OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY SERVICES

1. Initial Health & Safety Consultation
2. Air Sampling Survey
3. Noise Monitoring Survey
4. Ergonomic Evaluation Study
5. Health & Safety Training (on-site)
6. Custom Written Safety Programs
7. OSHA Approved 10-Hour & 30-Hour General Industry Training Courses
8. Safety Committee Assistance
9. Return to Work Program Development
10. Best Practice Review
11. Faxed Back Request Health & Safety Hotline
12. Custom Health and Safety Products Services

1 . Initial Health & Safety Consultation

Ever want an OSHA inspection without the citations? WVMEP can provide a facility walkthrough inspection for the purpose of identifying opportunities for improving the health and safety conditions for employees. The initial health and safety consultation includes a review of current written safety programs, training records, and report of all hazards identified during the facility tour. Information gathered from employee interviews and general observations will be included in the final report.

2. Air Sampling Survey

Chemical sampling and analysis is used by occupational health and safety professionals to assess workplace contaminants and associated worker exposures. The validity of an assessment is based, in part, on the procedures used for sample collection and analysis, and data interpretation. In many instances these procedures use approaches that have been refined over many years and are accepted by the professionals as good practice. However, the multitude of variables within a specific workplace require the professional to exercise judgment in the design of a particular assessment. WVMEP can assist manufacturers by developing a sampling strategy to assess workplace contaminants and associated worker exposures in production areas. By conducting on-site monitoring utilizing air sampling pumps, short term indicator tubes, and direct reading instruments, WVMEP can recommend engineering, administrative, and personal protective device controls to reduce air contaminants.

3. Noise Monitoring Survey

Noise, or unwanted sound, is one of the most pervasive occupational health problems. Approximately 30 million people in the U.S. are occupationally exposed to hazardous noise. About 10 million people have noise-induced hearing loss, nearly all of which were caused by occupational exposures. Fortunately, the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss can be reduced, or often eliminated, through the successful application of engineering controls and hearing conservation programs. WVMEP can assist manufacturers by developing a sampling strategy to analyze current noise levels in production areas. By conducting on-site monitoring utilizing noise dosimeters, sound level meters, and octave band analyzers, WVMEP can recommend engineering, administrative, and personal protective device controls to reduce noise levels. Additionally, WVMEP can develop a comprehensive hearing conservation program for manufacturers who experience noise levels above the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations action limit.

4. Ergonomic Evaluation Study

WVMEP has implemented a hands-on approach to ergonomics designed to quickly and effectively address musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace. Both work-related and non-work related conditions can either individually, or by interacting with each other, give rise to MSDs. There are several approaches that may be used to determine whether conditions in the workplace might be contributing to employees developing MSDs. WVMEP can provide an analysis of jobs or work tasks that may be associated with MSDs. Conditions that are considered include, but are not limited to: awkward postures, forceful lifting, pushing or pulling, prolonged repetitive motion, contact stress, and vibration.

5. Health & Safety Training (on-site)

Hazard Communication
Lockout/Tagout
Industrial Powered Trucks (forklifts)
Confined Spaces
Personal Protective Equipment
Machine Guarding
An Overview of Industrial Hygiene
Bloodborne Pathogens
Incident Investigation
Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Response
Return-to-Work Program
Ergonomics
Means of Egress
Fire Protection
Recordkeeping (log 300)
and many more...

6. Custom Written Safety Programs

WVMEP can provide expertise on over 70 general industry and construction safety plan topics, including forklifts, confined spaces, and respiratory protection. Our expert consultants can even assist your company with written programs covering EPA's hazardous waste and risk management regulations, and DOT's oil spill response mandates.

7. OSHA Approved 10-Hour & 30-Hour General Industry Training Courses

Upon completion of the OSHA General Industry 10-Hour or 30-Hour Course, attendees will have a working knowledge of fundamental OSHA standards for general industry and OSHA policies and procedures. Participants that attend the required time and pass a final examination will receive a certificate of completion from the US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and a certificate suitable for framing from WVMEP, Inc. Attendees will also receive a three-ring binder of class material and a current copy of the OSHA Standards for General Industry 29 CFR 1910. This course is intended for Industrial Hygienist, Safety Managers, Safety Training Instructors, Supervisor, or anyone with a responsibility for OSHA compliance in an industrial setting.

8. Safety Committee Assistance

Need to conduct monthly safety meetings? WVMEP can assist West Virginia manufacturers with providing custom monthly safety talks covering specific topics pertaining to your company. Need more assistance? Let WVMEP conduct your monthly safety committee meetings.

9. Return to Work Program Development

Let WVMEP provide guidance designed to help you establish an effective Occupational Injury Management Program in your organization. An Occupational Injury Management Program is a system of procedures used by employers and medical professionals to help injured employees return to work quickly and healthy. The program is designed to ensure quality medical care, contain workers compensation costs and return injured employees to productive, gainful employment. Earn credits for your company by establishing a return-to-work program that meets Workers' Compensation standards. Credits are based on the classifications shown on the employer's policy. Depending on that classification, the employer can receive a premium tax credit, ranging from 1.6 % to 5.4 %.

10. Best Practice Review

What is a Best Practice?A Best Practice (BP) is a process, technique, or procedure that has been tested, perfected, and found to provide a competitive edge to the organization using it. Every part of an organization from Human Resources to manufacturing to maintenance can use Best Practices to improve their performance. In manufacturing and plant operations there are many recognized Best Practices that have been documented. It can be as simple as changing the flow of work on your lines or as complex as instituting a new system for production and inventory control.
What is a Best Practice Assessment?A Best Practice assessment is intended to provide a list of recommendations for improvement of your facility. MEP consultants will conduct a study of your facility in order to identify areas that could benefit from some type of improvement activity. The goal of the report is not to point out that what is being done is incorrect, but rather to point out a different, perhaps better way to accomplish the same end result. Many times this new technique can lead to improved productivity, less confusion, and ultimately a more productive and profitable operation. The study is a combination of interviews with key management personnel and walkthroughs of the operating areas. A report will be given to you with the results of the study.
Types of Assessments Available?The WVMEP can provide assessments tailored to the specific needs of your company. We will utilize every consultant on our staff if necessary to provide the needed information to you. Listed below are the standard areas that can be examined during an assessment. In many cases one consultant will study multiple areas. For example, if a Manufacturing or Process assessment is being conducted, we will review the production areas, material movement, maintenance techniques, inventory management, production control systems, etc. All of these topics have an impact on the results of the manufacturing process.

11. Faxed Back Request Health & Safety Hotline

The West Virginia MEP Questline Service provides NO-COST information and research services to West Virginia manufacturers. All West Virginia manufacturers can submit questions regarding safety and health. Whether your questions regard OSHA regulations, sample written programs or material safety data sheet requests, answers will be faxed back within 48 hours of asking.

12. Custom Health and Safety Products & Services

Don't see a specific section above dealing with your company's problem? Please contact WVMEP at 304-822-7883 for help. We are confident about handling almost all problems dealing with industry.

2nd Research in Work education under Mr. Cuares

Gender, Part-time Employment and Employee Participation in the Workplace: Comparing Australia and the European Union

Authors:
Markey, R.Hodgkinson, A.Kowalczyk, J.Pomfret, S. (
liame2('au','edu','uow','m7i7','ray_markey')
ray_markey@uow.edu.au) (University of Wollongong)


Abstract:

The international trend in the growth and incidence of 'no n-standard employment', and its highly gendered nature, is well documented. For ease of definition, and because of the nature of the available data, we focus upon part-time employment in this paper. Employee participation may be defined as any workplace process which 'allows employees to exert some influence over their work and the conditions under which they work' (Strauss 1998). It may be divided into two main approaches, direct participation and indirect or representative participation. Direct participation involves the employee in job or task-oriented decision-making in the production process at the shop or office floor level. Indirect or representative forms of participation include joint consultative committees, works councils, and employee members of boards of directors or management. In the EU context statutory works councils are the most common expression of representative participation, but in Australia, consultative committees resulting from union/employer agreement or unilateral management initiative are the more common form. All of these forms of employee participation raise important issues concerning part time employees. Effective participation has two further major requirements which also may disadvantage part timers. First, there is a ge neral consensus in the participation literature that training is required for effective direct or representative participation. Secondly, effective communication between management and employees is required for participation, preferably involving a two-way information flow. The issue is of further significance since it has decided gender implications. This paper seeks to redress this relative insularity in the literature by examining some broad trends in this area in Australia and the EU. It analyses survey data at a national level in Australia and compares with some survey data generated in the EU by the EPOC project and analysed by Juliet Webster along the lines which we suggest here. It tests the hypothesis that the growth of one non-standard form of employment, part-time employment, diminishes the access to participation in the workplace enjoyed by female workers in comparison with their male colleagues, and finds that the hypothesis is strongly confirmed. This has major implications for workplace equity, and for organisational efficiency.

research

In pursuit of professionalism

Several new measures being considered by the Career Practitioners Association of New Zealand (CPANZ) would significantly advance the professionalism of the career practice industry in New Zealand, says career academic, Dr Dale Furbish.
The new measures being considered include a requirement for CPANZ professional level members to hold a specific career-related qualification and the development of a competency framework for career practice.
"These proposed steps would represent a significant step for the career practice industry in New Zealand," says Dr Dale Furbish, programme leader of the Graduate Diploma course at Auckland University of Technology.
"When CPANZ was first set up as the professional association for career practitioners in 1997, it was early days for the profession. Career practice was just beginning to emerge as a primary occupational role and those engaged in it were beginning to identify as career practitioners.
"The decision was made at the time to take an inclusive approach to membership. The founding philosophy was to encourage career practitioners from diverse practice settings and with a broad range of qualifications to join the association. This flexible approach meant that a formal qualification, even in an unrelated field, and/or practical experience was sufficient to satisfy the membership criteria."
Some eight years later, the time is right to take the next step to gaining true professional status, says Dale. Inevitably that means moving to a more exclusive environment where only those with career-specific qualifications and the appropriate industry experience would be admitted for professional level membership to CPANZ.
"Right now it's still a pretty open market," says Dale. "People can set up with no CPANZ affiliation or industry-specific qualification. It's not a regulated enterprise."
Dale says that raising membership criteria and identifying clear practice standards and competencies are important steps in career practice operating as a true profession.
"The development of professionalism isn't something which is just declared by a profession. There has to be a broader recognition in society that those practising an occupation have the specialist knowledge that isn't available to anyone."
Career practice competencies are being proposed for three levels – developing, competent and expert. The developing level is the minimum requirement and would cover areas such as career theory, career information and resources, tools and techniques, helping skills and relationship management. These competencies could be addressed in a qualification or as part of the professional development programme.
Competent and expert levels of career practice competencies reflect expertise gained through experience in the field and further professional development. These advanced skills provide career practitioners with a deeper understanding of career practice and result in increased practice effectiveness.
The development of these competency standards are an important part of the maturing of the profession, says Dale.
"It takes us further down the track of assuring consumers and clients, including government, that as a profession we have these competencies and the requisite body of knowledge."
Dale Furbish says that an important challenge for the industry is to broaden understanding of what career practice means.
"As things stand, there is a blurring of what career practitioners offer. Career services are frequently seen as job placement. Clear distinctions among the roles of career practitioners, employment consultants and human resource workers do not exist.
"The defining of core competencies will help the profession forge a clearer identity – it will help consumers distinguish between those providing career information at one end of the spectrum and those who are involved in the therapeutic realm with career counselling at the other. Importantly it will encourage a more holistic approach to career decision-making."
The changing economy and labour market, combined with changing cultural expectations around work, all impact on the career practice industry, says Dale.
"Things have changed a lot in New Zealand society and in the labour market over the last 20 years. There is a growing recognition of the need for people to make better-informed career decisions, and greater expectations, too, that work should be satisfying. At the moment, however, the profession is not really set up to meet the needs of the general public.
"There are still a lot of people who do not understand the broader, holistic meaning of career – often it's a crisis decision about getting a new job. So there's a way to go in educating people about careers."
Career education needs to start at a young age, says Dale Furbish. He believes there is room for a greater focus on career education in the secondary education system.
"We need to encourage a more holistic view of career development and that requires a cohesive, national career education agenda for schools. At the moment it's a ‘bits and pieces' approach. There's been some progress in developing broad guidelines for career education in schools but it's largely left to individual schools to decide how to implement them. There's often not the resource there to implement a meaningful programme."
Disclaimer
The views in this publication are not necessarily those of Career Services or its board. They have been published in the interests of encouraging understanding and debate on career related issues.
Resource:
Internet: yahoo.com and google.com