Topic 6: Plant Safety and Loss Prevention Management

Plant safety and loss prevention management system

1. Workplace safety and health
2. Environmental management system
3. Emergency plan
A department is assigned to manage this programme and to ensure that it is
executed properly.

Importance of a proper environmental, health and safety programme

No regulatory violation
Ensures health and safety of employee
Ensures health and safety of public
Ensures reliability of equipment and systems

Concepts of the programme

Preventive
o Ensuring workplace safety and health for workers safety and
health management systems
o Ensuring good environment practices environmental
management systems effective waste management and
pollution control
Reactive
o Emergency plan

1. Safety and health management systems

A definite plan of action designed to prevent accidents and occupational
diseases. The four main areas include:
Policy statement
o A commitment made by the senior management to support the
programme
o Illustrates the organisations basic philosophy towards workplace
safety and health
Responsibilities (all stakeholders along the lines of control everyone,
including suppliers and contractors)
Employer Conduct risk assessment to remove or control risk
o HAZOP, safety reviews
o Remove or control risk via engineering control,
administrative control and PPE at the source of
hazard (to eliminate or reduce risk), transmission
pathway (to block the path of hazard) and worker (to
reduce exposure amount or to protect using PPE)
Ensure the safety of all equipment and substances used
Ensure the safety of work process
Develop and implement control measures for dealing with
emergencies
Provide employees with adequate instruction, information,
training and supervision
Employee Follow safe work procedures
Not engage in any unsafe act that may endanger yourself or
others working around you
Use the necessary PPE, devices or equipment provided by
the employer properly so as to ensure safety
Supplier Provide proper information on the safe use of machinery,
equipment or hazardous substance
Contractor Ensure that the machine, equipment or hazardous substance
has been tested and examined so that it is safe for use
o All stakeholders are held legally responsible if an accident was to
happen and MOM has the right to sue them in court
o Preventing accidents through higher penalties for poor safety
management (preventive rather than reactive)
Training
o Orientation for new staff
Familiarise new staff with safety practices at workplace
(necessary information should be communicated to new staff
within the first few days before hazardous work can be
started escape routes, emergency plans, location of first
aid boxes, etc)
o Continuous training for current staff workshops, seminars,
safety campaigns, toolbox meetings and on-the-job training
reinforce the importance of workplace safety and health
For staff who have become complacent towards safety
After introduction of new processes or equipment
After occurrence of the 6 categories of incidents which must
be investigated
Safety audits
o A procedure for periodic, systematic, objective and documented
evaluation of operations and practices in meeting workplace safety
and health requirements
o Purpose: to identify areas of non-compliance so that they can be
rectified before accidents happen
o Frequency: once every 6 months or 12 months
o Benefits of safety audit
Identification of hazards and correcting them before they
result in accidents reduces workplace accidents and
improves worker morale
Improves credibility of employer
Better regulatory compliance less fine, less stop work order
Reduction of risks and liabilities
Planning a safety audit
1. Team formation
Selection based on
Proper training or certification in the conduct of a safety audit
Knowledge of local safety regulations
Knowledge and experience related to processes and associated hazards
at workplace to be audited
Correct team is key component to success of safety audit

2. Preparation of audit criteria

Select venue
Create audit schedule
Prepare audit content / scope review past safety audit report, accident
report / investigations, regulatory requirements, requests from
management and audit checklist to be created

3. On site audit
Opening meeting with facility supervisors aim, scope, schedule, audit
teams
Scope of audit hazardous materials / waste, fire hazards, electrical
hazards, machinery hazards, operational / process hazards, noise hazards
and illumination hazards
Check documentation work procedures, work permit system, training
records, operation logbooks
Interview employees
Observe employees at work
Inspect workplace

4. Review of findings
At the end of the day
Audit teams meet up and discuss findings
Audit leader summarises findings and presents them to facility
management
Audit teams can clarify information with facility staff and vice versa
Cycle repeats if safety audit takes place over a period of several days

5. Submission of safety audit report

Submitted a week after completion of safety audit
List of non-conforming items and recommended corrective actions
Facility management will be required to develop plan to implement
corrective actions
Audit report is to be filed away for future reference
Workplace safety and health committee
Compulsory for all workplace requirement by MOM
Size of committee depends on the size of company
Equal representation of people in management non-management roles
All departments should be represented
Non-members may attend the meeting if necessary
Responsibilities of committee
o Meet at least once a month to discuss matters relating to workplace
safety and health
o General inspection of workplace safety at least once a month and
before safety audit by external parties
o Inspect workplace after accident or dangerous occurrence
o Assist in organizing activities to promote workplace safety and
health
o NOT to provide safety training
o NOT to monitor workplace accident statistics

2. Environmental management systems

A set of processes and practices that enable an organisation to reduce its
environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency
Follows a systematic approach to achieve continuous improvement in the
organisations environmental policies
Two main concerns in environmental management systems
o Pollution management
o Waste management priorities in management

Eliminate
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Treatment
Disposal

Plan objectives / targets, procedures and resources

Do implementation of plan and data collection
Check analysis of data collected
Action suggestion of improvements

Benefits of environmental management system

Improved environmental performance
Increased efficiency / reduced costs
Enhanced employee morale
Enhanced public image
New markets and customers
3. Emergency plan
Reactive in nature
Activated after a major accident at a workplace

Formulating an emergency plan

Identify all possible catastrophes that might occur
For every catastrophe identified, include the following:
o Consequences
o Required action contact government agency, evacuate staff and
surrounding, emergency shut down
o Chain of command
o Contact list
o Emergency respond team
o Location of emergency respond resources spill containment kit,
fire extinguishers, PPE
o Containment of hazards
o Disposal of hazards

Objectives of emergency plan

Reduce fatalities and injuries
Reduce damages to buildings and equipment
Restore normal operations as soon as possible

Importance of emergency plan

Lack of emergency plan will result in
Lack of ability to control and mitigate catastrophes
Multiple fatalities
Extensive damages
Massive financial loss
Damage to public image
Emergency plan must be in place before operations can start at a workplace