Running Head: INFORMATIONAL REPORT

INFORMATIONAL REPORT

NAME OF STUDENT

INSTITUTION

TUTOR

DATE
INFORMATIONAL REPORT 2

INCIDENT REPORT ON ELECTRIC SHOCK ACCIDENT AT BLUE BEACH HOTEL

Incidence Narration
On 25th March, 2020 at the Blue Beach Hotel, John Scheg, a plumber from the Engineering
Department, got an electric shock while doing fault-finding on a metallic water pipe that runs
between two buildings of the hotel, known as BB Right Wing and BB Left Wing, or only Right
Wing and Left Wing. John had been assigned the duty alongside two technicians Joab Cobbs and
Kerry Celley, by their boss, Eng. Paul Ruff. According to Cobbs and Celley, John was about to
open up the pipe in the trench at a joint when he got shocked and fell. He went unconscious and
was rushed to the hospital in a private ambulance, where he was confirmed to have suffered a
severe electric shock. Upon medication, he gained consciousness after two days. The doctor
confirmed he was out danger and was safe from heart problems he had feared John might
develop. John was discharged after a week to continue with medication at home. He applied for
the ordinary leave of 21days since the company only allows a sick leave of 10 days, yet the
doctor recommended he rests for a month.
Cause
The accident was established to have resulted from a fault in an electrical wiring system that
made the water pipe "live." According to the hotel's electrical technician, Joseph Porker,
seemingly the earthing system, had been interfered with. The hotel’s engineer, Paul Ruff, agreed
with Porker because Right Wing had just been renovated, and even its activities were yet to
resume. He believed the renovation work had interfered with the earth conductor.
Raised Issues or concerns
John’s accident drew several reactions from both staff and managers about workplace safety.
Two cleaners confirmed that they had experienced separate cases of electric shock in water taps
in Right Wing. Eng. Ruff raised concern about why the top management recommended such a
major renovation work without alerting them for safety reasons. Similarly, the human resource
(HR) manager, Peter Scott, wondered why the technicians were working without boots, gloves
and helmet. Ruff and the technicians responded that they had requested for new work clothing in
vain. The workers' union Secretary-General demanded compensation for John, a full month leave
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with pay and settlement of any hospital bill that John's insurance coverage could not meet. She
also asked why such a big company lacked workplace health and safety policy. Finally, she
wondered what could have happened if such an accident occurred at night, yet the hotel lacks an
ambulance.
Recommendation
Concerning the accident and the issues raised, this report recommends a project that will include;
a fault-diagnosis in the hotel’s electrical wiring system to establish the cause of the electric
shock; a study of the hotel’s work environment to establish the extent of adherence to health and
safety measures; a study of the hotel’s disaster/emergency preparedness; and a study of
management roles in handling health, safety and emergency issues.

PROGRESS REPORT ON ELECTRIC SHOCK ACCIDENT AT BLUE BEACH HOTEL

Purpose
Accidents from electrical faults can fatal and also destructive to organizational property
facilities and machines. This report investigates the cause of the near-fatal electric shock at the
Blue Beach Hotel and the general health and safety conditions in the organization.
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Report Summary
A near-fatal accident occurred at Blue Beach Hotel that almost claimed the life of the hotel’s
plumber, John Scheg. The accident was a severe electric shock believed to have been caused by
electrical earth fault. The incident exposed a lack of adherence to safety measures by wearing
protective attire. Additionally, it revealed an element of poor communication and coordination
and a large gap between management and the staff. For instance, top management authorized a
significant renovation activity without involving other concerned parties.
Similarly, the cleaners failed to report electric shock they had experienced in taps to the
concerned department, apparently due to managers' unapproachability, negligence, or lack of
interdepartmental coordination. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the problem by; fault-
diagnosing the wiring system and studying the organization’s adherence to health and safety
measures, level of disaster/emergency preparedness, and management roles in managing health,
safety and emergency issues. The project is expected to take a maximum of 2 months.
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Introduction
The safety status at Blue Beach Hotel requires a study investigating the electrical fault that
causes shock in the water system. Furthermore, the accident raised the attention of both staff and
managers about the safety and emergency preparedness in the organization, and this calls for an
investigation. The project will entail diagnosing the hotel’s wiring system to confirm the earth
fault and studying the organization’s work environment to establish the level of observation of
safety and health measures, the extent of disaster/emergency preparedness; and management’s
support for health, safety and emergency/ disaster management. Further research will be
conducted on electric shock in water pipes, workplace safety and health, disaster/ emergency
management and management role in health and safety management, and relevant OSHA
standards
Project tasks
The project will involve the following tasks:
Fault diagnosis of the wiring system

A fault in electrical installation requires an urgent response. This is because electrical accidents
contribute a large portion of fatal accidents (Kalte, 2014). This task will be headed by Ruff (an
electrical engineer) assisted by Porker and another electrical technician, Steve Sawer. A casual
worker will also help with any digging work.

First, the water pipe and all the taps in both Right Wing and Left Wing will be tested to identify
the risk's spread. This will take one day. Subsequently, the building's earth conductor will be dug
out to expose it for scrutiny. The earth conductor will then be tested using the appropriate method
to establish its effectiveness. This will take another day. Typically, electric current enters an
electrical installation to supply the load and then returns to the nearby substation transformer
through the neutral conductor ("Health and well-being at work," 2020). However, in case of a
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fault, metal water pipes provide the return path in place of the neutral conductor, which can cause
severe or even fatal shock to a plumber working on the pipe under these conditions ("Health and
well-being at work," 2020). According to the OSHA manual, electric shock can be avoided in
such a situation if a power tool safe for a wet environment and with a ground fault circuit
interrupter (GFCI) is used (Safety, 2020).

After investigating the earth's fault, the team will inspect the whole wiring system and make
necessary repairs.

The whole task will take six days maximum.

Investigation of the extent of adherence to health and safety measures

This task will be under the responsibility of the hotel's human resource (HR) manager. The actual
study will be done by an outsourced public health officer (PHO) assisted by two employees from
the human resource department.

The HR will first inform all staff and managers about the planned studies and request them be
free, cooperative and honest with the researchers. The PHO will then administer the
questionnaire. Upon respondent’s request, the PHO will conduct a face-to-face interview. The
three will then analyze the responses and prepare an elaborate report for the HR manager, who
will forward it to the Managing Director. Issues to address will include; the existence of health
and safety committee, previous handling of health and safety incidences, management’s support
for health and safety initiatives, the scope of existing staff's life/accident insurance policy cover,
workplace health and safety training, staff commitment to health and safety, and availability of
safety signs and tags. Examples of safety signs and tags are danger signs, caution signs, safety
instruction signs, and accident prevention tags (Rajak, 2019).

This task will take a maximum of 14 working days.

Investigation of disaster/emergency preparedness

This task will also be under the responsibility of the HR manager but will be conducted by a
specialist outsourced from Red Cross, assisted by the two human resource staff. The study will
take five days.

The study will involve a physical inspection of the buildings and facilities and a few face-to-face
interviews. It will investigate the level of awareness of and preparedness for frequent disasters.
These include fire outbreaks, explosions, terrorism, floods, earthquake, epidemic, among others
(AlBattat & Mat Som, 2014). The study will also cover the suitability of the premises and
facilities for an escape from and fighting of the disaster/emergency in case of occurrence,
handling of previous disaster/emergency incidences, staff training on disaster/emergency
management, and management support for disaster handling.
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This study will take four days.

Investigation of management’s roles in health, safety and emergency handling

This task will be conducted by the HR manager, assisted by two HR staff. The study will take a
maximum of two days.

It will involve investigation of management’s handling of past health, safety, disasters/

emergency incidences, access and availability of ambulance in case of emergencies, response
time to earlier cases of emergencies, budget allocation to health and safety, as well as
disaster/emergency management initiatives, etc. According to OSHA, “Management provides the
leadership, vision, and resources needed to implement an effective safety and health program”
and proper management leadership requires managers to be committed to eradicating hazards,
improving workplace safety and health and protecting workers ("Management Leadership |
Occupational Safety and Health Administration," 2020).

Conclusion
This project sought to discover the cause of the electrical shock problem in part of the water
system of the Blue Beach Hotel by investigating the possibility of earth faults. It extended to
investigate the need for repair work in the rest of the wiring system, the extent of observation of
health and safety measures, level of disaster/emergency preparedness, roles of management in
health and safety handling, and disaster/emergency management in the hotel. The findings were:
 The earth conductor had been indeed tampered with and was faulty. However, the rest of
the wiring system was okay except that some accessories required replacement.
 Adherence to workplace health and safety measures was very poor.

 There has never occurred any disaster, but minor cases of medical emergencies and
handling were average.

 The hotel meets physical health, safety and disaster/emergency management

requirements. However, the human factor is missing in this regard because there is a
general reluctance of managers. For instance, no training has been done recently, no
recent servicing of firefighting equipment, and no any initiative related to these issues
The response to the findings will require the full commitment and cooperation of both staff and
management.
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References

AlBattat, A., & Mat Som, A. (2014). Disaster Preparedness of Hotel Industry Abroad:

A Comparative Analysis. SHS Web Of Conferences, 12, 01012.

https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20141201012

Health and well-being at work. WorkSafe Queensland. (2020).

Retrieved from https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/injury-prevention-safety/health-and-

wellbeing-at-work.

Management Leadership | Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Osha.gov. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/shpguidelines/management-

leadership.html.

Rajak, H. (2019). Safety Standards in Hotels - hmhub. hmhub. Retrieved 2nd July 2020,
INFORMATIONAL REPORT 9

from https://hmhub.me/safety-standards-in-hotels/.

Safety, 1. (2020). Plumbing Safety | OSHA Safety Manuals. OSHA Safety Manuals.

Retrieved 2nd July 2020, from https://www.safetymanualosha.com/plumbing-safety/.

Directive
Summary
Workplace safety is an essential consideration for every organization, and Blue Beach Hotel is
alive to this fact. The hotel’s management learnt through its technician's electric shock that there
was a fault in the wiring system. An investigation was then conducted that included studying the
earth conductor of the wiring system to locate the fault. The investigation confirmed that the
earth conductor was faulty. An inspection of the rest of the wiring confirmed it was proper and
only required replacement of old accessories. A separate investigation found out that the
organization was inferior about health and safety management and that the management role in
health /safety and disaster/emergency management was minimal.
In response to the project findings, the following are to be undertaken:
Fault Correction
The earth conductor and all the worn-out accessories in the hotel's wiring system should be
replaced.
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Committee Establishment
A Health, Safety and Emergency Management Committee should be established with a senior
manager as a member to represent top management.
New Policy
The top management, with the help of the above committee, will develop and enforce Health,
Safety and Emergency Management policy. The policy will cover Health and Safety measures
and standards for all departments adopted from OSHA manuals; roles of management and
individual employees; roles of workers' union, emergency response; First Aid service for every
department; ways of communication in case of accidents and emergencies; necessary
knowledge, skills and thus training required; insurance policy covers; compensations and health-
related leaves; facilities for emergency handling such as ambulance; and procedure for
responding to various kinds of emergencies, disasters and vulnerabilities.

Procedure for prevention of electric shock while working on water pipes

Before repairing or servicing metallic water pipes or installing water meters, plumbers should
adhere to the following procedure to prevent or minimize the risk of electric shock:

 Assess the electrical risk situation while planning for the plumbing work.
 Use an electrical phase tester to test whether the metallic pipes are "Live."

 Switch off the main electrical switch or switches at the building where plumbing work is
to happen and attach "DO NOT SWITCH ON' tag. If possible, remove the cut-out and
keep away.

 Avoid skin contact with metallic water pipes by putting on gloves, and overall helmet and
gumboots.

 Use an insulated bridging conductor appropriately by ensuring proper clamping to secure

yourself.

 If a non-metallic pipe replaces the metallic water pipe, involve an electrical technician
from the Engineering Department to check the electrical installation and modify where
necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the electrical earthing system.
 Report electric shock or any abnormality such as electric sparks to the Engineering
Department.

Contact Information

For further information call +1 (614) 236-2645 or +1(614) 432-7777

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