Definition of the security level:
The environment in which public employees carry out their professional activity is permanently subjected to a set of threats that gravitate to people, goods, values and the normal functioning of services.
Today's society has considerably increased the probability and potential of these threats due to causes as diverse as the use of powerful energy sources, the application of advanced technological processes, the development of macro industries, the oversizing of warehouses, the evolution of transportation. and various other factors.
It is obvious to say that modern society has to face the exposed situation of insecurity and, in the case of the company, this is always the responsibility and competence of top management. At this level, it is essential to know the security problems of the business as a whole, which determines the need to carry out a security study or, at least, a competent audit.
The result will be a precise knowledge of the various risks and the different possible solutions, as well as the cost of each of them. On the basis of these elements, the management of the ORGANISM can already propose the objectives that solve, in space and time, the existing security problems, which will translate into the establishment of priorities and deadlines.
The security department, in order to achieve these objectives in the order and in the required times, will determine the existing human and budgetary resources as well as the needs, both organizational and material means.
The development described constitutes a part of the so-called decision process, the full exposition of which can be established in five phases, corresponding to the different actions of the Directorate of the ORGANISM and the Directorate of Security.
- The first phase is made up of the determination, analysis and assessment of the risks, members of the study or the security audit, that the Directorate of the ORGANISM will have commissioned to carry out. The second phase is the establishment, by the Management, of the objectives as well as the priorities and deadlines for their achievement. The third phase corresponds to the security department and includes the analysis, determination and presentation of the available resources - human and budgetary - and the organizational and material needs for the achievement of the objectives. The fourth phase, represented by the treatment of risks, constitutes the act of decision in the application of the different possible solutions and it is obviously the responsibility of the Management of the ORGANISM, under the advice and proposals of the security director. The fifth phase includes action on those risks that have been eliminated or reduced. It will consist of the preparation, implementation and management of the corresponding prevention and protection plans.
If these phases are subjected to the structure that a Ministry, Council and / or Public Organism has, they will be made - and in fact they do - endless, producing the well-known situation of problems that are never solved, solutions that take months to complete. arrive or the problem is addressed because there has been an antisocial act that forces them to intervene without the mandatory security audit, just to satisfy the voters.
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Born in the fourteenth century among the association of European artisans who proposed certain protection standards, then Dr.: Bernardo Ramazzini Italian physician, catalog as the father of hygiene at work gives rise to the so-called occupational medicine.
From this creation, the great steps towards the consolidation of industrial hygiene and safety in Venezuela began over the years, such as:
- In 1608, the Indian ordinances were created, aimed at the health and protection of life and health of the Indians In 1905 a special article was created on professional risks in the Táchira state policy code For the year 1920 the The first labor law in Venezuela In 1940 the mandatory Social Security law was established, entering into force as of 1944 In 1963 the regulations of the labor law were drawn up For the year 1967 the new mandatory Social Security law was enacted In 1986 the Organic Law of Prevention, Conditions and Work Environment (LOPYCIMAT) and finally, in 1990 and 1997 it had some reforms according to the Official Gazette of the Republic of Venezuela No. 5152
ORGANIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL SAFETY IN A COMPANY
Every production official knows the value of the organization, it is not possible to achieve any objective, be it in the areas of production, inspection, training, sales or accident prevention, without a proper organization, nothing will be achieved if all levels of the company are not "tuned" toward achieving that goal.
Every organization is more than a series of graphs. It aspires to create, first, the lines of authority and, second, the means to achieve the predetermined objective, it is not possible to achieve a decrease in accidents unless there is an organization, which will also be of no use if it does not enjoy the full support and interest of "top management."
There are more executives with penetrating vision who are convinced that a sustained and organized effort is necessary for the prevention of accidents, this purpose is a beneficial and sensible policy from the commercial point of view, it is convenient to consider a few “must” before moving on to talk about specific plans for a security organization:
1.- Security must have the approval, sanction and support of senior management.
2.- responsibility for safety must rest with the supervisory staff
3.- Safety should be given the same importance as other factors of production
4.- An immediate action should be taken to eliminate the dangers of mechanical and personal origin.
It is advisable to develop a defined program to interest and educate workers in the area of safety and gain their active collaboration in the effort to eliminate accidents. The program must be based on a full recognition of its obligations and responsibilities by the administration, security must figure in all aspects of the business organization: planning, purchasing, supervision and operation. Once these bases are understood and recognized by management and it assumes the responsibilities involved, the appropriate type of organization can be shaped, whatever form said organization takes, it will only function effectively if it is backed by an interest and executive drive.
There are various types of organization observed by firms that have achieved and continue to sustain a first-rate performance in eliminating workplace accidents.
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS
TYPE A ORGANIZATION : Linear Organization
If technical security personnel are not employed on a permanent basis within the company, it is up to the production executives to be thoroughly instructed in the firm's own security problems. The chief executive must devote more of his attention to safety than if he had a competent expert. This situation has led some directors who have this type of organization to hire specialists. The specialist serves as a technical assistant to the chief executive. He must possess great leadership qualities and will assume increasing responsibilities in the field of security, striving to make a progressive change of the organization to make it type B.
The advantage of Organization A lies mainly in the fact that it concentrates full responsibility for the work within each unit, on the head of the unit. It is the duty of this official to integrate the security of all aspects of the daily activity of his unit. Just as he plans and supervises the work of each of the men at his command to achieve adequate production and satisfactory quality, in the same way he must plan and supervise security, it is his obligation to be the best informed person and with the greatest spirit of security. within your unit. The disadvantage of this type of organization is that supervisory personnel, busy with production problems, find it difficult to acquire the special knowledge needed to reach a high standard of safe performance.Much of the knowledge of how to prevent accidents comes from the accidents that take place inside factories.
Although some large companies use Plan A, they are most often found among companies too small to justify the employment of a full-time safety engineer.
Even in a small factory, if the chief executive gives and continues to give an adequate portion of his administrative attention to the area of security, the results are invariably good, and in the long run they can be classified as excellent.
ORGANIZATION TYPE B: Director of Security
This is the form of organization applied by most of the major firms. Its effectiveness depends on two things: the attitude of the top management and the competence and capacity of the security director, it is essential that the top management has a strong interest in security, for a first-class performance in this matter.
The task of this is not easy. He must act both as a special assistant and safety advisor to the chief executive, and as a safety advisor and stimulator for the entire company. It cannot interfere or usurp the functions of the members of the supervisory body; But if he must work closely with all of them, the security director cannot give orders except to the personnel who depend on him, he must have practices or situations that imply danger to security immediately corrected. Hence, the effectiveness of its work depends directly on the following factors:
1.- The ability you have to earn the trust and respect of foremen and officials.
2.- The amount of responsibility conferred by your boss.
The security officer needs to be aware that his job is "Service" and that he should not be sheltered under the authority of the various members of the group of supervisors.
The security director should first think about the help he can provide to supervisors or other officials; Next, you need to determine what each person's point of view is, in order for your help to be accepted; thirdly, you have to be sure of the data you have and be very careful to draw conclusions; Fourth, you need to keep your boss informed. It has been discussed about the place that the security engineer should occupy within the company, the prevailing criterion is to place him under the personnel director who, in turn, reports to the chief operating officer, who is usually a vice president or general manager.Every major factory belonging to a company should have a director or safety engineer whose position within the company corresponds to that of the safety director in the parent or central industrial unit.
The security director reports directly to the chief operating executive, along with the personnel director and the executive heads of the other departments. In some cases, report to the medical director or chief engineer.
The study of the organizational structures of companies that they have reached continue to have extremely low damage rates, they do not point to an essential superiority of any of these structures over the others. Whichever position the chief security officer occupies in the organization chart of the company, it is vitally important that the channel between him and the chief executive is so open and direct that security matters receive prompt and timely consideration. complete with consequent action.
The security manager is the center and source of all security information within the company. You must have the technical knowledge required by your professional category, and you need to always keep up to date with your company's current safety performance. The way in which this information is presented to management is also of great importance, so that it can take the required action; to supervisors to help them understand problems and work to eliminate them; and to the staff in general, to stimulate their interest and participation in the program, the security director must be well versed in the administrative aspects, at least with regard to security.
ORGANIZATION C: Security Commissions
In companies too small to justify the permanent employment of a direct security, this is handled at serious commissions. The same is true where the administration wants the work to be managed jointly by the members of its staff. This kind of organization has the disadvantages inherent in any structure governed by a commission rather than an executive.
The commissions are fragile for the task of execution or to carry out decisions. The advantage of bringing together the views of the group and the joint judgment is usually better than that of each of the members considered individually. But prompt, efficient, and orderly execution demands that authority and responsibility be placed in the hands of a single person and faithful relief. This kind of organization works best when the chief executive is at the same time chairman of the commission and uses the commission for:
1.- Strengthen your criteria
2.- Keeping selected officials well informed and in contact
3.- Promote the interest and collaboration of the members of the commission
When used in this way, organization C merges into the type A structure.
Failure to realize the limitations of the commission-based method is responsible for the frequent cases in which companies that have magnificent type C organizations in the role, are deficient in practical results. Often times this kind of organization is adopted just because it worked in the case of another company and they implant it in their own in a mechanical and without enthusiasm.
THE SECURITY COMMITTEES IN GENERAL
Although advising the structure based on a commission depends mainly on the size of the company, other factors that can influence must also be taken into account, such as the progress made when starting the work, the size and linkages of the different departments or units of the factory, type of business (manufacturing, construction, transportation, public service, etc.), it is convenient to bear in mind the following bases when setting up the commission or commissions:
1.- Each commission must have sufficient authority for the work to be carried out. For example, a central or government commission needs to include key executives such as the production manager and the chief mechanic. A commission made up of workers needs to be made up of workers who are well known and respected by their peers.
2.- The members of the commission must represent the practical methods and conditions prevailing in the factory, company or group.
3.- The commission needs to be as small as it is attached to the conditions that we have expressed. A commission of three people works more effectively than one of five. The bigger commissions, the longer the discussions and less the positive action.
When a commission is formed, certain aspects of policy and procedure should be put in writing. Written instructions must cover at least the following:
1.- Scope of the commission's activity
2.- Limits of its authority
3.- The procedure regarding:
a.- Time and place where the meeting will be held
b.- Frequency of the same
c.- order in which they will be developed
d.- Records to be kept
e.- Attendance conditions
The commissions will take their functions seriously according to the interest shown by the management, when a commission is organized to carry a specific purpose, clearly stipulates the purposes that they pursue and expect from it, and supervises it, it is sure that it will obtain magnificent results, the commission will only prosper if they have active and dedicated elements within them. When this is so, they go so far as to become management, because of safety, failing to arouse the proper interest of management, they achieve a purpose by organizing a safety commission and helping it plan a program that is of interest to management, at the same time that it immediately undertakes security work.
ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS
FUNCTIONS OF THE INTEGRAL SECURITY DEPARTMENT
The main function of the Comprehensive Security Department is to study for its recommendation all those measures and controls contained in a functional security system, with the purpose of contributing to the improvement of productivity and development of human resources.
The functions of this department include:
1.- Manage the company's Comprehensive Security program
2.- Advise on Comprehensive Security matters to the different entities of the company
3.- Verify compliance by the company with national and international laws, regulations and standards, regarding safety
4.- Select safety equipment, systems and materials
5.- Act as a permanent member of the Cooperative Security Council and the Central Security Committee
6.- Develop standards and procedures in the Comprehensive Security Area
7.- Develop training and motivational programs in the Comprehensive Security area
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY COMMITTEES IN A COMPANY
Concept
A safety committee is a mixed body made up of company and worker representatives, whose main function is to promote conditions to achieve efficient and safe work.
Importance
The Safety Committee provides the important factor for worker participation in every company's industrial safety program. In a Safety Committee, the knowledge of the workers is combined with the knowledge and experiences of the supervisors, and they constitute the nucleus for the materialization of ideas that contribute to improving the safety conditions of a factory workshop.
Through its observations, deliberations, and discussions, the Safety Committee provides the incentives and suggestions necessary to maintain safe working conditions and safe workers.
Safety Committees can orient their activity towards the educational and outreach field to promote safety awareness in workers, which can be achieved through organized campaigns of talks, demonstrations, posters, film projections and the publication of brochures with rules. of security. Committees can achieve, through this action, that workers come to have a true sense of safety and thus discard the idea of "bad luck" or "fatality" that accompanies any accident that occurs.
When workers understand that accidents occur for certain causes, the committee will have achieved a great victory, since workers can be counted on to assume their conscious mental attitude to the risks and dangers to which they are exposed during their work, and therefore they themselves will be able to adopt the most advisable security measures for each case.
A safety committee tends to improve worker-employer relations, raise worker morale, and reduce workplace accidents.
CONSTITUTION OF A COMMITTEE
The members of a committee must be personnel who, due to their dedication, can contribute to achieving the best solution to safety problems in the workshop or factory. They must fully comply with the duties inherent to the function they assume on a level of equity, impartiality and honesty.
A Safety Committee is generally composed of the following:
1.- A president appointed by the management of the Company
2.- A secretary chosen from the supervisory staff, who is especially the one who has to do with security issues
3.- Three members, representing the workers
The Committees also appoint technical advisers, who are very helpful in solving problems or activities that require specialized knowledge.
FUNCTIONS OF A SAFETY COMMITTEE
The effective Safety Committee helps plan safety programs and takes part in the activities that implement them. These functions will be determined by the management of the company, as well as by the group itself.
WHAT IS AN ACCIDENT?
A work accident is understood to be all functional or bodily injuries, permanent or temporary, immediate or subsequent, or death, resulting from the violent action of death, resulting from the violent action of an external force that can be determined and supervening in the course of work for the fact or ovation of the work; Any internal injury caused by a violent effort, occurring in the same circumstances, will also be considered a work accident.
Taking into account this definition, the following conditions must be present for an accident to be considered as an industrial accident.
1.- What happens during work hours?
2.- That it is related to the work carried out
3.- That it happens in the workplace
FIRST AID BRIGADES
What is first aid?
All the basic care applied to a victim before the arrival of technical and professional personnel or the arrival at a healthcare center. First aid occupies within the area of medicine the first level of contact with victims who may be the object of accidents or who at a certain moment may be affected by agents of various kinds such as: chemical, physical, biological, mechanical, electrical and humans.
First Aid is based on two main pillars:
Security:
It must be remembered that every person who provides first aid has the goal of preserving the life of an individual, but this should not imply exposing their own by performing acts considered "heroic" where they run the risk of being injured and being part of the statistics of victims caused by the tragedy.
Knowledge:
The person who provides first aid must have a minimum of knowledge that will allow him to act in the most appropriate way in front of the injured, since it must be remembered that it is a human life and there is no opportunity to perform unsafe acts or that could harm him in higher degree even causing death. In some cases, if you are not sure of what the injured person may have, if you feel incapable of being able to care for her, it is more helpful to try to communicate with trained personnel or take the victim to a care center, in.
Recognition of an emergency:
Far from being a treatise on medical semiology (a branch of medicine that studies the manifestation of symptoms in patients with certain diseases), in first aid the recognition of the injuries of a victim goes hand in hand with the safety criteria described above (Security and Knowledge).
It should be noted that more than 60% to 70% of the deaths that occur would not have occurred had the patients been transferred quickly and appropriately to specialized healthcare centers for the care they needed. In first aid you must memorize three basic guidelines for care, which will help you work efficiently and in an orderly manner:
1.- Review,
2.- Call and
3.- Attend.
1. Review: In every scenario there are, in most cases, visible and sometimes deductible indications of the causal agent of the injuries in the victim, you must in this case:
A: Review the scenario to see if it is safe for you and the victim, B: Identify the number of people who are on stage, C: Identify the number of victims and their state (do you have a pulse? Are you breathing? State of consciousness?).
2. Call: In any case, the second thing to do is to communicate with the bodies and agencies specialized in dealing with these emergencies: when communicating it is important: give exact information on how many victims are on the site, their general condition (vital signs and state of conscience), inform if they are receiving specialized medical help, give the exact address and with references of the place where the victims are, do not withdraw from the telephone since you can receive instructions from the operator that can help you with the victims.
3. Attend: In any emergency in which you are present, you must take into account, when calling the specialized bodies while waiting for your arrival at the site, with the basic knowledge of first aid you should attend to minor injuries, thus making a primary evaluation of the victim (A, B, C)
FUNCTION
The purpose of a well-run accident prevention program is to put an end to accidents that may cause damage, thereby eliminating risks, protecting the worker and promoting safe practices. No program has been successful in completely eliminating accidents. Those companies that have come closest to the goal of total elimination have found it necessary and beneficial to provide the best possible treatment to victims. The principles call for effective means of caring for the injured. But worker participation through first aid training has also been found to greatly stimulate the spirit of safety.
For the sake of safety, many of the people in charge of accident prevention used to organize extensive and constant first aid training programs. Every security program seeks to eliminate damage. Every first aid program seeks the most appropriate treatment for all kinds of damage that may occur despite the effort made to avoid it. At present there is a greater awareness of relative values, because many safety engineers are inclined to neglect first aid training, and perhaps even to provide immediate medical treatment, because they have not realized the value of avoiding accidents.
FIRE BRIGADES
Prevention and protection against fire
The prevention, protection and control of fires is considered as separate and distinct aspects from the routine activities for the prevention of accidents, developed in the industry. You might justify this approach if you think losses caused by fires only affect property; but the truth is that they are a source of serious harm to people. The prevention and control of fires should be part of any security program in a company, the numerous indirect losses as a consequence of fires cause business interruptions, lost wages by workers, market losses, public expenses caused by fighting fires, etc.
The constant threat of fire has made it necessary to establish and maintain fire departments in good conditions in almost the entire community, and has also led to the creation of numerous organizations dedicated to preventing and fighting fires. The existence of a local fire department in the vicinity of a factory, does not reveal to it the responsibility that concerns it in the prevention of fires within its premises, as well as having the necessary equipment to extinguish fires, and the organization and training of workers so that they can fight and control fires in their early stages. Even though many branches of industry face special problems in the area of fire prevention and control,Due to the nature of the materials they handle and process and the operations carried out, most fires in factories are due to risks and causes common to industrial branches. All of these risks can be eliminated or controlled. Losses are avoidable through the use of adequate engineering methods and regulations that allow the prompt discovery and extension of any outbreak of fires that may arise despite the provisions that have been made to prevent them.Losses are avoidable through the use of adequate engineering methods and regulations that allow the prompt discovery and extension of any outbreak of fires that may arise despite the provisions that have been made to prevent them.Losses are avoidable through the use of adequate engineering methods and regulations that allow the prompt discovery and extension of any outbreak of fires that may arise despite the provisions that have been made to prevent them.
Coordination of private and public fire services
Through the accessory of the public professional body, the internal fire department of the factory will be organized, acquiring the appropriate material and training the personnel of the factory selected for it in its use. It is important to highlight the vital importance of having a good knowledge of the locations of valves, compensators, fire alarm boxes, etc. The fire departments, both the public and the factory, must know what are the special risks presented by the different operations that take place in it. If any changes are carried out in operations that imply new risks, the firefighters should be informed of this in detail, and it is preferable that this be done when said modifications or changes are in the planning stage.
It is a good idea to arrange for factory inspections by local fire department commissioners. These visits can also be spontaneously decided by the fire department in order to see how the factory fire program is working. The losses resulting from not taking seriously the suggestions of the fire brigade are many and of great importance. If an administration were to doubt the validity of these recommendations, the way forward would be to consult experts of recognized capacity.
The first condition for effectively fighting a fire is to sound the alarm as soon as the fire is discovered. All company personnel must know well where the alarms are located, both public and private, and how to make them work. The employment of a guard during the hours of suspension of activities is the oldest known procedure.
CONCLUSION
- In addition, a way of complying with the regulations and all legal provisions aimed at creating a safe work environment and guaranteeing the well-being of any worker. A company that does not have a prevention program is not able to emerge and always goes to failure and measures the highest mortality rate
