In Unit III, you sent a document in which you informed management at Gemstone Fabricators, Inc. that it would need to enhance its accountability specifications in its performance evaluations for managers
In Unit III, you sent a document in which you informed management at
Gemstone Fabricators, Inc. that it would need to enhance its
accountability specifications in its performance evaluations for
managers. You also pointed out the need to make sure that employees who
have been asked to be involved in the safety endeavors at Gemstone
understand and are trained in the roles they are expected to play. Cindy
is the plant manager from Gemstone, and she has asked you to perform a
sound level survey and noise dosimetry in the fabrication shop, which
can get pretty noisy when all three mechanical power presses and the
12-foot shear are running at the same time for several hours a day. She
also asked that you identify noise level exposures in the adjacent
welding department. Your results indicate that the noise levels in the
area are just above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) permissible exposure level for an average day in the fabrication
department.The welding department is adjacent to the fabrication
department, and there is no separating wall. The welding operations are
not quite as noisy, although the crackle of a well-adjusted MIG welder
can be rather loud when welding mild steel. Noise monitoring and
dosimetry of the welders indicated an exposure of just over OSHA's
Action Level of 85 Dba. In addition, you remember taking the survey
readings and watching the noise level jump in the welding shop every
time the power presses or shear cycled in the fabrication area.After
consulting with fellow industrial hygienists, it was determined that
setting up a 12' X 30' noise barrier wall between the fabrication area
and the welding area and adding noise absorption panels to both sides of
the barrier wall and to the white-painted concrete walls in the
fabrication department would decrease the sound levels in the welding
area to several decibels below OSHA’s Action Level.Of course, these
engineering controls will cost $33,000 dollars. This is compared to a
continuing hearing conservation program to include annual audiograms, or
hearing tests, annual training, and providing noise protection for the
welding department which is estimated to cost $9,000 per year. This
amount would be saved each year if the engineering controls are
installed.If the company takes out a loan for $33,000 at 5% interest,
what will the payback period be for the loan? Please consult your unit
lesson for the necessary formulas. What would be your recommendation to
the employer with respect to the options available? Please show your
work. Make sure you justify your reasoning and that you consider the
hierarchy of controls in your discussion.Your response must be at least
200 words in length in addition to your financial analysis.
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