory or are further processed by the painting department. Pre-finished items that are inventoried are taken to one of two mezzanines or placed in storage racks. In the painting department, items are wiped down with various solvents and hung on an overhead hook conveyor. Items go into the paint booth where they are painted using various enamels. Xylenes and toluene are common solvents used in this operation. The paints also contain these solvents.

After painting, axles and wheels are applied, and the completed products are boxed or, depending on their size, loaded directly on trucks without packaging. Larger items, such as racks, are loaded onto flatbeds using an unmanned overhead crane controlled by a pendant control. Smaller items are typically loaded onto standard semi-trailers using battery powered forklifts or pallet jacks.

II. The Scenario:

You have been hired by Bubba himself to put together a safety program for the company. Essentially, the company has no safety programs and has never really conducted any kind of hazard assessment.

III. Questions:

1. Identify 15 of what you consider the highest priority standards that are likely to apply to this operation. Include the code number for the standard, and describe a hazard demonstrating why the standard applies (e.g., Industrial Ventilation, 1910.94. The company has a paint booth that controls paint and solvent vapors).

2. Identify four important written programs this company is required to have (keep in mind that not all standards require that you develop a written program or SOP of some sort; although, many companies develop such SOPs regardless). Explain why you believe they are required to have these written programs.

3. Identify five standards that this company is required to provide training for, and briefly describe why this training is required. Prepare your response to the questions listed in a properly formatted APA document. The completed paper should be arranged in the appropriate questions/sections identified above. Single-spacing may be used. Please make sure that you have addressed all questions in a full and detailed manner. Include a correctly formatted APA title and reference page. Remember to cite all sources used.

Prepare your response to the questions listed in a properly formatted APA document. The completed paper should be arranged in the appropriate questions/sections identified above. Please make sure that you have addressed all questions in a full and detailed manner. Include a correctly formatted APA title and reference page. Remember to cite all sources used.

15 high priority standards that apply to this operation

1. 1910.157 – Fire Extinguisher clearance; the company has flammable areas and open flame, and therefore must meet this standard

2. 1910.252 – Welding; Since the company has a welding area, they must comply with this standard so as to minimize the risk of fire.

3. 1910.1200 – Hazard Communication standard; The company will have to issue MSDS sheets for all chemicals and make employees aware of hazards that exist in the work environment

4. Machine guarding 1910.212, this operation has machines that need to have guarding so as to protect the safety of machine operators.

5. 1910.95 – Occupational Hearing Exposure – since the company has some machinery is loud, they will need to take measures to protect the hearing of employees.

6. 1910.178 - Powered industrial trucks – the company has these types of machines and therefore must deal with this standard.

7. 1910.94 – Industrial ventilation; this company has solvents and chemicals and therefore must properly ventilate the workplace.

8. 1910.28 – Scaffolds; the company has scaffolds so must deal with this standard

9. 1910.27 - Fixed ladders.The company has ladders in the workplace and must deal with this standard.

10. 1910.106 – flammable liquids; the company has flammable liquids that are used as a part of the production process

11. 1910.133 - Eye and face protection. In this workforce, the worker will need to have eye protection

12. 1910.145 - Specifications for accident prevention signs and tags. –the company should color code hazards so workers are aware of the issues.

13. 1910.160 - Fixed extinguishing systems, general. The company needs to have a sprinkler system because of fire hazards

14. 1910.217 - Mechanical power presses. – the company has these types of machines, and therefore must be aware of these standards

15. 1910.38 - Emergency action plans. – All companies should have these in place.

Four important written programs

1. 1910.147 App A Minimal lockout procedures: They are required to have this written program because they have machinery that could be dangerous. The LOTO program will ensure that the machinery is properly shut down, and doesn’t start back up while maintenance work is being performed.

2. 1910.36, 37, and 38 – Fire Safety and Emergency Evacuation procedures. Every organization needs to have this safety program, as it ensures that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency.

3. Chemical Safety 1910.1450 -The company needs these programs because they have various chemicals and solvents used during their processes. The employees need to know how to properly handle these chemicals, the risks of being around these chemicals,

4. CFR1910.146 Confined Space Entry – This deals directly with the welding and paint areas, as they are areas that only those trained to be in those areas should be inside. For example, the welding area is a very dangerous place to be if you aren’t trained because you can get eye burns.

Five standards for which this company is required to provide training

1. 1910.178 – Forklift Handling. The company needs to ensure that adequate training is provided for those who handle or come in contact with Forklifts. Workers can be seriously injured or killed in the event of an accident such as a forklift rollover.

2. 1910.132 – Proper PPE training. PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment. Each employee needs to know what PPE is necessary, how to properly use the PPE provided by the company, and the useful life of PPE and when you need to throw it away and get new gear. As the company operates in an environment where there are chemicals and hazards such as weld flashes, employees must be aware of these safety items.

3. 1910.151 First aid training is needed, as the outfit doesn’t have a medical clinic staffed with doctors and nurses. Therefore, the company needs to train workers on how to administer emergency first aid assistance to be used only until trained medical professionals arrive on the site.

4. 1910.120 – This training deals with how to deal with hazardous waste. As the company uses chemicals, employees need to be trained on how to handle these chemicals and dispose of them properly

5. 1910.146 – Confined Space Entry; The company has racks where parts are stored and where chemicals are stored. Employees need to know how to navigate through these areas and the proper procedures for being in these type of areas.

EXAMPLE

OSHA

CASE STUDY

:

The well-being of the workers and prevention of loss is the role of the management which includes coming up with an effective safety program that suits the operational needs. The industry’s management responsibility is to provide the workers with a healthy and safe place of work. All accidents, conditions not safe for work should be reported to the supervisors. The industry should provide a working place of high standards and with safety, and there are certain standards that the industry should keep on the front line.

First, Bubbas industry has painting department this is the place where the pre-finished products are taken from the welding department. However, industrial ventilation should be one of the standards prioritized here since in this department painting is done, and the paint contains toxic contents such as toluene and xylenes. This can lead to health complication to the workers because of inhaling this in large quantities, lung problems, asthma, and other complications could start causing health problems to the workers. (OSHA workbook. 2010).

Second, the industry should provide a complete package to the welding department that is the welders should have welding glasses this is to prevent any harm to their sight (eyes). The workers use an oxyacetylene torch and it may of harm to their eyes. This is a safety measure that should be prioritized by the industry since welding is a stage that these unfinished materials should pass through therefore prioritizing the well-being of the workers would be better. The fabrication department (>85dBa) gets noisy at times when the operations are in progress, as the management should provide sound proof gadgets for these two workers who run machines in this department. This would help protect the hearing systems of these workers because with a damaged hearing system the workers cannot work efficiently and effectively. The industry should have a friendly storage system in the sense that, the pre-finished or finished products are hung on an overhead hook. This is risky in case if any of the hooks can get weak this puts the workers lives at stake, any item can fall on the workers causing permanent health problem of on severe case death. (Friend & Kohn, 2010). 

There should be a complete firefighting equipment, this is because the raw material in his industry is offloaded from the trailers using large LP-gas-powered forklift assisted by smaller LP-gas powered forklifts. As we know this LP-gas is highly flammable in case triggered by fire, for example, a worker may light a cigarette and there could be leakages of the LP-gas this means that there would be fire breakout and this may cause damages to the industry premises and machines and this is lost count. Therefore, the industry should have a complete fire extinguishing equipment in case of a fire outbreak they can easily handle it perfectly. The industry should bring in less risky grinders to replace the hand grinders that the workers use to electric ones. Use of hand grinders puts the workers at risk for example losing of arms, fingers or any other body injuries that come with handling these grinders. An electric grinder becomes more friendly since it involves less hand work there for minimizing the risks, but if carelessly handled it may cause permanent or severe injuries. However, electricity powered forklifts should be put in place to replace the battery ones because the battery forklifts may become dysfunctional when the battery power goes down.( Channing, 2013). 

In case of dysfunctionality this means that packaging is cut off or slowed till an alternative is found or on the other hand if battery power goes down in the process the items are at the risk of falling off on the workers causing compromising the workers safety. More man power application, in the fabrication department the workers (two) keep the machines running but there is much work done in this department and this means there should be more workers to keep the machine running. This means the rate at which work will get done goes up. Two worker in a department is not logical considering that there is a much more work need to be done. Proper record keeping, this is a standard that an industry should give it a priority. It needs to keep proper records on the raw materials that have been delivered, workers detailed records, pre-finished and finished items record should be clearly kept. This provides written facts in the case of any clarification needed, aids in the continuity of management between co-workers. Efficient and effective loading equipment should be put in place to replace the unmanned loading equipment, the manned equipment are more efficient and effective since the person controlling the overhead cranes will do the job perfectly with no faults. (OSHA workbook. 2010).

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) development has its advantages to the company, it reduces variations of systems which is the greatest obstacle of production efficiency and quality control, facilitate training ( having well written step by step guidelines assist trainers to make sure that nothing is missed. The company should have several written programs which include fabrication of items F-1, welding process W-1, painting pre-finished items P-1 and storage of the items S-1. Development of these programs is important since it gives detailed directions so that any person can do a job perfectly, on time and every time.

Hearing protection standards; hearing devices put in the ear shall be fitted or determined personally by committed people. Training is needed here to safeguard the well-being of the worker and enlighten them on the hazards of not using protection. (Friend & Kohn, 2010). 

Fire protection standards; an employer should provide well trained and equipped firefighting force, organized, trained, skilled and competent individuals. Workers should be trained to acquire the required skills needed in case of fire. ( Channing, 2013). 

Material handling standards; lifting and loading equipment should meet the necessary requirements of construction, stability and design. This training on how to handle materials is necessary since workers will get to know about material to be careful with.

Industrial ventilation standards; the industry’s places where painting or any activity that leads to emission of harmful gasses should be well ventilated for clean air circulation this prevents suffocation. They should be trained on the advantages of working in well-ventilated place this lowers the risk of getting health complications. ( Channing, 2013). 

Process safety management standards; this means that before a person starts operations in a company they should know what they are getting themselves into. This is crucial since it gives a person a choice either to withdraw or to get them to what the industry does. (Friend & Kohn, 2010). 

References

Channing, J. (2013). Safety at Work. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Friend, M. A., & Kohn, J. P. (2010). Fundamentals of occupational safety and health. Lanham, Md: Government Institutes.

OSHA workbook. (2010). Woodland Hills, CA: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.