Assignment
1. Select a workplace hazard with which you are familiar. Using the problem solving methodology below, discuss how you would approach each step for the hazard you selected.
1. Identify the problem.
2. Analyze the problem.
3. Explore alternative solutions.
4. Select a plan and take action.
5. Examine the effects of the actions taken.
2. You have been hired as a consultant to help a local machine shop solve a hazardous noise problem. The shop is 10,000 square feet in area, with 12-foot-high concrete block walls and a flat metal roof. Inside the shop are two band saws, two metal lathes, three drill presses, one milling machine, and three abrasive grinders. The six employees work at benches located throughout the shop, using a variety of pneumatic-powered hand tools and non-powered tools. A recent noise survey found sound pressure levels exceeding 100dBA in some parts of the shop. All employees were monitored for noise exposure over an eight-hour workday, and the calculated TWA for noise for the employees ranged from 88dBA to 97dBA. Determine a possible control measure for each of the six levels in the hierarchy of controls (p. 273 in your textbook), and explain the reasoning behind each choice. Which control measure(s) would you recommend to the machine shop manager?
3. Explain why it is important for the safety professional to become knowledgeable and skilled in system safety concepts.
4. Why are system safety principles not used by all safety professionals? Suggest some ways to overcome the obstacles to wider adoption of system safety.
5. What levels of the hierarchy of controls are most applicable to system safety? Are any levels not useful when applying system safety? Provide one or more examples that support your response.
6. From your own experience or through research, select a job that has a high risk for causing workplace musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Discuss how you could use design principles to reduce the risk of injury for this job. What obstacles might prevent your proposed job design from being implemented?
7. Your organization-a company that manufactures automobile brake pads-is about to introduce lean concepts into its operations in order to be more competitive with foreign manufacturers. The lean project manager does not understand why you, the safety manager, want to be a part of the process. Provide a convincing argument about what you can contribute if you are included.
8. Think about a time when you were required to accomplish a new or nonroutine task at work that had the potential to cause injury or illness. Discuss how a management of change process could be used to reduce the risks. Who would be involved in the process? How could the risks be reduced?
9. From your own experience or through research, select a job that has a high risk of serious injury or fatality. Discuss how the 5S concept could be used to redesign the job and reduce the serious risks.
10. Your purchasing department does not want to buy adjustable height work stations for the shipping department, stating that they cost twice as much as nonadjustable ones and that they are not required in the OSHA standards. Provide a risk-based argument as to why the adjustable workstations would be the better choice.