Description of the Incident
Workplace hazards are one of the most crucial matters that need a strict check. It is a known fact that there will surely be many risks in each and every workplace. It is the duty of the management and the company owners to make sure that they are being able to provide a safe and sound environment to their employees. They have to make sure that the employees are not kept in any darkness regarding the environment of the workplace (Curcuruto, Mearns & Mariani, 2016). In other words, the employees have the complete right to know about each and every dangers or risk associated with the workplace or the kind of work that they are doing. If the workplace is beset with different kinds of dangers and the managers are not serious about warning the employees regarding the same, there can be great hazards (Carayon et al., 2015). One such incident happened in the Canberra Kenoss construction company. There was the death of one of the truck drivers who was not warned about the electric wires that are kept strewn in the construction site. This happens to be one of the most fatal accidents’ that happened due to the carelessness of the company owners (Ahmad, 2017).
Mr. Booth who was a worker of that construction site was electrocuted due to the uneven and the unmaintained low hanging electric wires. Moreover, the wires were also covered with deep vegetation. This really made it very difficult for the workers to know about the impending danger that is lying in front of them (Cohn & Wardlaw, 2016). The same was the case, Mr. Booth. He was driving his can this happened to be his second trip of delivering goods in the construction site. He was luckily safe on the first trip so he did not think of ant dangers lying in front of him (Spellman, 2017). Apart from this, there were also no warnings or any alarms given by the company. This shows that the company owners were really much reluctant in making the workers know about the dangers and the ways in which they can be saved. It is true that the Canberra Kenoss construction company did not take any responsibility about the safety of their workers. However, this also cannot be ignored that the workers did not pay any attention to any kinds of safety warning even if they were given by the company. The blames cannot be given on the workers because if the workers are not getting any seriousness of any such safety warnings from the end of the company then they will naturally stay very relaxed.
Discussion on Workplace Hazards and Safety Breach
Among the many hazards that can take place, electrocutions are one of the most dangerous and common causes (Durocher & Kay, 2018). The case that happened at Canberra is not the one and the only one. There are many such accidents that are taking place every year due to the electric wires being strewn or left untreated here and there in the construction site (Enhance Solutions. 2015). So many employees get electrocuted every year (Curcuruto, Mearns & Mariani, 2016). One of the major causes is appointing the unfit or the unsuitable workers for doing the electric works. It is the prime duty of the company to appoint only those workers who are certified electricians or are quite skilled in this particular aspect. This would reduce the chances of such accidents (Spellman, 2017). As far as the Canberra Kenoss incident is concerned, it is likely that the electricians who had been working there were not really competent enough (Zhao & Lucas, 2015). They were very careless while dealing with the electric wires and had left them hanging at such low levels without any proper treatment or warning signs.
It is also likely that the company did not pay much attention in doing the risk assessment of their construction site. If the safety and the risk assessments had been done properly then the accident could have been avoided (Zhao et al., 2015). The Canberra construction company as did not have any hazard control plans. So, it is evident that the co any really had no heed about the safety of the lives of their workers. So, it is very likely for the employees of such a reluctant company to undergo such accidents. The carelessness of the company led to this tragic incident that happened at the Canberra construction site. There was no demarcation of the danger zone by any flags or any other such warning posts. Apart from this, the negligence of the company was reflected from the reluctant nature of the company after hearing about the death of the driver. The company did not show any signs of remorse. Moreover, the company tried to take away all the blame or the allegations that came in their way (The Canberra Times. 2015). Despite the fact that the accident happened because of the negligence of the company, they wanted to escape the entire fault on their end (Stave, & Wald, 2016). They did not show any kind of cooperation or any help towards the family members of the victim.
Response to the Incident and Suggestions for Improvement
The main intent of the company was to somehow stay clean by getting rid of all the allegations that have been given on the company (Beus, McCord & Zohar, 2016). They also appointed one of their officers to remove the attendance record of Mr. Booth, so that the cops do not get to find any proofs about the accident that has happened (Smith, 2015). The main motif of the company was to keep themselves at the safe side without entering into the entire one of the accident that had happened ABC News. (2015). Neither did the company have any soft corner or any feelings for Mr. Booth and his family but they also tried to stop the investigation that was going on for that case. Lorraine Walker started to handle this case and made sure that she is being able to reach to the roots of this issue. It has been reported by her that she received a constant threat and attempt from the Canberra Construction companies to stop the investigation. The company wanted to stay totally clean. This is really very bad for the company as they did not show any kindness after the death of Mr. Booth. It shows that the company has to heed for the welfare of is employees. Neither did they use any risk assessment nor any hazard control methods nor did they show any kind of help towards the family of the victim.
They also did not want to pay any compensation to the family members of the victim. As per the opinion of the lawyer Lorraine Walker, there was a huge breach of safety measures of the company. They did not enter into any functions like the risk assessment or the risk hazard methods. They wanted to come out from the liability of taking the responsibility of the untimely death of Mr. Booth. As per the opinion of the ACT work safe commissioner Mark Cabe was of the opinion that they must be sending some warning to all the companies so that they can become much alarmed. He was also of the opinion that the Canberra Construction company has committed a severe crime and must be charged with a heavy penalty.
So, it is evident from the opinion of the ACT Safety commissioner that companies committing such crimes are to get severe penalties (Waugh, 2015). They must be getting g proper punishments and their licenses are to be canceled. This will help in making the all the organizations to take this matter seriously and be concerned about the safety and the security of the employees.
Scholarly Sources Supporting the Discussion
The ACT Safety WORKSAFE Commissioner said that he had already visited the spot of the accident a few days ago and he felt that the place really needed some modification (Home. 2018) He felt that the wires are really left without any proper treatment. This was really very detrimental for the lives of the workers who are working the construction sites. They thought of imposing a fine on the company so that they can take it as a warning and can understand that they are to take proper care of their employees and it is one of their proper duties. There are many ways in which this tragedy could have been avoided.
One of the steps was to do a detailed risk analysis. Knowing that the majority of their works is in relation to the construction purposes; they must have had the hazard control plan ready with them. This would have been very essential in controlling this accident (Sullivan, 2018). They could have sealed the electric wires with some electric proof devices that would have minimized the chances of any passer buys getting the electric shocks. They could have been much more efficient in recruiting the electricians at work. This could have been the case that the electricians are not very well versed in the handling of the electric wires or the other electric works. Trained electricians might have handled this in an effective manner. This would have reduced the chances of the accidents. The most important thing is that the company has developed an employee welfare plan.
The theory called task dynamics theory is one of the risk and safety management theory that must be followed in each and every workplace. This is a process where the managers and the owners have to see the reflex actions of the workers while they are working. For an instance, the workers working in a construction company might get afraid after seeing any electric spark taking place in the organization. This theory was not followed in by the owners of the Canberra Constructions. They did not pay attention to the risks that the employees might have from the electric wires that are hanging all around.
It is really very bad on the part of the company to act as an escapist in case of such a huge fault. They must have developed an employee-centric approach (Stave & Wald, 2016). There must be some employee compensation plan that would be useful in such cases. If the employees are suffering from an injury or something as serious as death at the workplace, then the companies must be paying a certain sum of money to the family members.
It is evident that there are some faults in the management of the company. They must make sure that the managers are thinking about the welfare of the employees. Canberra constructions showed no signs of remorse at the death of one of their worker provided the fact that the death occurred due to the fault at the end of the company itself.
I would have developed a detailed risk analysis and a detailed hazard control plan. This will help in ensuring my employees that they are valued within the organization. I will always keep in mind that the employees are one of the biggest assets of the company. I will make sure that the workers who are being recruited in the organization are skilled and are experienced enough. I will not recruit any old or obsolete materials in the manufacturing process of my organization only in order to lessen the overall expenditure. Particularly if I am in charge of maintaining the workplace safety of any manufacturing or construction plants like the Canberra Constructions, then I will be extra concerned about this aspect. I will make sure that there is regular testing of all the implements and the mechanical parts that are being used in the day to day manufacturing process. This will help in assuring that the employees are not running the risk of using any old and out of order materials that might lead to any electric shocks or explosions. I will also try to keep the environment clean and try to avoid the chemical hazards. I will appoint cleaners and professional testers who will be able to test the condition of the types of equipment that are being used on a day to day basis for the manufacturing purposes.
Conclusion
So, it can be concluded that all the workplaces must carry on an extensive safety and risk analysis to make sure that their employee are not working under any dangers. The company must be able to also appoint a team of fire experts and electrical engineers who will be able to check the setting of all the electric devices and the positioning of the electric wires. They will be able to warn us against any kinds of dangers that might take place. They will make sure to warn the employees if there are any chances of dangers within the construction plant. It is the duty of the company to make sure that the danger-prone area is being covered with flags or with any danger postings in a very prominent manner. This will help to save the lives of the employees from any other dangers that could have otherwise taken their lives.
References
ABC News. (2015). Canberra construction company fined $1.1m over death of truck driver. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-19/construction-company-fined-1-million-over-workplace-death/6708032
Ahmad, A. (2017). Awareness of workplace hazards and preventive measures among sandstone mineworkers in Rajasthan, India: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Health and Social Sciences, 2(1), 69-82.
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Carayon, P., Hancock, P., Leveson, N., Noy, I., Sznelwar, L., & Van Hootegem, G. (2015). Advancing a sociotechnical systems approach to workplace safety–developing the conceptual framework. Ergonomics, 58(4), 548-564.
Cohn, J. B., & Wardlaw, M. I. (2016). Financing constraints and workplace safety. The Journal of Finance, 71(5), 2017-2058.
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Durocher, D. B., & Kay, L. A. (2018). Arc Flash Safety Compliance: A Journey Toward Electrical Workplace Safety and Production Reliability. IEEE Industry Applications Magazine, 24(3), 48-57.
Enhance Solutions. (2015). Poor safety culture and lack of systems lead to fatality. Available from https://www.enhancesolutions.com.au/blog/poor-safety-culture-and-lack-of-systems-lead-to-fatality
Home. (2018). Safe Work Australia. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/
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Smith, S. M. (2015). Workplace hazards of truck drivers. Monthly Lab. Rev., 138, 1.
Spellman, F. R. (2017). Industrial hygiene simplified: a guide to anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards. Bernan Press.
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Sullivan, C. (2018). Managing health and safety in the workplace. In Key Topics in Healthcare Management (pp. 180-204). CRC Press.
The Canberra Times. (2015). Kenoss Contractors fined $ 1.1 million for workplace death. Available from : https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/kenoss-contractors-fined-11-million-for-workplace-death-20150819-gj2fra.html
Waugh, W. L. (2015). Living with Hazards, Dealing with Disasters: An Introduction to Emergency Management: An Introduction to Emergency Management. Routledge.
Zhao, D., & Lucas, J. (2015). Virtual reality simulation for construction safety promotion. International journal of injury control and safety promotion, 22(1), 57-67.
Zhao, D., McCoy, A. P., Kleiner, B. M., & Smith-Jackson, T. L. (2015). Control measures of electrical hazards: An analysis of construction industry. Safety Science, 77, 143-151.
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