Incident Action Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Incident Action Plan - Research Paper Example A job hazard analysis is a process that involves identifying and recognizing hazards before they happen. It focuses on the relations among the task, the worker, the tools and the environment of the work. Job hazard analysis (JHA) is considered to be an â€Å"essential safety management tool that if used correctly and consistently will increase organization’s ability to build an inventory or portfolio of hazards and risks associated with various jobs, job steps and the detailed tasks performed by its employees (Roughton & Crutchfield 2008). Evidence also suggests that conducting a job hazard analysis is â€Å"one of the best ways to determine and establish proper work procedures† (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002, p.2). According to Roughton & Crutchfield (2008, p. 283), the main objective of the JAH process is to ensure that a self-sustaining process is implemented and remains effective. Swartz (2002, p. 27) explains in more details that JHA can serv e many objectives – from the need to develop safe working procedures or create uniform safety standards, to a desire to participate in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs or the need to reduce costs associated with product and property damage†. Whatever the objective is pursued by an organization, JHA can be used to develop detailed written procedure for Job Incident Analysis. Job Incident Analysis mainly is comprised of jobs that involve new machines, processes or are new to the facility, jobs that have the potential to cause a high number of injuries or illnesses as well as ergonomic claims, and jobs that have produced incidents of property and product damage as well as near-hits among workers (Swartz 2002, p.28). Ideally, after identifying hazards, one has to initiate steps to eradicate or minimize them to a lesser risk level. There are a lot of injuries that can happen to people if they do not take appropriate care during a job or while performing any chore at home. However, one can reduce or prevent these injuries if he or she takes proper care and acts according to definite plans. In order to identify the potential risk present in a job, it is necessary to carry out relevant steps to eradicate the hazards. The methods safety analyst examines each step of the job or process from its very beginning with respect to the method, machine or material involved to see if any or all of these three can be responsible for the occurrence of accidents. If he finds a step that is potentially hazardous he notates the type of accident apt to be caused. He has a record, therefore, of 1) the steps of the job, 2) those steps which might be hazardous and 3) a means of reference for additional study of these steps, if necessary (Glenn 2011). Afterwards, for a job hazard analysis to be useful, the management must show its commitment to health and safety by prescribing and communicating necessary precautions. An Incident Action Plan (IAP) is fundamentally a n overall incident strategy plan with particular tactical actions that must be accomplished with the aim of meeting the goal of the emergency response. â€Å"