1.0 Introduction
Health and Safety is a prime concern in every field.
John Bartlett says that “Appreciating the general concept of the need for good health and safety is very different from understanding how the specifics apply to the dynamic of a particular workspace”, Workplace law’s Safety and Health Practitioner.”
Health and Safety is the prime importance to every Air Freight Services, who will seek to conduct its business in such a way as to avoid harm to its employees and all others who may be affected directly or indirectly by its activities. Every Air Freight Service have a separate department for Health and Safety and in some big Air Freight Services research on Health and Safety is done once in year to ensure that all the employees are happy from the point of Health and Safety or not even customs inspect the every Air Freight Service once or twice in a year. This project is all about the Health and Safety management system. Main aim of this research is to help the employees to work safely and avoid accidents by finding main issues of Health and Safety occurred in Air Freight Services and solutions to remove those issues. Responsibilities of management and employees toward Health and Safety in Air freight Services should also be investigated in this research.
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Main aim of this research is to improve the health and safety in airfreight services by improving the Management system of health and safety and as researcher working as a Ware House Operator in Scanwell Freight Services (SFS), so I choose this organisation for my research. This organisation is ready to help me in my research.
As we know no one becomes perfect but at least we can try to become perfect. There is lot of issues in every air freight services and everyone wants to resolve these issues. To resolve the big issue it will require lot of investment. But at least we can resolve the small issues because small issues sometime give birth to big issues. In this research I am trying to find all the small and big issues and put forward to company directors just as recommendations. In Scanwell Freight services there are lots of small issues which are ignored and can solve very easily by just understanding and cooperating with each other. Some issues are big which require wealth of company but as the manager of company Mr Naresh Nandani gives me permission for this research to find out all the issues regarding Health and Safety in company. It will help the company to become perfect in Health and Safety. For Health and Safety everyone wants to be perfect because the safety of employee is the prime concern of every company.
This research will help an Air Freight Services to improve the Health and Safety Department and responsibilities of management and employees towards Health and Safety. Every person on this earth work only to live the life happily and calmly, if person dies in accident while working then it’s a big shame on a company who take the work from the employees but not considered their safety while working. So this research will help Air Freight Services and employees of Air Freight Services to take care of health and safety precautions while working.
This research also helps me to get the experience and also create my good image in front of managers and directors of the company. The issues which are considered in this research are small and big issues. Small issues can be removed by just understanding and cooperation but big issue requires time and wealth of company. It all depends on the management of Scanwell, how they react for these issues. Directors have the responsibility for the health and safety in every organisation.
1.1 Background of Research
The Management system is based on nationally and internationally agreed principles, defined and developed to provide the necessary strength, flexibility and appropriate foundation for the development of a sustainable health and safety culture throughout the all air freight services.
The practical recommendations of the procedures and arrangements with in this research can be used by all those who have a responsibility for managing Health and Safety activities in Air Freight Services. The outcome of this research can be used by Air Freight services as a practical tool to achieving continual improvement of health and safety performance.
While working as a warehouse operator in S.F.S researcher found lots of small and big issues of health and safety which can be easily removed by just co-operating and understating between employees and management. Researcher wants to avoid the accidents to him and other workers that’s why this research is conducted with the help of employees, management and managers permission.
1.2 Importance and Motivation of the Study
Every person on this earth work only to live the life happily and calmly, if person dies by accident while working then it’s a big problem of a company who take the work from the employees but not considered their safety while working.
Topic of research or motivation of research always comes from authors desires. As researcher already mentioned that he is working as a ware house operator in Scanwell Freight Services, so while working researcher found lots of issues regarding Health and Safety then researcher discuss some issues with my managers and operational managers as well of organisation and ask them that researcher want to do research on health and safety information for this organisation and they motivate researcher by saying a very good words “We appreciate your idea and we are with you” and by finding the issues and solutions for the issues researcher can help my workmates too. Importance of this research is that this research is not only for S.F.S every organisation can take advantage from this research because Health and Safety is a major issue in every organisation.
1.3 Objectives
- To identify and investigate the issues which create/ increase the risk of Health and Safety while working in Air freight Services.
- To find out the solutions for issues of Health and Safety comes while working in Air Freight Service.
- To critically analyse the factors of health and safety which reduce the risk of accidents while working?
1.4 Research Question/Hypothesis
- More employee’s and management’s responsibility towards Health and Safety in Air freight services reduce the risk factor in health and safety in the organisation.
- Good employee training and induction programmes to reduce the risk factor of Health and safety in the organisation.
- Contingent planning and its managements help to reduce the risk factor of Health and Safety in the organisation
1.5 Research Questions
- What are the issues of risks of health and safety which come while working in air freight services?
- What are the factors which reduce the risk of health and safety while working in air freight services?
- What are recommended strategy of the identified issues which reduce the risk factors while working in air freight services?
1.6 Scope of the project
Every freight services want to improve the health and safety within the organisation. As I am doing this research on Scanwell Freight Services, it will help our organisation to become perfect in Health and Safety.
Scope of this research is very wide. This research will help an Air Freight Services to improve the Health and Safety Department and responsibilities of management and employees towards Health and Safety. This research also can be used by other organisations to maintain the Health and Safety in organisations. When customs investigate the organisation we can show them the new research and removed issues regarding Health and Safety. This thing also improves the organisation image in market and everyone wants to work with this organisation because of name in market and name in customs regarding Health and Safety. This research also shows the ways of improving management responsibilities regarding Health and Safety and channels of communication with employees.
1.7 The outcomes of this project are
- Provide the knowledge about safety while working in Air Freight Services.
- Get the knowledge how to improve the safety while working under pressure and deadline.
- Provide the information of responsibilities of employees and management towards Health and Safety.
There are following techniques researcher identify from academic literature and will be able to develop research methodology for this project.
1.8 Research approach
Qualitative research approach will be use for this research based upon face to face interview with close ended and open ended questions with employees and management. From literature and discussion on various traditions and approaches to good research, there are 4 strategies considered (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994; Johannessen, 1992).
- Theoretical Research
- Quantitative Research
- Qualitative Research
- Participatory Research
1.9 Research philosophy (Positivism and phenomenology)
Easterby- Smith (1999) says that there are three main reasons why this whole mental exercise regarding the research philosophy you should follow in your research is important:
- It can help you to choose the methods that you will use.
- Knowledge of research philosophy will enable and assist you to evaluate different research methods and avoid inappropriate use and unnecessary work by identifying the limitation of particular approaches at an early stage of your study.
- It may help you to be creative and innovative by either choosing or adapting research methods that are, as yet, outside your experience.
In this research positivism and phenomenology philosophy will use. Positivism promotes a more objective interpretation of reality, using hard data from surveys and experiments, while phenomenology is concerned with methods that examine people and their social behaviour (Gill and Johnson, 1997).
1.10 Research method (Qualitative and Quantitative)
In this research the Qualitative and Quantitative methods will use but the main method used is qualitative. In Quantitative research data can collect from case studies, other researches, internet, pie charts, ghant charts and books etc. Means old data on the other hand qualitative method contains data collected from face to face interviews, telephonic interviews, questioners etc. Means new data (Best and Khan, 1989: 89-90). In this research qualitative approach will use because every freight services have different types of issues and all these issues occurred while working, so only employees and management can find the issues. For collection of data and to find issues of health and safety face to face interviews requires with employees and management which shows that the approach should be qualitative. Qualitative research requires time and money.
1.11 Research strategy
Research strategy refers to the general approaches and goals of a research study. The selection of research strategy is usually determined by the kind of question you plan to address and kind of answer you hope to obtain- in general terms, what you hope to accomplish. Research strategy use in this research is descriptive research strategy. Descriptive strategy means intended to answer question about the current state of individual variables for a specific group of individuals (Authors Frederick J. Gravetter, Lori-Ann B. Forzano, 2008) e.g. this research is made on health and safety of Scanwell freight services and on every single field which require health and safety.
1.12 Primary and secondary data (Qualitative and Qualitative)
In this research Primary and Secondary both research will be done but according to need. Firstly research starts with secondary and then primary will be done like by interviews employees and management.
1.13 Sampling
Random and systematic sampling will use in this research. First employees are selected randomly from different fields and interview will be done and the identified issues put in the system according to the priority.
1.14 Data Collection
Qualitative and Quantitative data both methods of data collection will use for this research like face to face interview with close ended and open ended questions with employees or other relevant respondents like managers, experts of health and safety. Direct face to face or telephonic interview will be done to collect the information from management and employees by using video phone in this way researcher will be able to identify the respondent is the right person and the same person which has been chosen as it is the ethics of research and through this researcher will be able to develop the validity and reliability of the research..
1.15 Data recording
Complete moral thought will be done. All the data will record very safely to avoid leakage. To record data Microsoft office tools will be used. Evidence of data also will be saved and Harvard reference method will be used.
1.16 Target groups
For this research Scanwell Freight Service UK is taken as an example and research will be done on Scanwell Freight Service UK .Health and Safety of employees while working inside Scanwell Freight Service UK will be studied and analyzed. Main target is employees of Scanwell Freight Service UK.
1.17 Resources used for the research analysis
As I am working as a Ware House Operator in Scanwell Freight Services UK, so main resource will be
Scanwell Freight Services
Shambu House
Amberley Way, Hounslow
TW4 6BH
Main aim of this research is to improve the health and safety in airfreight services by improving the Management system of health and safety and as researcher working as a Ware House Operator in Scanwell Freight Services (SFS), so I choose this organisation for my research. This organisation is ready to help me in my research.
1.18 Research Limitation
From my point of view there is no limitation of this research but the issues which I am considering in this research are big issues which require a wealth of the company. But to remove all the small issues of this company it requires no wealth just require the understanding and cooperation of all the employees.
If company wants to remove the big issues it also require long time because I am considering some construction issues too in this research. So for construction it requires a time. These issues cannot solve by understating it requires wealth and time.
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is a secondary data. For this research all the secondary data comes from internet and mentor health and safety services which contain all the safety information and responsibilities of management regarding health and safety. In freight services its compulsory for everyone who works with the organisation should know all the information about Health and Safety. This literature review considers all the safety information which is necessary to knows by everyone. Literature review is an examination of scholarly information and research based information on a specific topic. In other words it’s a review of what’s known, not suspected or assumed, about a specific subject. Its goal is to create a complete, accurate representation of the knowledge and research based theory available on a topic.
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An integral part of a research process, then, is gaining an understanding what is and isn’t known about the reality of a situation, event, or circumstances. One simple explanation for the need to work toward that understanding is this: if people don’t know reality, then how can they develop a research study or a plan to address a problem or concern with any effectiveness? An understanding of reality is essential to avoid creating a plan that addresses fiction rather than reality. So, researchers, regardless of academic level or professional position, use appropriate quality literature to accomplish the goals. If it is applied review, it will to survey known information about a topic and help identify information that is not yet known so the best decision for action or for further examination of a situation can be made. In other words, filling a gap in the literature isn’t the main goal. The main goal is to understand the missing and existing knowledge. The question or questions used should guide that kind of applied knowledge acquisition. If it’s a simple review, the question will be more general, as will the survey of literature conducted. The question will be one that dedicates an overview of the information provided in numerous sources on the topic being considered. It will also be one that lays groundwork for future research of greater depth. In other word, it will provide insight into areas that will each be reviewable in greater depth in future research.
2.2 Literature Review
2.2.1 Management Responsibilities towards Health and Safety
The main responsibility regarding safety and health is always at the highest level of system which is the Director of the organisation, but still the duty is divided into all the levels according to the needs and control.
These Responsibilities also includes:
- The legislative body should ensure that the research on Health and Safety will be held at least 2 times in a year. This research will maintain the Health and Safety in the organisation and also employees get the chance to talk about their issues and recommendation. It also increases the faith of employees and customs that inspect the freight services regarding health and safety.
- The legislative body of all the workers should ensure that the system for the health and safety must and also maintained regularly according to needs of the health and safety principles.
- Table for the system should be prepared and always on the notice board which will help the workers to go for complaints and also helps new workers to maintains health and safety needs.
- Principles should be developed and communicated all over the organisation.
- If the system needs improvements or any changes take place it should be communicated all over the management.
- All the resources which requires for the daily needs for workers always available in organisation, so management have to take care of that. These resources can be safety jackets, safety gloves, safety shoes and safety signs etc.
- Duties of the workers should be clearly explained and make sure that no changes take place in duties unless it will discussed with the top level employees e.g. Fork lift drivers only drives fork lift no others have access to drive the fork lift without permissions from the floor managers.
- Training and education will be given to new appointed staff before starts work; it will reduce the chances of accident.
Employee Responsibilities towards Health and Safety
Employees responsibilities towards health and safety should be must because the duties are given according to experience and qualifications. They have to do their job only because work in air freight services is very dangerous, only that’s why everybody have their own duties e.g. one person whose duty is only off loading the PMC’S and BINS from the lorries only do the offloading because one wrong step can take the life away. Forklift connects to the Lories and rollers are picked up PMC which is appx 3 to 4 ton heavy comes with a high speed towards fork lift. If inexperienced person sitting on forklift, forklift shakes with the weight and PMC fall downs. It may give birth to a huge accident which can easily take the life away of the person who picks the roller up and forklift driver too. All the duties should be under section 7 and 8 of the health and safety at work. In Scanwell freight services all the employees have different duties there are 5 drivers, 2 forklift drivers drives only inside building for handling pallets and raking the palletized vegetables, one off loader and 2 person for breaking the PMC’S and BIN’S and floor manager makes the tickets and keep eye on every employee to make sure that all the health and safety precautions to be taken care or not. Others are office staff. One very good thing I like in this organisation is that the director physically comes every night to make sure that no body miss use their duties. He always says precaution and safety first. Employees should have to take care of the following steps:
- Take responsible care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions.
- Cooperate with management to meet the employer’s legal duties and work in accordance with company procedures.
- Not intentionally or recklessly interface with or misuse anything provided in the interest of health, safety or welfare and refrain from actions (or inactivity) which might endanger themselves, or others.
- Demonstrate their commitment to health and safety by their behaviour and cooperate in the investigation of accidents and incidents.
- Use all equipments safely, including that provided for their personal protection and report to management any defects in equipments or other danger at once, or as soon as it is safe to do so.
- Comply with all safety instructions or procedure and not undertaken any tasks that they are not trained for.
2.2.3 Health and Safety Organisation Chart
Normally the system is same in all the air freight services but some time depends upon the size of the organisation.
Scanwell Freight Services flow chart for Health and Safety System
2.2.4 Assignment of Individuals
For effective arrangements of health and safety the duties of folks and tasks should be very visibly identifies. For policy making director should be delegated and day to day safety issues goes to a line manager or floor manager. Management can develop polices and give recommendation for issues comes in organisation but the last decision is of the directors of the company. If the issues are urgent and small then it can be easily solve on the basis of the mangers and assistance managers. Because managers have the right to spend specific amount of money on the organisation by own. Responsibilities should be divided into two categories
General
Specific
General Responsibilities
According to rules and policies the general responsibilities goes to
Director
Employees
Director responsibilities are as follows:
- Director has to give first priority to safety issues to improve the health and safety or to remove the issues comes regarding health and safety in an organisation
- Director has to ensure that objectives outline of system of safety and health will be clear and practical by the person who controls it.
- Director has to ensure that the principles and policies of health and safety should be checked regularly and changed according to conditions.
- Director has to ensure that the policies and principles will reach to every person attached to company and also ensure that all the safety hazards will be known by all the employees.
- Director has to ensure that no resources and substance should be used without having proper hazards and controls.
Employees’ responsibilities are as follows:
- Main responsibility of employees is to always take care of their own safety while working and the others who working with them.
- Help the system of health and safety by doing their duties in proper manner and according to the procedures of the company.
- Rash driving of forklifts should be avoided to avoid accidents because by rash driving of forklift somebody who working in warehouse can be injured and even driver of forklift also be injured if accident occur.
- Behaviour should be cool, anger should be controlled.
- Use of alcohol and smoking should be avoided inside the warehouse, alcohol may become cause of anger and smoking inside warehouse may become cause of fire.
- Employees should not take the job in hand for which they are not trained.
Specific Responsibilities
Specific responsibilities will be given to specific persons at specific levels like Director responsibilities is to be check and sign the principles and policies of health and safety. Operational mangers have to check whether all the resources required for work available or not. Floor managers have main duties regarding health and safety because employees are working on floor in front of floor managers. All individuals have to control their responsible areas. Health and Safety responsible employee have to check and control all the safety equipments and make sure that all the standards meant for Health and Safety controlled and maintained by employees and all the employees working according to tasks assigns.
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Action should taken |
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Make sure that all the workers know about their tasks and agree to their household tasks. |
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Strengthen the memo contained in the principles and rule by different activities. |
2.2.5 Sign up Assistance for Health and Safety
For assistance in Health and Safety there are lots of organisations and qualified peoples, they got the certificates for Health and Safety. So every organisation hires certified peoples for Health and Safety or tie ups with organisations work for Health and Safety services. These organisations assist freight services to maintaining the health and safety in organisations. Scanwell Freight services also sign up NewWest Mentor Services for consulting to take guidance and advice regarding Health and Safety. NetWest Mentor services are designed to take care of all the laws of Health and Safety in organisation. It includes premises, tools, machines, safety equipments and most important is employee’s safety while working.
2.2.6 Communication of Health and Safety Policies and principles within the organisation
So frequently we hear of a breakdown in communication being the cause of Health and Safety incidents, some with devastating consequences. The sad fact is that often these situations could have been easily avoided by implementing simple procedure to improve communications between working parties.
An incident at West Coast Traincare in 2004 illustrates only too well the devastating effect of poor communication and the price is paid. The situation arose when employee Mr Birch was replacing the brake pads underneath a set of carriages at deport in Oxley, Wolverhampton. Two colleagues also working on the train conducting brake tests on the attached locomotive. During the course of testing, one of them released the train’s breaking system causing the train to move forward. Mr Birch right hand was subsequently crushed by one of the carriage wheels, causing injuries that resulted in the amputation of all his fingers and two knuckles. HSE Investigation inspector, Steve Turmer, commented at the time,”Very simple steps could have prevented this accident. The staff was not adequately protected and there is lack of communication between the various groups”. West Coast Traincare pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of Health and Safety at work etc. Act 1974 in that it did not ensure the safety of persons in its employment or operate under the safe system of work for staff undertaking maintenance activities. The company was fined £13,000 with cost of £3500. Effective Health and Safety is not a just paper exercise and companies must refrain from a ‘tick box’ system of compliance. General communication and awareness exercise can help to ensure that the intentions laid out in Health and Safety policy and supporting procedure are implemented and adhered to.
There is no legal requirement to communication in set fashion and it is down to the employee to choose the right method according to the need. However there are a certain pointers which will improve the impact of any chosen communication method. In other words of poet William Butler Yeats,”Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people”. This is echoed by workplace law’s Health and Safety Consultants Bill Scholes who suggests, “Understanding your audience is the key to delivering the Health and Safety message and the key to identifying the right mode of communication.”
John Bartlett says that “Appreciating the general concept of the need for good health and safety is very different from understanding how the specifics apply to the dynamic of a particular workspace”, Workplace law’s Safety and Health Practitioner.” Therfore in order to communicate risk management effectively it’s got to be made relevant and pertinent to the industry”.
The laws also needs to be interpreted sensible, Chris Streatfeild of Greenstreet Breman”The key principle in communicating health and safety is proportionality. It shouldn’t go over the top so that we’re condemning every activity as unsafe. You need to conduct a risk assessment but what u need to do as a result of that needs to be proportionate to the risk identified”
Diana Wright says that”within the communication message, employees need to remind that down to them as well”. It is essential to promote individual ownership so employees avoid the ‘it’s not my department altitude all the commonly found within the workplace’.
A very similar view point is taken by John Bartlett who reminds us, “It is important to engender a feeling of responsibility when communicating Health and Safety as this empower peoples. It’s not about wrapping employees in cotton wool but giving people the information and confidence to make sensible decisions about how they work”.
The main types of communication are formal (including health and safety meetings, trainings and newsletters) and informal (walkabouts, one to one unofficial chats and open forums); the HSE recommends a mix of both. The size and structure of an organization, diversification of roles and geographical location of employees will all have an effect on determining the best communication.
