• Subject Name : Occupational health and safety

Occupational Health, Environmental Programme, and Automotive Production in Developing Nations

Emerging economies like India, China, and Brazil have attracted investments from various firms in the global market (Ho, 2020). Developing economies are considered for investments as they promise high potential for growth. Investing in developing nations helps in countering both financial and global development goals. As argued by Pradhan (2017), investing and expansion in the developing nations like India, China, and Brazil, there is the generation of jobs and is seen as a contribution towards the eradication of the poverty making the global businesses serve an equitable and secure resource sharing and development. This investment and expansion are also beneficial for the developing nations as it helps in the pumping of productivity in these nations and enhances the worker skills, promote technological advancements, and help in the growth of the economy. For the industries and organizations, the expansion provides the scope of development beyond borders, development of fresh market niches, a more reasonable workforce, and increased scope of profits (Chan et al., 2016). This essay will explore the expansion of European automotive manufacturing company in India, Brazil, and China and assess the hindrances in the establishment of health, safety and environmental management programmes. Further, a suggestive occupational hygiene programme for these sites will also be discussed in this essay in conjunction with the resources required for its implementation.

Several health, safety and environmental management challenges may emerge in the expansion and establishment of the European automotive manufacturing company in India, Brazil, and China (Pinto et al., 2018). Developing countries bear a major burden of health due to poorly programmed healthcare infrastructure and lack of available resources. Therefore, health and safety and workers of staff must be well managed by the organizations. Most countries lack adequate health and safety guidelines that serve as a major threat to the health and safety of the workers in the automotive industries in the developing nations. According to a research published by Dall’Ora et al. (2016) the workers in the automotive industries have to combat several hazards associated with their health and overall management of their well being while operating in the industry. The primary health risks that are associated with the workers are diverse and can result in a range of health problems. Manual handling of the operative parts in the automotive industries is one of the major health concerns associated in the developing nations (Goldscheider, 2019).

Since the technological advancements and feasibility of machines to carry out certain work is a limitation in the developing nations, manual handling is one of the major components of work and can result in severe health hazards Further, exposure to fire, constant noise, and vibrations in the workers of the automotive industries can also be a major hazard as it can lead to long term health-related problems in the workers (Hoffman, 2019). Another major constraint that is associated with the automotive industries is to manage the environment and ensure sustainable production of their parts. Sustainability has been a major hurdle for management in the automotive industries (Goswami et al., 2020). Gas emissions and fuel economy have been major concerns for the automotive industries. The automotive industries are considered to be a major contributor to the pollution and emission of greenhouse gases (Wu & Zhang, 2017). Therefore, environmental considerations and sustainability insurance is a major consideration for the industries. Environmental management and sustainability are also major concerns in automobile manufacturing as the customers are now more aware and alert of how the products are being produced and what is its contribution to the carbon footprint.

The rise of environmental awareness has also resulted in the meeting the recycling targets and minimizing the carbon fleet emission targets (Paltsev et al., 2018). In developing nations, these challenges are more prominent. The major sustainability issues in the developing nations like India, China, and Brazil include poor management of waste, pollution of the air, among lack of adequate regulations for the management (Srivastava & Pathak, 2020). The automotive industry releases a large amount of lead, asbestos, use of toxic chemicals in the interiors, excessive use of plastic, and excessive use of refrigerants (Rogers, 2019). As the opportunities for the expansion of the markets increase, the sustainability and utilization of the natural resources becomes a major concern for the developing nations and therefore requires adequate attention. As the European automotive manufacturing company. Therefore, the establishment of indigenous policies and guidelines will be essential for the firm.

For the establishment of the environmental management and health and safety programs in the country, the European automotive manufacturing company will include the compliance difficulties with the legislature associated with the environment, health and safety of the country, limited availability of resources, and lack of technical assistance (Srivastava & Pathak, 2020). As the European automotive manufacturing company plans to expand to the developing nations. Compliance to the sustainability protocols and the health policies might pose as a hindrance as they may not always comply with the existing modus operandi of the company. Since the organization will be new in the market niche of these countries, it will have to adopt its systematic functioning and procedures to ensure its compliance with the health and safety and the environmental policies and therefore, the standards must be evaluated and verified in association with the existing standards of the company (Goldscheider, 2019).

The developing nations have limited availability of technological sources and advancements. Therefore, the European automotive manufacturing company must streamline its process and ensure that the processing and the management of the industry are safe and can provide adequate care to the workers by minimizing the chances of hazard by eliminating dangerous manual work with secondary available alternatives (Rogers, 2019). The environmental is an amalgamation of various factors, and therefore, expansion into a country with a drastically different environmental condition can significantly affect the process (Wu & Zhang, 2017). For the successful establishment of the company, the environment programme developed must be inclusive of the environmental concerns and the legislative, social, and sustainable policies.

The development of occupational hygiene program of the company can be developed to minimize the incidences of fatality and health hazards in the automotive industry that can occur due to lack of adequate hygiene (Kromhout, 2016). Good occupational hygiene is essential as it assists in the development of improved health of the worker, increased life expectancy of the workforce, reduction in several fatalities, illnesses, and injuries in the workplace, and lower social and health care costs of the company (Fuller, 2016). Occupational hygiene in the industries refers to “science of protecting and enhancing the health and safety of people at work and in their communities” (Abiodun et al., 2018). The occupational hygiene stressors that can impact the health of the workers in the industry include the agents that pose health hazards and can include airborne contaminants, inadequate lifting procedures and other stressors (Arbogast et al., 2016). When businesses expand in developing countries, occupational hygiene policies are a mandate. Universal minimum standards are required for the maintenance of the health of the workers and must be incorporated in the industrial settings to ensure the maintenance of hygiene as well as, well being of the workers in the industry.

The developing countries have been growing with the industrialization, the occupational health hazards have also increased (Abiodun et al., 2018). To develop a systematic occupational hygiene program the occupational hygienist must be hired, A professional will take a systematic approach to understand the manufacturing processes in order to determine whether health and safety risks may exist. The data of the industry must be collected categorically (Yang et al., 2020). This data should then be used to identify the hazards and then prioritize to take suitable actions. This assessment must be done periodically to track qualitative improvements and minimize the rates of morbidity and mortality. This process will help in the development of suitable surveillance programs and help in the maintenance of occupational hygiene in the industry. Occupational hygiene can, therefore, be maintained through suitable applications of the knowledge skills associated with epidemiology, toxicology, disease transmission, and pathophysiology to minimise the health hazards in the industry (Changkajonsakdi & Kaewkuekool, 2018). Occupation health hygiene training sessions must also be organised so that the hygiene is managed between the employees and the risks of disease transmissions are avoided. Beyond learning and cross-disciplinary interventions required for the maintenance of the occupational hygiene and management of health also requires strict protocols and overseeing mechanism through several feedbacks to ensure its application and successful action (Yang et al., 2020).

The resources required for the implementation of the occupational health program in the developing countries can be established in lines of the global strategy of occupational health for all developed by the World Health Organization. The primary resource required for the establishment of the occupational health and safety programme will include an understanding of the economy and its trends (Changkajonsakdi & Kaewkuekool, 2018). As even with the improvement in the socio-economic trends in the developing countries, the future development of international organisations has been somewhat restricted. This wide variation in the economic and the occupational structures impacts the conditions of work, the overall quality of the work environment, and the health status of the workers in the industry (World Health Organization, 2016). And, eventually, in the developing nations, as a consequence, work takes place in an environment that does not always meet the required standards. Because of the significantly high prevalence of manual and heavy physical work in association with lack of coverage of general health and social protection in developing countries successful implementation of the organizational health policies becomes even more essential.

The primary resource required for the implementation of this programme will be the availability of technical resources and trained professionals (Vosoughi et al., 2020). The technology transfer must be conducted to minimize manual interventions and ensure industrial hygiene and health. The hygiene protocols must be established and for this, a professional must be hired who can understand the basic operations of the industry and draft a resourceful hygiene plan and allow for its successful implementation. Several sanitary products should be applied and installed in the working area to minimize the incidences of contamination and ensure the application of the hygiene protocols (World Health Organization, 2016). Drills and feedback sessions must be organized through interventions and application of resources like alarms that help in the maintenance and adherence to the hygiene protocols in the industry to maximize the health and minimize the hazards of the workers (Vosoughi et al., 2020).

This essay summarizes the challenges that may be encountered by the European automotive manufacturing company in the developing nations in terms of the establishment of health safety and environmental management programmes. The infrastructure and the availability of the resources in developing nations are classically different from the developed countries and require significantly more amount of inputs in terms of adequate functioning and standard production. Availability of limited technological resources results in engaging of a large number of manual labour for the work and in turn, poses a great threat to the health and safety of the workers. The environmental policy and programme considerations are crucial as automotive industries have a significant carbon footprint that will be critically monitored by the national framework and programme policies.

The indigenous legislation and policy guidelines for the developing countries is also different than that of the developed nations and for an industry involved with manufacturing, like the European automotive manufacturing company will require streamlining of its process based on the indigenous legislation and policy frameworks of the developing nations to ensure its establishment which can serve to be a major hindrance. This essay also explores the significance of occupational health and health hazards associated with industries in the developing countries and suggests means to improve them by hiring professionals, developing health and safety protocols, and arranging alarms and drills to ensure workplace hygiene, safety, and health of the workers.

References for Occupational Health, Environmental Programme, and Automotive Production in Developing Nations

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Arbogast, J. W., Moore-Schiltz, L., Jarvis, W. R., Harpster-Hagen, A., Hughes, J., & Parker, A. (2016). Impact of a comprehensive workplace hand hygiene program on employer health care insurance claims and costs, absenteeism, and employee perceptions and practices. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(6), e231.

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