Occupational Safety and Health Hazards: How to Protect Yourself

Introduction 

The federal organization OSHA established in 1970 primarily intended on assuring working men and women a safe and healthful working environment through setting standards and by providing outreach, education, training, and assistance. In 2016, OSHA increased significantly the cost for violating workplace safety standards by 78% a clear indicator that its occurrence is nowhere near a decline. There have been numerous cases of loss of life among employees while others are injured for life. The number of injuries and cases of violation of the OSHA standards has been a common occurrence. It has become evident that the fines and penalties that are currently in place are not sufficient to tackle the problem. Organizations violate the regulations as a means of saving money. Therefore, increasing the fines may prompt them to embrace the rules. Thesis: I plan to research Jung and Makowsky (2014), Lin et al., (2014) and Siqueira et al., (2014) source in order to define occupational safety and health hazards that have become a major concern in the modern industrial economy and propose effective measures that implemented will prevent fatality, injuries, and increased punishment on affected organizations. 

Statement of the Problem or Need 

The continued incidence of occupational accidents and arising safety hazards has been primarily the lack of concern for the employees who work day in day out to earn a living. Long before the establishment of OSHA major industrial corporations had the final say concerning the nature of working conditions set for the workers. There were numerous events of major accidents taking place at the workplace resulting in deaths and serious injuries of the workers. I believe that through the investigation of various recent events of violation of occupational hazards will show that the corporations continue to neglect the safety of their employees. Academic research studies on occupational safety and its implementation at the workplace will help illuminate the nature of practices that organizations employ. The statistical records of the various events are also important in further discovery of the issue as it affects both the modern business as well as the labor force. I intent to discover the information through online newspapers that have recorded the chronology of events, scientific journals that report details of events to the highest level of accuracy, and records available from the OSHA. 

Potential Causes of the Problem or Need 

There are numerous factors that may have led to the drastic increase in the number of occupational safety and health hazard violations. One of the concerns is the significant increase in size of organizations. Manufacturing companies have grown into gigantic sizes such that it has become very difficult to focus on the safety of all personnel. However, such reasons are not taken lightly by the OSHA as well as the public which believe that upholding safety measures is the responsibility of the company. Another reason for the increased violation of OSHA standards is the negligent management practices. The majority of recorded violations in the country have shown that workers have presented the issue to the management only to be ignored. The workers at the ground usually have little to no advanced education, hence, their ideas of protecting themselves during work are considered unworthy of the management’s attention. I will require the events occurring prior to a major accident in a number of cases to evaluate the cause of the problem. This information is available on a variety of sources including newspapers and academic journals. 

Potential Solutions to the Problem or Ways to Satisfy the Need: 

To eradicate the incidence of occupational and safety hazards violations, it is essential that OSHA enforce even higher penalties for the breaking of rules. In this case, while a 78% increase in the penalties was identified as a drastic increase, I believe that the penalties should be even higher for companies. The accidents taking place can also be prevented by educating workers in the different industries to understand the safety regulations and health hazards they face at the workplace. Education can help them take matters into their own hands and protect themselves when the employer cannot. To discover about solving the problem, it is essential that we focus on the most common incidences. For instance, employee falling is one of the major accidents that occur as a direct violation of OSHA standards. Therefore, identifying ways of preventing these falls will help improve the rate of its occurrence. The available research studies and OSHA standards have enough information that could help eradicate the problem of employees falling at the workplace. The laws will be used to instill a sense of duty among employers towards their staff. 

Potential Actors to Solve Problem or Satisfy Need 

The issue of workplace safety is a collective problem. It affects the business owners, employees, government organizations, and the public community. The employers will take up the responsibility of providing all of their employees with the necessary training and safety precautions to prevent injury, illness, or premature death. The employees themselves as the first-hand experience of the nature of the work, they should help their supervisors and employers alike to develop safety precautions and procedures to eradicate the problem. OSHA will play a major role by continued development of standards that are respective to the industry in ensuring safety of the labor force. The community at large will play the role of observant and whistle-blower as the incidence of illness, injury or death directly affects them. If the community notes that the company is getting away with a mistake, they should report it and make it known to the relevant authorities. 

Proposal Summary 

STEP 1 —Write Your Main Topic: Occupational Safety and Health Hazards . 

STEP 2 —Write 5 Questions About Your Topic: 

Hint: Start your questions with “How...”, “Why...”, or “What...”. 

Question 1: Why is occupational safety and health hazards an important issue in the modern society ? 

Question 2: How do occupational hazards and safety issues affect employees, businesses, and the community at large ? 

Question 3: What are some of the major causes of injuries and illness at the workplace ? 

Question 4: How can employers mitigate the threat of occupational hazards in the working environment ? 

Question 5: Why are many corporations in violation to the OSHA standards and procedures of workplace safety and health practices ? 

STEP 3—Choose 3 of Your 5 Questions, then Write 3 Questions for Each: 

FIRST QUESTION: Why is occupational safety and health hazards an important issue in the modern society ? 

Question 1a: How many occupational hazards and safety incidences occurred in recent years ? 

Question 1b: What are the measures in place to prevent occurrence of these incidences ? 

Question 1c: How can members of the public help in preventing incidence of accidents at the workplace ? 

SECOND QUESTION: What are some of the major causes of injuries and illness at the workplace ? 

Question 2a: How do workplace injuries and illnesses associate with the wellbeing of the organization? 

Question 2b: How can employees prevent regular occurrence of the accidents at the workplace ? 

Question 2c: What happens to workers who have been injured or fallen ill as a direct influence of the workplace conditions ? 

THIRD QUESTION: Why are many corporations in violation to the OSHA standards and procedures of workplace safety and health practices ? 

Question 3a: What are the responsibilities of the Corporations or employers in regard to workplace safety ? 

Question 3b: What are some measures that employers may incorporate to prevent severity of risks and hazards at the workplace ? 

Question 3c: What is the appropriate punishment for organizations that fail to minimize the risks and health hazards in the workplace environment ? 

References 

Jung, J., & Makowsky, M. D. (2014). The determinants of federal and state enforcement of workplace safety regulations: OSHA inspections 1990–2010. Journal of regulatory economics, 45 (1), 1-33. 

Lin, K. Y., Tsai, M. H., Gatti, U. C., Lin, J. J. C., Lee, C. H., & Kang, S. C. (2014). A user-centered information and communication technology (ICT) tool to improve safety inspections. Automation in Construction, 48 , 53-63. 

Siqueira, C. E., Gaydos, M., Monforton, C., Slatin, C., Borkowski, L., Dooley, P., ... & Keifer, M. (2014). Effects of social, economic, and labor policies on occupational health disparities. American journal of industrial medicine, 57 (5), 557-572.