Question

Provide your opinion in regard to how important safety is at your company. From what you have learned from this class, do you feel comfortable addressing your safety concerns with your manager, supervisor, or another member of management? Why/why not? Please support your opinion with facts and examples.

Answer 1

   Safety is important in an organization to protect the employees by providing a safe system of work and to protect the plants and equipment of a company. Productivity and quality is high in companies that follow high safety standards. This is because it lowers injury/illness costs, equipment failure costs, and increases employee morale that motivates them to work efficiently. I feel comfortable in addressing the safety concerns to the manager or the concerned person (like the safety officer) to not only ensure my personal safety but also for the others in my team. It helps to avoid major incidents or accidents that can affect the work and the workers. It is necessary to address each and every aspect of safety before the activity begins to get the work done or to identify and implement proactive measures that provides maximum safety while performing the activity. For example, a crane activity during a telecom antenna installation on a tower may have an overhead obstruction caused by electrical lines. It is necessary to raise alarm to the manager until the appropriate measures have been taken. This is because if the crane hits or comes in contact with the electrical lines it may cause electrocution on the operator and the people who are closely engaged in the activity. It is also necessary for employers to create safety standards and procedures so that the employees feel comfortable in addressing such information and also the management should also not ignore such issues that are raised by the employers irrespective of their position. There are several disasters that killed a huge number of people and destroyed equipments like the Bhopal Gas tragedy, Chernobyl disaster, etc., which can be avoided if appropriate safety standards have been followed.