Report of Hazards in the Sawmill Section of JAVA SDN BHD

By Cornellius Vitalis Index No.: NS8214 IC No.: 901013-12-6461

Safety and Health Officer Examination (3/2012) Paper IV Part I: Workplace Assignment 17 April 2012 30 May 2012

PERAKUAN TUGASAN TEMPAT KERJA WORKPLACE ASSIGMENT VERIFICATION

Adalah saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa dokumen ini yang disediakan untuk Peperiksaan Pegawai Keselamatan dan Kesihatan adalah berdasarkan hasil kerja asal saya sendiri dan maklumat diperolehi hasil lawatan tapak ke tempat ke tempat kerja yang berkenaan kecuali sedutan atau petikan yang dinyatakan.

I hereby certify that this document prepared for the Safety and Health Officer Examination is based on my original work and information are gathered from the site visit except for citation and quotation made.

Tandatangan Signature No. Kad Pengenalan I.C No. No. Indeks Index No. Tarikh Date

ABSTRACT

This report is compiled and presented as a prerequisite to qualify a candidate to become a Safety and Health Officer. The objectives of this report is to identify hazard in the workplace, evaluate and assess the risk of identified hazard then propose a solution or control measures to eliminate, reduce or control the risk. The methods that been used in this report to identify hazard are by carrying out documents review, inspection and observation and, hazard analysis by using Job Safety Analysis (JSA). From the result of the risk matrix and Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC), it was found that the most critical safety hazard is sharp blade and health hazard is wood dust. The control measures applicable for both safety and health hazard are isolation, engineering and administrative control as well as PPE. Control measures for each critical safety and health hazard were proposed to control and reduce the hazard and the rate of accident in the workplace.

ii

CONTENTS WORKPLACE ASSIGNMENT VERIFICATION ABSTRACT CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS CHAPTER 1 1.0 1.1 1.2 CHAPTER 2 2.1. CHAPTER 3 3.1 INTRODUCTION Background of company Workplaces Work activity OBJECTIVES Objectives METHODOLOGY Risk management 3.1.1 Hazard identification 3.1.2 Risk assessment 3.1.3 Risk control CHAPTER 4 4.1 4.2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Identified hazards Safety hazards 15 15 5 5 8 12 4 1 2 3 i ii iii vi vii viii

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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust 4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade 4.2.3 Falling object 4.2.4 Moving parts 4.3 Health hazards 4.4.1 Exposed to noise 4.4.2 Exposed to wood dust 4.4 4.5 Determination of risk rating Most critical hazards 4.6.1 Safety hazard 4.6.2 Health hazard 4.6 CHAPTER 5 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 REFERENCES Impacts of the most critical hazards in the organization RECOMMENDATIONS General duty of the employers and employees Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard Proposed control measures for wood dust Summary of regulations Review of control measures Impact of the most critical hazards to the organization Benefit of implementing the control measures

16 16 17 18 19 19 20 21 22 22 22 24

26 26 28 31 32 33 33 34

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APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C APPENDIX D APPENDIX E APPENDIX F APPENDIX G APPENDIX H APPENDIX I APPENDIX J APPENDIX K APPENDIX L APPENDIX M APPENDIX N APPENDIX O APPENDIX P APPENDIX Q APPENDIX R

35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. 1.0 1.1 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 4.0 4.1 4.2 List of departments.

Title

Page 2 3 6 9 10 10 10 11 13 15 21 24

List of workplaces in the company. Basic components of risk management. Formula for risk assessment Indicates likelihood using the following values Indicates severity by using the following values Risk matrix Relative risk value List of risk control measures and its description Breakdown of lumber list of hazards Risk rating of each hazard. Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004.

5.0

Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000.

29

5.1

Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.

31

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. 3.0

Title Flow diagram of risk assessment process.

Page 14

vii

LIST OF UNITS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Units/Abbreviations OSH JISB JTSB JRSB JSA HIRARC LEV mg/m dB (A)

Descriptions Occupational Safety and Health Jave Industries Sdn Bhd Java Timber Sdn Bhd Java Resources Sdn Bhd Job Safety Analysis Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Control Local Exhaust Ventilation Miligram per meter squared A-weighted decibel is an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear.

SOP ha

Safe Operating Procedure Hectare

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INTRODUCTION

1.0

Background of company

JAVA Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Java Incorporated Bhd) is a public company listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia. JAVA has an exclusive right to harvest lumbers from 55,000ha of timber concession areas in Sabah, Malaysia. Located at Mile 5, Nabawan Road in Keningau, Sabah, sprawling on an area over 3.5 million square feet, houses all the timber processing facilities for manufacture of quality timber products with high value adding. Advance technology in timber processing is procured from more than 10 industrialised countries around the world, such as the US, Italy, Germany, Japan and Sweden. Appendix O shows JAVA Sdn Bhd development plan. JAVAs production facilities are operated under three (3) principal subsidiaries, JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB), JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd (JISB) and JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB). Running this colossal company is a workforce of over 960 workers. Table 1.0 describes each of the department. The organisational chart of JAVA Sdn Bhd is displayed in Appendix C.

Table 1.0

List of departments. Departments Descriptions JTSB presents the integration of three major timber

JAVA Timber Sdn Bhd (JTSB)

manufacturing processes of sawing, slicing and moulding. JISB is the plywood and veneer plant comprises of 8

JAVA Industries Sdn Bhd (JISB)

rotary lathes, vertical and horizontal slicers and driers to produce flitch veneers which are further processed into rolls and lay-ons. JRSB is the main office of the company responsible for

JAVA Resource Sdn Bhd (JRSB)

administration, finance, sales and marketing and purchasing.

1.1

Workplaces

Table 1.1

Workplaces its activities and potential hazards but not limited to those stated below.

Workplaces Main office

Activities Photocopying,

Hazards typing, Exposed to toxic chemical/gas, UV light from the photocopier, electric shock, cuts, ergonomic.

cutting, housekeeping. Plywood mill

Peeling, drying, sorting, Exposed sharp blade, moving parts, moving gluing, pressing, sizing, vehicles, toxic gas (glue), falling object, sharp sanding, housekeeping packaging, edges, exposure to wood dust and noise, ergonomic. sawing, Exposed to sharp blade, moving parts, falling sorting, kiln object, sharp edges, projecting material,

Sawmill

Receiving, grading,

drying and seasoning of accumulated wood dust, exposure to wood dust lumber, housekeeping and noise, ergonomic.

From all of these workplaces, sawmill is chosen as the workplace to be assessed. The work activities in sawmill are explained in Appendix A.

1.2

Work activity

In this report, breakdown of lumber using band saw in the sawmill area is chosen as the work activity to be assessed. Breakdown of lumber is a process where lumber is cut/split into workable size. In Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulation 1970, Regulation 24 (2) band saw is defined as,

A machine for sawing timber or lumber, equipped with one or more endless steel bands with a continuous series of notches or teeth on one or both edges and running over a pair of wheels or pulleys that are usually mounted one above the other or mounted horizontally.

The work activities involve in the breakdown of lumber is explained in Appendix B.

OBJECTIVES

2.1

Objectives

The objectives of this report are:

1. To identify at least 6 hazards (with at least 2 health hazards) of the work activity in the workplace. 2. To assess and prioritize each hazard based on their risk rating. 3. To determine the most critical safety and health hazard. 4. To propose a solution or control measures to eliminate, reduce or control the risk based on the most critical hazards resulted from the assessment. 5. To recommend review program on the effectiveness of the proposed control measures.

METHODOLOGY

3.1

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events (Hubbard, 2009). Basic components for risk management are described in Table 3.0.

Table 3.0

Basic components of risk management. Hazard identification Risk assessment Risk control Review

3.1.1 Hazard identification

Hazard is defined as:

A source or a situation with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or illhealth, damage to property, damage to environment or a combination of these.

Hazard identification is the process of identifying hazards in the workplace or for a work procedure/activity. There are several aspects been taken into account to that can cause hazard such as; man, machinery, materials, methods and media. And the identified hazard can be classified into six (6) types of hazards, namely, mechanical, electrical, biological, chemical, ergonomics and psychosocial hazards. Hazard identification process required an organized activity such an information gathering. In this report, three (3) main methods are chosen to gather information in order to identify the hazards that present during work activity is being performed:

1. Identifying hazards by document review; 2. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations, and; 3. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis.

a. Identifying hazards by document review

This method identifies hazards through document review. The hazards were able to be identified by reviewing documents such as:

i.

Accidents reports, Safe Operating Procedure (SOP), investigation and audit to identify the hazards that are not identified before.

ii.

Publications (book, brochure, standard, guideline et cetera) to gain new information that are not acquired before and also practical information.

iii.

Regulations and act to get the hazards information relating to the situation, materials and acts that had been identified.

iv. v.

Statistic to gain information about the major accidents that need to be focused on. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) to get the information about hazardous substances, control measure, treatment and emergency response.

b. Identifying hazards by inspections and observations

Visual inspection and observation is the most common and simple way to begin to look for hazards by regular walk-through visual inspections of the workplace. Look at each task of the workers performing their tasks and the activities involved, such as operation, cleaning and maintenance. By doing this kind of hazard identification it will provide the opportunity to observe whether the documented procedure for performing the task is being followed by the workers, or whether workers are taking short cuts or speeding up work (e.g. by removing guards) et cetera.

c. Identifying hazards by hazard analysis

A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is a method that can be used to identify, analyze and record:

i. ii. iii.

the steps involved in performing a specific job, the existing or potential safety and health hazards associated with each step, and; the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) that will eliminate or reduce these hazards and the risk of a workplace injury or illness.

Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is defined as:

Carefully studying and recording each step of a job, identifying existing or potential job hazards (both safety and health), and determining the best way to reduce or eliminate these hazards.

In conducting JSA,

i. ii.

Select jobs with the highest risk for a workplace injury or illness, Select an experienced employee who is willing to be observed. Involved the employee and his/her supervisor in the process.

iii. iv.

Identify and record each step necessary to accomplish the task. Determine and record the recommended action(s) or procedure(s) for performing each step that will eliminate or reduce the hazard.

The JSA for the breakdown lumber is shown in Appendix D.

3.1.2 Risk assessment

Risk assessment involves the estimation and evaluation of risks levels taking into account the existing controls. Risk is estimated by taking into consideration the levels of likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with specified period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage. The level of exposure (e.g. the number of people likely to be exposed) should also be considered where applicable (DOSH, 2011).

Risk is defined as:

A combination of likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with specified period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to the health of people, property, environment or any combination of these cause by the event.

Risk can be estimated using the following formula shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1

Formula for risk assessment Where, LS=R L = Likelihood S = Severity R = Relative risk

The value of L and S can be acquired from Table 3.1 and Table 3.2, which based on the likelihood of the hazard to occur or its exposure and the severity of injury or damage it can cause.

Table 3.2 indicates likelihood and Table 3.3 indicates severity of an occurrence.

Table 3.2

Indicates likelihood using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011) Rating 1 2 3 4 5 Description Practically impossible and has never occurred Has not been known to occur after many years Might occur at sometime in the future Has a good chance of occurring and it is not unusual Most likely result of the hazard/event being realized

Likelihood (L) Inconceivable Remote Conceivable Possible Most likely

Table 3.3 Severity (S) Negligible Minor Serious Fatal

Indicates severity by using the following values. Adapted from DOSH (2011) Rating 1 2 3 4 Description Minor and first aid type of injury. Disabling but not permanent disability Non-fatal injury, permanent disability (e.g hearing loss) Fatality, major property damage, chronic diseases (e.g cancer) if hazard is realized Numerous fatalities, irrecoverable property damage and productivity

Catastrophic

Table 3.4

Risk matrix. Adapted from DOSH (2011) LIKELIHOOD 1 2 2 4 6 8 10 3 3 6 9 12 15 4 4 8 12 16 20 5 5 10 15 20 25

1 SEVERITY 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

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From the risk matrix table, the relative risk (R) can also be acquired by crossing the likelihood (L) and severity (S) of the hazard.

The relative risk value can be used to prioritize necessary actions to effectively manage work place hazards. Table 3.5 determines priority based on the following ranges risk of value.

Table 3.5 Index

Relative risk value. Adapted from DOSH (2011) Description Action A risk identified as low may be considered as acceptable and further reduction may not be necessary. However, if

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Low the risk can be resolved quickly and efficiently, control measures should be implemented and recorded. A medium risk requires a planned approach to controlling the hazard and applies temporary measure if

5-12

Medium required. Actions taken must be documented on the risk assessment form including date for completion. A high risk requires immediate action to control the hazard as detailed in the hierarchy of control. Actions

15-25

High taken must be documented on the risk assessment form including date for completion

11

Table 3.6 shows the example of risk assessment.

Table 3.6 Example of risk assessment Safety Hazard Work activity: Sharpening band saw blade Health Hazard Work activity: Glue spreading

Hazard: Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam Hazard: Exposure to formaldehyde gas yang terdedah). Likelihood (L) = 4 Severity (S) = 1 Risk (R) = L S = 4 1 = 4 Risk category: LOW Likelihood: 4 Severity: 4 Risk (R): L S = 4 3 = 16 Risk category: MEDIUM

3.1.3 Risk control

The risks must be minimized to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking the following measures in the following order. The sequence and priority of controls recommended here is often referred to as the hierarchy of OSH controls, they are:

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Eliminations, Substitution, Isolation, Engineering control, Administrative control, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

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Table 3.6 shows the list of risk control measures.

Table 3.6

List of risk control measures and its description. Description The job is redesigned or the substance is eliminated so as to remove

Risk control

Elimination

the hazard. However, the alternative method should not lead to a less acceptable product or less effective process.

Substitution

Replace the material or process with a less hazardous one. Isolate the hazard or work process that is hazardous to workers that

Isolation

are not involved in the work process and also to the general work process. By using sign board, barricade, et cetera. If the hazard cannot be eliminated, substitute or isolate, engineering

Engineering controls

control should be taken. This can be done by altering in the design of equipments/tools/machinery or place of work, installing machine guard and installing or develop better work place ventilation. Involve cooperation and order from top management to reduce to

Administrative controls

exposure or risk. This includes introducing safe work procedure or set a limit for the exposure of worker to certain hazard, for example exposure to high noise level. PPE can only be considered when all control measures have been

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

implemented but still risk of hazard or the other control measures are not suitable to be implemented or cannot provide protection for the workers.

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Start

Identification of hazard

Assessment of risk

Propose control measures

Review the effectiveness of control measures

Figure 3.0

Flow diagram of risk management process.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1

Identified hazards

From the risk assessment process, the lists in the Table 4.0 below are hazards that had been identified during lumber breakdown, but are not limited to those listed below.

Table 4.0

Breakdown of lumber list of hazards. Hazards Accumulated wood dust Types of hazards

Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang terdedah) Falling object Moving parts Exposure to noise Health hazard Exposure to wood Safety hazard

4.2

Safety hazards

A safety hazard is something that can cause a person to be injured or killed (Spellman, 2011). In this report four (4) safety hazards had been chosen namely, accumulated wood dust, exposed sharp blade, falling object and moving parts.

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4.2.1 Accumulated wood dust

Accumulated wood dust has the potential to create fire and explosion hazard. Fire and explosion may occur if,

i.

housekeeping is poor (accumulation of wood dust (Appendix K and L) is high in the work areas which is a fuel, one of the factors in the fire triangle (Appendix M)).

ii.

poor housekeeping method (using air compressor to repel dust will only increase wood dust concentration in the air which can cause explosion hazard if source of heat is present e.g. heat from cigarette, or ignition of lighter);

iii. iv.

unsafe act of workers ( e.g. smoking); and no provision of proper ventilation e.g. general exhaust ventilation or local exhaust ventilation (LEV).

When wood dust accumulates on wood working machinery it acts as an insulator trapping in the heat. If enough heat is formed then the wood dust will ignite causing a fire. If the dust floating in the air is concentrated and a fine dust then a fire can cause an explosion (Spellman, 2011). Based on the accidents reports of this company, there has no any fire or explosion recorded in the sawmill.

4.2.2 Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang terdedah)

During the operation of band saw, the operators are highly exposed to the sharp blade of band saw. Workers may come in contact with the blade most probably during the feeding of

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lumber to the blade and also the fact that a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded (Appendix P). Thus, the likelihood of workers to come in contact with this hazard is high. Other reasons on how workers may come in contact with the blade are:

i.

poor housekeeping, where workers may slip/trip during feeding the lumber to the blade (point of operation);

ii. iii.

unsafe act of the workers (e.g. taking short cuts or do not follow SOPs); no barricade to keep a distance between the worker and the band saw blade (Appendix N); and

iv.

no guarding of the band saw blade (Appendix P).

Even though such occurrence has not been reported but there is high possibility for it to happen as workers are highly exposed to the sharp blade. If the workers come in contact with the blade it may cause lacerations, cuts, abrasion and amputation and even fatality.

4.2.3 Falling object

From the observation made, transferring lumber to the working platform of the band saw requires the workers to lift the lumber at knee to waist height (Appendix I) by using a chain hoist. In which the lumber may fall and crushed the workers feet. This can occur if, but not limited to the reasons stated below:

i. ii.

the grip of the chain hoist hook is not strong enough to hold the lumber; the chain breaks due to the usage of defective chain,

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iii. iv.

no inspection on chain before operation; and no provision or worker do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).

However, based on the accident report of this company such incident has yet to occur but might occur sometime in the future.

4.2.4 Moving parts

Unguarded moving parts of the band saw may cause the workers clothing and part of the worker body to be entangled or drawn into the moving parts of the machine (Appendix J and K). From the accident report, one accident had been reported regarding this hazard, in which a workers foot was drawn in by the moving parts of the band saw that caused injury to his toes (Appendix R). Such occurrence may occur due to,

i. ii. iii.

lack of guarding of the rotating parts; workers do not follow the proper working dress code; and no provision or workers do not wear proper PPE (safety boots).

Possible injuries from this hazard are cuts, laceration, amputations and abrasions.

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4.3

Health hazards

Health hazard is hazard that can cause harm to health resulting from exposure of the hazard. In which in this report exposure to noise and wood dust are chosen as the health hazard that present during work activity

4.3.1 Exposure to noise

The band saw type of noise is continuous which means the noise has noise intensity level between maximum and minimum lower than 3 dB (A). In Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulations 1989, Regulation 5 (1) stated that,

No employee shall be exposed to noise level exceeding equivalent continuous sound level of 90dB (A) or exceeding the limits specified in the First Schedule or exceeding the daily noise of unity.

During the breakdown/cutting of lumber the workers are exposed to noise. Noise level that exceeds the PEL of noise exposure level can cause hearing impairment to the affected workers. Appendix E shows the Noise Exposure Monitoring Report of this company and Appendix F shows the working hours of the workers in the breakdown section, and the PEL for noise exposure.

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Workers are exposed to noise are due to but not limited to those listed below:

i.

lack of awareness about the danger of high noise level, both the workers as well as supervisor/employer; and

ii.

no provision or workers do not wear PPE (hearing protection e.g. ear muffs or ear plug).

4.3.2 Exposure to wood dust

Sawing of wood produces saw dust, thus workers are exposed to high concentration of wood dust during operating the band saw. Both the skin and respiratory system can become sensitized to wood dust. When a worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can suffer skin irritation (dermatitis), a severe allergic reaction such as asthma, after repeated and long term exposure it may cause cancer to the workers. From the observation of workers operating the band saw it was clear that these workers were exposed to wood dust during the work activity being carried out. Workers are exposed to wood dust are due to but not limited to those listed below:

i.

lack of awareness about the danger of wood exposure, both by the supervisor/employer as well as workers;

ii. iii.

lack of proper exhaust ventilation; and no provision or workers do not wear PPE (dust mask)

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4.4

Determination of hazards risk rating

Table 4.1

Risk rating of each hazard Risk Likelihood Severity Risk rating (L) (S) (L S) category

Work steps

Hazard

Transferring/unloading lumber onto/from the cutting platform. Exposed 4 sharp blade Operating machine; the feeding Moving parts Accumulated 1 lumber to the band saw blade (point of operation) wood dust Exposure to 5 noise Exposure to 5 wood dust 4 20 High 3 15 High 5 5 Medium 5 3 15 High 4 16 High Falling object 3 2 6 Medium

The HIRARC for breakdown of lumber is shown in Appendix F.

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4.5

Most critical hazards

From Table 4.1, it shows that the most critical hazards based on score for safety hazard is exposed sharp blade, for health hazard is exposure to wood dust.

4.5.1 Safety hazard

Based on Table 4.1 for safety hazards, exposed sharp blade is the most critical safety hazard because it scored the highest among all the safety hazards. In order to cut a lumber, the operator is required to feed the lumber to the blade. The operator must also keep the lumber flat on the work table/platform. Extreme caution is necessary because the operator has to be near the band saw blade during feeding of the lumber to ensure that the lumber is properly cut (Appendix O), as a band saw blade cannot be fully guarded, simple mistake like trip or slip during the feeding of the lumber may cause the worker to come in contact with the blade. And from the size of the band saw blade, serious injury or even death can happen if the contact with the blade is major.

4.5.2 Health hazard

Based on Table 4.1, exposure to wood dust scored the highest risk rating for health hazard. Wood dust consists of tiny particles of wood produced during the sawing of wood. From the observation made workers are exposed to high concentration of wood dust during the breakdown of lumber.

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Exposure to wood dust occurs primarily through skin contact and inhalation as the workers go about sawing activities. The dust settles on skin and inhaled as it floats around the saw mill. If the dust is thick enough it can be ingested through the mouth.

Exposure to wood dust may cause health problems. Negative health effects associated with wood dust exposure include dermatitis and/or allergic respiratory effects. When a worker becomes sensitized to wood dust, he or she can suffer an allergic reaction after repeated exposures, such as asthma.

Cancers also have been associated with wood dust exposure. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers both hardwood and softwood dust to be potentially carcinogenic to human. The three types of cancers associated with wood dust exposure are nasal and sinus cavity cancer, lung and other cancers, and Hodgkins disease (a type of lymphoma which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes) (Spiers, 1969).

The wood and cancers relationship was studied by Milham (1974), who conducted a mortality study involving the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. This study support the hypothesis that wood contains carcinogen agent. In which one of the findings was that excess leukaemia lymphoma group cancers in millwrights, mill workers, and lumber and sawmill workers.

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Table 4.2 shows that it has been stated in the Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations that exposure to wood dust can cause cancer.

Table 4.2

Occupational diseases caused by wood dust. Adapted from Third Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Notification of Accident, Dangerous Occurrence, Occupational Poisoning and Occupational Disease) Regulations 2004 (NIOSH, 2011).

Description of occupational poisoning or disease

Nature of activity/occupation

OTHER CONDITIONS 29. Cancer caused by (p) Wood dust

Any occupation involving the use or handling of; or exposure to, wood dust arising from the manufacture of wood products.

4.6

Impacts of the most critical hazards to the organization

If the hazards are realized, the company has to face direct remedial costs as well indirect costs which usually cost a lot more than the direct cause and does not only means loss in term of profit. The direct costs may come from the medical related expenses for treating the affected workers and also paying the fines if there is non-compliance to the regulatory requirement.

24

The indirect costs can be the loss working days of the affected workers which may lead to lower productivity and possibility of operation shutdown, facing reduction in its reputation (negative publicity) from client and their employment status as loss of money and time spent for investigation processes.

In other words, the company may experienced the ice berg theory, that is most employers only see the direct cost of an incident and are not aware that an incident will cost the company a lost more than the direct cost, because they have a wrong perception by believing that they are protected by insurance for most cost arising from the incident.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1

General duty of the employers and employees.

Section 15 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 stated that it is the responsibility of the employer to provide safe work environment for his or her workers. Therefore, the hazards that are identified have to be evaluated, then controlled or mitigated to reduce the risk of hazard if cannot be eliminated as quickly as possible.

In Section 24 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994 requires that the employee while at work to take reasonable care for the safety and health of himself, co-operate with his employer regarding this Act or any other regulation made under this Act, to wear or use at all time any protective equipment or clothing provided by the employer for the purpose of preventing risks to his safety and health and to comply with any instruction or measure on occupational safety and health instituted by the employer.

5.2

Proposed control measures for sharp blade hazard

The applicable control measures for sharp blade are isolation, engineering and administrative control, and PPE, as elimination and substitution controls are not suitable to be implemented.

Isolation control can be done by installing a barricade between the operator and the band saw blade to isolate the operator from the hazard of sharp blade and to avoid the worker

26

from entering the danger zone (Appendix N). Other method is to establish a danger zone by colour marking, for example, dangerous zone should be mark with red colour.

The engineering control involves in guarding the entire blade of the band saw except at the point of operation (Machine Guarding eTool, 2011) as shown in Appendix P. This control measure prevents the worker from making contact with the blade and to restrain the saw blade in the event of blade failure.

Stated in the Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulations 2000, Regulation 24 (8) (a) (i), that the saw blade except the portion of the band saw blade between the table and the guide shall be enclosed by a guard.

Administrative controls for sharp blade hazard comprise of,

i. ii.

Developing and implementing safe operating procedures. Training and education of operators about the safe operating procedure of the band saw.

iii.

Establishing and maintaining good housekeeping programs and keep equipment well maintained.

And for the usage of PPE, protective gloves are must in which recommended to protect the hands of workers from being cut or injured.

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5.3

Proposed control measures for wood dust

It is a requirement for the employer to ensure the air in the work area of the his or her workers is in clean from any hazardous fume or dust, as stated in Factories and Machinery (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations 1970, Regulation 26 (1),

In every factory where any process carried on therein there is given off any fume or dust which is, or likely to be, injurious or offensive to any person, or where any substantial quantity of dust or fume is being accumulated, measures shall be taken to protect such persons against inhalation of the fume or dust and to prevent it accumulating in the factory.

As stated in the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000, Regulation 7 (1),

An employer shall ensure that the exposure of any person to any chemical hazardous to health listed in the Schedule I in any eight hour work shift of a work week does not exceed the eight-hour time-weighted average airborne concentration specified for that chemical in that Schedule.

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Table 5.0

Wood dust maximum exposure limit as per listed in the First Schedule of Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000 (NIOSH, 2011). 8-hour time-weighted average airborne Chemical concentration (mg/m) Hard wood 1 5

Wood dust Soft wood

Thus, employer shall ensure that his workers exposure to wood dust does not exceed the exposure limit. There are a number of ways to inspect the work place for excessive airborne wood dust. A visual check may immediately identify a problem. Look for dust accumulated on machine, equipment, clothes, face, and hair and around the breathing zone of workers (Bean & Butcher, 2006). This will help determine where the dust is created and how to mitigate the problem. Appendix J and K show the accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.

Sweeping the floors may also be causing unnecessary airborne wood dust. A clean work area during machine operation is a good indication that wood dust levels are below OSHA PELs. However, the only way to be certain is to monitor the air for wood dust. If necessary monitoring of exposure should be carried out, which is stated in the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000, Regulation 26 (1),

29

Where an assessment of risk to health indicates that monitoring of exposure is required or it is requisite for ensuring the maintenance of adequate control of the exposure of employees to chemicals hazardous to health, the employers shall ensure that the exposure of employees to chemicals hazardous to health is monitored in accordance an approved method of monitoring and analysis.

Elimination and substitution controls are not applicable to control the risk of wood dust exposure, which leaves isolation, engineering and administrative controls and also PPE. For isolation other workers should be isolate from the band saw area to reduce exposure of the wood dust.

The principal engineering control technologies for wood dust is exhaust ventilation. Dust collection is best achieved if done at the source of the point of operation of the equipment. Very fine dust that manages to escape the point-of-source collector can be captured from above by general exhaust points located at the ceiling. The collection unit should be emptied periodically in a manner which ensures that the dust does not cause further pollution of the environment.

The preventive and control measures of administrative control that can be taken are:

i.

Use suction cleaners rather than compressed air to remove accumulated dust from ledges, corners, pits and floors.

ii.

Rotate tasks to reduce workers exposure times.

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iii.

Provide education, supervision and training on wood dust hazards for both employers and employees.

iv.

Monitor risks to ensure they remain as low as possible.

And for the PPE for protection against the exposure of wood dust is by wearing dust mask or respiratory mask to reduce inhalation of wood dust. Besides that, wood dust may come in contact with the eye so workers are also recommended to wear goggle.

Table 5.1 shows the summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter.

Table 5.1

Summary of acts and regulations mentioned in this chapter. Regulations Descriptions Employer to ensure safe working

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, Section 15 (1)

environment to his/her employees. Employee to follow instruction given by the

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, employer regarding safety and health and to Section 24 (1) avoid from doing any unsafe act. Employer to ensure the air in the work area Factories and Machinery (Safety, Health and of the his or her workers is in clean from Welfare) Regulations 1970, Regulation 26 (1) any hazardous fume or dust Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000, Regulation 7 (1) PEL of chemicals/substances as stated in the Schedule I.

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Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000, Regulation 26 (1), Factories and Machinery (Fencing of Machinery and Safety) Regulations 2000, Regulations 24 (8) (a) (i). Saw blade (except that portion of the saw blade between the table and the guide) shall be enclosed by a guard Monitoring of exposure to hazardous

chemicals/substances.

5.5

Review of control measures

The review of the proposed control measure has not been carried out since the control measures were just introduced thus has not been fully implemented and still under consideration. However, in order to minimize the hazards identified, all of the control measures should be implemented properly and accordingly to ensure its effectiveness. Implementations of the control measures must be followed up and observed. It can be done by performing regular inspection.

To further strengthen the proposed control measures, regular discussion and meeting to discuss any problem or issues regarding the control measures are required. The outcome from the discussion or meeting should be able to come out with ideas to increase the effectiveness of the control measures or to find better solution to control the risks. Support from top management is important and also co-operation from other workers is crucial to achieve the target.

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5.6

Benefits of implementing the control measures

In the OSHA 1994 it is clearly stated that the employer need to control and abate accidents and diseases in the workplace. Thus, it is compulsory for the company to comply with this regulation. From implementing these control measures, the company will maintain its reputation as a caring company and at the same time gain trust from its clients and employees that will increase profit as well as productivity of the company.

Other than that, through the administrative controls such as training, education and SOPs, it will expose the knowledge of safety and health to both employers and employees, thus, this will increase their awareness related to safety and health. This will eventually reduces the rate of risk and the frequency of accident in the workplace. When the frequency of accidents reduced, production will increase as no disruptions on the production processes , therefore, the company will experience increase in revenue and able to achieve a high standard of safety and health.

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REFERENCES

Bean, T. L. & Butcher, T. W. 2006. Wood dust exposure hazard. Department of Food, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Ohio State University, Ohio. Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). 2011. Guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems. Mashi Publication Sdn. Bhd., Selangor. Factories and Machinery Act with Regulations Act 139 2011 Edition. 2011. MDC Publishers Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur. Hubbard, D. W. 2009. The failure of risk management: why its broken and how to fix it. John Wiley & Sons. New Jersey. Machine Guarding eTool. 2012. Band saw.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/machineguarding/saws/band_saws.html Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical Investigations. NIOSH Publication, 74 129. Milham, S. 1974. Mortality Experience of the AFL-CIO United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 1969-1970: Division of Field Studies and Clinical Investigations. NIOSH Publication No. 74 129. NIOSH, Salt Lake City, Utah. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 2011. Occupational Safety and Health Act and Regulations Acy 514 2011 Edition. MDC Publishers Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur. Spellman, F. R. 2011. Physical hazard control: preventing injuries in the workplace. Government Institutes, United Kingdom. Spiers, P. S. 1969. Hodgkin's disease in workers in the wood industry. Public Health Reports, 84(5): 385 388.

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APPENDIX A

Receiving of lumber Logs are received at the log yards and are physically segregated according to its species, status or certification and sizes

Grading of lumber A Quality Control (QC) team will then grade all lumber, verify its species and check defects for each log. Each lumber is documented to ensure proper chain of custody procedure is followed, graded lumbers are then labelled and sorted for further process.

Breakdown of lumber Selected lumber is debarked and loaded into the band saw to be split into workable size or lengths. At each band saw, defects on lumbers are carefully avoided to maximize recovery. Timber produced here is then delivered to the sorting plant for grading, sorting and cross cutting.

Grading and cutting of lumber Each cross cutting station has a grader who carefully cuts out the defect detected in the timber. The timber is then sorted by sizes, species and lengths into different bundle. Each bundle is documented and labelled to maintain the chain of custody.

Seasoning, kiln dry and storage Timber is then stickered to allow adequate air circulation within the bundle and placed under shelter for seasoning before being loaded into kiln dry rooms. Seasoning and kiln drying will take about 1-4 weeks depending on the size and species of the timber to reach optimum working moisture content of 9-13%. Dried timber is then checked again by the QC team to ensure its quality. Dried timber is then documented and labelled to ensure traceability of each bundle. Labelled timber bundle is then moved to the sheltered storage area, waiting for further processing Flow diagram of the process in the saw mill.

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APPENDIX B

Transfer lumber to working platform. (Appendix F).

Feed lumber to the band saw. (Appendix J) for the breakdown process.

Unload sawed lumber from working platform. (Appendix L).

Flow diagram of the work activities involved in the breakdown of lumber.

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APPENDIX C CEO

Vice CEO

Log yard (HOD)

Main office
Human resource, Administration and Safety. (HOD)

Production

QC/QA (HOD)

Plywood mill (HOD)

Purchasing (HOD)
Finance (HOD) Engineering (HOD)

Sawmill (HOD)

CEO: Chief Executive Officer HOD: Head of Department QA/QC: Quality Assurance/Quality Control.

Purchasing (HOD) Engineering (Plywood mill) (HOD) Road maintenance, Transportation and Logging (HOD)

JAVA Sdn. Bhd. Organizational Chart.

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APPENDIX D

Job Safety Analysis (JSA): Breakdown of lumber No Job Steps Transfer lumber to the band saw table/working platform. Hazards Corrective actions a. Accidently start saw a. Electrically isolate before while preparing, starting anything else b.Awkward posture lifting b.Implement lift/materials c. Forceful exertion securing handling training lumber on table/platform c. Cover in lift/materials d.Crushed by lifted lumber handling training. d.Wear safety boots. Turn on band saw. a. Electrical shock, a. Inspect electrical cord and switch b.Exposed blade b.Ensure safe zone is identified/guard the blade c. Exposure to noise c. Hearing protection d.Flying fragments (blade d.Inspect blade prior to turning break/wood chips) the saw on and wear eye protection. Feed lumber to the a. Knot/nails in wood a. Inspect wood and push band saw blade (point kickback through slowly of operation) b.Amputations or cuts b.Ensure danger zone is hand contact with blade identified/guard the blade (point of operation) c. Wear eye protection c. Saw dust in eyes d.Saw dust inhaled d.Wear dust mask/ propose local exhaust ventilation (LEV) e. Accumulation of wood e. Proper housekeeping/ propose dust (fire hazard) local exhaust ventilation f. Awkward postures due to f. Position body to avoid leaning and reaching exposure to awkward and sustained postures Remove material from a. Material (wood) hit and a. Wear safety boots. table/platform strike feet. b.Install guard at rotating parts b.Rotating parts c. Position body to avoid c. Awkward postures due to exposure to awkward and leaning and reaching sustained postures Shut off saw Clean off saw a. Saw dust in eyes a. Wear eye protection b.Saw dust inhaled b.Wear dust mask.

5 6

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APPENDIX E

Noise Exposure Monitoring Report Workplace: Sawmill Prepared by: Renny Ong (JKKP IH 127/5/3/3-1 N1011) Location Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw Bandsaw *N/A: Not available. Noise source Bandsaw 1 Bandsaw 2 Bandsaw 3 Bandsaw 4 Bandsaw 5 Bandsaw 6 Bandsaw 7 Bandsaw 8 Bandsaw 9 Bandsaw 10 Bandsaw 11 Bandsaw 12 Bandsaw 13 Bandsaw 14 Bandsaw 15 Bandsaw 16 Type of noise Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Steady, continuous Noise level dB (A) 101.8 104.2 100.6 92.4 102.2 103.2 N/A N/A N/A 100.2 96.6 102.1 N/A 102.6 99.9 98.6

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APPENDIX F

Table A

Working hours of workers for breakdown of lumber. Time 7.00 a.m. 9.00 a.m. 9.00 a.m. 9.30 a.m. 9.30 a.m. 12.00 p.m. 12.00 p.m. 1.00 p.m. 1.00 p.m. 4.30 p.m. Duration 2 hours REST 2 hours REST 3 hours Total hours of exposure to noise: 8 hours.

Table B

Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) of noise adapted from the First Schedule of the Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulations 1989, Regulations 5 (1). Noise Level (db (A) slow) 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 Duration of exposure Permitted per day (hours minute) 6-4 5-17 4-36 4-0 3-29 3-2 2-50 2-15 2-0 1-44 1-31 1-19 1-9 1-0

Based on Appendix D it shows the noise exposed to the workers that carry out breakdown of lumber activity for 8 hours at every bandsaw exceeds the PEL for noise as stated in Table B.

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Hazard Identification Risk Analysis Which can cause/effect Existing Likelihood (L) 3 2 6 Wear safety boots, inspect chain before operation. Severity (S) Risk rating (L S) Risk Control Measure Crush workers feet Risk Control

Work steps

Hazard

Transferring/ unloading lumber the onto/from table/platform. Cuts, lacerations, amputations, and to abrasions body affected parts,; fatality. 4 4 16

Falling object

the Operating machine; feeding lumber to the band saw blade of (point operation) lacerations, Cuts, and amputations, abrasions to affected body parts 5 3 Fire and explosion House keeping 1 5 15

Exposed sharp blade (Pisau tajam yang terdedah)

APPENDIX G

HIRARC: Breakdown of lumber

41 Hearing impairment. irritation Skin (dermatitis), severe allergic (asthma), cancer. 5 5 3 4

Install guarding at the blade as shown in Appendix P; install between barricade worker and blade as shown in Appendix N. at guard Install rotating/moving parts.

Moving parts

Accumulated wood dust

appropriate Install system; ventilation better establish housekeeping method 15 20 Hearing protection (ear muffs, ear plugs). appropriate Install system, ventilation wear dust mask.

Exposed to noise

Exposed to wood dust

APPENDIX H

Chain hoist is used to lift wood to the working platform.

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APPENDIX I

Worker hooking the lumber.

Lumber is lifted in order to transfer it to the working platform.

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APPENDIX J

AA

Unguarded moving parts (sprockets) of the band saw.

44

APPENDIX K

Unguarded moving parts of the band saw

and accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.

45

APPENDIX L

Accumulation of wood dust in the band saw area.

46

APPENDIX M

Lumber is fed through the blade.

Fire triangle
47

APPENDIX N

DANGER ZONE

BARRICADE

Install a barricade between the worker and the band saw blade or establish danger zone.

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APPENDIX O

Workers inspect the lumber to ensure that it is properly cut/sawed.

Workers unloading the cut/sawed lumber from the platform.

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APPENDIX P

Portion of sharp blade that should be guarded

Guide Point of operation (Cannot be guarded)

Table/Platform

Proposed fencing of the band saw blade.

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APPENDIX Q

JAVA Sdn Bhd Development Plan.

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APPENDIX R

Accident investigation

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