A hazardous situation that I have experienced with the U.S. Army was the use of live ammunition during a training exercise. This is a high-risk activity due to the fact that there is a large volume of people using projectiles that have the ability to seriously injure or kill another person. System safety can be a viable asset in order to ensure that personnel can conduct the training with little to no incident.
It is important to understand the purpose of system safety. In essence, it involves the application of special technical and managerial skills to the systematic, forward-looking identification and control of hazards throughout the lifecycle of a project, program, or activity (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016). In this instance, it will be applied to a live fire activity that involves multiple personnel. The first step involves planning. This is essentially conducting a risk mitigation and hazards analysis in order to plan the necessary precautions to mitigating the risks involved with the situation. This also calls for the planning of emergencies that could potentially arise throughout the activity (Work Safe, n.d.). In this instance, the hazards that need to be planned for are the use of live ammunition while in a squad of individuals. Luckily, there is training doctrine that outlines proper techniques and awareness when conducting live fire exercises.
However, terrain, weather, rest, and obstacles need to be planned for due to the fact that it affects the safety of individuals who are participating in the training. At the same time, a medical evacuation plan needs to be put in place in case of an incident or accident. Next, the plan needs to be implemented, which involves developing the capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve the objectives outlined in the policy and plan (Work Safe, n.d.). In this instance, rehearsals and practice are necessary to get each individual aware of dangerous aspects such as tripping hazards, muzzle awareness, target identification, and communication. After this is complete, there needs to be an evaluation as to whether or not the policy is effective (Work Safe, n.d.). In this situation, it would be best if the supervisor witnessed the rehearsals to enforce policies and plan and ensure that they are working. Then there is the need for feedback on the plan and policies in place to see if they are effective. In the military, an after action review is conducted as a means to gather feedback and potentially offer additional insight that would aid in the safe operation of the live fire exercise. After the evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan and policies are at an acceptable level, then it is necessary to enact the plan and policy and execute the live fire exercise.
References:
Federal Aviation Administration (2016). What is system safety? Library contents online. Retrieved from
https://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/alc/libview_normal.aspx?id=6877 (Links to an external site.).
Work Safe (n.d.). The 5 steps of an OHSMS. Work Safe Victoria. Retrieved from
https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/safety-and-prevention/health-and-safety-topics/ohs-management-systems/the-5-steps-of-an-ohsms (Links to an external site.).
One of the most common, but often overlooked safety hazards associated with aviation is noise. I enforce these safety standards everyday by ensuring flightline personnel are adhering to hearing protection rules and regulations. Over time, extended exposure to high levels of noise from sources such as aircraft engines, APUs, generators, and support equipment can negatively impact a person's hearing. In the planning stage to combat this safety hazard you would want to assess the work environment to establish a baseline for the level of noise that workers are exposed to on a daily basis.
In the do stage you would implement a management system to ensure workers are adhering to hearing protection measures and being educated on the impact that long term exposure to high levels of noise can have over their career. In the check stage you will monitor and verify that protective measures are appropriate and evaluate employees hearing annually to assess if protective measures are adequate for your specific environment. In the feedback stage you seek input from workers that may have firsthand information on the effectiveness of the current protective measure and solicit improvement areas where needed. In the act stage you would adapt to any changes in needed to protect personnel from hearing loss or implement new technologies that improve working conditions in high noise areas. One example of this would be noise cancelling or filtering headsets that allow you to continue normal conversation with coworkers while simultaneously eliminating surrounding high decibel noise levels.
JPDO Paper. (2010). Environmental Management System Strategy and Framework for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Retrieved from.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/research/environmental_policy/media/JPDO_Paper_Environmental_Management_System_Strategy_and_Framework.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Safety Management System. (2016). What is a Safety Management System? Retrieved from.
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/sms/ (Links to an external site.)