PREFA MAROC
The factory has 169 employees and specializes in the production of prefabricated products and aggregates such as concrete pipes, concrete hollow blocks, aggregates, reinforced and unreinforced concrete pipes with diameters ranging from 200 to 2200 mm and length 2.5 meters with the characteristics that meet the requirements of the Moroccan standard. These are among the aggregates that PREFA MAROC handles. Given the nature of the industry, several hazards can harm the workers of the company. Risk factors for physical harm abound in such environments. They include poorly placed materials such as concrete blocks, heavy equipment, slips, and falls. There are also mental risk factors such as extended work hours, the demanding nature of the work, and others that can affect the workers’ psychological functions. Therefore, it is important to devise ways that can protect workers from harm in this working environment.
The first method that can be implemented to ensure that workers are protected from harm ensures that the working environment is physically safe. This can be done by ensuring that there are objects on the ground that can trip up a worker and lead to a fall. Additionally, heightened surfaces on the factory floors should be well secured to ensure that workers do not fall, or materials from these heightened positions do not fall on workers working below. Equipment such as ladders, forklifts, pulleys, and pivots should be provided in abundance to ensure that workers can work safely and without exposing themselves to excessive physical harm. The company culture will be that if a task can be performed by a machine or the task’s performance can be made easier by a machine; then the machine should be procured. Alleyways on the factory floor should always be cleared, and the surfaces should be dry. Ergonomics will be heavily relied upon in designing the workspace floor, from the equipment the workers use, such as crushers and shredders to the more seemingly mundane company property such as the employee seats and desks. The target is to promote comfortability and make the workspace is a safe environment. To implement these strategies, an expert in workspace safety will be hired to conduct regular surveys in the workspace and provide recommendations on any improvement areas in the workspace.
Ensuring the workplace is physically sound environment cannot be effective if the workers are poorly trained to handle tools and material. A worker who has insufficient skills in handling tools and equipment in the workplace is a danger to themselves and others. Therefore, workers need to be rigorously trained in handling various equipment and machines in the workplace. Frequent refresher courses will be provided to ensure that the workers are up to date on the safe use of equipment and machines. Additionally, the workers will be reminded of the importance of workplace safety and safety practices in the workplace to ensure that they know how to work safely without harming themselves and other workers.
Because PREFA MAROC uses several chemicals in the production of chemicals, then there needs to be a special concern to ensure that the workspace is chemically safe. Many injuries in the workspace are caused by corrosion of chemicals and chemical burns. Most of these chemical harms have adverse health ramifications. There needs to be a regular inspection of the workplace to ensure that workers are kept safe from chemical contamination. The other step in ensuring minimal chemical contamination is proper disposal of factory waste products, which are mostly chemical. By disposing of the materials safely, the workplace will be safe, and the workers will be protected from harm. Chemical contamination can also be reduced by regular disinfection and reducing the amounts of poisonous fumes and dust that the factory produces. This will involve the use of novel production measures that limit the release of poisonous gases in the factory environment. By ensuring that the workplace is chemically safe, then the workers can be protected from the harm.
Critical to ensuring workplace safety is providing the workers with correct personal protective equipment to keep them safe. Given the nature of work that occurs, PREFA MAROC, physical and chemical hazards abound. While making the workplace safe both chemically and physically is important, it is also essential that workers are adequately protected for unforeseen hazards in the factory. Personal protective equipment will include equipment such as helmets, overalls, boots, gloves, and masks. This will protect the workers from injuries in falls, overhead falling objects, and chemical corrosion. Providing PPEs and leaving it at that is not enough. In the course of working, many PPEs wear and tear. Therefore, without regular inspection, the PPEs may become ineffective, and even pose a greater danger because the worker wearing the PPE will think that they are safe when they are not. Regular inspection of PPEs should, therefore, be conducted. These inspections should be as frequent as possible, perhaps at a weekly interval, to ensure that they are safe. By providing personal protective equipment and regularly inspecting and replacing this equipment, workers’ safety will be improved.
Physical and chemical hazards are not the only causes of health hazards in the workplace. Psychological hazards are an often overlooked but critically important issue in ensuring workplace safety. Like many factories that deal with the manufacture of aggregates, the work involved is often physically and mentally taxing. Exhaustion and fatigue are hazards in themselves because they reduce the employees’ cognitive functions, which exposes them to injuries when handling equipment in the workplace. For workers to be safe, then the workers have to be in a mental state to work with their safety in mind. To ensure that the workers are psychologically safe, issues such workhours, breaks and leaves should be tailored to ensure that the workers are fresh and happy. An unhappy worker is a danger not only to themselves but also to others in the work place because they may inadvertently injure another person in the workplace. A well-considered work life balance system will be implemented, as well guidance and counselling strategies to help workers experiencing psychological distress. Protecting the workers’ mental health ensures that the other safety strategies work.
Safety in the workplace is an essential aspect of any organization. If workers are not safe, their productivity will be adversely affected, and the company will be embroiled in many legal suits and pay significant amounts for health services. PREFA MAROC will employ strategies such as providing PPEs, making the factory chemically and physically safe, training the workers adequately, and promoting an organizational culture that promotes the mental health of the workers.