Human Resources Introducing Policy for Safety, Health and Securityat The Home Company, THC, By Pat Darnell
March 1, 2007
“Keep on trucking” (Prof Savage, C., March 07/ 58:30; Final Live Chat 10)
Introduction: Task Detail for Quasi-company: The Home Company, THC
As the HR manager responsible for Safety and Security issues, you have been asked to develop a policy that will make sure work environment is safe from a security standpoint, as well as from an injury perspective (CTUOnline; 2007).
You must also incorporate ways to keep your facility secure. You are responsible for a 400-person call-center office in an office tower. You are located on the 10-12th floors of a 20-story building. Use your course materials, the Library and the Internet to complete the following tasks and questions:
- Identify the key safety issues you would review with SHS analysis
Design a security process that would work with office tower's Security team to screen employees at ingress/egress. - Consider inconvenience to employees as well as safety issues
- Design a security process that would control the delivery of goods to floors 10-12
- Monitor the comings and goings of employees onto THC specific floors
Abstract
I am one of four Human Resource Managers at THC. We each have been hired to take over one of the geographical regions. I will be responsible for handling all safety issues and OSHA compliance.
Recently, there was a large turnover rate and we new HR managers have been instructed to create new HR policies for the new Board of Directors. They feel there is a need to upgrade HR policies, but recognize that there must be a reasonable amount of time given for transition.
Primary research is too costly to pursue for the project at this initial stage of development of new policy guides. However, much good work can proceed immediately because much information exists in extensive bodies of knowledge for risk management, compliance, and upgrading policies. Topics such as business continuity, risk assessment, responsibilities and accountabilities of a chief facilities manager/officer, and workplace violence prevention and response will be discussed. To the Security issues I am adding Health and Safety as a precautionary consignment guide as well.
Therefore our task will proceed from general to specific, but will be rooted to long-term continuous improvement. Qualitative summaries in white papers, PDF files and other can be had for little cost via internet. Also, after first drafts are approved, any quantitative research needed can be produced if identified in our initial scope for policy. All research and context is based in following framework, though not limited to these values, according to standards in various control groups for general safety and security in workplace:
- General population vs. Controlled Sites
- Localized exposure limits; such as spatial averaging
- Time averaging
- Special exclusions; such as exposure to low-power devices at peak exposures
Sources of Assistance
o OSHA Consultation Program
o OSHA Internet Site www osha gov
o NIOSH
o Public Safety Officials
o Trade Associations
o Unions and Insurers
o Human Resource and Employee Assistance Professionals
o OSHA uses lower tier as an; "action level, for example ‘an RF program should exist’”
o ANSI assumes a level that is safe for all
o NRPB says 2-tier is not needed
o ICNIRP justifies lower tier for sensitive, elderly, children, neonates
o DOL uses census to correlate aspects of general conditions of work world
Introduction Risk Assessments and Management
To begin, HR must submit Key issues to review with directors before starting the process:
· What has been Safety Health and Security policy up to now?
· How have policies changed since previous policies were adopted?
· When and why did policies become deficient?
· Who is the stakeholder in policy upgrade?
These queries can be divided amongst the four HR Managers. Corporate Policies are guides that are not always mandatory, even for Safety, Health and Security. Compliance Assistance Tools provide guidance information for developing a comprehensive safety and health program. Although Safety and Health Programs are required by some states, there is no general OSHA requirement for such a program. Risk Assessment and Analysis will provide work schedules for our upgrades.
Our internal risk assessment will determine how our project will look, feel and accomplish protocol. My goal is for Long-term continuous improvement in Safety, Health and Security of all THC workers, visitors, and neighbor tenants at our facilities.
“Act conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are kinds who do nothing” says William Feather.
Adoption of Framework Design for Safety, Health, and Security Project
Transitions in THC, that have been often spoke of, relate to context of its growth from a family owned business to a Fortune 500 corporate subsidiary. Its new status makes it an asset that home company uses to boost its appeal to investors. Until major safety issues of workplace safety and occupant security occurred in 2001, THC had little reason to delve into betterment of its Safety, Health and Security program. Shift in leadership mandates policy be upgraded.
I will choose adopting this USDOL/OSHA framework for best use of THC funds as we move to accomplish changes in Safety, Health, and Security Policy guide-lines: Please, see: also full list in Appendix One at end --
1. What return on Investment can SHS programs provide?
2. How can safety and health become a part of the way our business runs?
3. What indicators tell me if I’m getting weaker or stronger?
4. What practices are best for assuring lasting success?
5. Who is regarded stakeholder in improved SHS program? (DOL/OSHA; ND)
Critical Processes: Learning about new Threats, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
If we are making a change, we will take time to learn about our up-to-the-minute company, THC, its structural changes, its cultural opportunities and best cost effective way to support things to be accomplished. Also we will have sought out opinions of workers, visitors and colleagues who work with and for us in our tenancy. Informed, learned employees are conforming safety skilled employees who can make logical decisions in instances of distress.
While ultimate decisions are in board of directors’ hands, we will make sure that we listen to what others have to say and then formulate our policy strategies. “Building support and loyalty among the workforce is not made permanent status with only quick hellos and goodbyes,” say the authors at Facilities Net. In context of post-September 11 office space security, I feel all THC employees from VP to frontline have become safety sensitive, and will applaud changes and modifications. I anticipate no problem getting everyone on-board (Facilities Net; 1995-2006).
Discussion: Proposed new Emergency Egress/ Ingress Procedures
Since evacuation 911 reports have been filed, “full building evacuations and use of elevators during emergencies are among sweeping proposals for egress procedures” explains Brandon Lorenz, Senior Editor at Facilities Net (1995-2006). To aid us in this Discussion, I have decided to make Stairwells and Elevators our basis for all new SHS Emergency Policy.
Guess-Estimated occupancy Evacuation loads at THC High-Rise address
The Home Company
Occupies 3 of 20 Floors with common emergency Stairwells
ingress/egress calculation guess-estimated
400 employees At THC= 133+133+134
80 Sq ft / person, estimated 10640sq ft / per floor
20-story total occupants at full capacity=133 persons x 20 floors=2660
Stairwell Size and Capacity of total building % Per codes Percentage of total sq ft according to codes
Evacuation rate: 90 per minute estimated
Est. 30 minutes to evacuate THC Building
According to estimated values the total time it would take to empty a full 20 story building is not less than 30 minutes. Had World Trade buildings been fully occupied, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, has estimated that “it would have taken more than three hours to fully evacuate the buildings. ...28 percent of the occupants would have died because of insufficient stairwell capacity” (1995-2006).
Based on egress/ingress estimates of the workers from and to their work place at THC high-rise address THC is in a good position to hire a Facilities Manager. “Facility executives could one day oversee high-rise buildings that have well-timed full building evacuation plans for non-fire emergencies’” says Lorenz. Hardened elevators and stairwells, plus wider and spaced farther apart will aid in full evacuation while emergency task groups are going in (1995-2006). There is no reason why the following framework can not be taught and learned by every worker at the facility. Please, see: also Appendix Two:
- Improved evacuation procedures
- Improved Emergency response
- Improved Procedure and Practices
- Continuing Education and Training (NIST; ND paraphrased) (DOL/OSHA; ND)
“There is little agreement about how much time should be allowed for a full building evacuation because the topic is relatively new,” says Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. “Clearly, if you put in 10 stairwells, you could get people out of the building much faster,” he says. “But how fast is fast enough?” The final NIST report on collapse of World Trade Center towers indicated that “overall evacuation rate in WTC 2 was 108 survivors per minute, about 50 percent faster than WTC 1 at 73 survivors per minute” (Klemencic, R; ND).
Our job is to reverse engineer catastrophic occurrences. It is a shared responsibility of tenant, emergency response services and facilities management, even if there is disagreement. To anticipate worst cases regarding how fast a full building evacuation will be our overriding argument for saving lives in emergency. “Elevators, stairwells and evacuation plans will all need major revisions to make full evacuation practical” at THC tenancy and everywhere else (1995-2006).
Discussion: Safe/ Healthy Workplace
On our subject of safety: “Once a group has achieved community, the single most common thing members express is: ‘I feel safe here,’” says M. Scott Peck (Quotes Success; ND). There can be no unhealthier situation more drastic than losing one’s life, literally, while at the work-place. Initially, our first stages of SHS planning at THC, we simply cannot do the learning to obtain all emergency data for all circumstances. We can however concentrate on special areas in winnowing out known injurious conditions. Our injury rate can be lowered with successful staged development of risk management.
For instance, before maiming violence and homicide can have its way, we will have checked with safe workplace standards resources and implement best practices for our employees. I found the following criterion in the “U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration 2002 web site” and propose it as our framework for initial upgrading safety policies of our work place (DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2006-07):
- Secure the workplace, install video surveillance, extra lighting, alarm systems
- Minimize access by outsiders, use identification badges, electronic keys, guards
- Equip field staff with cellular phones, hand-held alarms or noise devices
- Prepare daily work plan, and keep a contact person informed of location all the workday
- Keep vehicles and machinery properly maintained
- Instruct employees not to enter any location where they feel unsafe
- Introduce a “buddy system” or provide an escort service or police assistance in potentially dangerous situations or at night
- Develop policies and procedures covering worker’s right to refuse to provide services in a clearly hazardous situation
- Adopt special circumstance emergency policy for physically impaired workers (OSHA; 2002)
Again, while we can not review all these criteria in this stage of policy development, we can address the pivotal issues. Agreed, violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. It’s most extreme form, homicide, is fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, CFOI, there were “551 workplace homicides in 2004 in the United States, out of a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries” (DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2006-07)
Discussion: The Planning Skeleton -- Entry, Exit and Emergency Access
Disaster Planning
“Power outages, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, explosions and terrorist attacks should all be taken into account when violence and emergency evacuation plans are formulated,” according to NIST. Estimates are available that put “6 percent of occupants in the World Trade Center mobility-impaired” (Klemencic, R; ND).
Each kind of disaster has its own special set of circumstances. That is why mobility-impaired occupants can be moved away from a fire or other emergency with relatively little difficulty, but the new term of a full building evacuation due to explosion and power outages that accompany them is much more troublesome evacuation for all and more so for impaired employees.
Therefore, a good start is full disclosure of all tenants with impaired mobility must be accounted for initially, and done without compromising personal rights. “Knowing which occupant is impaired and where he and she are located is key information,” says Klemencic at NIST. This can be done with controlled access of interior spaces, and tracking devices special to impaired occupants. Technology of global positioning and radio frequency identification could serve this grand purpose. Costs of such systems are unknown. Therefore controlling the access points is the better answer initially (Klemencic, R; ND).
Controlling EntryEmerging methods of knowing where tenants are will be accomplished by controlling entry and exit points via either photovoltaic or biometric readers. Radio frequency identification, RFID, is another method that is actually being added to new issues of US passports. “Optical turnstiles are being used more in large buildings,” says Geoff Craighead, vice president of high-rise and real estate services at Securitas, and chair of ASIS commercial real estate council. “It’s all very well to have card readers at elevators, but if you can’t control piggy-backing at the main access points, then you’re not controlling access at all” (ASIS; ND).
After hours building access will have to be controlled 24/7 at elevators, including freight and service elevators: “Visitors and occupants may need specific permissions tied to their credentials to gain access to certain floors,” says Craighead. In general, our THC facility like other high-rise building lobbies will have become more segmented and compartmentalized. The number of places people and visitors are able to get in or out will be partitioned and limited to only one (Facilities Net; 1995-2006).
Additionally, we will have designated a single entry for mail, packages and large deliveries. Possibly our mailroom will fit better in the scheme if situated at the exterior of our building attached through a breezeway. Personnel from THC will go to the exterior facility and bring all packages and mail to upper floor offices for delivery, much like centralized mailboxes in residential developments and apartments. It protects package handlers and mail-deliverers alike, and does not inconvenience the recipients.
While occupant parking remains near the building, our visitor or public parking will have been located farther away. Regards to underground parking, Geoff Craighead warns that, “Building owners should make sure measures are taken so that the building above is properly protected. There needs to be increased vehicle screening,” he says. “That means putting mirrors or sensors in pathways under the cars as they come in.” Building owners may have to resort to physical inspecting that could include opening trunks or looking under engine hoods (Facilities Net; 1995-2006).
Preventing chemical, biological or radiological, CBR, attack The danger is that fraught terrorists could dump into air intakes any dangerous agent. Airborne substances will be circulating through the building’s HVAC system in minutes. “To combat that threat, owners are installing CCTV cameras with intelligent video [logical step-by-step problem sensors] on the air intakes,” says Geoff Craighead. “If a video frame is broken by motion, a security staff member is alerted automatically and can determine whether there is danger and, if so, begin evacuation procedures.” This strategy probably would not have prevented attack, but it can help speed up response and evacuation.
However, if vulnerability is deemed severe enough, Craighead says, “Some high-rise building owners have undertaken the significant cost of relocating the air intakes out of pedestrian reach at least 75 feet above ground.”
We will also study “defend-in-place procedures... whereas, traditionally, tenants had been trained to evacuate,” says Craighead. “...Seminars show how to defend-in-place, and how to completely seal off floors and structure within a building so no one can get in or out.” It is like a bomb shelter within the workplace, which must take up little space because of the cost of such modification of existing buildings. It would double as storage for supplies most needed in emergency: water, medical supply, and electronics. This could be most ideal for mobility impaired workers to dwell in till the all clear (Facilities Net; 1995-2006).
Conclusion: Adapt, Sacrifice, JustifyA central challenge for a high-rise building tenant and owner both is determining what risks or threats exist for a specific property. Identifying where dollars should be spent to address most urgent vulnerabilities and selecting systems that best mitigate threats will be our most critical challenges. Currently, no regulations or codes exist that govern how building security should be planned and executed.
“That’s because creating security codes would be like creating separate fire codes for each building,” says William Sako, executive vice president of RJA Group and chairman of the board for Sako and Associates.
“We create guidelines that are broad enough so that they’re applicable to Fortune 500 companies, as well as companies with 50 employees,” says Regis Becker, chairman of ASIS guidelines and compliance at PPG Industries. “Security is more an art than a science.” (ASIS; ND)
I suggest THC complete an initial Safety, Health and Security assessment based on the evacuation, violence and shelter in place criteria presented here. With new knowledge we will run more quantitative tests, especially costs studies for net present values of policy modifications. Our short term consideration is: if this is not the location because it is become security challenged or obsolete then we should move to a suitably designed space, or build our own.
Also, gone are the days of “flashing a badge to a security guard at a building’s main entrance,” says Regis Becker. Besides, we don’t want to do nothing. If we have learned anything in Human Resources Workforce Effectiveness this spring:
- Ignoring high blood pressure, not good;
- Ignoring high cholesterol, fool-heartedly not good;
- Ignoring organic brain disease, ignobly not good;
- Ignoring your human capital productivity, ...starting to be tediously not good;
- Ignoring a chance to increase our profits for tomorrow by making SHS modifications today, really not good!
“The prizes go to those who meet emergencies successfully,” says William Feather. “And the way to meet emergencies is to do each daily task the best we can” (Quotes Success; ND).
AppendicesAppendix One· Framework Design Checklist
What Return on Investment can SHS programs provide?
Improved employee morale
Decreased lost time
Fewer workplace injuries and illnesses
Lower insurance costs
Safety culture adoption
How can safety and health become a part of the way our business runs?
Combine performance standards with SHS standards
Talk the talk and walk the walk
Top down support
Bottom up implementation
What indicators tell me if I'm getting weaker or stronger?
Statistical reports
Opinion surveys
Risk analysis
Periodic inspections
Process improvement initiatives
Net Present Value studies
What practices are best for assuring lasting success?
Obtain management buy-in
Build trust
Conduct self-assessments
Develop a site safety vision
Develop a system of accountability and measures
Implement recognition and rewards
Provide awareness training
Implement process changes
Continually measure, communicate results, celebrate successes (DOL/OSHA; ND)
Who is regarded the stakeholder in improved SHS program? “The best Safety and Health Programs involve every level of the organization, instilling a safety culture that reduces accidents for workers and improves the bottom line for managers” says the US Department of Labor. The DOL says to take a modular approach to changing policy. “When Safety and Health are part of the organization and a way of life, everyone wins.” (DOL/OSHA; ND)
Appendix Two· Stairwells and Elevators basis for new Evacuation procedures proposed by NIST Checklist
Improved evacuation procedures
· Develop public education campaigns to improve preparedness for building evacuations
· Design or modify building to accommodate timely full building evacuation
· Design egress paths to maximize remoteness and to maintain their functional integrity during building emergencies
· Request facility executives and emergency responders develop joint plans and make sure information is transmitted accurately to enhance occupants’ situational awareness during emergencies
· Evaluate alternative evacuation methods, including elevators and exterior escape devices
Improved Emergency Response
· Modify or Install fire-protected and structurally hardened elevators to improve emergency response activities
· Install, inspect and test communications systems to be sure they can be used in buildings with challenging propagation environments and to locate and track emergency responders
· Enhance data gathering, processing and delivery of critical information to emergency responders
· Ensure uninterrupted operation of the command and control system for large-scale emergencies
Improved Procedures and Practices
· Ensure nongovernmental and quasi-governmental agencies not subject to codes obtain code equivalent level of safety
· Adopt and enforce codes to be sure egress and sprinkler requirements are met
· Require building owners to retain documents related to building design, construction, maintenance and modifications at an off-site location and make documents available to emergency responders in hard copy or electronic format
· Clarify the phrase “design professional in responsible charge” to be sure that fire protection and structural engineers provide the standard of care when employing innovative or unusual methods
Continuing Education and Training
· Cross-train architects, fire protection engineers and structural engineers, tenants
· Develop educational tools in computational fire dynamics and thermo structural analysis (OSHA; 2002, verbatim)
References
ASIS; (ND) retrieved from ASIS gov com, March 27-28, 2007, Regis Becker, chairman of ASIS guidelines and compliance at PPG Industries
CTUOnline (2007) Task Detail, HRM350, retrieved 03/2007
Facilities Net; (1995-2006) Trade Press Publishing Corp. Facilities Net, Building Operating Management, Maintenance Solutions registered trademarks of Trade Press Publishing Corp; retrieved 2/23/07 www facilities net the big picture, stormy Friday, Ahrens, Geoff Craighead
Klemencic, Ron; (ND) Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, NIST, retrieved March 23-28, 2007 nist com
OSHA; (2002) U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies, or standards, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations retrieved 4/1/2007 OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov.
Quotes Success; (ND) GOOGLE crawl, Retrieved from walkups way com Quotes Success March 29, 2007, Feather, W; Peck, Scott M contributors
Sako, William; (ND) executive vice president of RJA Group, chairman of the board for Sako and Associates, retrieved www rjagroup March 28, 2007
US DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, on the Internet at www BLS gov/oco/ocos151 htm; visited March 23, 2007
US Department of Labor /Occupational Safety & Health Administration; (1989-2007) Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines; Issuance of Voluntary Guidelines; Notice, Federal Register Vol 54, No 16, Jan. 26, 1989, pp 3904-3916: Retrieved www OSHA gov SLTC etools safety health bibliography March 20-28, 2007; See; Also Curtis, S.L., (Jan. 1995) Safety and Total Quality Management Professional Safety, pp18-20; LaBar, G; (June 1994) Making Safety Pay Occupation Hazards, pp 33-36; Sommerkamp, J; (Dec 1994) the Deming Approach to Construction Safety Management, Professional Safety, pp 35-37
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