Question

A team of three workers namely Aziz, Ambiga, and Ah Meng work for Zig Zag Timber Sdn. Bhd. In general, they involved in operating a jigsaw cutting machine and a sandpaper machine. Their work includes loading wood panels onto the machine, cutting the wood, shaping the wood according to the design, unloading the cut wood and smoothing the wood surface. They also need to repair and maintain the machine regularly as well as to change the blades and the sandpaper. Aziz, aged 50 is the most senior among them but recently had vision problem due to his diabetes. Ambiga is 45 years old and known to be very cheerful among his colleagues, but his wife sudden death in 2017, had caused him to depress and lost his focus on the job. Ah Meng who is 28 years old, is the youngest among them and due to his lack of experience he frequently made mistakes that brought down the whole team’s productivity. Each of the workers had experienced an accident at the workplace. The most severe accident happened to Aziz who lost one-third of his middle finger due to malfunction of the wood cutting machine.

(a) Based on the above scenario, discuss the causes of work-related accidents by considering the following elements:

i. the task to be done

ii the working conditions

iii. the employees’ characteristics

(b) Describe two actions that Zig Zag Timber Sdn Bhd. may take to protect the above-mentioned workers and promote safety and health in the workplace?

Answer 1

A. This assessment will discuss the causes of work-related accidents:

1. The task to be done:

Here, the task to be done was operating a jigsaw cutting machine with a sandpaper machine, with the tasks involving loading wood panels onto the machine, cutting wood, shaping wood according to the design, unloading the cut wood, and smoothing the surface of the wood.

The task was also to maintain the machine regularly and change the blades and sandpaper.

2. The working conditions:

The required working conditions were a spatial place with proper ventilation and lighting, availability of Personal Protective Equipments like gloves, glasses.

The primary working condition required for the job would be the proper placement of employees after considering the needs of the job and the employees' skills and health.

In the above scenario, the organization lacked proper placement of the employees after adequately evaluating the job requirements.

3. The characteristics of employees required for the job:

The characteristics of employees required for the job would be the experience of handling machines, good eyesight, concentration power to focus on avoiding unnecessary accidents at the workplace.

In the above scenario, one employee lacked a clear vision—the other lacked experience. The third one lacked concentration.

B. The actions that Zigzag Timber SDN Bhd. may take to protect the workers mentioned above and promote safety and health at the workplace:

1. The organization can go for the employees' assessment tests to make sure that they are mentally and physically fit for the job.

2. The organization can also undergo training programs for the workers to make sure that they work with optimum safety