Essay Sample: Contingency Planning, Managing Health and Safety in the Workplace

Exercise #1 - Contingency Planning to Protect Assets

ASIS's book Business Continuity Guideline: A Practical Approach for Emergency Preparedness, Crisis Management, and Disaster Recovery, outlines processes and activities that help in creating assessing and maintaining a wholesome plan to be used in the event of a crisis. They include readiness, prevention, response, and recovery (ASIS International, 2005). Firstly, preparation involves carrying out risk management and putting together effective and efficient response teams. Secondly, prevention includes all the objectives and procedures an organization can use to avoid occurrence and minimize the impact. The response involves putting into use the plan and tools identified to save life, property and reduce damages (ASIS International, 2005). Finally, recovery includes all the operations taken to bring normality in the firm after a crisis has faded away.

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Each day, we experience emergencies that occur in different forms hence the need to develop a contingency plan that will be effective in dealing with them. As a security operative for a Fortune 1000 company tasked with ensuring the safety of a firm in the occurrence of an emergency such as fire, I would come up with the following plan. Firstly, I would carry out a risk assessment in the firm to identify all the potential causes of fire and devise measures to eliminate the potential risks such as reducing factory accidents. Secondly, I would prepare for the worst by equipping the organization with adequate resources to put out a fire such as fire extinguishers and conducting fire drills to train employees on how to respond to a fire. Drills are crucial since it allows an organization to facilitate employee safety in cases of emergencies. Additionally, I would train every at least two workers from every department on how to respond to a fire alarm to minimize property loss in case of shop floor accidents.

Exercise #2 - OSHA - Managing Health and Safety in the Workplace

As a security director, I am obligated to understand and implement critical OSHA elements to provide a safe environment for employees. The features include management commitment and workers involvement, worksite analysis, prevention and control of hazards, and training on employees on hazard prevention and response (OSHA, 2005). Firstly, management engagement fosters employees' commitment to implementing safety plans and procedures (OSHA, 2005). In this case, I am obligated to provide an OSHA poster detailing all employee rights and obligations in the workplace. I should also communicate the corporate's safety and health policy to workers.

Secondly, to prevent and control hazards, I must ensure that employees are provided with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) and design safe working procedures. Thirdly, I must equip all workers with OSHA training concerning potential hazards and the use of various machinery and tools accordingly (OSHA, 2005). Fourthly, an organization must maintain and update records of work-related illnesses, injuries, accidents and their causes, exposure to toxic materials, employment records, and physical examination reports (United States Department of Labor, 2019). Furthermore, the OSHA Act obligates employers to report to OSHA immediately concerning accidents that have resulted in fatalities or hospitalization. Moreover, security directors must issue medical assistance and guidance to injured employees.

Notably, my routine practices as a security director are significantly affected by the OSHA Act in such a way that I often discuss with employees concerning their safety. Secondly, I ensure that all employees observe company safety and health procedures such as wearing their full PPE while on the premises. I also acknowledge that prevention is indispensable; hence, I ensure that all supervisors are trained on how to handle control and prevent hazards in their environments.

References

ASIS International. (2005). Business continuity guideline: a practical approach for emergency preparedness, crisis management, and disaster recovery. Retrieved from, https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/legacy/issues/defense/files/guidelinesbc.pdf

OSHA. (2005). Small business handbook. Retrieved from, https://www.osha.gov/Publications/smallbusiness/small-business.pdf

United States Department of Labor. (2019). Occupational safety and health administration. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/employer-responsibility.html