Introduction
A safety management plan concentrates on providing safety measures for a project or construction; the plan gives detailed and general information on matters of safety, the general hazards and how these hazards can be managed. Companies employ safety management plans with a goal of giving its workers a safe working environment.
Duke Corporation is a multinational energy company engaging in the exploration, mining, production as well as the refining of oil and gas. Also, the corporation does manufacture chemicals, transport and market them for various uses in the industry. This paper will focus on the working as well as operational safety plans which Duke Corporation has put in place.
To have an effective safety management plan, Duke Corporation focuses on its compliance with the legislation of OHS as the starting point. Unlike many organizations which develop safety management plans which are lengthy and only used when there is need, Duke Corporation has kept the plan very simple and even done reality test with its workforce.
The corporation’s safety management plan includes some important components commencing with a Management Policy Statement a document usually approved by the top management of the company.
These top executives sign the document to acknowledge the fact that the management has taken responsibility and are committed to see the safety plan work. The statement also shows that the management is willing to comply with the federal, state, and local safety requirements as well as other standards set by the industry (Institute of Quarrying Australia, 2000).
According to Institute of Quarrying Australia, the second component is concerned with the “responsibility for safety” (2000). This is usually in writing for the top and middle level management, employees, supervisors, and other safety coordinators to follow. The safety plan calls for inspections to be made quarterly in all the areas in the work place.
After every inspection, a report both in a narrative or checklist is done and then kept safely up to a period of twelve months. This report is kept so as to identify any act or condition that requires the management to put up a corrective action.
The plan also states that, investigations done on accidents that have happened in the course of work should be attended by a physician; this is initiated by the employee’s supervisor who is on shift when the accident has occurred. The report should establish the cause of the accident through questions like “what, who, when, where, and how” (Institute of Quarrying Australia, 2000).
After establishing the cause, the plan requires that possible actions that can be taken to correct or prevent such an event from recurring be developed. With Duke Corporation being a multinational corporation, an investigation team is usually put up so as to have an accurate investigation. The report also contains details of the injured person, the kind of task they were carrying out, what actually happened, the causes of the accident, the corrective measures to be put in place, and the person to oversee their implantation.
Another component of Duke’s safety management plan involves the holding of safety meetings by the supervisors and their employees. Records are kept to show whatever has been discussed, the attendees, and most importantly the date of the meeting. During such meetings, the employees are instructed on productive performance of their jobs through safety (Institute of Quarrying Australia, 2000).
The plan contains safety rules that are specific on areas which they are to be applied. These rules are usually simple, clear, and can be enforced by the top management whenever necessary. These rules are followed by all employees and the management as well; Duke provides each employee with a copy of the document.
The safety plan considers training as an important activity for its new employees and the existing ones. The existing employees are trained if they have been assigned new tasks or when new equipment has been introduced.
Record keeping, first aid, and emergency preparedness programs are also listed in the safety management plan in that order.
In conclusion, all these components found in the safety management plan for Duke Corporation are important for they lay down general information on hazards and how they can be prevented in the workplace.
Reference
Institute of Quarrying Australia. (2000). Safety management plan: Workbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: Institute of Quarrying Australia