A description of the accident using the Accident model
Accidents are inevitable and they occur unexpectedly. Despite this, there should be some strategies put in place to minimize the effects of accidents. Health and safety is an extremely essential aspect that should be emphasized in every place including the workplace. It is covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which aims at safeguarding employees in the workplace. The management in every organization should ensure that all the employees as well as the clients are safe from any activity that could cause injuries or deaths for instance fires. This is because life is an incredibly precious element that should be safeguarded to the maximum, against any harm. There have been a lot of injuries and deaths of employees in Victoria and other parts of the world (Hopwood and Thompson 2006). This piece of work looks at the fatal workplace accident that occurred at the Foster’s Abbotsford brewery in Melbourne in April 2006 and the various issues that surrounded the event.
The accident involved a Wantirna man by the name Cuu Huynh (58 years). The man was an employee at the Fosters Abbotsford brewery in Melbourne. It was in the course of carrying out his duties in the company that this man was crushed between a handrail and a pneumatically operated door of a machine that is responsible for taking bottles from the pallets for filling process. The accident was fatal and six days after Cuu Huynh was injured, he died while undergoing treatment in hospital (Perkins 2008).
The contributing factors towards this accident can therefore be seen to revolve around negligence. The company did not adhere to the stipulated health and safety standards such as those that emphasizes on the issue of ensuring that all machines are safe for use by any employee at a given time. The employees in the company are also not cautious enough to note some mistakes in the organization and command for positive changes to be effected for their safety and the organization at large. The fact that this was not the first accident to occur in the company is enough justification that all individuals in the company ought to be more alert and careful to avoid a repeat of the same. The unguarded machine posed great risks to the employees, an aspect that could be rectified to avoid injuries and deaths. As a result of this, the company got convicted and fined and was forced to make some improvements in its health and safety practices. It is after this that improvements were made, with machines made safer and staff equipped with relevant safety skills and knowledge (AFN 2008).
An analysis of the contributing factors using the Hazard management process
As stated earlier, there are various factors that are attributed to the fatal workplace accident that occurred at the Fosters Abbotsford brewery in Melbourne in April 2006, each playing a certain part and contributing a certain percentage of the effects experienced. Most of them however revolve around negligence and lack of emphasis on risk management practices. For instance, where faults are identified but not rectified or where the employees have inadequate skills and knowledge on using some machines and equipment. In an attempt to control risks and hazards in an organization, the following steps should be followed. The first is identification of the risks that entails determining the present risks then assessment of the risks where their nature and possibility of occurring is evaluated.
After this, the risks and hazards are controlled. Here the options for mitigating the risks are evaluated so as to select the best in terms of effectiveness. The selected option is then implemented. The fourth and last step entails checking controls. This involves reviewing the controls that have been implemented in an attempt to make sure that they are working as planned and are effective in terms of contributing to the success of the risk management measures (Lingard and Rawlinson 2005). All these should be done bearing in mind that protecting the health and safety of the workplace is an aspect that greatly improves the image and performance of an organization. Facilitating health and safety should not in any way be seen as an extra activity but rather as every organization’s responsibility (LaTourette, Mendeloff and Rand Corporation 2008).
As a matter of improving situations in organizations in regard to maintaining health and safety, I recommend that every organization should consider health and safety as a priority so as to reduce the high chances of injuries and deaths that occur in the workplace. This could be done through integrating health and safety policies with the overall organizational policies to avoid chances of being forgotten or rather undermined. There is also the need for employers to review their risk management strategies and ensure that staffs understand safety standards through thorough training on various risk management procedures and operations.
This will help to avoid cases that occur due to ignorance or lack of knowledge in regard to operating some machines. It is also advisable for management to revisit organizational/ workplace culture in an effort to establish the possibility of development of new practices that could in one way or the other compromise safety procedures and thus expose the staff and other people involved to risk. It is moreover a good habit to learn from previous assessments or audits and make necessary adjustments. This allows organizations to avoid mistake in future. This is clearly seen in the Foster Abbotsford brewery company where some defaults were noted but nothing done to solve the company from future risks hence the death of Cuu Huynh. This is a form of negligence (Bluff 2004).
The fatal accident in Foster Abbotsford Brewery Company could have been avoided. This is so because the faults had been earlier identified and what could just be done is effecting the proposed changes rather than ignoring the defaults. Proper risk management practices should always be maintained in organizations.
An analysis of the subsequent conviction of Fosters Australia Limited in August 2008
Following the fatal accident that led to the death of a worker at the Abbotsford brewery, Fosters Australia Limited was convicted and fined $ 1.125 million. This is the biggest ever fine under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 2004. This is a relatively lower charge and was considered due to the fact that the company admitted to have failed to comply with the Victorian OHS Act of 2004 (Collins 2008). The issue here is to evaluate whether the verdict was fair especially with respect to the company’s financial situation. In terms of the consequences and the situation surrounding the accident, I consider the verdict to be fair. This is because there were some form of negligence by the organization as it could have anticipated the danger linked with the unguarded machine that led to the death of the man and thus take necessary action. The fact that this was not the first life threatening accident to occur in the company is enough justification that the organization ought to be more careful. There were incidences of risks and hazard assessments in the company and the risks were identified but no relevant action taken. This makes the situation even worse as it indicates that the incident could be prevented. The consequences of the incidents are severe (death of the employee and trauma of relatives and friends) and the punishment by the court is quite justified (Minter 2008).
It is not morally or ethically right to consider a life of an individual to be equivalent to a certain amount of money or punishment. The man’s family suffered a lot as a result of his death and nothing can repay them for the loss. Since the problem had previously been identified and the solution known to the company, it was really unethical to let a person die from it rather than rectifying the mistake by setting up strategic preventive measures. However, the organization’s condition was greatly improved after the April 2004 accident (CCH Australia Limited, OHS industry and legal authorities and Free hills 2007).
Health is an incredible element that should be enhanced under all circumstances irrespective of the cost that an organization may incur. This is because organizations end up not only spending a lot of money in catering for the losses incurred on properties but also lose resourceful personnel affecting the performance of the organization as a whole. Loss of an employee like Cuu Huynh affects various people including family members and the workmates. Such an accident would also spoil the image of the company which in turn could negatively affect the business (James 2006).
McKinnon (n.d) asserts that human resource in an organization should be treated in an appropriate manner as they contribute to the failure or success of a given organization through facilitating other resources for instance the assets. An organization should therefore take all possible measures aimed at safeguarding the employees. In as much as Foster Abbotsford brewery company has achieved a lot of success over the years and have been involved in various corporate social responsibility activities, failure to maintain health and safety standards for its employees is an enough factor to term it as a failing organization. In a nut shell, risk management is an essential aspect that should never be undermined. This is because it is associated with many benefits that contribute to a company’s efficiency, effectiveness, and economy. This in turn boosts its productivity and profitability greatly, an aspect that every business organization desires (Baker & McKenzie, CCH Australia Limited, Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management 2010).
Conclusion
It is evident that the issue of accidents in the workplace is a reality and has affected a considerable number of organizations and individuals. There are various factors that are attributed to dangers that occur in organizations some of them being out of negligence of both the management and the employees. It is therefore advisable that organizations consider health and safety as a priority so as to reduce the high chances of injuries and deaths that occur in the workplace. This could be done through integrating health and safety policies with the overall organizational policies to avoid chances of being forgotten or rather undermined. There is need for employers to review their risk management strategies regularly and take necessary adjustments.
Reference List
AFN 2008. Foster’s Receives Record Fine for Fatal Safety Breaches. Australian Food News, 2008.
Baker & McKenzie, CCH Australia Limited, Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management 2010. Australian Master Human Resources Guide 2010. 8th ed. UK: CCH Australia Limited.
Bluff, E. 2004. OHS Regulation for a Changing World of Work. New York, Federation Press.
CCH Australia Limited, OHS industry and legal authorities and Free hills 2007. Australian Master OHS and Environment Guide, 2nd Ed, UK; CCH Australia Limited.
Collins, S. 2008. Foster’s Fined $1.125m Over Worker’s Death. Web.
Hopwood, D and Thompson S. 2006. Workplace Safety: A Guide for Small and Midsized Companies. New York, John Wiley and Sons.
James, P. 2006. Health and Safety At Work And Its Relevance To Employment Relations Research. London, Emerald Group Publishing.
LaTourette, T., Mendeloff, J.M and Rand Corporation 2008. Mandatory Workplace Safety and Health Programs: Implementation, Effectiveness, and Benefit-Cost Trade-Offs. UK, Rand Corporation.
Lingard H and Rawlinson M.S. 2005. Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Project Management. New York, Taylor & Francis.
Minter, E. 2008. Record Fine in Brewery Fatality.
Perkins, M. 2008. Foster’s Fined For Workplace Death. Web.
McKinnon, T. n.d. The Value of Health & Wellbeing in the Workplace: A Brewery Experience. Web.