Components OF A LOSS Control Programme PDF

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Information on the components of a LOSS control Programme, completed by Gerry ...

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COMPONENTS OF A LOSS CONTROL PROGRAMME The Components of Loss Control Programme may be considered in terms of protecting one or more of the Organisation’s assets from accidental loss, and will generally include; Injury prevention (safety), damage control, fire prevention, security, industrial health and hygiene, pollution, product liability and business interruption.

Injury Prevention Injury Prevention is concerned directly with the protection of the manpower asset within an Organisation. To a lesser extent, it is indirectly concerned with protection of the money asset, as a reduction in the number of injuries should result in a reduction in both the insured and the uninsured accident costs. In certain injury prevention programmes the protection of the manpower asset is extended outside the factory, via the inclusion of off-the-job safety, road safety and home safety. The following specific areas need to be examined in an Injury Prevention Programme: Safety policies Safety training Safety audits Identification of hazards Accident reporting and investigation Safe systems of work Machine and area guarding Housekeeping Personal protective equipment Legislative compliance.

Damage Control Damage Control is directly concerned with the protection of assets comprising machinery, materials and manufactured goods from accidental loss before they reach the customer. Indirectly, this leads to the protection of the money asset through the elimination of the repetitive damage and associated repair / replacement costs. Also, there may be some indirect protection of the manpower asset if damage causes and injury causes are similar. Essentially, damage control is an extension of the injury reporting and prevention programme to encompass also those accidents, which result in damage only to plant, property, equipment and materials. Incident Recall can be utilised in a damage control programme by interviewing (confidentially) a number of employees in order to determine the ‘true’ cause(s) of the accident/ incident. 1

GERARD M. GAFFNEY OCTOBER 2015

Fire Prevention Fire Prevention may be considered to be a special aspect of damage control in that it protects the manpower, machinery and material assets. From a practical viewpoint. consideration should be given to: Aspects of fire prevention techniques Methods of fire control Fire fighting and extinguishments Fire protection including fixed equipment, e.g., sprinklers Storage of flammable liquids Fire safety of employees Means of escape Evacuation drills and procedures Explosion potential Handling, storage and use of explosives Electrical installations Emergency / disaster planning

Security Security protects the materials, methods, manufactured goods and money assets. Its inclusion in the Loss Control Programme is primarily based on economic considerations, as any breaches of security that result in losses to the Organisation’s assets may not be considered to be accidental in nature. However, certain safety hazards arise because of lack of security, for example the high risk incurred when employees are sent to collect wages, or the factory or site is not secure and children wander in. Hence directly, a system of security can improve the overall safety of the Organisation as well as directly protecting the assets mentioned here. However, security in the form of locked doors, can sometimes conflict with the protection of the manpower asset, especially if the locked doors are the emergency fire exits. The Loss Control Programme should examine areas such as:

Physical security of premises Cash collection, handling and distribution Theft and pilfering Vandalism Storage of valuable and attractive items Sabotage Industrial espionage Control of confidential data Computer fraud / security

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GERARD M. GAFFNEY OCTOBER 2015

Occupational Health and Hygiene Occupational Health and Hygiene is concerned with the protection of the manpower asset from the adverse affect of occupational diseases - long term accidents and other adverse conditions associated with industrial environments. Indirectly this also protects the money asset, as an improvement in health and hygiene within an Organisation should lead to a reduction in the incidence of occupational diseases with an associated reduction in relevant costs. Specific areas for consideration include: Noise Dusts Gases Vapours Corrosives Toxic materials Ventilation Heating Lighting Humidity Environmental monitoring Biological monitoring Health checks General and personal hygiene Health education Counselling Employment / pre-employment medicals

Pollution Control / Environmental Protection Pollution Control / Environmental Protection in all its aspects is concerned not only with the environment within the factory, but also the environment outside and around the factory. Control of air, ground and water pollution protects the manpower asset directly and the money asset indirectly. Adverse publicity resulting from an Organisation casing some form of pollution would initially harm the Organisation’s image and perhaps also economically. Persistent breaches of Statutory Legislation would ultimately lead to prosecution, fines and further adverse publicity. Product Liability Product Liability extends the protection to all Consumers of the Organisations products and / or services and is therefore primarily concerned with protection of the money asset. This asset may suffer accidental losses directly because of increased insurance premiums that reflect large compensation payments, or indirectly because of adverse publicity detrimental to the Organisation’s image. (HASAW Section 6 / CPA 1987) 3

GERARD M. GAFFNEY OCTOBER 2015

Business Interruption or Continuity

Business Interruption or Continuity further extends the Loss Control Strategy to take account of the simple fact that time is money! and, as such any loss of production or service is detrimental to the overall profitability of the Organisation. Hence Business Interruption is primarily concerned with the protection of the money asset. Indirectly however, it serves to maintain the assets of machinery, materials, manufactured goods and methods.

A programme to prevent Business Interruption can include: Planned preventative maintenance Condition based monitoring Statutory inspections Machinery replacement programmes Availability of key spares Identification of key machines, processes, areas and personnel Continues supply of raw materials Minimisation of production bottlenecks Highlighting dependencies on specific items of plant, suppliers, customers, personnel, IT systems and / or public utilities (gas / electricity).

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GERARD M. GAFFNEY OCTOBER 2015...