Safety in plastic manufacturing

Safety in plastic manufacturing INTRODUCTION: Plastic manufacturing is becoming one of the most important fields in manufacturing (Makin 1987). All manufacturers are trying to reduce their cost by putting plastic into their machines or computers. Plastic Manufacturing started from producing combs and buttons till it reached different fields of production such as: automotive, medical equipments, aerospace, construction and consumer goods as well as toys and packaging. The most important threat that has been facing the advance of this technology is health and safety. Safety in plastic manufacturing is critical because you deal with different areas such as: the machinery, raw materials (generally petrochemical materials) which are mostly flammable and lately there has been environmental issues of concern arising from the manufacturing of plastics thats why It needs to be considered during the design phase of a factory before starting the manufacturing phase. With more and more automation and advanced machinery being applied to this industry, and greater application of new technologies being implemented with increased capability for providing flexibility to the process and operations, greater attention has to be given to safety. This research aims to capture what level of safety is there in plastic factories. And what it lacks for and what is needed to implement health and safety inside these factories and protect the workers and the owners of the factory in addition of comparing the cost of a safety program in a factory to the money spent in case accidents happen because of the low level of safety. The study will briefly review the impact of this industry on the environment and the importance of recycling to cut-down these impacts. Studies have been conducted in different industrial countries like: The United kingdom and The United States of America and comparing that to an industrial developing country like Saudi Arabia. KEY QUESTIONS: There are several questions to be exploded in this topic of research because as mentioned earlier safety in plastic factories is critical because it is attached to different sectors like: machinery, raw materials, and environmental issues. So the main question can be: How to implement a safe environment in a plastic factory? This main question can be specified by using the following questions: 1- What are the most common accidents and injuries that happen in plastic factories? 2- What are the reasons that cause accidents in plastic factories? 3- Why is plastic manufacturing threatening the environment? What are the solutions to reduce this risks and accidents caused by this industry? 4- How can you develop safety in plastic factories in developing countries like Saudi Arabia? AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This research will aim to capture the main reason of accidents in plastic factories and how to implement health and safety in this industry in all phases. These aims can be specified to the following: * Decreasing the risks that plastic manufacturing causes in the environment, and developing the ways to prevent pollution caused by this industry such as plastic recycling. * Cutting down the number of accidents during work by applying advanced safety plans and precautions in Saudi Arabia. * Analysing the most common accidents and their reasons and link them together statically. * Implementing computers and networks in emergency management inside and outside the factories. Generally, this study will embrace the ways of having a healthy and safe environment in plastic factories and how to reduce accidents and risk that are caused by this industry. LITERATURE REVIEW: In 1868 John Wesly Hyatt developed plastic material called celluloid he used it to substitute ivory which was becoming more expensive and difficult to obtain after improvements ,from that plastic industry was born (Bryce 1999). During the next 40-50years others began to investigate this new process and used it for manufacturing. During 1940s the plastic injection moulding industry became more popular because of the demand created for inexpensive mass produced products after the World War II. The makers of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic called it the material of the thousand uses and used the mathematical symbol of infinity [à ¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¾] as a trademark (Bryce 1999). In general applying safety to your factory and keeping your workers healthy and safe does not happen by chance there are different things to be done from electrical and machinery safety to dust handling requirements for example: careful management processes, commitment throughout the organisation in addition to safety management including risk assessments, engineering controls, and emergency procedures and training. Good management processes in plastic manufacturing includes carefully evaluating raw materials and implementing controls such as containers, safe handling procedures and use of appropriate personal protective equipment, because as mentioned before plastics are petrochemical materials that must be dealt with carefully. It is always recommended to have a good communication with the raw material companies in case any information is needed. Prevention of pollution is essential too; it can be by controlling techniques for emission such as optimising processing conditions for h andling and mixing dry additives and storing of these materials. Health and safety associations such as Health and Safety Executive (HSE) work to improve safety in a wide variety of sectors in this industry. Firstly, machines new or old should comply with its regulations and meet the requirements needed. About the workers; government regulations in Europe and North America require that operators be protected from moving parts of machinery, while machinery parts that require a tool to open must be opened by trained personnel following appropriate safety procedures (British Plastic Federation 2009; Health and Safety Executive 2009). To avoid hand injury which is almost 25-50% of the total injuries in this industry according to the HSE statistics survey, robots and automation are implemented to protect workers from injury during manual handling although it is difficult to eliminate manual handling but they are trying to cut it down. Safety of using these robots should be encountered too because there are not reliable and safe 100%.There are several accidents reported from using robots and automation, the first robot fatality occurred in Japan in 1981 the robot stabbed an employee to death the employee didnt use the safeguards (Makin 1987). Nearly 80 accidents in blow moulding factories were investigated by inspectors from HSE during 1986-1996.It was found that 50% of these accidents happen because inadequate or damaged safe guarding about another 25% were because of defeated safeguards (Health and Safety 2009). To avoid these kinds of accidents it is recommended to: provide the right safer guarding and check it is kept in the position and working effectively. Plastics are created by refining common petroleum products the most common are crude oil and natural gas. Fire in plastics manufacturing may generate black acrid smoke and poisonous gases including carbon monoxide. The fires may spread quickly and be difficult to extinguish. Sources of ignition should be controlled by prohibiting smoking and hot work in high risk areas. A key to safe operation is safety awareness and putting safety as a priority at all levels, from the operator to the manager. Mr.Seeberg the safety director at Clariant says that workers will notice if their site manager or supervisor is only concerned with the output or is also concerned with safety (Science Direct 2009). Before safety training can be effective, top management must show a clear commitment and interest in safety. Some managers say that their major concern is that they do not have the resources to have a full time safety person in this case they can rent a safety supervisor in-order to reduce the cost. In general the employers duties can be summarised in: * Making the workplace safe without risks to health. * Ensuring the plant and machinery are safe and that systems of work are set and followed. * Giving the information instructions, training and supervision necessary for health and safety. The successful implementation of management system for both occupational health and safety and return to work programmes will result in positive change in business and safety cultures in the industry and there will be a considerable opportunity to reduce costs in manufacturing. The plastic industry faced a lot of threats in its beginning a lot of people tried to link it with cancer. The waste and littering caused by plastic products in the world especially in sea shores (Meikle 1995).Plastic bags are light weight and moisture resistant meaning that it can float in air and water easily and travel long distances. Every year more than six million tons of trash is dumped into seas and oceans more than 80% are plastic like plastic bags and bottles. Sea creatures eat the plastic thinking it was food which can cause their death, some blamed plastic bags for the death of kids by suffocation too (Clean Up 2009). To avoid plastic waste and cut from its effects high fines are applied now; in the USA the cruise ship Royal Princess was fined  £311,000 for dumping 20 bags of garbage overboard( British Plastic Federation 2009). In-order to face these threats plastic associations are implementing recycling in every home so the impacts of this manufacturing can be prevented. Most of the plastics can be recycled and has its own way of recycling, thats why in the bottom of every plastic product you can find the initials for its name and type like PP for polypropylene and HDPE for high density polyethylene as shown below in Figure(1). In the UK five million tonnes of plastic are used annually only 19% is getting recycled but it is planned to reach 25%by 2010.There are a lot of benefits from recycling plastic, to sum it up we can say: less used plastic, less oil used for plastic production and less energy consumed which will affect the plastic industry positively. REASEARCH METHOD: In this part I will introduce the methods used in this study and explain the techniques used and where this research fit into. Generally this research is a combination of both methods; quantitative and qualitative which is also known as the mixed method. Firstly, the quantitative method which mostly deals with numerical data to develop theories and hypothesis (Creswell 2003). In-order to obtain information to develop the safety in plastic factories we are going to design questionnaires and surveys to seek answers for a couple of question that will help us fill the gap. Some of these questions are open-ended and that is where the qualitative method combines. Secondly the qualitative method is a method of inquiry used for different scientific and academic fields, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research (Creswell 2003). It also investigates how and when a decision can be made we will make some interviews with workers, factory managers, and people from health and safety organizations. Usually in social sciences quantitative research is contrasted with qualitative for the purpose of discovering meaning and models of relationships. Although when it comes to their aspects of scientific investigation there is a difference (Creswell 2003), it is said that both are attached and help each other as Kuhn (1961:152) says large amounts of qualitative work usually been prerequisite to fruitful quantification in the physical sciences. Qualitative research is used to explore a phenomenon and form theories then we can test these theories by using quantitative research. In this research in-order to obtain useful information that can help in applying health and safety in plastic factories and have a safe environment, we will have around 200 questionnaires distrubted to different types of people who in this industry such as: workers, engineers, managers, etc. There will be interviews with people from health and safety organisations in the UK, like the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Plastic Processors Health and Safety Liaison Committee (PPHSLC). Also there will be four factories from Saudi Arabia as case study and compare the safety of these factories to the safety requirements in the UK and try to develop the safety there to the same level in the UK. All the data taken from the questioners, survey, and interviews will be analysed by using SPSS to determine the relationships by manipulating factors thought to influence safety in plastic manufacturing. There are several studies done before in how plastic manufacturing is effecting the enviro nment we will see where these studies reached and modify their approaches. TIMETABLE: TASK DURATION Proposal Preparation 18Nov-1 Dec Literature Review 1Dec-1 March Fieldwork 1Feb-15 March Data Analysis 15 March-22 March Presentation 22 March-1 April Final Report 1 April-30 April CONCLUSION: As a conclusion for this study we will find the gaps in safety in plastic manufacturing and help having a safe environment by developing safety procedures and observe the threats that are effecting the environment. Also, the safety in plastic factories in Saudi Arabia will be studied, and determine what it lacks for and how can it be developed to reach the appropriate level of safety. As all studies in this field this study benefited from the relevance of previous researches and assumptions of many experts. The analysis of the data and surveys will show how much people are concerned about safety. Hope this study cans be effective in the development of safety in plastic manufacturing and helps other researches in the future in this topic to obtain what safety in plastic factories lacks. REFERENCES: British Plastic Federation (2009), Health and Safety [online] available from [21 November 2009] Bryce, Douglas M. (1999) Plastic Injection Moulding. Clean Up Australia Ltd (2009) Plastic Recycling Fact Sheet [online] available from [22 November 2009] Creswell, J.W. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Cross Plastics (2008) Domestic Recycling Symbols [online] available from [30 November 2009] Health and Safety Executive (2009) [online] available from [17 November 2009] Meikle, Jeffry I. (1995) American Plastic a Cultural History. Kuhn, T. (1961) The Function of Measurement in Modern Physical Science Makin, P. (1987) Safety in Advanced Manufacturing, Journal of Proceeding of the Advanced Manufacturing international seminar 14,(1) 1-4 Markarian, J. (2008) Worker Health And Safety in Plastics Compounding. Journal of Plastic Additives and Compounding [online] 10,(1) 26-29.Available from [28 November 2009]

The Micromanager

Although George seems to be a nice man, he is really a true micromanager because he can be persistent and stubborn on a lot of things.   Although he would like to think that he is personable, at work, he insists on getting things done in his own way and keeps track of Shelley’s progress in doing it. He also eats up Shelley’s time in making her accompany him to meetings that take her concentration away from true work. Even at home, he can dictate the time his children need to do certain things like homework. George also insists that at least two press releases are published monthly even when there is nothing to write about. He oversteps on the instructions that Shelley has already given to her own staff which causes additional confusion on the part of their subordinates. Even if Shelley has already asked for assistance in the form of additional staff, he would still rather that she list down her priorities first and do things his way. Shelley obviously detests being bullied into doing what should otherwise be something creative because she does not like George’s leadership style. However, leadership style can affect many people in different ways depending on personality types and the situations they are in. This can be seen in the way Rich Harmon admires George for being innovative and ahead of him in thinking of solutions to his department’s problems. The micromanager is good in doing everybody else’s job but as can be seen in George’s situation, he spends too much time in dealing with the nitty gritty that should be delegated to his subordinates.   As Chief-Executive-Officer, he should be concentrating on motivating his employees to do their work as a team instead of finding the little stuff that they might be doing wrong or finding solutions to small problems that should be the job of his managers. 2. Is it the appropriate style ? Why or why not? (Hint, consider the characteristics of the environment, the employee, the task, leader discretion, etc.) Retronics is in a very delicate situation because its market is going down and it needs to reinvent itself to keep up with the industry.   George’s style cannot be successful in this light because he insists on doing things hands-on while the need of the company is for its head to create new ideas that could bring new life to the crippled corporation. George has his own following and he can be effective to certain types of personalities. However, although there are employees who admire George’s ideas that really help in the development of their departments, he is actually creating followers instead of true leaders because of the dependency culture he is encouraging.   He should instead try to hone his managers’ leadership skills and encourage more innovative ideas that come from below his rank if he really wants to keep up with the new wave in his industry. Otherwise, he would be trapped in solving everybody else’s problems and no one will be overseeing the company. On the other hand, his way of micromanaging Shelley causes her to loose motivation to work because she feels cramped by her position and his leadership style.   It can be assumed that Shelley might not be the only one who feels this way because he is the type who would really delve into the smallest of details of each department to keep him self abreast of what is happening within his company. Aside from embarrassing his managers for overpowering them in their own departments or divisions, George’s style can also cause a lot of confusion and power struggle which can be detrimental to a company who is already trying so hard to survive in an ailing industry. Instead of working towards a concrete goal, his style of management causes factions which can affect the time frame and quality of work that needs to be done. Another negative consequence of George’s leadership style is that his managers will tend to imitate his leadership style and this could cause too much stress in the company.   The pressure that is felt by the subordinates will just result to poor results due to lack of morale. Instead of overseeing and managing, his executives would end up picking on their employees and wasting too much time trying to correct mistakes that could have been done properly if they had the freedom to deal with things individually. George’s leadership style encourages individualism instead of team building.   A big company can become strong if its foundations are supportive groups of people instead of individuals who have their own motives for staying in the company.   To be a good leader is to foster team work and understanding among subordinates. Better relationships build loyalty and sincerity in getting things done. 3. What strategies can Shelley employ to better manage her boss? (To answer this question, you may want to read this short piece by Harry E. Chambers: (You can find it through the EBSCO database in Business Source Complete). Shelley has to get over her feelings of being mislead into the predicament she was in.   She has to stop feeling like a victim and put things in proper perspective.   When emotions are put aside, she will be able to see that George is coming from a completely different background from hers.   She is into the arts while George, an engineer academic standards, uses more of logic to understand and solve problems.   She also has to go beyond her department’s problems to understand that George’s problems are way much heavier than hers. Being a subordinate, it is also required of Shelley that she learns how to follow her boss†¦ even if it seems wrong.   Otherwise, she can manipulate George’s decisions into her favor by finding out what motivates him to do things in another way. She can also use her communication skills in professionally sharing her ideas even before George can shoot it down.   It can be seen that Shelley tends to just hold back instead of verbally defending her ideas.   Micromanagers can still feel in control as long as they see that their subordinates see their problems from the boss’ point of view too. Shelley should put her ideas to work and then find ways of explaining it to George in the light of his perception and not hers. Shelley also has to inform George of her ideas before she starts writing them.   This way, they can discuss which ones he prefer and how they can compromise on how the subject should be given treatment. Simply making a press release, for example, without taking into consideration the boss’ view can be a waste of time because of the corrections.   However, if Shelley takes the initiative to place the information needed in front of her boss so that he just has to decide among the choices she offers, then things would be easier to do quickly. Shelley should also try to find out what makes George have a better relationship with the other managers.   She does not have to suck up to him and change her attitude but just analyzing those relationships could create better understanding of how to handle her boss. Lastly, Shelley really needs to go beyond her department and see things generally from the CEO’s point of view too.   George’s responsibilities are far harder to manage than hers and this could give her insight on why he treats her that way.

Apple Is A Company s Competitive Edge - 864 Words

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Mer Assessment Cipd - 1940 Words

1. There are several factors that can have an impact on the relationship between employees and employers; these are identified as internal and external factors. Internal factors; †¢ Pay and rewards attract and retain employees. Having the right pay and benefit for employees motivate them. This helps employees feel valued and can remove animosity between employee and employer. Training and development has a positive impact on employees, this shows investment from the employer and enhances career progression. †¢ Organisation culture has a large impact on the relationship, if an organisation has a certain culture that is generally expected from employees. For example, employees are expected to work more than their contracted hours however†¦show more content†¦This, in turn, helps organisations move forward without conflict with employees. 4. The legal system supports working parents in various ways; an expectant mother is entitled to attend appointment and ante-natal classes should they be during her normal working hours without losing any salary due to the absence from work. A parent whose partner has given birth is entitled to 2 weeks leave from work paid at statutory paternity leave, there is now an option for additional parental leave. An employee who is placed with a child through adoption are entitled to the same rights as an em-ployee who is on maternity leave, they are entitled to 52 weeks leave with 6 weeks being paid at 90% or their average weekly earnings followed by 33 weeks at statutory adoption pay. Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off work for dependants, this could be to make funeral arrangements or to look after a sick child. 5. Treating employees fairly in relations to pay is important for both employee and employer. The Equal Pay Act 1970 was introduced to ensure that women and men are paid the same for the same role. Organisations that actively treat all employees the same in relation to pay promote retention of employees. Employees won’t be underpaid for the work they do in relation to a colleague in a similar role, employees won’t feel discriminated against thus performance of work isn’t effected. The