AUTHOR: PARTHA DAS SHARMA (B.Tech – Hons.) in Mining Engineering E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com, Blog/website: http://miningandblasting.wordpress.com/
Workplace Safety Tops Mining Priority List l
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Workplace safety has come out as one of the top priorities for senior level executives in Mining. Safety executives were focused on improving performance and operational effectiveness. Most mining companies agreed the best way to do this would be to comply with government regulations. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Safety Management Development System l
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A safety management system is a set of rules, guidelines and proper procedure developed and put in place to ensure that everyone in the workplace are working in a safe and secure environment. Conscientious businesses will have a proper safety management system in place in order to ensure that precautions are being taken to avoid incidents leading to equipment damage, down time, production delay, serious injury, fatality, investigation and irreparable damage to their reputation. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Safety Management Development System A competent business will only suffer accusations for high efficiency, minimal down times, rare production delay, a safe work environment, no serious injuries or fatalities and no investigations. Elements lSafety Policy lHazard Assessment Recognition and Control lGeneral Responsibilities and Policies lGeneral Rules lPreventative Maintenance Program PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Why is workplace safety so important? l
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Workers (employees), they are any businesses most valuable asset. If one or more employees are hurt or injured in the workplace and not able to work, the remainder of the workforce will have to pull together to “pick up the slack� for those that have become sick or injured on the job. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Why is workplace safety so important?
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Injured workers also affect the employer. The employer could incur the cost for temporary workers or overtime pay. Management, too, plays an important role. They must show the frontline employees how important worker safety is to everyone. Safety contributes to the bottom line and over all profit sharing in a company.
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How to maintain safety in the workplace? l l
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Team work. Management and front line employees working together. Government Acts & Regulations on safety require the employer to analyze the work areas and the employer must keep this annual record in writing. “Job hazard analysis� as a technique that focuses on job tasks to identify hazards before they occur. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Job Analysis Technique The job analysis should have at least 3 steps: q Activity q Equipment q Materials to be used l With the job analysis, a safety-operating guide should be given to the employees to show workplace safety facts. l
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Safety at work l
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Safety at work makes sense when supervisors get involved with the workers under them. They prevent injuries and minimize the seriousness of injuries when an accident does occur by teaching safety at work in their divisional group meetings. Supervisors should be taught to be “active listeners�. Communication between supervisors and workers is an important aspect of the safety at work awareness for your business. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Safety at work cont’d.. l
Maintaining safety at work requires attention to chemical hazards, equipment and work station design, physical environment including temperature, humidity, light, noise, ventilation, space, task design, psychological factors and sometimes, other environment exposures such as summer temperatures and winter cold spells.
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Evaluating Worker Safety Here are seven areas to consider when evaluating worker safety: l Do they follow the rules and stick to accepted safety at work practices that are written by your department? l Do they always use the provided safety equipment? l Do they report unsafe acts, conditions and equipment that is not operating correctly? l Do your employees offer suggestions to solve safety problems or concerns? Can their suggestions be turned in to your safety committee to help other departments? l Are employees planning their work to include safety checks before they start? l Do they support the overall safety at work programs? l Do they report any illness or injury that arises from the job immediately to the Human Resource Department, Safety Office or Security if applicable as per the safety at work rules? PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Safety Equipments l l
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Safety Equipment is a critical component of any workplace. No matter what you do, there is almost certainly going to be some kind of dangers inherent in the job. From housekeeping to construction, every job brings with it new dangers. The kind of safety equipment you will need for your workplace will vary based on the job description. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Kind of Safety Equipment needed l l l l l l l l l l l l l l
Hard Hats Safety Glasses, Safety Goggles Clothing Work Gloves: Mechanics Gloves, Leather Gloves, Disposable Gloves, Chemical Resistant Gas Detectors Eyewash Stations Ear Protection: Ear Plugs, Ear Muffs Dust Masks and Respirators OSHA Safety Signs Safety Signs: Restricted Area Safety Footwear, Safety Boots and Shoes Flashlights First Aid Kits Welding Equipment PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Time management in the workplace l
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Time management in the workplace is a crucial skill that all employees and managers must possess in order to have a thriving business. When hiring new employees it is important you test their time management skills. Give them a few exercises to do and give them an appropriate time limit to get them completely. This shall give you some ideas on what kind of time management skills your new employees have. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Time management in the workplace cont’d.. l l l l l l
It is important that each and every one of your employees know exactly what is expected of them. Make up list for each employee stating what is expected of them each day. Give a time limit to projects, but remember to be realistic. Sometimes things get hectic and all the work on the list might not be able to be completed. Keep an eye on your employees and make sure that they are busy and not just goofing around. One of the best ways to stop time from being wasted is to clarify the first time exactly what needs to be done. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Time management in the workplace cont’d..
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Another very important step in time management in the workplace is teaching your employees how to prioritize. When you make the list of things to do for each employ, put them in order of what needs to be done first and make sure the employees understand this concept. Make sure it is clear what is really important.
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Time is money !! l l l l l l
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Time management in the workplace is essential to any and every business. When time is wasted so is money. Make sure your employees know what is expected of them. Prioritization is another big part of time management. It is also necessary as the employer you know your business inside and out. Training of everyone can never be stressed enough and make sure things are always done right away and never put off. If you follow these simple rules to time management in the workplace, you will start to see a lot more things being completed. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Avoidance of Incompetence l l
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Incompetence in the workplace always exists. There are always people for whatever reason that just can’t seem to do their job correctly. Incompetence is not a mistake that a person makes every once in a while. Incompetence is the same mistake constantly being made over and over again, even after the person has been shown how to fix it. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Avoidance of Incompetence cont’d.. l
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One of the most important issues when dealing with workplace-incompetence is remembering to keep your cool. Nothing gets done when a person takes to yelling and swearing, especially if it’s in front of fellow employees or customers. This will make the employee just feel humiliated and grudging. This tactic does not solve problems. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Avoidance of Incompetence – Tactful act
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A good manger is one who always takes the time to listen to their employees. Let the employee explain their view on things and be patient. Let them know the things that you think they do well before pointing out their flaws. It is important to make the employee feel valuable, before performing constructive criticism. Have a brain storming secession with them on ways for them to improve their job performance. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Avoidance of Incompetence – Tactful act l
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As the employee’s performance begins to improve point it out to them and to the other employees. Make sure they know that you are watching and that it is important that their job performance improves. Be ungrudging don’t let their past workplace incompetence effect how you feel later specially if their work has improve. If you feel that you have tried everything and it has done no good, it might be time to seek other options. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Avoidance of Incompetence – Tactful hiring of new employees l
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When it comes to hiring new employees here are some tips to help keep laziness and incompetence out of the workplace. Whatever position that you are hiring for make sure the new employee is capable of doing the job right. Now this might be easier said than done when it comes to hiring, but do the best you can. Your safest bet is to always check references. Come up with a checklist of questions and make sure they answer all of them in full. If you are unsure perform more interviews. Make sure you hire someone that you believe is competent. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Communication in the Workplace l
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Communicating, with fellow employees is certainly a high priority as well as a mandatory first step toward safety. Though this may sound like a bad clichĂŠ, communication in the workplace is key. Conflicts or miscommunication often leads not only vital mistakes being made with your business but also server to shift attention away from safety and toward office grudges. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Communication in the Workplace cont’d.. l
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Managers must communicate with employees under their supervision and delegate responsibility in a calm and efficient manor. When explaining safety protocols to other members of ‘the team’ it is important to remember just that fact, this is a team. Should there be conflict on the workplace, there will be much harder to maintain a smoothly functioning ’safety wheel’. As always, remember that developing company motto’s and slogans often serve to bolster spirits in the office and encourage communication in the workplace. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Promoting workplace safety l
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Promoting workplace safety can be a difficult strategy to adopt if you do not already have an outline for promoting safety in the workplace. More time consuming than managing your employees can be convincing them to adapt to new ideas and train them to go about their whole work day with a fresh outlook. Constant reminders can in the beginning make for the best approach to safety promotion in your workplace. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Promoting workplace safety cont’d.. l
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Scheduled safety meetings make for an excellent way to keep everyone up to speed on what regulations they need to be aware of and what is changing or going unnoticed in the workplace. Promoting workplace safety must start at the top and work its way down! Safety is a team effort and as such requires the coordination and commitment of you and your staff. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Steps to Promoting Workplace Safety l l l l l l l
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Get your employees attention! Schedule Safety Meetings Make sure you have a safety manager Workplace safety policies start at the top Use reminders for your existing employees Incorporate safety training into new hire training programs In addition to these and other methods of increasing the awareness of best safety practices in the workplace you should not overlook “morale boosting tactics�. Place signs around the workplace in places visible to your employees and somewhere where they will constantly be remade aware of your policies. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Fire Safety at Work
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With growing industrialization and urbanization, fire safety has gained relevance for maintaining a safe working environment in several establishments. For any establishment, it is required by law to carry out a fire risk assessment to any industry and produce an emergency plan. Of course, the best way to practice fire safety is to make sure a fire doesn't break out in the first place. That means you should always be aware of potential hazards. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Mining and Workplace Rescue plan l
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Even in the most safety-conscious employers' workplaces / mining operation accidents happen, so a rescue plan is an essential component of working at height or in mines and should be managed by experienced personnel and be ingrained through training and practice. The lack of any form of post-accident rescue plan - relying on employees improvising to rescue a colleague - not only puts the victim at risk, but also puts rescuers in harm's way. Unplanned attempts at rescue often result in secondary and tertiary injuries or fatalities.
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Mining and Workplace Rescue team l
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It is essential for every mining and accident prone industry to establish a well-organized and coordinated professional rescue team, to reduce the economic and personal losses caused by accidents and gradually promote work safety among mining enterprises. Government should organize the drafting of regulations and standards on mining emergency rescue and conduct the certification of professionals. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Summary on Safety in workplace l
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The key to employee productivity is to keep them motivated. Employees can remain motivated if they feel safe and happy at their workplace. It is only when the employees feel safe at work that they can invest the fullest of their capacities and exploit the best of their potentials to work. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Summary on Safety in workplace l l l
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Workplace safety is the management’s responsibility. It involves the formation and implementation of safety programs. Employee insurance schemes and employee safety policies help cover the risk an employee might suffer at work. Jobs. Workplace safety involves training programs that are meant to teach the employees to handle risks. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Summary on Safety in workplace l
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At the time of the formation of a company, its safety goals, safety programs, policies, plans and procedures need to be documented. The management should ensure the health and safety of the employees by the means of safety education programs. The importance of office safety can be promoted through the formation of a safety committee that is assigned the responsibility to employee safety. Safety committees are helpful in increasing employee involvement. Violence at workplace gives rise to serious issues pertaining to office safety.
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Summary on Safety in workplace l l l l l l l l
Safety is important at a workplace also because human resource is the most important resource of an organization. Satisfied employees can earn for a company what money can’t buy. An employer might be able to replace an employee by another. But, what about the employee’s dedication towards work? What about the expertise he/she has invested towards his/her work? Can they be replaced? Definitely not! This makes it extremely important for an employer to cater to workplace safety, and moreover, to the lives of the employees. PARTHA DAS SHARMA
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Author’s Bio-data l
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Partha Das Sharma is Graduate (B.Tech – Hons.) in Mining Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur, India (1979) and was associated with number of mining and explosives organizations, namely MOIL, BALCO, Century Cement, Anil Chemicals, VBC Industries, Mah. Explosives etc., before joining the present organization, Solar Group of Explosives Industries at Nagpur (India), few years ago. Author has presented number of technical papers in many of the seminars and journals on varied topics like Overburden side casting by blasting, Blast induced Ground Vibration and its control, Tunnel blasting, Drilling & blasting in metalliferous underground mines, Controlled blasting techniques, Development of Non-primary explosive detonators (NPED), Hot hole blasting, Signature hole blast analysis with Electronic detonator etc. Currently, author has following useful blogs on Web: http://miningandblasting.wordpress.com/ http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com http://www.environmentengineering.blogspot.com www.coalandfuel.blogspot.com Author can be contacted at E-mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com, sharmapd1@rediffmail.com, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are solely of the author’s own and do not necessarily belong to any of the Company.
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