Health & Safety inWorkplace

Task 1

Name of the Company: ALBA

Location:  King Hamad Hwy, Askar, Bahrain

Activities: The Company produces a range of aluminumproducts, which include billets, liquid metal, standardingots, rolling slab, properties and others. 50 per centof Alba’s aluminum is sold to Bahrain’s downstreamindustry while the rest is exported to countries withinthe GCC, the Middle East, Europe, Far-East and SouthAsia. In 2013; the company set an all-time productionrecord in its history with 912,700 metric tons.

Aluminium Products:

Standard Ingots

Standard ingots are ideal for downstream users who wishto re-melt this residual form of aluminium in their ownfurnaces, and then cast it to produce a variety of endproducts. Alba's production capacity of standard ingotsstands at approximately 400,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Rolling Slabs

Sheet ingots, or rolling slabs, are used in rolling millsfor manufacturing aluminium foil and sheet products. Thetotal annual production capacity of rolling slabscurrently stands at approximately 130,000 metric tonnesper annum.

Foundry Alloy Ingots

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Foundry alloy ingots are mainly used by the automotiveindustry for manufacturing high quality automotivewheels, truck hubs and gas pump nozzles.

Extrusion Billets

Extrusion ingots are widely used in the constructionindustry (for windows and door frames), transportation,engineering, and consumer durables. Alba produces around350,000 metric tonnes per annum of extrusion ingots.

Liquid Metal

The Liquid is supplied in liquid form to downstreamindustries in Bahrain and is transferred in crucibles. Ittakes 5 hours for the liquid metal to solidify.

Other Products

Calcined Coke

Alba is one of only two smelters in the world to have adedicated coke calciner, its production capacity isnearly 550,000 metric tonnes per annum.\

Anodes

Alba has three carbon plants that produce about 348,500metric tonnes of anodes every year. Carbon anodes areproduced from calcined petroleum coke and coal tar pitch.

Power

With its four power stations having a total powergenerating capacity of 2,219 MW ISO, equivalent to theaverage power consumed in Bahrain as a whole, Alba'senergy needs are fulfilled independently.

Water

Alba’s seawater desalination plant was commissioned in2001. It utilises waste heat from the calcining process

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to generate steam for the production and supply of 41,000cubic metres per day of portable water.

Workplace Picture

Task 1.1: Safety in Alba

Safety is a key component of Alba’s work culture andshapes the way the company conducts its operations

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Alba has invested time and resources to ensure safetyawareness translated into defined action plans. Everyoneat Alba is trained in health and safety practices byOHSAS 18001 certified

Alba is the recipient of the International Safety Awardfrom the British Safety Council and the OccupationalHealth & Safety Gold Award from the Royal Society for thePrevention of Accidents (ROSPA) for four consecutiveyears. The Alba Safeway Project, launched in 2011 isanother initiative with an objective of achieving zeroharm across our organization.

“Alba achieved a massive 1,308,348 working hours without a single Lost Time Injury”

“Everyone at Alba is inducted and trained in health and safety practices by OHSAS 18001 certified safety personnel”

Task 1.1: About Metal Production

All four-reduction lines performed consistentlythroughout the year, resulting in total hot metalproduction of 453883 tones, an increase of 1980 tonnes on1994. In keeping with ALBA’s exceptional qualitystandards, a high level of metal purity was maintained.

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Task 1.2 the legal requirements

The duties of occupational safety offices shall be defined as follows:

Regular inspection of all work site an ensuring availability of methods of protection

Inspection of accidents and injuries, reviewing, registering and writing report

Preparing statistics about employment injuries

Following up the availability of fire prevention

Monitoring the periodical inspection of safety equipment.

Cont. order 6/2000

Task1.2 management of HS at work rep 1999

The Management of Health and Safety at WorkRegulations 1999 outline what employers are requiredto do to manage health and safety under the Healthand Safety at Work Act. The regulations apply toevery work activity.

Under these regulations, the employer must -

Assess all significant risks to their employees orto other persons. If there are more than fiveemployees a record of the assessment must be kept.The assessment must also identify preventive orprotective measures designed to control the risk

Take particular account of risks to new andexpectant mothers when assessing risks. If they

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cannot be protected from the risk by other means,they must be given paid leave for as long asnecessary to protect the health of their child orthemselves

Devise procedures to deal with situations of seriousor imminent danger. As part of these emergencyprocedures, they must nominate competent persons totake charge if evacuation is necessary. They mustmake sure that access to any dangerous areas isrestricted to those workers who have receivedappropriate training.

Where two or more employers share a workplace orwhere employees of one employer visit another'sworkplace in the course of their work, the employersmust co-operate to ensure that their own staff andothers are protected. Similar duties apply where anemployer hires agency labour from an employmentservice.

The Act sets out the general duties which Albaemployers have towards employees and members ofthe public, and employees have to themselves andto each other. These duties are qualified inthe Act by

The principle of ‘so far as is reasonablypracticable’. In other words, an Alba employer does not haveto take measures to avoid or reduce the risk ifthey are technically impossible or if the time,trouble or cost of the measures would be grosslydisproportionate to the risk.

Task 1.2 HASAWA acts 1974

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The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (alsoreferred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act orHASAWA) is the primary piece of legislation coveringoccupational health and safety in Great Britain. TheHealth and Safety Executive, with local authorities(and other enforcing authorities) is responsible forenforcing the Act and a number of other Acts andStatutory Instruments relevant to the workingenvironment

Except in such cases as may be prescribed, it shallbe the duty of every employer to prepare and asoften as may be appropriate revise a writtenstatement of his general policy with respect to thehealth and safety at work of his employees and theorganisation and arrangements for the time being inforce for carrying out that policy, and to bring thestatement and any revision of it to the notice ofall of his employees.

Regulations made by the Secretary of State mayprovide for the appointment in prescribed cases byrecognised trade unions (within the meaning of theregulations) of safety representatives from amongstthe employees, and those representatives shallrepresent the employees in consultations with theemployers under subsection (6) below and shall havesuch other functions as may be prescribed.

Task 1.2 Health Safety and welfare regulations 1992

Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)Regulations 1992 cover a wide range of basic health,safety and welfare issues and apply to mostworkplaces (with the exception of those workplacesinvolving construction work on construction sites,

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those in or on a ship, or those below ground at amine).

Under these regulations, an employer must complywith the following –

Maintenance - the workplace and equipment must bemaintained in good condition. Where appropriate,there must be a planned system of regularmaintenance

ventilation - enclosed workplaces must be providedwith fresh or purified air

Temperature - a reasonable temperature must bemaintained inside the building during working hours.Thermometers must be provided for staff to consult

Cleanliness - the workplace and equipment must bekept clean. Waste should not be allowed toaccumulate (except in suitable receptacles)

workstations - workstations must be suitable for theworkers who use them and the work which is done

Floors - floors should be suitable and not uneven,holed or slippery. They should be kept free fromobstruction or contamination likely to causeslipping. Staircases should normally have a hand-rail

If an accident occurs, you, your systems,procedures, and Alba employees will come undersecurity. The regulations impose a duty on Albaemployers to assess all risks for all of theirworks. Alba employer must complete and reviewrisk assessments at set times and makemodifications to safety standards if there areany significant changes in working practices orequipment. The Management of Health and Safety

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at Work Approved Code of Practice (ACOP – L21)has been withdrawn and is no longer available.

Task 1.2 reporting of injuries diseases & dangerousoccurrences regulations 1995

Official description of the Act

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and DangerousOccurrences Regulations 1995 came into force on 1April 1996 and require the reporting of specifiedaccidents, ill health and dangerous occurrences tothe enforcing authorities. The events all arise outof or in connection with work activities covered bythe Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. They includedeath, major injury and lost-time accidents.Schedules to the Regulations specify the details ofcases of ill health and dangerous occurrences. TheRegulations were amended in April 2012 to increasethe length of time that triggers the reportingrequirement for injuries, from over three days toover seven days.

For most businesses, reportable events will be quiterare and so there is little for them to do underthese Regulations apart from keeping the guidanceand forms available and being aware of the generalrequirements. 

You need to report: 

deaths;

major injuries;

accidents resulting in over seven days' lost time;

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injuries sustained by a visitor or third party whois taken from your premises to hospital;

Gas incidents. 

your employee, or a self-employed person working onyour premises is killed or suffers a major injury(including as a result of physical violence)

1.2 The control of substance hazardous to healthregulations 1994

The Control of Substances Hazardous to HealthRegulations 1999 (usually called COSHH) state thatcertain substances which are classified as beinghazardous to health, and which employees may beexposed to, must be identified in the workplace andthe health risks to employees assessed.

Hazardous substances

Substances deemed as hazardous to health may begases, vapours, liquids, chemicals, fumes and dusts,or mixtures containing such components.

If there is a potential for inhalation, contact withskin or eyes or ingestion into the body of anyclassified substance, then those risks to the healthof employees must be assessed.

Type of hazardous substances

The Chemicals (Hazard Information & Packaging forSupply) Regulations 1994 classifies a substance ashazardous if it:

has maximum exposure limits

has occupational exposure standards

Prevention is better than cure, and you must givefirst priority to preventing exposure.  In some

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circumstances, where the effects of a substance areirreversible, prevention may be the only cure

Control of exposure

In some cases, prevention of exposure to hazards isjust not possible.  In such cases you must do yourbest to control exposure by any combination of thefollowing measures:

use systems of work which minimize the production ofhazardous substances and limit the area ofcontamination in the event of spills and leaks

install good general ventilation

Regularly clean contamination from walls, surfacesetc.

provide adequate means for safe storage and disposalof hazardous substances

prohibit eating, drinking, smoking etc. incontaminated areas

should provide information of hazardous substancesto all employees, training to deal with hazardoussubstances, information of MSDS.

Task 1.2 the electricity at work regulation 1989

The Electricity at Work Regulations is concernedwith general safety of the use of electricity. Theycover the use and maintenance of electricalequipment in the salon.

Electricity at Work Regulations affect the use ofelectrical equipment A: Regulation 4 of the Actstates: �All electrical equipment must be regularlychecked for electrical safety. In a busy WORKPLACEthis may be every six months. The check must be

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carried out by a safety in your workplace by a�competent person�, preferably a qualifiedelectrician and is called PAT testing. All checksmust be recorded in a book kept for this purposeonly.’

If electrical apparatus is found to be faulty, theequipment must be withdrawn from service andrepaired.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations1992

You are required to use and wear the appropriateprotective equipment or clothing during chemicaltreatments. Protective gloves and aprons are thenormal requirements for your protection and youremployer should provide these for you.

Task 1.2 the display screen equipment regulations 1992

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment)regulations 1992 set specific legal requirements andthe practical measures for the provision, and safeand healthy use of Display Screen Equipment,including computers and some types of cash registersand scientific instruments.

The regulations place a specific duty of care on thepart on both employers and employees.

The Regulations contain practical provisions to helpmake display work safer, more comfortable, moreefficient and more productive.

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User: an employee who habitually uses DSE as asignificant part of their normal work. If someone usesDSE continuously for periods of an hour or more on mostdays worked, they are likely to be classified as a user.

Operator: a self-employed worker who habitually uses DSEfor a significant part of their work.

Word processing worker. Employed on full-time documentcreation and amendment. A mix of checking documents onscreen, keyboard input and formatting. Some change ofposture involved in collecting work, operating printer,etc. Often five hours in total on the DSE work itself,with a lunch break and at least two breaks morning andafternoon.

Data input operator. Employed full time on continuousprocessing of invoices. Predominantly numeric input usingnumeric key pad. May be subject to a system of keystrokemonitoring with associated bonus payments.

1.2 manual handling operations regulations 1992

The Manual Handling Operational Regulations set specific legal requirements to ensure that employees undertaking manual handling operations at work avoid the risk of injury. The regulations place a specific duty of care on the part on both employers and employees.

Under the regulations manual handling is regarded as any transporting or supporting of a load, including lifting, sitting down, pulling or pushing, carrying or moving, by hand or bodily force

Injury is defined as injury to any part of the body and is not just limited to the back.

The regulations apply to all work that involves carrying or holding loads such as lifting boxes, packing goods, or

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pushing or pulling trolleys. They specify all factors employers must consider if they employ manual workers. These include whether

Manual tasks involve awkward movements, moving loads overlong distances, holding goods that are difficult to graspand the capabilities of the worker.

Task 4.a: Roles and Responsibilities

To take reasonable care to protect the health and safetyof themselves and of other people in the workplace

Not to engage in improper behavior that will endangerthemselves or others

To undergo any reasonable medical or other assessment ifrequested to do so by the employer

To report any defects in the place of work or equipmentthis might be a danger to health and safety.

Employer’s responsibilities

It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safetyand welfare of their employees and other people who mightbe affected by their business. Employers must do whateveris reasonably practicable to achieve this. This meansmaking sure that worker and others are protected fromanything that may cause harm, effectively controlling anyrisks to injury or health that could arise in theworkplace. Employers have duties under health and safetylaw to assess risks in the workplace.

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Risk assessments should be carried out that address allrisks that might cause harm in your workplace. Employersmust give you information about the risks in yourworkplace and how you are protected, also instruct andtrain you on how to deal with the risks. Employers mustconsult employees on health and safety issues.Consultation must be either direct or through a safetyrepresentative that is either elected by the workforce.

Manager responsibilities

Making changes to working practices that are safe and comply with legislation;

Preparing health and safety strategies and developing internal policy;

Carrying out risk assessments and considering how riskscould be reduced;

Outlining safe operational procedures which identify and take account of all relevant hazards;

Carrying out regular site inspections to check policiesand procedures are being properly implemented;

Keeping records of inspections findings and producing reports that suggest improvements;

Keeping records of incidents and accidents and producing statistics for managers

Evaluation

With few exceptions, current standards do not dictatemethods to be used in meeting the required trainingobjectives. One standard on powered platform operationsmentions that pictorial methods can be used instead of

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written work procedures in the training activity. Severalothers stipulate a portion of the training time to be a“hands-on” learning experience. More generally, however,the "how to” of training is left to the discretion of theemployer.

Task 4.b: Analyze the role and responsibilities

Supervisor

Giving the necessary instructions to the employees in the non-supervisory positions Behalf the company Management.

Stopping the production process.

Requesting for the necessary available Resources in the factories to control any unsafe situation.

Taking the formal Procedures.

Moderators

Demand necessary available recourses to reduce and control unsafe situation.

Complete all necessary steps to reduce and control unsafe situation.

CAUSES OF SLIPS

Causes Examples

• Oil or water on floor

Water leaking from pipes

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Spilled oil

• Smooth floor surface Painted floor

• Objects on floors Pens, pencils

Tools such as screwdrivers

• Incorrect footwear

Worn out shoes

Improper shoes

Slips happen because the foot did not get proper contact with the floor

CAUSES OF FALLS

Causes Examples

• Unguarded floor openings Open manholes

• Unguarded edges Open edge

• Shortcut Using unsafe platform

• Wrong step Misstep in stairs

• Unsafe use of ladder Not securing ladder

Falls happen when the feet steps on open space

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CAUSES OF TRIPS

Causes Examples

• Cables on the floor

Extension wires

Welding cables

• Open drawers Desk drawer

• Poor housekeeping Boxes on walkways

Trips happen when the foot is stopped from movingby an object on the floor.

Task 5

What is risk assessment?

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination ofwhat, in Alba Company, could cause harm to people, sothat you can weigh up whether you have taken enoughprecautions or should do more to prevent harm. AlbaCompany workers and others have a right to be protectedfrom harm caused by a failure to take reasonable controlmeasures.Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect yourbusiness too if output is lost, machinery is damaged,insurance costs increase or you have to go to court. Youare legally required to assess the risks in yourworkplace so that you put in place a plan to control therisks.

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5 steps of risk assessment:

1- Identify the hazards:

First you need to work out how people could be harmed.When you work in Alba Company every day it is easy tooverlook some hazards, so here are some tips to help youidentify the ones that matter:

Walk around Alba Company and look at what couldreasonably be expected to cause harm.

Ask your employees or their representatives what theythink. They may have noticed things that are notimmediately obvious to you. For information on how youcan do this please visit our worker involvement pages.

Visit the HSE website. HSE publishes practical guidanceon where hazards occur and how to control them. There ismuch information on the hazards that might affect yourbusiness.

If you are a member of a trade association, contactthem. Many produce very helpful guidance.

Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets forchemicals and equipment as they can be very helpful inspelling out the hazards and putting them in their trueperspective.

Have a look back at your accident and ill-health records– these often help to identify the less obvious hazards.

Remember to think about long-term hazards to health(high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances)as well as safety hazards.

2- Decide who might be harmed and how:For each hazard you need to be clear about who might beharmed; it will help you identify the best way ofmanaging the risk. That doesn’t mean listing everyone by

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name, but rather identifying groups of people (e.g.‘people working in the storeroom’ or ‘passers-by’).Remember:

Some workers have particular requirements, new and youngworkers, and migrant workers new or expectant mothersand people with disabilities may be at particular risk.Extra thought will be needed for some hazards;

cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance workersetc., who may not be in Alba Company all the time;

members of the public, if they could be hurt by youractivities;

if you share Alba Company, you will need to think abouthow your work affects others present, as well as howtheir work affects your staff – talk to them; and

Ask your staff if they can think of anyone you may havemissed.

In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e.what type of injury or ill health might occur. Forexample, ‘shelf stackers may suffer back injury fromrepeated lifting of boxes.

3- Evaluate the risks and decide on precautionsHaving spotted the hazards, you then have to decidewhat to do about them. The law requires you to doeverything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect peoplefrom harm. You can work this out for yourself, butthe easiest way is to compare what you are doing withgood practice.First, look at what you’re already doing; think aboutwhat controls you have in Alba Company and how thework is organized. Then compare this with the goodpractice and see if there’s more you should be doing

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to bring yourself up to standard. In asking yourselfthis, consider:

Can I get rid of the hazard altogether? If not, how can I control the risks so that harm is

unlikely?

When controlling risks, apply the principles below,if possible in the following order:

try a less risky option (switch to using a lesshazardous chemical);

prevent access to the hazard (by guarding); organize work to reduce exposure to the hazard (put

barriers between pedestrians and traffic); issue personal protective equipment (clothing,

footwear, goggles etc.); and Provide welfare facilities (first aid and washing

facilities for removal of contamination).

Improving health and safety need not cost a lot. Forinstance, placing a mirror on a dangerous blindcorner to help prevent vehicle accidents is a low-cost precaution considering the risks. Failure totake simple precautions can cost you a lot more if anaccident does happen.Involve staff, so that you can be sure that what youpropose to do will work in practice and won’tintroduce any new hazards.

4- Record your findings and implement them:Putting the results of your risk assessment intopractice will make a difference when looking afterpeople and your business.Writing down the results of your risk assessment, and

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sharing them with your staff, encourages you to dothis. If you have fewer than five employees you donot have to write anything down.When writing down your results, keep it simple, forexample ‘Tripping over rubbish: bins provided, staffinstructed, weekly housekeeping checks’, or ‘Fumefrom welding: local exhaust ventilation used andregularly checked.We do not expect a risk assessment to be perfect, butit must be suitable and sufficient. As illustrated byour example risk assessments, you need to be able toshow that:

A proper check was made. You asked who might be affected. you dealt with all the obvious significant hazards,

taking into account the number of people who couldbe involved;

the precautions are reasonable, and the remainingrisk is low; and

You involved your staff or their representatives inthe process. Download the Risk Assessment and Policy Template.This template brings together your risk assessment,health and safety policy and record of health andsafety arrangements into one document to help getyou started and save you time. If you already havea health and safety policy, you may choose tosimply complete the risk assessment part of thetemplate. Use the example risk assessments as aguide for completing the template, adapting it forAlba Company. If like many businesses, you findthat there are quite a lot of improvements that youcould make, big and small, don’t try to doeverything at once. Make a plan of action to dealwith the most important things first. Health and

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safety inspectors acknowledge the efforts ofbusinesses that are clearly trying to makeimprovements.

A good plan of action often includes a mixture ofdifferent things such as:

a few cheap or easy improvements that can be donequickly, perhaps as a temporary solution until morereliable controls are in place;

long-term solutions to those risks most likely tocause accidents or ill health;

long-term solutions to those risks with the worstpotential consequences;

arrangements for training employees on the mainrisks that remain and how they are to becontrolled;

regular checks to make sure that the controlmeasures stay in place; and

Clear responsibilities – who will lead on whataction and by when:

Remember, priorities and tackle the most importantthings first. As you complete each action, tick itoff your plan.

5- Review your risk assessment and updateif necessary:

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Alba Company stays the same. Sooner or later, youwill bring in new equipment, substances andprocedures that could lead to new hazards. It makessense therefore, to review what you are doing on anon-going basis.

Look at your risk assessment and think about whetherthere have been any changes? Are there improvementsyou still need to make? Have Alba Company workersspotted a problem? Have you learnt anything fromaccidents or near misses? Make sure your riskassessment stays up to date.

When you are running a business it’s all too easy toforget about reviewing your risk assessment – untilsomething has gone wrong and it’s too late. Duringthe year, if there is a significant change, don’twait: check your risk assessment and where necessary,amend it. If possible, it is best to think about therisk assessment when you’re planning your change – that way you leave yourself more flexibility.

TASK 7: Risk Assessment for the selected workplace:

I have visited the workplace in Alba Bahrain. During my

tour of the premises many hazards where observed. As part

of the health and safety assurance team of Ministry of

Labour, I noted the crucial safety issues which require

immediate attention from the company’s management.

The electricity of the workplace in Alba it’s not

properly wired and there is also slips and trips, need to

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clear these problems as soon because it’s harmful for the

employees over there. They are hardly any fire

extinguishers seen on the floor. After checking the

available fire extinguishers all of them had not been

serviced since the company had opened. The other thing

observed that all of the extinguishers available are

water extinguishers. In a place like a workplace where

electrical equipment is available class C fire

extinguisher is compulsory.

The following will be a case study to show the hazards in

the points given above:

It is unhealthy to stuff the place more than its

capacity because there will be too much carbon

dioxide from the people’s breath.

The electric wires should be change and need install

the heavy duty wires

Fire extinguishers are very important, but we must

make sure which one to use on which kind of fire and

we must insure that it is serviced every six months.

Recommendations for making the work place a safer place :

The materials should be changing for user-friendly

for using employees.

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The electrical wires should be change and put heavy

duty wires using good materials to install wiring

and put one employee for manage these section.

Water extinguisher can cause a greater hazard if

sprayed on any electrical devices and it could

damage other equipment which was not affected by the

fire. Secondly the extinguisher must be serviced

every six months so it would ready to get used in

case of emergency

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