Truss Construction Shop

Table of Contents

Introduction        3

Assessment of the Issue        3

Analysis of the Information        4

Recommendations        5

Consider and Analyze Other Viewpoints        7

Conclusion        7

References        9

Introduction

        An incident occurred at the Truss Construction Shop.  There are many ways to interpret the variables having to do with the cause of the incident, what happened, how to prevent it from happening again and how the organization might remedy this situation.  The situation has been investigated and extensive information must be considered for resolution.  It is important that there is a quick remedy, as customers are starting to loss trust in the Truss Construction Shop’s reputation.  Closure is needed so that the company can move on; customers can have faith in the Truss Constructions products and that they are taking care of their employees.

Assessment of the Issue

        On June 2, 2017, John Craftsman, a company employee, seriously injured his hand while pushing a large piece of wood through a table saw in the production shop at the Truss Construction Shop.  Further investigation on Truss Construction Shop employee, John Craftsmen’s case has been considered.  Truss Construction Shop has had two other serious incidents in the current quarter.  The workers feel that this is an unsafe environment and the company has a responsibility to ensure their safety.  Regardless of what is happening the machines need to be safeguarded so that they can be used properly.  The shop manager, David Waffler, certified that the machine was in safe condition because the shop foreman, Harry Hillman, has written maintenance records showing that the machine has been maintained according to the maintenance protocols.  The shop foreman states that the employees were not using proper protocol prior to using the machines because they were joking with each other, messing around and not focusing on the seriousness of the job.  Other witnesses support the claim that even though the machine is maintained regularly according to maintenance protocols, that the safety guard is poorly designed and does not function well.  The workers stated that they reported the safely guard issues to the shop foreman.  The Truss Construction Shop has not reported these injuries to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  The Truss Construction Shop has a responsibility and failed to contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA within 24 hours for any in-patient hospitalization (Report a Fatality or Severe Injury, 2017).  Morale is low, the workers have contacted OSHA, as well as, engaged with the local newspaper to inform them of what had been going on.  The Truss Construction Shop needs to fix these ongoing problems so no other employee gets hurt.  Responsibility needs to be identified so this incident can be resolved quickly.

Analysis of the Information

        There is safety issue at the Truss Construction Shop that needs to be addressed to ensure no other employees get hurt, and so the company can get back on track.  There are a number incidence that were incorrectly handled and this has led to the injury of numerous employees.  The Truss Construction Company must contact OSHA and ensure that they are reporting their injuries correctly.  This type of injury is considered Category 1, which requires an on-site OSHA inspection because this company has a history of repeat offences (Principe & Smith, 2015).  If the first or second injury were reported correctly OSHA would have had come to do the initial inspection within 5 days of the second injury (Principe & Smith, 2015).  If OSHA did come and inspect after the second injury, policies would have changed, and the third injury could have prevented.  

        Both the shop manager and the shop foreman attest that the machine was maintained according to maintenance protocols.  The employees reported to the shop foreman, that they felt that despite the regular maintenance, the safety guard was poorly designed and did not function well.  There are several health and safety reports that concur that the safety guard was poorly designed and does not protect the operator.  The table saw is the most dangerous tool in a shop, it is reported that there are over 65K injuries annually that result from the table saw (Wheeler, 2014).  There is newer technology called SawStop.  SawStop is a table saw where the blade carries a small electrical signal, which the safety system continually monitors (The Technology-SawStop, 2017). When skin contacts the blade, the signal changes because the human body is conductive (The Technology-SawStop, 2017). The change to the signal activates the safety system (The Technology-SawStop, 2017).  The SawStop 5ph table saw runs around $4.3K and a standard 5ph table saw is between $2.5-3K (LumberJocks, 2011).  The SawStop is slightly more expensive but, you cannot put a dollar value on employee safety and your reputation, which translates to the company’s bottom line.  The company needs to take swift action for the best outcome.

Recommendations

The Truss Construction Shop is negligent and is now operating in crises mode, which is not a good place to be, as they are making quick decisions instead of thinking critically and planning strategically.  The company has the most to lose.  The power of social media should not be discounted.  Currently employees and others are talking about this on social media.  The Truss Construction Shop needs to engage with a law firm and public relations firm, that can give them good advice for closing this out as quickly as possible with the least amount of damage to their reputation.  

The Truss Construction Shop needs to re-look their current training plan and ensure that their lead employees are emphasizing and enforcing the plan.  One tool that that they can add is a safety warning system with a table of penalties, where employees are responsible for carrying out the correct rules when in the shop or operating machinery.  If an employee is caught messing around or not focusing on the project they are working on, they get a warning, the 2nd time they get suspended and the 3rd time they can lose their job.  This company should engage with OSHA to see what other training tools that they could use, one example is the OSHA Training Toolbox Talk: Working Safely with Table Saws (OSHA Training Toolbox Talk: Working Safely With Table Saws, 2016).  The company can use this to train their employees and they can also post safety reminders on the machines.  The Truss Construction Company can start to have daily safety training spot lights each morning for ten minutes to discuss an aspect of safety, this will help keep employees focused on safety.  The Truss Construction Company should re-evaluate their maintenance protocols and re-align them correctly to ensure safety.