Organisational analysis and behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisational analysis and behaviour - Essay Example (Jack, n.d) WATER FALL INCIDENT Every day there are number of workers injured and killed on the job but yet only some of these occurrences are attracted towards the public domain. One of the classic case studies of an OHS disaster is the waterfall incident that took place in 2003; it was one of the most tragic accidents in Australian railway history. There was a fatal derailment at waterfall which resulted in loss of many innocent lives. The ministry of transport had initiated an investigation to determine the circumstance relating to the accident and recommend some preventive and corrective action. The investigations were examined and checked in the following areas such as Infrastructure, Human factors, Rolling stock, Post accident tools and response. (Kent and Graham, 2004) The initial investigation established that there was a high possibility the driver was injured after departing from the waterfall station. The train was unattended and as a result overturned at a high speed and collided with the stanchions. Both the controls dead man system and the guard failed to work in favor in controlling the collision. The team investigated and found out that the train’s inadequate safety measures had resulted in the collision. The safety management system had identified that the railway authorities had developed ineffective rail safety regimes and management deficiencies. (Kent and Graham, 2004) The incident was also published in Sydney Morning Herald outlining ineffective safety measures. The Railway authorities also mentioned that number of improvements such as stringent medical testing, installation of back up emergency braking system would be activated. (Sydney Morning Herald, 2004) Analysis of the issue: The safety management system had identified many loopholes in the safety measures. The investigation revealed that the medical standards and medical emergency units not updated. It was also noted that the railway systems had an under developed, ineffectiv e safety mechanisms that had caused catastrophic damage and death of people. No vigilance control mechanism, hardware devices or proper guard in place to detect the speed of the train. There was also no proper training and instructions provided to these guards. State rail had important elements missing to ensure running of a safe railway which includes safety engineering, change of management and in design and development of robust controls. The railway authorities also had a very poorly constructed review mechanism on audit, investigation and follow up. There were inadequate competent resources that could develop an efficient safety instruments and methods. The dead man system did not detect the collapse of the driver and had major deficiencies in the fundamental design. Investigations also revealed that the state railway authorities were ineffective and not fully co-operative. The management was also poorly defined and there was no budget that was allocated to improving the train safety. (Kent and Graham, 2004) The case study on the waterfall accident had outlined the importance of safety measures. The inquiries and the investigations concluded that the state rail had deficient safety mechanisms in place. The investigation also highlighted the importance of having good intergrated safety systems, documentation process, proactive and preventive approach to risk and accidents and the need for expertise