MSc Safety, Health & Environment / Occupational Hygiene

MSc Safety, Health & Environment / Occupational Hygiene Session 2015/16 Term 1 Course Title Management of Physical Agents Level 7 Tutor Jeremy Carter Assignment 2 Aims The aim of this assignment is to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the practices associated with the management of physical agents in the work environment within the framework of relevant guidance and legislation. Learning Outcomes On completion of the project the student should: ? Have an in-depth understanding of the philosophy and principles of managing physical agents. ? Have an appreciation of the issues associated with physical agents within an organisation, how these are measure and managed. ? Demonstrate an ability to select relevant data and information from appropriate scientific sources and to provide an in-depth and critical evaluation of the information therein, whilst showing an understanding of the relevant practical implications. ? Be able to use relevant sources of information, with critical insight, to evaluate the costs and benefits of managing physical agents. ? Be able to formulate innovative proposals with appropriate and detailed justification. ? Be able to reflect on the significance and inter-relationship of the knowledge gained in this course and within the broader context of health and safety ? Further develop skills of critical evaluation. 2 Brief You are the new health and safety manager within a large food-processing factory. The main work area is open plan and includes the conveyor system (see above). The conveyor system is quite old and those working on the conveyor are currently exposed to 92dB(A) throughout the day. An air knife machine is used to cut some types of bread to reduce debris and speed up the production process. This machine is located on the main factory floor. As such employees working on this machine are exposed to levels of 95dB(A) and those nearby to levels of over 85dB(A) Welfare facilities have been provided however to reach the facilities employees are required to walk through a room which contains a large compressor. Noise levels in this area have been recorded at 102dB(A). Several employees have been identified as suffering noise induced hearing loss after a routine medical examination. The company at present does not routinely provide audiometry. Currently the use of ear protection is mandatory on the whole of the factory floor, although some workers do not wear them at all as they complain they are uncomfortable. Write a 3000 word management report that critically discusses the noise issues arising and clearly justifies any practical recommendations you may make as a result. You are free to make any reasonable assumptions that you deem necessary and these can be cited in an appendix to the report. Your report should include details of any measurements and calculations you would plan to carry out. Reference to appropriate legislation, standards, guidance and where appropriate, published research will also be required. Legislation and standards can relate to your own country or a country of your choice. 3 General Instruction You should research a range of reference materials including recent published research relating to the physical agent you are discussing. Journal articles on research can be found through the portal in the e-library using science direct, for guidance on accessing journals and eBooks online please refer to the accessing electronic resources guide on Moodle. The work is to be word-processed and appropriately referenced using the Harvard system of referencing. It should be presented in the form of an essay and the length must be with 10% of the 3000 word limit, excluding appendices, bibliography, etc. A word count must be included. All assignments must be submitted electronically using the Turnitin plagiarism service through Moodle (even where a hard copy is required by your local centre). In the correct Moodle course, click on the Assignment folder; Assignment Submission; identify and click the correct assignment link and then follow the instructions. There are a number of centres offering this programme so you must ensure you submit in the correct folder or your assignment may not be marked. You may also be required to submit a hard copy to your local centre. Your local centre will tell you whether or not a hard copy is required to be submitted. Assignments will not be marked unless they are submitted electronically. Assessment This coursework accounts for 60% of the course marks. The pass mark is 50%. The final grade for the course is an aggregate of the grades achieved for assignment 1 and 2. It is not necessary therefore to pass both assignments to pass the course overall. It will be assessed on the basis of: Content 45% Critical evaluation 25% Structure and presentation 15% Referencing 15% Feedback Written feedback is provided on Moodle along with your grade breakdown. Please ensure you pay close attention to your feedback and email your course tutor should you require any further clarification on the points raised. Submission This assignment will normally be submitted 12 weeks after the study school but check online in Moodle or with your Centre for exact dates. Work submitted late will not be marked unless a formal extension of time has been granted. Please contact your course tutor if you cannot make the submission date. 4 Plagiarism and Copying It is not acceptable to copy other student’s coursework or material directly from your sources of information. This is plagiarism. If you copy material it will be highlighted by the Turnitin system that is used for on-line submissions. The copied content will not be marked and you may be referred to the Plagiarism Panel and will be awarded a zero mark. Your final mark transcript will also show that you have been penalised for submitting plagiarised material. We will ignore small matches associated with common phrases and terms and will ignore matches highlighted in your reference list when considering whether or not your work is plagiarised. As a general rule you should aim to get your similarity index into the “green” zone on Turnitin. If you are in the “amber” zone you will need to look very carefully at your work to see what you can put into your own words to reduce your score. High amber scores may be referred to the plagiarism panel and will certainly mean that a significant part of your work will not be considered in the marking. If you are in the “red” zone you will be referred to the plagiarism panel. We strongly advise you to submit a final draft through Turnitin well before the cut-off date to check your similarity index. Please remember that you are only allowed to submit one draft version of your coursework every day so leave yourself plenty of time to revise and resubmit your final version of the coursework.