Safety Inspection at Mcdonalds - Case Study Example

Safety inspection at Mac Donald Name of student Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Safety is a crucial aspect of every organization, safety for workers ensure that the workers are motivated and productive. In Mac Donald located at Melbourne, the managers must perform inspections at various intervals on the working environment of its workers. The firm can also hire a group of professionals to perform these inspections to ensure that the workers are safe, and the Melbourne branch escapes liabilities resulting from injuries. The report is on the assessment of Melbourne Mac Donald branch safety and inspection. It identifies the wide range of occupational risks, the effectiveness of the current mitigation procedures, and the proposed control measures to eliminate the hazards (Hughes 2009). Assessment of Risks Mac Donald in Melbourne has a big number of employees, and the management ought to carry out an assessment of these risks to ensure their mitigation in time. As an employee in Mac Donald, I carried out the study of these risks in the Melbourne branch, followed by observations and some interviews with some of the employees of the Melbourne branch. The hazards that I identified in the workplace includes reduced pay, the burns, and lack of protective gears to handle the machinery. From interviews with the Mac Donald's workers and the observations I made, Lack of protective equipments is rampant in the Melbourne branch. Workers report burns and are not able to afford proper medication due to poor pay (Hughes 2009). Workers face many risks in this occupation, extremely hot oil, the hot grills, greasy and very slippery floors amount to the observed hazards. Some workers have had to file petitions to complain about these risks where some are burnt. Lack of enough employees in the Melbourne branch is another cause of the hazards; the few workers in the Melbourne branch have to work and be pressurized to work too fast. The installed computer system dictates the Melbourne branch's level of the workforce. Computers show that there are fewer workers as compared to the size and the nature of the work in the Melbourne branch. Mac Donald stores also lack the basic protective facilities that will help reduce the level of casualties in the Melbourne branch. I observed a situation where the manager advised a worker to treat burns with condiments such as mustard instead of using the creams meant for burns (Hughes 2009). Mac Donald's sets very low safety standards for its employees, additionally; these set standards are not effective, and there is poor enforcement. Yes, there are regular inspections at the Melbourne branch, but the Melbourne branch mostly overlooks at these health and safety measures. The visit showed that 35% of workers report to the management the missing of first aid kits. The inaccessibility of the kits or being empty is observed. From the Mac Donald's employees, the hazards are widespread to all its stores, and the workers demand the Melbourne branch being held accountable for these hazards in all its stores. Despite Mac Donald defending, that the hazard occurs when the workers overlook at the safety rules, when they take the shortcuts and when the workers assume some of the risks. They argue that they provide training on the safety measures that should be observed in the work environment and give out training cards to the new employees. On the assessment of the risks, the Melbourne branch workers faces, I have clearly observed that the management needs to try to reduce these risks at the lowest level possible. The management ought to look at those avenues that provide the Melbourne branch with risk controls. These risks will not mean well for the Melbourne branch and may end up tarnishing the Melbourne branch's name as is observed during the filing of the petitions by the workers. The risk may also create a feeling of demotivation to the workers who feel they are not secure in the place of work. Thus, the Melbourne branch may not realize the full potential of its workers (Edwards 2015) Current control strategies and adequacy MacDonald Melbourne branch owes a duty of care to its workers according to Australians occupational and health safety regulations. The duty of care is individually owed to an employee and Mac Donald has no authority in delegating this responsibility. Each employee owes a duty of care to his or her neighbor. According to the law, a neighbor is that person whom the defendant has a proximate relationship or closeness. The reason why Mac Donald’s is obliged with making the workplace safe is out of concern of contractors, visitors, and employees. Making working safe makes a sense of good business and is cost effective. It will ensure that the company adheres to the statutory health and safety requirements. According to (section 19) an employer should maintain where no employer is exposed to hazards. The Melbourne branch has installed measures to deal with each type of risk identified above. The risks are ranging from burns, reduced pay, inadequate protective gears, slippery floors, and lack of proper medication to the affected workers. In Mac Donald's work and health, policy document that dictates its aim in ensuring the safety of it workers, there is detailed information on the ways the Melbourne branch intends to put in place the measures. According to the Mac Donald's safety policy, the Melbourne branch is dedicated to ensuring the safety and a friendly work environment that will ensure the customers are motivated all the time. According to the policy, the Melbourne branch identifies and manages the risks by assessing the workplace and noting down the risks, the Melbourne branch aims to reduce the risks to achieving health and safety. The Melbourne branch notes that this will lead to the minimization of hazard incidents and the number of petitions. Complying with the Australian law is also a consideration by the Melbourne branch, Mac Donald's must ensure following of the guidelines in Australian work health and safety registration. The Melbourne branch intends to work with safety regulators to ensure that the workers are operating in a safe working environment. The Melbourne branch also sets targets and goals to measure its performance; this is to ensure continuous improvement will eliminate injuries and liabilities in the workplace (Edwards 2015). The Melbourne branch aims at reducing the hazards also incorporate engagement of employees at every level, informing the employees of the various hazards in the Melbourne branch and the various ways of tackling these hazards. The Melbourne branch trains workers on how to work safely, how to use various safety tools provided on the work premises, and how to react to the various hazard if they occur accidentally. The Melbourne branch also communicates and consults about safety; this is by giving the workers an opportunity to take part in the decision-making process that influences their working environment. Mac Donald's provide the relevant information to visitors and the already existing workers to reduce the rates of incidents. The Melbourne branch ensures that the communications systems are transparent, and the systems are easy to go through or navigate. Mac Donald should comprehend that safety and friendly work environment is crucial to all the employees in the Melbourne branch. The Melbourne branch has not yet established the standard measures that should prevent the incidents occurring at the workplace. The real solution for Mac Donald will be to ensure that they follow the work safety rules from the health experts; these are ensuring that the employers furnishing is with the right equipment. These will mitigate the risks, the workers should be taught on how to handle the equipments and how to behave in a way that will assist the Melbourne branch in minimizing the rate of incidents. The Melbourne branch needs to take real measures to deals with the risks that are rampant in the Melbourne branch, whether the Melbourne branch will include experts or will use the knowledge of the already existing employees (Edwards 2015) Improved control strategies In Dealing with safety in Mac Donald's, Managers should ensure the application of practical measures that will help in the reduction of the safety risks in the Melbourne branch effectively. I would advise the managers to analyze every safety risk that the Melbourne branch is facing and come up with tangible measures regarding safety in the workplace. In my opinion, I would deal with every risk individually and come up with solutions on how to minimize it. Regarding low pay, the Melbourne branch managers should ensure that the workers are paid well and that benefits are granted to them according to their performance. Better pay will ensure that the workers in times of risk exposure or hazards and injuries the worker can afford proper medication. The Melbourne branch should ensure safety equipments proper installation and well equipping; these equipments include fire extinguishers and first aid kits. Caution must be taken to ensure their immediate replacement when the kits are used. I also observed circumstances where the first aid kids are empty, and no measures of replacement are taken (Flynn 2014) Customers and workers should be notified using signs on slippery floors. Notifying will reduce the risks of customers falling that cause injuries. The best way to do away with injuries is to remove the hazard completely so that no one is hurt. Though this is a difficult process, the Melbourne branch can work effectively by highlighting the main causes of injuries in the workplace. The process of removing a hazard may be long lasting, but the Melbourne branch can adopt solutions that will protect the workers in the meantime. For example, In Mac Donald's, most of the workers are burned when putting frozen food into the flyers or when cleaning them. The Melbourne branch should seek whether there is a way to remove the hazard; this is by installing grease pans that clean automatically due to dumping. The Melbourne branch should train the workers to avoid splattering ice that results from frozen foods being put in a deep fryer by shaking the ice crystals. The protective clothing that will help in this circumstance is gloves and long aprons; sleeves included. They should be heat resistant and should resist grease that is at least 380 Degrees Celsius. The aim is to come up with a measure that will eliminate and isolate the risks from the workers and not to depend on workers to follow the guidelines that are written down. The procedure can be difficult to follow I cases when the restaurant gets busy. Protective equipments are the best option to ensure the workers are safe since it only requires the remembrance of the worker to use it and its proper use (Flynn 2014). Workers should be protected at all levels; this means that when a change is introduced and implemented, Communication to the workers is crucial. Communication ensures that the workers have the right information and get important in confirming that the hazard is no longer prevalent and that no other hazards arise from the decision. Training of the workers is crucial to ensure that the workers awareness of the safety rules or change in the rules. By law, Mac Donald is obliged to ensure that the workers safety guarantee. Workers have the right to a safe and a healthy workplace. There are standards set to ensure that worker know their employers rules regarding safety in the workplace. The employee should know about the workplace risks, Right to the prevention of these risks and the right to contribute to the improvement of the workplace safety. An employee has the right to refuse some types of employment if he feels that the work is unsafe. If also, the work could lead to real and apparent danger that could lead to serious injury or death (Flynn 2014). OHS workplace inspection check list Employee name: ………………………………………………………….. Position (tasks)…………………………………………………………….. Date hired …………………………………………………………………. Date of orientation…………………………………………………………. Person providing orientation (name and position) ……………................... Topic Initials (trainer) Initials (Employee) Comments 1. manager name …………….. Telephone :…………………….. 2. privileges and responsibilities a) common duties of CEO, employees, and supervisors b) Employee right to refuse unsafe occupation and process for doing so c) employee responsibility to describe hazards and process for doing so 3. place of work health and safety regulations 4. identified hazards and how to treat them 5. secure work measures for carrying out responsibilities 6. measures for working unaccompanied or in seclusion 7. procedures to decrease the danger of aggression in the place of work and measures for dealing with aggressive situations 8. individual protective gear (PPE), what to apply, when to make use of it, where to locate it, and how to take care for it 9. First aid a) First aid assistant name and phone information b) Locations of first aid kits and eye clean amenities c) How to account an infirmity, injury, or other mishap (together with near misses) b) Locations of fire extinguishers and inferno alarms c) How to utilize fire extinguishers d) What to do in an disaster condition b) Hazards of the restricted products applied by the worker c) rationale and implication of risk information on product labels d) locality, use, and importance of material protection information sheets (MSDSs) e) How to handle, use, store, and dispose of hazardous materials safely f) measures for an urgent situation concerning dangerous equipment, as well as clean-up of spills To conclude, Mac Donald is a big company with many employees, complaints being recorded is about the Melbourne branch not being able to take caution to reduce or mitigate workers injuries. The workers have reported burns, slippery floors, lack of protective equipments and poor pay as among the hazards they face. Through various means such as observations, interviews and other sources like magazines, I established that there are hazards and the Melbourne branch is not dealing with them correctly. In the effective way to minimize and remove these hazards, I pointed out that the Melbourne branch should not focus on the employees only. The way to eliminate the risk is more important and will be the most effective start to eliminate the hazard. References Edwards, S. (2015). A guide to the 5S lean production method for occupational health and safety. Occupational Health, 67(2), 27-30. Flynn, M. A. (2014). Safety & the Diverse Workforce. (Cover story).Professional Safety, 59(6), 52-57. Hughes, P., Ferrett, E., & National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health. (2009). Introduction to health and safety at work: The handbook for the NEBOSH National General Certificate. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More