“Employees” – Zermane Ruth
As an employee, Workplace safety is important to prevent any possible injuries at work. I may be jobless if I neglect my own safety and well-being at work as i may be hospitalised and be unable to work. Furthermore, I would not have any income to pay off the huge sum of hospital bills.
Refinement Applied
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) law helps to improve safety at workplace and prevent accidents to happen at all workplace by asking stakeholders to take reasonably practical measures at workplace. When an accidents occur, worker would be injured or even death. It will have an impact on the worker for a prolong period of time or even a lifetime. For example, when a worker accidentally fall off from a height and fracture his/her bone they are not able to work as efficiently.
Having a permanent disability makes them less effective in working and may be unable to work at all. Worker are usually required to move around frequently and the disabled are not able to do so freely. Hence the employer will have no choice but to end the contract with the injured worker. Therefore both the employer and the worker should follow the WSH law to protect the safety and health of workers, and follow the safety procedures during work respectively, because both parties will be at a loss if they do not.
Without a job, the injured would lose earnings needed to support the family and to pay for the medical fee. Hence the family will need some financial support. However with the WSH Act, the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) will compensate up to $262,000 for permanent incapacity, $204,000 for death of worker and $36,000 for medical expenses.
Lastly, being injured they might lose the ability to enjoy a good social life as they might not be able to do what they want such as travelling. People might also look down on the injured due to their disabilities.
Reflection
I realized that accidents can occur in our daily lives when employees or employers neglect safety. Employees may fail to keep to the safety requirement by using protective equipment provided for them. On the other hand, to save cost employees may not have sent the equipment for service knowing it is faulty to save cost. I have learned that penalties would be issued to workers who failed to comply with the safety measures. I believe that to refrain any accidents from happening, everyone plays a vital role. A good implementation would be the Work safety & Heath manage ment (WSH ) act as penalties would be issued to those who have committed an offense by doing so it instills a greater ownership of safety and also serves as a good reminder among employees and employers.
How to improve
I can improve by doing researching on reported accident articles to gain knowledge and insights on the impact it could bring to family members. Articles can provide useful details on how the authorities manage the situation. In the near future, I will try to think of the possible consequences and effects it can bring from the accident, it will help express my thoughts into word.
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing accidents?
We can take a more proactive stance towards preventing accidents by following all the rules and regulation implemented. We can play a role in preventing accidents by wearing safety gears or equipments provided when conducting work procedures. Employers should also conduct a eisk assesment for workplace and also specify roles and responisblities of people involved. Employers should inform employees of the nature of risk and any risk controls and safe work procedures. In the event of accident they should ensure that risk assessment is taken once every 3 years. Emplyees can also attened courses to learn about rules to follow when operating a machine such as using personal protection equpiment
“MOM/Nation” – Ziyang
As a member of MOM, i have the responsibility to ensure every worker have a safe working environment. Reason being, if the workplace does not have a safe working environment, workers will start to question whether or not to work in the company, and will lead to a massive loss of workers.
Refinement Applied
As a member MOM, Workplace safety and health is very important as we have to ensure everyone working have a safe environment for all time. Through out the whole time for workers that are working, they have to ensure the working environment is safe for them as nobody would want a accident to happen. If any accidents occur during the working hours, we have the responsibility to take care the workers as we were the one that recruits them.
Furthermore, if there is an accident happen, we will be short of manpower as the workers are injured. Which means, we will have to recruits more people to the workplace. This will results is huge lost of profits where by money is paid for the injuries and recruiting more workers.We would not want that because we do not wish anyone getting injured in their respective workplace.Hence we will minimize the possibility of workers getting injured as much as we can.
Lastly, keeping workers safe is important as it will portrait a good face for us. Workers from all over the world come to us to find jobs and if we do not show them we can provides good working environments for them, we will not get anyone working for us. The most important factors for the workers is safety, if the working environment is not safe enough for them to work in, they will not even consider to work at the place.Hence we definitely need to stress on workplace safety and health to all the companies as it is one of the most important factors for us in order to recruits workers.
Reflection
We realised that accidents can happen very often if the workers are not thought about those safety rules in their workplace. For example, in a construction site, the workers should wear their helmet to prevent things from falling. All these accidents matter as MOM had to take the full responsibility of all the injured workers. We had to compensate the injured worker according to their level of injuries and their monthly pay. If more and more workers are injured, we had to issue out more compensate to the workers. This will result a huge lost of capital from MOM which will also affect the Singapore’s economy as lesser money is being produced by MOM. Other than just lost of interest, we will also get the question and blame from the workers. They will be questioning us the safety of each workers as a lot of injuring accidents had occurred, and blame the working environment we provide is very dangerous. Hence, we think that injured workers will affect the interest of MOM and how other workers view the MOM.
How to improve
We think that every worker had to attend at least a simple work safety class before going to their workplace to work. Each and every of the company also required to go trough the same safety rules when the worker start to work at their workplace. This is to ensure the workers know the important of work site safety. Companies also need to emphasize their work safety by placing necessary sign or label at their workplace.
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing accidents
We can take a more pro active stance towards preventing accidents by restricting the companies we working with to put up signboard and barricade around places which are dangerous, and also only allow the workers to start work only when they have the right equipment to their respective work areas.
“Family members”- Mark
Family members may be affected emotionally if one of their family members got injured during his/her work. Having implemented the safety and health management law in the company, employees and employers will know about the safety of the work environment and be cautious on their action. So that family members can be reassured in the job that their family members are working at.
Refinement Applied
Workplace safety and health is crucial in preventing unforeseen circumstances from happening. Especially when it happens on our family members, we will feel devastated and grief. The feeling will last for a long time as it is hard for us to move on quickly.
Family members have to pay medical fees for the family member who is being injured. This inflicts a lot of burden to the family members if we are from low income family.
With the WSH act when it came to effect on all company and building on September 2011, laws and regulation are implemented and hefty fines are given to people who caused an accident or going against the rules and regulations. The maximum fine is $500,000 and/or 6 months in jail for employers. WSH law is very important to family members because we do not need to be afraid that there is no justice served as the person who is responsible of the accident will be fined. Workers who fails to use personal protective equipment(PPE) or misuse of any safety appliance will also be fined $1000, for first conviction, and $2000, for second or subsequent conviction. This will make sure that workers will not horseplay and will look out for each other.
Reflections
I understood that work safety and health management (WSH) is crucial in all companies. With this law, it ensures the safety of staffs in the work place and how it can prevent unnecessary accidents. This also reassures the people who want to work for the company and those who are working. The companies who do not abide by the rules of the WSH law will be fined or jailed. Without this law, people will not dare to work for the company as they may be scared if they got injured due to the work environment and not be compensated.
How to improve
For the subsequent lessons, i will try my best to pay my closest attention to the class and not get distracted. I will ask and clarify my doubts and share my ideas with my friends. I can make my points neater by using mind-map.
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing accidents
We can help to lookout for one another by preventing them from doing any risky and dangerous activity without PPE. We also need to have our PPE when we are doing dangerous and risky activities so that we will not cause unnecessary accidents from happening. Employers should check all the workers if they have worn their PPE before having them to start their work.
“Injured” – Bah
As an injured employee, workplace safety and health is important. This is because if I were to get injured, I will have lots of concern such as family responsibilities and job opportunities. Being injured also means that I will be inefficient and not resourceful for the working industry. Thus, it will cause a loss in family income. Therefore i am not able to support my children’s school fees as well as my own medical fees. This is will cause a lot of trouble and inconvenience towards my family and I.
Reflections
After reading through and watching the video, i have conclude that Workplace Safety and Health Framework act ( WSH) is an examplary implementation that was first introduced in 2006 and was further implemented on 2011. I understood the importance of the 3 key principles of WSH act which prevents accident as it develops a strong culture for safety and health. The 3 key principles include companies having ownership of safety outcomes, reducing risk at source which means finding the hazards and eliminating it and lastly heavy penalties for poor safety management. I realised that having penalties is a good way to convince and persuade companies and workers into taking the law and regulations seriously. From the video, i understood that the maximum penalty can go up to 200000 dollars- 500000 dollars. lastly i have a better understanding regarding the WSH act regulations in conducting Risk assesment by employers,self employed and also principal. This implementation aims to practice safety at all time and penalties will be given to those that fail to follow the law.
How to improve?
I will improve by using secondary resources such as internet,books and video to have a deeper understanding about this topic. Secondary resources will be able to help me as it can expose me to real facts and situation regarding the WSH act. Thus i will have be able to understand from the different point of views. I will also read more on the subsidary legislation as i am slightly confused about that before moving on to the next tutorial lesson but also make sure i am on task.
Refinements Applied
Firstly, to prevent accidents, employers should not encourage the employee to have any shortcuts or the employee should not be driven to have any shortcuts to finish the job faster. Although it is natural for employees to get their job done as soon as possible however with that mindset or attitude, accidents are more likely to happen as employees are not being cautious while doing their work. Secondly, employers should ensure that all instructions and procedures has already been explained thoroughly before allowing the employee to start on their work. This is because they might not be familiar with the equipment or procedure. This might then affect their safety. For instance, employers should teach the employees on the safety practices and also teaching them on how to use or handle the the equipments safely. Lastly, companies should not neglect about the inspections. Inspection should be done once every 3 years and this will help to find the cause of hazards and eliminate it immediately before allowing the workers to start on the work. This will promote a safety working environment.
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing hazards
We can take a more proactive stance towards preventing accidents by reporting safety hazards when we spot them. Rather than turning a blind eye to the problem, we should quickly report any hazard to prevent any accident to occur. . If we see any unsafe acts occurring, we should also report them so this unsafe act will not continue and cause an accident to occur. As an employee you can prevent any accident by always wear personal protection equipment when needed. Employers can also play a role by ensuring that they have done risk assessments once every 3 years, or when there is an accident that occurs. These will keep employees updated on risks and would avoid from getting injured.
“Students” – Toon siang
As a student, we might be worried that the workplace can be dangerous after seeing examples of accidents online. We might reconsider if we would still want to continue this path as there are many unforeseen circumstances ahead of us. If we do not maintain proper risk management, we might get injured easily
Reflection
After today’s lesson, I learned that we as a student should bring the knowledge that we acquire from class to our workplace. By doing so ,we can prevent ourselves from getting hurt as well as keeping a safe and “injury-free” working environment for all. On the other hand, with the knowledge that we learned from WSH lessons, we can help the inferior workers to stand up against the unlawful actions if they happen to encounter them in their workplace. As such , we can provide a much happier and safer working environment for all .
How to improve?
We should always listen attentively in class and understand the rights we are entitled in our workplace. When we are at our workplace, we should always carry out the necessary safety precautions before starting our work. At the same time, we should also help out one another (colleagues) such as reminding them to carry out the safety precautions so as to prevent accidents from happening. Not only that, we should also help out one another when faced difficulties so that we can all have a much more lovely and enjoyable working environment.
Refinement Applied
As a student, the Workplace Safety and Health laws and regulations is very important to me as it not only involve my own safety but also my future employees and colleagues safety as well. Firstly, during our schooling period, we must always listen attentively in class,understand the lesson by taking down notes and study the examples of accident that happened in the past years so that we will be able to know the procedure. In case of any emergency, we would be able to know what to do and minimize the damage done. Not only that,when we observe any unfair actions by the employer such as hiding the truth by faking the accident report or unfair treatment such as low compensation for the employees who got injured in the accident. We can stand up for them and hold justice by demanding for a fair compensation for the employees. By doing so, we can ensure everyone to be working in a fair and enjoyable working environment.
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing hazards
As a student, we can take a more proactive stance by starting early. During school time, when we see any unsafe act by our friends, we should alert them instead of keeping quiet. For example, when we have lessons in laboratory, we should remind our friends to wear cover shoes and when seen foul play, we should ask them to stop immediately so as to prevent accidents from happening. This also apply when we start working in the future such as reminding colleagues to wear PPE, stop any foul plays when seen and report if any potential hazards is found so as to reduce the chances of a accident from happening.
“Injured” – Yifong
If I were to be injured, my family would be my main priority as I can no longer support them. Also, I would be bedridden and eventually become a burden to a family. Not only I cannot help with my family finances problem, but will also add to the finance problem.
Reflection
Personally i feel that accidents can happen any time any day in our life and it is important for us to take note of it to prevent any accidents from happening. We should also be more aware of our surroundings and not take things for granted such as neglecting to watch out for cars when crossing the road and using our phones while crossing the road.
How to improve
We can conduct simple lessons on how to prevent accidents from happening and teach people how to handle for example machines. To prevent the machines injuring the users. It is also very important to take note no one is near it or when one’s is going to switch it on or off to prevent accident from happening.
“Employer”- Sean
Safety is the utmost priority for me. This is to maintain the company’s reputation so that people continue to apply for the job. I will also have to think of a reasonable amount of money that will have to be used to pay the injured .
Reflection
From today’s lesson , i found out that my employees are at high risk of danger if safety is not prioritised and emphasised . Safety messages/posters should be put up in workplace areas to remind employees to follow them . Employer should do their part to remind as well & not rely on the safety posters . For example , in the case of Pasir Ris MRT accident that took 2 innocent lives , the Director of Operations was sacked , jailed & prohibited from working for SMRT for failing to ensure that his employees complied with approved operating procedures .
How to improve ?
I learn from the video that the previous Factories Act , that factories had to be responsible . But the recent Workplace Safety & Health framework says that responsibility is extended to all including suppliers , employees & supervisors . This improvement is to make sure everyone has a part to play in maintaining the safety protocol during work . Laws are also now implemented to stress that safety is very important . One way that i can improve is to follow the safety protocol and set good examples to my employees .
How can we take a more proactive stance towards preventing hazards
To take a proactive stance towards preventing accidents , we can do regular review on heavy machinery such as maintaining it & not only repair the machine when its faulty . Another way is that we can provide compulsory training about the proper usage of safety equipment such as helmets and harness when in a construction site for both employees and visitors . Employers can do their part by doing the Risk Assessment once every 3 years or when an accident has occur . This is to ensure that the minimum safety requirement is met .
Refinements applied
As the employer , the Workplace Safety and Health laws and regulation is very important to me this is to ensure that my employees are working in a safe condition and that they return home in one piece . In an event of an accident involving my employees , I will have to be held responsible as they are under my care . I would have to write a report of the accident and send it to MOH . I will also have to terminate the contract of the employee that is seriously injured as when the person is wheelchair bound , they are not as productive as before . With lower productivity , there will be lesser profits . When accident that happened during work hours caused an injured to be unable to work in the future , I will have to pay compensation fee to the employee every month even if he is not productive . In conclusion , employers must ensure that every employee has sufficient training before working on the ground so that they comply to the rules and policies . Strict fines and punishment has also been initiated by the WSH laws and regulations if employers fail to comply .
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