Design And Develop A Written Operational SMS (Safety Management System)

Safety Management System
Name
Institution Affiliation
Safety Management System
Walmart’s Safety Policy
Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, which is an American multinational company that operates several supermarkets, discount departments, and grocery stores, whose parent company is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. The firm was established in 1962 by the Walton family, and since then, it has managed to open more than 11000 stores in more than 30 countries across the world (Walmart, 2017). Walmart is the world’s largest company as far as the generation of revenue is concerned and is the biggest private employer, with more than 2.2 million workers (Walmart, 2017). A Company with such a huge number of employees must have an effective safety management system (SMS) to ensure that their health is not jeopardized. Walmart management believes that employees at all levels are entitled to safe and healthy working environment; free from coercion. The company recognizes various risk factors associated with different activities such as movement within the stores, operation of various machines, and chemical composition of different products and equipment (Walmart, 2017). Thus, safety issues in Walmart fall under five categories, which include ergonomic, psychological, physical, chemical, and security. Walmart recognizes the importance of providing a safe working environment for employees. The firm has Responsibility Sourcing program and various collaborative initiatives that are aimed at promoting respect and dignity among workers. There are high standards of employee dignity and welfare in their operations (Walmart, 2017). The company is working collaboratively with various firms, governments, and non-governmental institutions in a bid to improve working conditions for their employees all over the world. The company believes that improving the livelihoods and safety of workers' benefits their wellbeing and community as well as strengthen its business (Walmart, 2017). Their safety policy indicates that when employees are provided with a safe environment, they will work for the good of the company.
According to Eskandari et al. (2017), individuals working in modern firms are facing difficulties and risks associated with various activities such as the operation of technological machines and equipment. The authors state that human, technical, organizational, and operational factors influence the frequency of occupational accidents (Eskandari et al., 2017). Nevertheless, organizational factors have been proven to play a major role in the occurrence of workplace accidents. Occupational accident refers to the occurrences in the workplace that results in physical or mental injury. Workplace accidents have led to over 321000 deaths and more than 317 million injuries all worldwide (Eskandari et al., 2017). Management and subordinates are main constituents of a company, and thus, can play a crucial role in creating a safe working environment. Occupational accidents mainly result from either employee carelessness or employer negligence. Organizations have a critical role to play in preventing accidents in the workplace by emphasizing the importance of occupational health and safety, implementing preventive measures, and ensuring that workers have the necessary information, supervision, and training to perform their job safely (Aotearoa, 2017). On the other hand, employees should make sure that they observe all the work safety regulations while performing their tasks. Thus, Walmart is performing its responsibility as an organization in achieving higher levels of safety by putting in place various safety measures and sensitizing their employees about the importance of working in a safe environment. However, there have been safety issues in the company, which necessitates the formulation of an effective safety management system.
Major Hazard and Safety Risks Factors in Walmart
There have been several safety issues in Walmart stores all over the world that have been discovered by inspectors. The department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has identified a number of safety issues associated with working conditions in Walmart (McVeigh, 2013). OSHA termed these issues as unacceptable safety hazards to workers at various stores in the United States, which are also present in its subsidiaries around the world. According to OSHA, Walmart has violated more than 100 health and safety rules in the recent past (McVeigh, 2013). The firm faces a number of workplace strikes, amid the increased scrutiny over working conditions of its employees in its supply chain, both in the US and overseas.
OSHA has accused Walmart of lacking a comprehensive training program on hazardous materials, blocked exits, and unsafe trash compactor, which are similar in all of its subsidiaries all over the world. Emergency exits in Walmart are blocked by merchandise and boxes, forklifts brakes, seat belts, and horns. The company has also been accused of forcing employees to ship containers in the dark, inadequate water and ventilation, intense heat, and triple stacked and unsecured boxes (McVeigh, 2013). One of the perfect examples revealing unsafe working conditions in Walmart is the third-floor monorail system, which is the distribution center that supplies groceries to various Walmart stores (OSHA, 2018). The facility is a three-level building, where pallets of goods are received and broken down into smaller packages for shipment to various stores. The facility’s third floor has an electrified monorail system that utilizes 30 trolleys, which are four to five feet wide. The weight of this system of trolleys carries pallets weighing over 3000 pounds (OSHA, 2018). Such weight is dangerous to individuals operating the monorail system, showing how working conditions at Walmart jeopardize the health of its workers. On October 2018, a Swisslog worker was injured while trying to reprogram a trolley (OSHA, 2018). Swisslog is a company mandated with maintaining the monorail system at the facility. In an attempt to reprogram the monorail system, one of the trolleys fell off and hit the employee, seriously injuring his leg.
Another safety issue in Walmart is insufficient training on how to handle cleaning chemicals and trash compactors, which are used in more than 2857 stores across the world (McVeigh, 2013). Inadequate training program translates to increased risk of employees being harmed by such chemicals, thus jeopardizing their health. In addition, the company has not installed sufficient fire safety measures to minimize fatalities during emergencies. In various stores, there are no enough and modern fire-fighting equipment, a problem that has been compounded by blockage of emergency exits. Thus, individuals working in Walmart have been exposed to serious danger in the event of a fire outbreak. Moreover, various equipment are poorly maintained, some of which have resulted in various physical injuries (McVeigh, 2013). Cleaning machines such as floor-washing machines and dusting machines are not maintained frequently, an act that has left individual operating them in danger of being injured when they malfunction. Such machines have moving parts and if poorly maintained, can pose a serious danger to the operator (Ruszala, 2018).
Following the allegations of violation of various OSHA health and safety rules, Walmart was fined $190,000, and the agency uncovered these unacceptable safety hazards to workers at the company in various locations across the United States (McVeigh, 2013). OSHA stated that imposing a huge fine on the company would help keep hundreds of exposed employees safe and healthy in their workplace. OSHA aimed at sending a strong message to Walmart and other companies that the law indicates that employers must provide a safe working environment and that the agency will use all means possible to ensure that all organizations follow the law to the letter. Employees working in headquarters and various affiliates welcomed the court decision and accused the firm of malfeasance in the entire of its supply chain (McVeigh, 2013). They stated that OSHA should go beyond its terms and inspect the company further to uncover other safety problems existing within the company. Workers indicated that the safety problems that triggered the punishment of Walmart were issues they had been raised for many years, but the company failed to listen to their grievances. Uncovering safety issues such as inadequate fire safety measures, blockage of emergency exits, and poor maintenance of equipment are some of the problems exposing employees to danger while in the workplace (McVeigh, 2013).
Safety Assurance
The company has a huge task now of executing various solutions to reduce occupational accidents by mitigating risk factors (Aotearoa, 2017). Walmart has no choice because failure to improve the working conditions of its employees could lead to huge fines that may have serious effects on their profitability. Moreover, poor working conditions could result in higher turnover rate as well as the decreased ability of the company to attract top talents (Aotearoa, 2017). Besides, customers are now more concerned about corporate social responsibility (CSR) of companies and are mo...