¶ … falling death of a female minor at a rooftop construction site was the result of a lack of safety oversight and precautionary intervention. The owner of the company was present at the site at the time of death but had provided no safety equipment or guidelines to the minor. Legally, she was prohibited from being in the hazardous environment because she was under 18. A safety professional could have helped prevent the incident by recommending safe work practices. This paper provides a summary of the NIOSH report, what was lost in terms of cost (a life), what factors contributed to it, and how it could have been prevented. It concludes with a discussion on how safety professionals can be an effective workplace task force in companies like this one where oversight is sorely needed in order to mitigate risks associate with hazardous environments where loss of life could occur.
NIOSH Report
In 2007, a 17-year-old female worker fell 26 feet from the roof of a residential dwelling. Her employer was tasked with replacing the roof and she had been with the owner of the company on the roof. After stacking shingles on a wooden plank, the female worker sat on the plank. From there she fell to the stone patio below. She was airlifted to a hospital but remained in critical condition for 9 days until she died from her severe head injuries.
Her fatality was the only injury/loss of life in this report. The cost of the death was significant in terms of human life. From a social perspective, the death of this underage worker corresponds with the goal of YouthRules! -- a website launched by the U.S. government in order to raise awareness among young workers about how to protect themselves in work zones that are potentially dangerous. The lack of oversight by the owner of the construction/roofing company and the inattention to safety requirements regarding workers under the age of 18 (she should not have been on the roof with the workers) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration "requires that all workers be protected against falling while working at an elevation," a requirement which was not adhered to in...
Workplace Violence Violence in the workplace is an everyday event that affects employees throughout the nation. It must be addressed, clearly defined, and possible solutions presented that will eventually identify the potential aggressor and victim. According to the United States Department of Justice (1998) the workplace is the most dangerous place to be in America. In fact, workplace homicide is the fastest growing category of murder in the United States (U.S.
Furthermore, in respect of the various cultures and languages within the workforce, the manual could also be printed in each representative language, as far as this is deemed necessary. This will ensure full understanding of the rules and regulations, and also promote the function of the entire workforce as a group (Nonprofit Risk Management Center, 2005 (b)). Writing such a manual would then address the various important aspects of the
Workplace violence is a major threat to American companies, and costs billions of dollars each year is lost wages, health care, and legal fees. In light of current trends towards company downsizing and higher levels of job stress, these acts of violence are on the rise, and affect every employee and the entire community, as well. Since violence can come from any number of sources, including threats, actual physical violence,
G., interrupted when speaking) Someone interfered with your work activities (Kowalski, Harmon, Yorks & Kowalski, 2003, p. 39) One can see from this list that there is a significant development of aggression, in relatively mild forms that probably occurs across the board, to some degree in every business environment. Workplace aggression, between low level employees as well as between supervisors and employees is clearly a significant cause of workplace stress as well
Boosting job satisfaction by offering employees safety nets should they get MSD or offering as many preventative measures as possible will lead to a corporate culture more conducive to long-term profitability. Firms should move away from the prevailing business model that discounts employee satisfaction (and employee health) and shift toward a more holistic vision of business. No industry or organization will fare well for long if they cannot maintain
Workplace Injury Reducing workplace injury requires a multifaceted approach, and requires responsibility on the part of employees and managers. I am frequently called upon to move, lift, or manipulate objects. Most of the time this behavior is in accordance with my job description, and I was offered some basic safety training and guidelines when I was hired to perform the job. However, the details of each procedure were not offered in
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