Workers' Compensation & Safety Analysis PDF

Workers' Compensation Refers to the payment of medical expenses for injured or ill employees, payments made to survivors in case of the death of an employee, and costs related to the cleanup or investigation of an accident, including travel and legal services. Task Analysis...

Workers' Compensation Refers to the payment of medical expenses for injured or ill employees, payments made to survivors in case of the death of an employee, and costs related to the cleanup or investigation of an accident, including travel and legal services. Task Analysis A detailed method of defining the varied elements that make up an undertaking and providing a way to document resources that will be necessary in its achievement. Common Metrics Used to assess project performance, including: o Budget: Is the project at, under, or over budget? o Time: Has the project or phase been completed on time? If not, how many days overdue is it? o Quality: Has the work met or exceeded quality standards? For example, has the project passed inspection? o Conflict: Has the project phase created conflict among team members? o Safety: Has the project phase been completed without safety incidents? Risk Analysis Involves qualitative and quantitative techniques to measure the potential frequency and severity of a risk. Risk Determination Includes type, location, probability, and consequences of a risk, as well as risk estimate, which is the product of probability and consequences. Risk Acceptance Deciding what frequency and severity of risks are acceptable for individuals, companies, and society as a whole. Risk Characterization Analyzes the effects that exposure to a risk will have on people. Job Safety Analysis A formal method used to assess the hazards associated with a job function. Mishap An unplanned event or series of events resulting in death, injury, occupational illness, damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment. SMART GOAL Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-oriented. International Labor Organization (ILO) Guidelines ILO-OSH 2001 provides voluntary guidelines on safety and health management systems, relying the least on the performance of personnel. Leading Indicators Proactive activities that identify hazards and assess, eliminate, minimize, and control risk, such as: o Level of worker participation in program activities o Number of employee safety suggestions o Number of hazards, near misses, and first aid cases reported o Amount of time taken to respond to reports o Number and frequency of management walkthroughs o Number and severity of hazards identified during inspections o Number of workers who have completed required safety and health training Evidence-Based Approach A rational method for reaching reliable and reproducible audit conclusions in a systematic audit process, where audit evidence should be verifiable. Fault Tree Analysis A deductive analysis that uses Boolean logic to relate the top event to a combination of basic events that must occur for the top event to happen, allowing the analyst to determine the combinations of failures that are necessary to achieve an event defined as the top or undesired event. Contingency Theory A class of behavioral theory that claims that there is no best way to organize a corporation, to lead a company, or to make decisions, instead, the optimal course of action is contingent upon the internal and external situation. Systems Theory  An interdisciplinary theory about the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science, which considers and treats an organization as a system. Management Styles Autocratic leaders make decisions unilaterally. Permissive leaders permit participation in the decision-making process. Directive Democrat allows subordinates to participate in the decision-making process but closely supervises employees. Directive Autocrat makes decisions unilaterally and closely supervises employees. Permissive Democrat allows employees to participate in the decision-making process and gives subordinates some latitude in carrying out their work. Permissive Autocrat leader makes decisions unilaterally but gives employees latitude in carrying out the work. Importance of Safety Management Systems Humanitarianism, The Law, and Cost are key factors that highlight the importance of Safety Management Systems. Accident and Hazard An accident is an unexpected happening that may result in injury, loss, or damage. A hazard is a condition or set of circumstances that have the potential to cause an incident, injury, illness, or other loss. Costs of Accidents Direct Costs: medical costs, payment for time away, and other costs that directly impact an employer's money. Indirect Costs: hidden costs, such as time lost by other employees to help a coworker, time spent by safety staff, losses due to unfilled orders or lost productions. ANSI Z10 and Heinrich's Incident Theories ANSI Z10 is a voluntary consensus standard on occupational health and safety management systems that provides a standard method for designing and implementing a safety management system. Heinrich's Incident Theories propose that the ratio between direct costs and indirect costs is an average of 4:1. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle Plan: establish objectives and the processes needed to achieve them. Do: implement the plan. Check: monitor and evaluate the plan.  Act: take action to correct and improve the plan. Confined Space and Entry Attendant A Permit-Required Confined Space is a space that contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere, contains a material that could engulf an entrant, has an internal configuration that could trap or asphyxiate an entrant, or contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard. An Entry Attendant is the individual stationed outside the space who monitors conditions within the space, prevents unauthorized entry, and summons emergency services or initiates rescue procedures if necessary. Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) The HCS requires that all chemicals produced or imported into the U.S. be evaluated to determine their physical and health hazards. Information about these hazards must be transmitted to employees who may be exposed to such chemicals under normal operations or in foreseeable emergency. Risk Analysis and Risk Determination Risk Analysis involves qualitative and quantitative techniques to measure the potential frequency and severity of a risk. Risk Determination involves evaluating the type, location, probability, and consequences of a risk. Job Safety Analysis and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Job Safety Analysis is a formal method used to assess the hazards associated with a job function. FMEA is a systematic process for identifying potential design and process failures before they occur, with the intent to eliminate them or minimize the risk associated with them. Other Concepts Theory Y Management assumes that all workers are basically interested and motivated to work and therefore have a reduced need for an external reward system. Herzberg Motivational Theory states that motivation can be split into two categories: hygiene factors and motivation factors. SWOT Analysis is a planning tool used to analyze an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Manual Rates and Premiums Premiums are applied directly from the rate book for the applicable state, making premiums the same from all insurance companies.  Employers could seek discounts from set rates by utilizing hazard reduction techniques from a schedule. Experience Rating Experience Rating states determine average losses for employment classifications. Claims affect the rates during the policy year. Fixed Rate Premiums use the manual rate in effect at the time of the policy. Premium Discounts Premium discounts may be applied due to the lower administrative cost of managing insurance for larger companies. Competitive Premium Rates are based on the same manual rate book. Government Agencies DOT (Department of Transportation) governs economic concerns of the transportation industry. NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is a government agency. SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) is a government agency. FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) is a government agency. FHA (Federal Highway Administration) is a government agency. Safety Management Systems Process Safety Management is a standard developed by OSHA, which provides an analytical tool focused on preventing the release of highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs). Threshold Limit Value-Time Weighted Average (TLV-TWA) is the time-weighted average concentration of a substance for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour work week. Hazardous Chemicals Trade Secret is any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, information, or compilation of information used in an employer's business. Unstable (reactive) chemicals are those that, in the pure state or as produced or transported, will vigorously polymerize, decompose, condense, or become self-reactive under conditions of shocks, pressure, or temperature. Water-reactive chemicals react with water to release a gas that is either flammable or presents a health hazard. Workplace Safety Work area is a room or defined space in a workplace where hazardous chemicals are produced or used, and where employees are present.  Workplace is an establishment, job site, or project at one geographical location, containing one or more work areas. Hazard Control is the reduction or elimination of a dangerous situation. Accident Prevention Strategies Frequency Strategy focuses on reducing the accidents that occur most frequently. Severity Strategy focuses on reducing the accidents that cause the most serious injuries or most damage. Cost Strategy focuses on reducing the accidents that are the most expensive. Accident Theories Multiple Factor Theory postulates that accidents are generally caused by many factors working together. Energy Theory postulates that accidents and injuries often involve energy transfer. Domino Theory explains the sequence of events in an accident, including social events, undesirable traits, unsafe acts or conditions, incidents, and injuries. Financial Justification Financial Justification is the process of making a business case for an investment. Opportunities for improvement are extensions of best management practices observed in other organizations. Accident Cost Estimation To estimate the cost of accidents, divide accidents into major classes, examine accounting records, and calculate the uninsured cost associated with accidents. Uninsured costs include lost work hours, medical costs, property loss and damage, insurance premiums, and hidden costs such as investigation and emergency response. Ratio of direct to indirect costs is 4:1, showing that the final cost of an accident must include more than medical expenses and worker compensation. Accident Ratios Unsafe acts and unsafe conditions ratio is 88:10:2, with 88% of accidents caused by unsafe acts, 10% by unsafe conditions, and 2% by unpreventable causes. Incident-injury ratio is 300:29:1, with 300 accidents resulting in no injuries, 29 causing minor injuries, and 1 causing a major injury. Risk Management Acceptable risk is the part of identified mishap risk that is allowed to persist without taking further engineering or management action to eliminate or reduce the risk.  Acceptable risk is achieved after risk reduction measures have been applied and is accepted for a given task or hazard. The terms "acceptable risk" and "tolerable risk" are considered synonymous. Risk Types Accepted risk has two parts: (1) risk that is knowingly understood and accepted by the system developer or user, and (2) risk that is not known or understood and is accepted by default. Residual risk is the overall risk remaining after system safety mitigation efforts have been fully implemented. Risk Mitigation Mitigation is an action taken to reduce the risk presented by a hazard, by modifying the hazard in order to decrease the mishap probability and/or the mishap severity. Mitigation can be accomplished through design measures, use of safety devices, training, or procedures. Risk Assessment Risk analysis is the process of identifying safety risks, which involves identifying hazards that present mishap risk with an assessment of the risk probability. Risk assessment is the process of determining the risk presented by the identified hazards, which involves evaluating the identified hazard's causal factors and then characterizing the risk as the product of the hazard severity times the hazard probability. Hazard and Severity A hazard is any real or potential condition that can cause injury, illness, or death to personnel; damage or loss of a system, equipment, or property; or damage to the environment. Severity is the extent of harm or damage that could result from a hazard-related incident or exposure. Loss Control Loss control is the proactive measures taken to prevent or reduce loss evolving from accident, injury, illness, and property damage. The aim of loss control is to reduce the frequency and severity of losses. Probability and Severity Probability is the likelihood of a hazard causing an incident or exposure that could result in harm or damage for a selected unit of time, events, population, items, or activities being considered.  Severity is the extent of harm or damage that could result from a hazard-related incident or exposure. Risk Analysis and Assessment Risk analysis is the process of identifying safety risks, involving identifying hazards that present mishap risk with an assessment of the risk probability. Risk assessment is the process of determining the risk presented by the identified hazards, evaluating the identified hazard's causal factors and characterizing the risk as the product of the hazard severity times the hazard probability. Risk Assessment Techniques Establishing analysis parameters Selecting a risk assessment technique Identifying hazards Considering Failure Modes Assessing the severity of consequences Determining the occurrence probability prominently taking into consideration the exposures Defining the initial risk Making risk acceptance or nonacceptance decisions with employee involvement Risk Types Acceptable risk: the part of identified mishap risk that is allowed to persist without taking further engineering or management action to eliminate or reduce the risk, based on knowledge and decision-making Accepted risk: risk that is knowingly understood and accepted by the system developer or user, and risk that is not known or understood and is accepted by default Residual risk: the overall risk remaining after system safety mitigation efforts have been fully implemented Risk Mitigation Mitigation is an action taken to reduce the risk presented by a hazard, by modifying the hazard in order to decrease the mishap probability and/or the mishap severity Mitigation is generally accomplished through design measures, use of safety devices, training, or procedures ALARP and Task Analysis ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable): the level of mishap risk that has been established and is considered as low as reasonably possible and still acceptable  Task analysis: a detailed method of defining the varied elements that make up an undertaking and providing a way to document resources that will be necessary in its achievement Common Metrics Budget: assessing if the project is at, under, or over budget Time: assessing if the project or phase has been completed on time Quality: assessing if the work has met or exceeded quality standards Conflict: assessing if the project phase has created conflict among the team members Safety: assessing if the project phase has been completed without safety incidents Risk Determination and Acceptance Risk determination involves identifying type, location, probability, and consequences of a risk Risk estimate: the product of probability and consequences Risk acceptance: deciding what frequency and severity of risks are acceptable for individuals, companies, and society as a whole Risk Characterization and Job Safety Analysis Risk characterization analyzes the effects that exposure to a risk will have on people Job safety analysis: a formal method used to assess the hazards associated with job function Probability and Severity Probability is the likelihood of a hazard causing an incident or exposure that could result in harm or damage for a selected unit of time, events, population, items, or activities being considered. Severity is the extent of harm or damage that could result from a hazard-related incident or exposure. Risk Analysis and Assessment Risk analysis is the process of identifying safety risks, involving identifying hazards that present mishap risk with an assessment of the risk probability. Risk assessment is the process of determining the risk presented by the identified hazards, evaluating the identified hazard's causal factors and characterizing the risk as the product of the hazard severity times the hazard probability. Risk Assessment Techniques Establishing analysis parameters Selecting a risk assessment technique  Identifying hazards Considering Failure Modes Assessing the severity of consequences Determining the occurrence probability prominently taking into consideration the exposures Defining the initial risk Making risk acceptance or nonacceptance decisions with employee involvement Risk Types Acceptable risk: the part of identified mishap risk that is allowed to persist without taking further engineering or management action to eliminate or reduce the risk, based on knowledge and decision-making Accepted risk: risk that is knowingly understood and accepted by the system developer or user, and risk that is not known or understood and is accepted by default Residual risk: the overall risk remaining after system safety mitigation efforts have been fully implemented Risk Mitigation Mitigation is an action taken to reduce the risk presented by a hazard, by modifying the hazard in order to decrease the mishap probability and/or the mishap severity Mitigation is generally accomplished through design measures, use of safety devices, training, or procedures ALARP and Task Analysis ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable): the level of mishap risk that has been established and is considered as low as reasonably possible and still acceptable Task analysis: a detailed method of defining the varied elements that make up an undertaking and providing a way to document resources that will be necessary in its achievement Common Metrics Budget: assessing if the project is at, under, or over budget Time: assessing if the project or phase has been completed on time Quality: assessing if the work has met or exceeded quality standards Conflict: assessing if the project phase has created conflict among the team members Safety: assessing if the project phase has been completed without safety incidents Risk Determination and Acceptance Risk determination involves identifying type, location, probability, and consequences of a risk Risk estimate: the product of probability and consequences  Risk acceptance: deciding what frequency and severity of risks are acceptable for individuals, companies, and society as a whole Risk Characterization and Job Safety Analysis Risk characterization analyzes the effects that exposure to a risk will have on people Job safety analysis: a formal method used to assess the hazards associated with job function Safety Management Systems The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is used to implement and continually improve performance by adjusting systems as necessary. System Failure Single-Point Failure refers to a failure of a component or subsystem that results in the failure of the entire system or process. The Domino Theory proposes that an accident sequence is like a row of dominoes, where once the first domino is knocked over, the others will continue to fall unless an outside force intervenes. Energy Theory The Energy Theory proposes that most incidents and injuries involve the transfer of energy between objects and/or people. Project Management The project management cycle involves defining, initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals. A Gantt Chart is a time and activity bar chart used for planning, managing, and controlling major programs. Hazard Communication The Globally Harmonized System (GHS) is an international approach to hazard communication, providing agreed-upon criteria for classification of chemical hazards, and a standardized approach to label elements and safety data sheets. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are used to inform employees about potentially harmful chemicals used in the workplace. Threshold Limit Value  The Threshold Limit Value-Time Weighted Average (TLV-TWA) is the time-weighted average concentration of a substance for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour work week, to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed without adverse effect. Chemical Safety A trade secret is any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, information, or compilation of information used in an employer's business, giving them an advantage over competitors. Unstable (reactive) chemicals are those that, in the pure state or as produced or transported, will vigorously polymerize, decompose, condense, or become self-reactive under conditions of shock, pressure, or temperature. Water-reactive chemicals react with water to release a gas that is either flammable or presents a health hazard. Workplace Safety A workplace is an establishment, job site, or project at one geographical location, containing one or more work areas. Hazard control refers to the reduction or elimination of a dangerous situation. Task Analysis Task analysis refers to a detailed method of defining the varied elements that make up an undertaking and provides a way to document resources necessary for its achievement. Risk Analysis Risk analysis involves qualitative and quantitative techniques to measure the potential frequency and severity of a risk. Risk determination involves identifying the type, location, probability, and consequences of a risk. Risk acceptance means deciding what frequency and severity of risks are acceptable for individuals, companies, and society as a whole. Job Safety Analysis Job safety analysis is a formal method used to assess the hazards associated with a job function. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic process for identifying potential design and process failures before they occur. Change Analysis Change analysis attempts to analyze and document the effects of a change on a system or organization. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a planning tool used to analyze an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Database Management System A Database Management System (DBMS) helps manage safety data, tracking items such as personal protective equipment, training, hazardous materials, and inspections. Modeling Modeling helps safety engineers observe the behavior of physical phenomena or people, used for functions such as accident reconstruction, gas dispersion, and fires. Defensive Driving Defensive driving refers to a process of alert driving behavior that attempts to anticipate road hazards and actions of other drivers in order to prevent accidents. Hazard Communication Standard The Hazard Communication Standard governs the requirements to notify workers of chemical hazards faced at work and to provide information on protection from hazards. Probability and Severity Probability refers to the likelihood of a hazard causing an incident or exposure that could result in harm or damage. Severity refers to the extent of harm or damage that could result from a hazard-related incident or exposure. Domain 2: Safety Management Systems Safety Management involves a cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act: planning, implementing, checking results, and continual improvement. Failure Types and Theories Single-Point Failure: failure of a component or subsystem that results in failure of the entire system or process. Domino Theory: an accident sequence is like 5 dominoes standing in a line; once the first domino is knocked over, they will continue to fall unless some outside force intervenes. Energy Theory: most incidents and injuries involve the transfer of energy between objects and/or people. Project Management Project Management involves defining, initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals. Gantt Chart: a time and activity bar chart used for planning, managing, and controlling major programs with a distinct beginning and end. Hazard Communication Globally Harmonized System (GHS): an international approach to hazard communication, providing agreed-upon criteria for classification of chemical hazards, and a standardized approach to label elements and safety data sheets. Accident Costs To estimate the cost of accidents, divide accidents into major classes, examine accounting records to determine insured costs, and calculate uninsured costs. Uninsured costs include lost work hours, medical costs, property loss and damage, insurance premiums, and hidden costs such as investigation and emergency response. Ratio of direct to indirect costs: 4:1, showing that final cost of an accident must include more than medical expenses and worker compensation. Accident Causation Ratio of unsafe acts to unsafe conditions: 88:10:2, with 88% of accidents caused by unsafe acts, 10% by unsafe conditions, and 2% by unpreventable causes. Incident-injury ratio: 300:29:1, with 300 results in no injuries, 29 cause minor injuries, and 1 causes a major injury. Risk Management Root Cause Analysis (RCA): the process of identifying the basic lowest level causal factors for an event. Risk Communication: the interactive process of exchanging risk information and opinions among stakeholders. Risk Management involves mitigating, minimizing, or controlling risks through engineering, management, or operational means. Safety and Performance Safety: freedom from conditions that can cause death, injury, occupational illness, damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment. Exposure: contact with or proximity to a hazard, taking into account duration and intensity. Unacceptable risk: risk that cannot be tolerated. Audit and Analysis Evidence-Based Approach: a rational method for reaching reliable and reproducible audit conclusions in a systematic audit process. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA): a deductive analysis involving reasoning from the general to the specific, used to determine the combinations of failures that are necessary to achieve an event defined as the top or undesired event. Human Factors Motivational-Hygiene Theory: a theory that attempts to explain how persons are satisfied by certain intrinsic job factors while being motivated by other extrinsic factors that are quite peripheral to the job being performed. Safety Culture: a group's attitude that everyone in the group will try to behave in a way that protects the safety of each other; recognition will reinforce their trust in the culture. Exposure Limits OSHA defines Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) NIOSH defines Recommended Exposure Limits (REL) ACGIH sets Threshold Limit Values (TLV) for maximum acceptable exposure of workers to hazards over a specific period Personal Protective Equipment Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is worn to protect users from exposure to hazards Chemical Protective Clothing (CPC) is worn to protect users from chemical exposure Product Liability Implied Warranty occurs when a product does not perform as claimed by the manufacturer or sales force Express Warranty occurs when a seller makes claims about a product's capabilities Strict Liability occurs when a product's characteristics are unreasonably dangerous Negligence occurs when a person or corporation fails to exercise due diligence or takes an action that causes harm Workers' Compensation Workers' Compensation Insurance is a method for employers to protect themselves from unforeseen incidents Workers' Compensation acts to protect workers by providing for lost wages, medical and rehabilitation expenses, and compensation for lost limbs received on the job Safety Management Systems  Reactive approach to accident prevention has four basic steps: accident occurrence, investigation, analysis, and implementation of preventative measures Proactive approach to accident prevention tries to prevent accidents from occurring in the first place, with two steps: analyzing potential accidents and implementing preventative measures Leading Indicators are proactive activities that identify hazards and assess, eliminate, minimize, and control risk Examples of Leading Indicators include level of worker participation, number of employee safety suggestions, and timely completion of corrective actions Safety Standards and Analysis The purpose of standards is to provide organizations with an effective tool for continuous improvement in their occupational health and safety management systems Cost/Benefit Analysis is a process of evaluating competing courses of action by examining the dollar costs of certain abatement actions versus the dollar value of the benefits received Pareto Principle states that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, and Pareto charts help identify the largest issues facing a team or business Audit (ISO 19011) is a systematic, independent, and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively Safety Culture and Theories Internal Audit is conducted by the organization itself for management review and other internal purposes Motivational-Hygiene Theory explains how persons are satisfied by certain intrinsic job factors while being motivated by extrinsic factors Safety Culture is a group's attitude that everyone will try to behave in a way that protects the safety of each other, and recognition reinforces trust in the culture Factors that make the greatest impact on whether employees will work safely include team spirit, recognition, and attitude