Reference no: EM132497952

HRM 403 Occupational  health and safety - Emirates College of Technology

Case study

Construction Products Company (CPC) is a Construction Material Supplier in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been established in 1990, and has grown to one of the largest distributor, retailer and wholesaler of building materials in the Middle-East. The growth can be credited to their philosophy of putting the customers first. Their success is not made from the quick sale, but from the development of a relationship with their customers. Continually their customers look to them for fair and competitive pricing, fast and efficient service, and knowledgeable product advice. Contractors and their customers place their orders in the office in Dubai. Then they drive their trucks and get through the appropriate warehouses to be loaded by CPC personnel.

Because the contractors are small operators, most of their orders are also relatively small and can be loaded by hands. Warehouse personnel go to the appropriate bins, pull out the material needed to fill their orders, and load the materials or products on customer's trucks. Even though most orders are small enough to be loaded by hands, many of the materials purchased are bulky and cumbersome to handle. Because of this, CPC's loaders are required to wear such personal protection gear as hard hats, padded gloves, steel-toed boots, and lower-back-support belts.

For years CPC's management team had noticed an increase in minor injuries to warehouse personnel during the summer months. Typically, these injuries consisted of nothing worse than minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. An investigation of these accidents quickly identified a series of events and a central causal behavior that set up a domino effect, that in turn resulted in the injuries. The investigation revealed that CPC's warehouses became so hot during the summer months that personal protection gear was uncomfortable. As a result, warehouse personnel simply discarded it. However, this past summer had been different. Two warehouse workers had sustained serious back injuries while loading big and heavy building equipment into one of the contractors' truck, resulting in the death of the first worker and permanent total disability of the other. These injuries have been costly to CPC both financially and in terms of employees' morale.

Question 1. Explain the importance of fostering the proper Occupational Health and Safety Management system in CPC Company.

Question 2. Identify the causes of the accidents? Provide four recommendations to CPC's Management to avoid similar accident in the future?

Question 3. Describe the employees' responsibilities towards themselves and their work to avoid the above-mentioned injuries according to UAE legal framework

Question 4. Calculate both workers' compensation in the events of death and permanent total disability workers in accordance with UAE labor law.