Quality Management
Introduction
This is a research proposal that attempts to look at the incidences at Saudi Aramco fire department when compared to the reporting rate and desired to find out reasons for not reporting. The proposal was spread to 5% of the general population and a good section of the employees who have good experience with the company. None of the officials has reported the injuries or incidence this was since reporting was thought of as mandatory and that the procedure to be applied was very difficult.
Injuries caused by fire and other objects are serious risk issues in the employees at the fire department. The study looks at the fire fighters, fire instructors, engineers, protection advisors and marshals as they are the main persons in this department. The fire department staffs are accorded skills in handling injuries of various victims which was part of the first aid.
A number of studies have shown issues related to incidence at the fire department have been great as well as high non reporting rate of the incidences. When these studies are undertaken we are at a good position to acquire the reasons and the causative aspects. It is hence with these data available that we are able to acquire means of hindering future injuries.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this research proposal is founded on the safety at the fire station work that applies the safety standards. The company has witnessed a high rate of incidences that are related to failure to follow precise safety processes that are listed in the standards and have to be applied before undertaking any activity. An unsafe tendency may be a mistake or violation. The identification and eradication of the fundamental reasons of the mistakes and violations formed at the sharp point of the department is vital in hindering accidents from taking place. The most notable form of unsafe tendencies that bring about electrical accidents is shown below.
Figure 2: The most common immediate causes of fire incidences.
The research was applied as an integrate part of reactive incidence and proactive risk assessment: on a certain part the research was based on prior knowledge relating to the reasons of fire incidents. Moreover fire incidences related information is collection from the participants in the process of the research. On the other side, the research focuses on proactive incidences risk assessment and the notification of the immediate and underlying risks. Reported fire experts’ incidences are limited and there is proof of underreporting. The integration of the stated techniques brings about precise data relating to the incidences taking place and the risks the result. In fire-related work – allowed to be undertaken by experts only- the likelihood that the fire employee is in contact to fire brings about constant risk for a deadly fire incidence. This research looked into the assessment of the reasons of the major fire risks.
Figure 3:
The incidences are due to a number of causes. Reason (1997) splits these reasons into active failures and latent state. The active failures are the immediate reasons of the fire department incidents, normally not safe tendencies made by workers, that are easy to note in accident studies and hence basically known at the start of research. Endeavored to note in this research are the latent, fundamental conditions that are dormant or change with time. The fundamental reasons are basically due to choices made by the management, or authorities. The reasons are normally intangible and others may not be noted. The figure below shows the tangible and intangible incidences that arise from the varied levels in the department and its setting.
Safety management is currently being applied in high pressure of a setting that insists on quick outcome over a long period commitment, and has to deal with difficulties brought about by gradual changes and combination of difficult models. The problems with the top management and the varied levels in the department safety tendencies go on to play a vital part, impacting the behaviour of the staff in regions like accident reporting (Probst and Estrada 2010), safety behaviour and acquisition of safety values. According to Krause and Hidley (1989) the employee tendency is a function of the management model that functions in the organizational culture. Safe tendency needs knowledge, skills, motivation and probability to behave in a safe manner and risk taking is vital section in occupational incidents (Salminen 1994).
Proposed Methods
The research was applied in three stages: questionnaire, interviews and assessment of the work station. All of the stages looked into the identification of hazards and fundamental reasons of the fire incidents and injuries.
2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006
Figure
In reference to Macaskill and Driscoll (1998), the data on minor incidents are not consistently present from incident figures and ought to be acquired with surveys. Additionally, fire incidents or injuries report assessment rarely are above the immediate reasons for the accidents – which is the focus of the research. Since there were people with experience and study outcome of underreporting of the fire incidents, information acquired were at best collected using a questionnaire.
The interview on the other hand opts to bring to the open the probability to research more and in-depth matters (Hirsjarvi and Hurme 2001). This research interviews are applied so as to enhance the data acquired from the questionnaire and to study the fire accidents-connected matters handled to be very difficult to be asked in the questionnaire.
Base on the questionnaire and interview, the fire duties were selected for more assessment. The duties selected were risky. The application of the safety processes at the time of applying the duties was assessed.
The project was assessed on the focus of the risk perception: fire experts are the best foundation of information. Relating to fire hazards they incur. Moreover, the project advisory committee was applied in strategizing the three stages. The project teams symbolized the companies that look into the occupational and fire safety in the everyday work, as well as the relevant sections, accident insurance among others.
Questionnaire Survey
The questionnaire sort to acquire views on the safety issues faced. The research acquired a sample of the questionnaire from private documents as a systematic sample in January 2004, reaching 1400 names. The people were from varied sections of the fire department: fire protection, fire fighters, instructors, engineers, advisors, planning group and fire marshals. The contact group will have to offer their contact data for the questionnaire to be sent to them.
The first part was based on check list while the second part sought to get comments. The questions were 38 in number focusing on varied issues on reporting of fire incidence and injuries in the department. The survey involve was set for 20 minutes per participants.
Interview
The interview was carried out both for the top management and the staff in the fire department. Generally 20 interview groups were made which was distributed equally to all of the sections of the department. The questions were passed on a separate paper from the multi choice paper as well as an open ended question.
The interview was undertaken at winter and spring time 2004-2005. The interview was focused at getting an understanding of the safety issues brought about during the survey. The issues that were left out in the questionnaire were integrated in the interviews. The questions were composed of background questions and 15 open questions. The questions were based on safety, contracting and outsourcing, fire safety and education.
The background questions were based on size of the organization and background of the people involved like their role and experience. The open ended questions were applied and later multi-choice interview questions. The interview took about 2 hours and was based on conversation grounds.
Examination of workstation safety
The safety process was modeled through use of outcome of the questionnaire and interviews, the experience of the safety specialists. These questions had optional sections; what to do before starting to work, making the location safe, what to do after working among others. This was applied in 2005-2006 so as to focus on work tasks that are seen as risky.
The strategy was to first assess the duties and note the hazard and later look into the work of the experts. It was quite hard to for the department to acquire people that were willing to get involved as well as time taking.
Reflection
The study did not go into extensive research of the incidents. Though this would have taken up resources, the incidents may be acquired from a voluntary ground that may affect the outcome, and more so the instances with dreadful implications that would have brought about anonymity since they are scarce. There were discussions of fire accidents and injuries which were tried during the interviews though the interviewees showed some clear aspect of reluctance in bringing forth an instance of such happening form their work setting.
About all of the information that is acquired was qualitative in form. The quantification of this information brought about a precise form of uncertainty, more so when evaluating the statistical importance. This ought to be applied when interpreting the outcome. There also had to be some element of the outcome which displayed statistical contrast in the groups, certain groups were composed of a small sample.
Considering that objectivity is connected to scientific research, it is practically almost not acquired in whole: the estimation procedure is subjective when an individual chooses the aspects of estimation, and acquires, assess and interpret the information (Muckler and Seven 1992). In this proposal research objectivity was acquired through the help of agreement as well as skilled point of view, which are mostly applied backed by theory. In the research the individual in charge for assessing the information and interpreting the outcome was a safety expert and not a fire expert. This will impact the outcome, for example the intuitive categorization of the qualitative information. This is more so in the categorization of the outcome to the question regarding the risky undertaking if duties and installation of equipment which ought to be known that this is reliant on mode of work.
