Case Study Scenario: Vantage Distributors Ltd. Vantage Distributors Ltd. commenced operations six months ago in the Fraser Valley. Founded by two accountants who formerly worked for a national chain, Vantage is a wholesale distributor of building products to small and medium-sized independent retail building supply outlets. They sell everything from hardware to paint, insulation, lumber, and cabinet-grade hardwood plywood. Business hours are Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Vantage employs a total of 15 workers, and operates out of an old 21,000 sq. ft. building that they lease. The building is equipped with an office area, 19,500 sq. ft. of warehouse space, a 1,500 sq. ft. warehouse mezzanine, and two loading bays (see photo) equipped with manually-operated overhead doors. Depending on the type of delivery vehicle used, dock plates may be required in order to load the truck. There is a covered area in the outdoor yard for lumber storage. Due to zoning restrictions and changes to the property over the past 30 years, there is limited space available for use in and around the front of the building. Most items in the warehouse are stored on wooden pallets placed on rows of conventional heavy-duty pallet racking. The racking is bolted to the floor and extends to 16' above floor level. Lifts of premium hardwood plywood are stacked on top of one another in one area in the warehouse, with smaller hardware and other items stored in free-standing metal shelving units located underneath the mezzanine. The mezzanine is 12' above floor level, and used primarily for storing hardware overstock items, the bulky batt insulation, and power tools. The mezzanine is accessible by foot via a fixed staircase, and by order picker or lift truck using the sliding gate that is installed on the long side of the Un ally the sliding gate that is installed on the long side of the mezzanine deck. The mezzanine is also equipped with guardrails around the entire perimeter. Orders are printed on a printer in the warehouse area underneath the mezzanine, where workers from both the warehouse and yard areas collect them. Rush orders and change orders are often brought out to the warehouse or yard area in person by one of the sales staff in the office, who brings the order directly to a worker for picking. Workers assigned to the warehouse pick orders by use of either electric powered sit-down counterbalanced lift trucks, electric powered order-pickers, or rolling carts, depending on the nature of the products ordered and their storage location (accessible from floor level, or stored on the upper tiers of the pallet racking). Products stored above the first level of pallet racking are accessed by using the electric order pickers. The orders are moved to the loading bay doors either by pallet jack or forklift for loading into a company cube van or flat deck truck. The operators of the order pickers and lift trucks are required to plug them into the charging stations at the end of each shift. small orders by hand, or utilize one of two propane- Workers in the yard area pick small orders by hand, or utilize one of two propane- powered lift trucks to load lifts of lumber or plywood onto a flat deck truck for delivery to the customer. Workers assigned to the yard area change the empty forklift propane cylinders as required by swapping the empty cylinder for a full one that is stored in a locked steel case at the far end of the covered lumber storage yard. There is also an old industrial-duty 14" Delta radial-arm saw station at one end of the yard, which is used regularly by the workers in the yard to cut dimension lumber to length. A recent near-miss incident in the yard area where a worker was nearly knocked over by a flat-deck truck prompted the owners to take action. Lacking the necessary expertise, they have decided to hire a health & safety consultant to evaluate their operation and develop a safety management program for them to ensure that Vantage Distributors Ltd. is a safe place to work. Seeking legal advice following the incident, the owners were advised to ensure that the consultant addresses any applicable safety regulations, and that their plan gives priority to the safety issues that can result in serious injury or death of a worker before addressing other safety issues. Based upon a recommendation from a customer, the owners have hired your safety consulting company (consisting of your group) to undertake this work. Your contract also requires that you assist in the implementation of the program for a period of three months following its completion. Since the focus of the two owners has been on securing contracts and growing their business, little attention has been paid to safety, and therefore no framework of any sort for managing safety is in place at this time. You are not obligated to address every applicable regulatory requirement or risk present in this workplace. Rather, your task is to first give priority to the management and that therefore no framework of any sort for managing safety is in place at this time. You are not obligated to address every applicable regulatory requirement or risk present in this workplace. Rather, your task is to first give priority to the management of the equipment, work processes and practices that expose workers to a risk of serious injury or death. Once you have set out your plan for managing these risks, you can then turn your attention to the management of the other risks that are present in this workplace. 4 Directions 1. In the introduction briefly describe what you are planning to do. 2. Identify the tasks/work activities (no less than 20) and potential hazards within those tasks/work activities. Case Study Scenario: Vantage Distributors Ltd. Vantage Distributors Ltd. commenced operations six months ago in the Fraser Valley. Founded by two accountants who formerly worked for a national chain, Vantage is a wholesale distributor of building products to small and medium-sized independent retail building supply outlets. They sell everything from hardware to paint, insulation, lumber, and cabinet-grade hardwood plywood. Business hours are Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Vantage employs a total of 15 workers, and operates out of an old 21,000 sq. ft. building that they lease. The building is equipped with an office area, 19,500 sq. ft. of warehouse space, a 1,500 sq. ft. warehouse mezzanine, and two loading bays (see photo) equipped with manually-operated overhead doors. Depending on the type of delivery vehicle used, dock plates may be required in order to load the truck. There is a covered area in the outdoor yard for lumber storage. Due to zoning restrictions and changes to the property over the past 30 years, there is limited space available for use in and around the front of the building. Most items in the warehouse are stored on wooden pallets placed on rows of conventional heavy-duty pallet racking. The racking is bolted to the floor and extends to 16' above floor level. Lifts of premium hardwood plywood are stacked on top of one another in one area in the warehouse, with smaller hardware and other items stored in free-standing metal shelving units located underneath the mezzanine. The mezzanine is 12' above floor level, and used primarily for storing hardware overstock items, the bulky batt insulation, and power tools. The mezzanine is accessible by foot via a fixed staircase, and by order picker or lift truck using the sliding gate that is installed on the long side of the Un ally the sliding gate that is installed on the long side of the mezzanine deck. The mezzanine is also equipped with guardrails around the entire perimeter. Orders are printed on a printer in the warehouse area underneath the mezzanine, where workers from both the warehouse and yard areas collect them. Rush orders and change orders are often brought out to the warehouse or yard area in person by one of the sales staff in the office, who brings the order directly to a worker for picking. Workers assigned to the warehouse pick orders by use of either electric powered sit-down counterbalanced lift trucks, electric powered order-pickers, or rolling carts, depending on the nature of the products ordered and their storage location (accessible from floor level, or stored on the upper tiers of the pallet racking). Products stored above the first level of pallet racking are accessed by using the electric order pickers. The orders are moved to the loading bay doors either by pallet jack or forklift for loading into a company cube van or flat deck truck. The operators of the order pickers and lift trucks are required to plug them into the charging stations at the end of each shift. small orders by hand, or utilize one of two propane- Workers in the yard area pick small orders by hand, or utilize one of two propane- powered lift trucks to load lifts of lumber or plywood onto a flat deck truck for delivery to the customer. Workers assigned to the yard area change the empty forklift propane cylinders as required by swapping the empty cylinder for a full one that is stored in a locked steel case at the far end of the covered lumber storage yard. There is also an old industrial-duty 14" Delta radial-arm saw station at one end of the yard, which is used regularly by the workers in the yard to cut dimension lumber to length. A recent near-miss incident in the yard area where a worker was nearly knocked over by a flat-deck truck prompted the owners to take action. Lacking the necessary expertise, they have decided to hire a health & safety consultant to evaluate their operation and develop a safety management program for them to ensure that Vantage Distributors Ltd. is a safe place to work. Seeking legal advice following the incident, the owners were advised to ensure that the consultant addresses any applicable safety regulations, and that their plan gives priority to the safety issues that can result in serious injury or death of a worker before addressing other safety issues. Based upon a recommendation from a customer, the owners have hired your safety consulting company (consisting of your group) to undertake this work. Your contract also requires that you assist in the implementation of the program for a period of three months following its completion. Since the focus of the two owners has been on securing contracts and growing their business, little attention has been paid to safety, and therefore no framework of any sort for managing safety is in place at this time. You are not obligated to address every applicable regulatory requirement or risk present in this workplace. Rather, your task is to first give priority to the management and that therefore no framework of any sort for managing safety is in place at this time. You are not obligated to address every applicable regulatory requirement or risk present in this workplace. Rather, your task is to first give priority to the management of the equipment, work processes and practices that expose workers to a risk of serious injury or death. Once you have set out your plan for managing these risks, you can then turn your attention to the management of the other risks that are present in this workplace. 4 Directions 1. In the introduction briefly describe what you are planning to do. 2. Identify the tasks/work activities (no less than 20) and potential hazards within those tasks/work activities