Reference no: EM133340470

Assignment:

Case

Injury in the Meat Shop

A 26-year-old newly employed worker (the victim) at a retail grocery store suffered amputation of the right arm as a result of being caught by the auger of a meat grinder while he was reassembling it. The victim had only started the job two months ago. Before this, he worked in a meat shop in a similar capacity and had assured management that he was familiar with the machinery used in the industry. On the evening of the accident, he had completed washing and cleaning the disassembled parts of the grinder and was reassembling it. He inserted the auger into the grinder's housing and reached through the feed-throat with his right hand to guide it into position. As he did so, he bumped against the unprotected on/off lever switch mounted about waist high on the machine's side.

Unfortunately, he did not de-energize nor locked out the machine's power supply before starting the cleaning and re-assembly process so the grinder started and the auger pulled his hand and arm into the housing. He turned the machine off, pulled his arm from the grinder housing and ran toward the front of the store. The store manager applied pressure to his bleeding arm while a coworker called for an ambulance. The victim was transported to a local hospital. His right arm had to be amputated just below the elbow.

It so happened that a magnetic safety switch mounted on top of the motor starter was designed to prevent operation when the Removable Tub was taken off. The safety switch had not worked for over 16 years and employees were not even aware that the safety switch existed.

Questions

1. With reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Bill of Jamaica, who would you say is at fault in this scenario? Please support your response with at least TWO provisions of the OHS Bill,

2. Apart from the one presented in the case, discuss THREE other Occupational Health and Safety threats that may exist in modern organizations.

3. Discuss THREE steps that may be taken to ensure that there is not a recurrence of similar incidents in the future.

4. Explain the concept of an Occupational Health and Safety Policy and outline TWO components of a typical OHS Policy.

5. Outline THREE possible implications of poor Occupational Health and Safety practices and policies for an organization.

6. Explain the concept of an employee wellness programme and outline TWO benefits of these programmes for organizations.