Hazards of Aluminium welding fume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Hazards of Aluminium welding fume - Essay Example Electric welding was introduced in 1940s. Aluminium welding has been in prominence since 1970. There are several types of welding like Arc welding and Manual metal arc is a common process where the workers are exposed to the fumes. Carbon arc, Cold welding, Electron beam welding, Flux core arc welding, Gas welding, Gas metal arc welding, Gas tungsten arc welding, Shielded metal arc welding, Plasma arc welding, Laser beam welding are the other welding processes where workers are exposed to metal fumes. The welding workers have a high exposure of metal fumes and the exposure depends on place, confined space, workshop or open air. The metal fumes depend on not only the Aluminium but also the process involved which may produce gases like acetylene, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen , ozone, phosgene and tungsten. The metal fumes primarily enter the human system by inhalation route namely Respiration.. The deposition of these inhaled metallic particles is influenced by its physical and chemical properties and a variety of host factors. In the lungs, these particles produce a variety of reactions depending on the concentration, duration of the exposure of the particles, and degree of exposure. All Metallic particles greater than 10 are deposited on the Mucous membrane in the nose and pharynx. Particles between 3m and 10 m are deposited throughout the trachea of the lungs. Particles less than 3m are deposited in the alveoli and cause serious hazards. These particles have a fair chance of being carried into the blood stream and cause Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity. Health Hazards of Aluminium fumes : Hazards of Aluminium fumes have been well documented in various scientific journals. The health hazard assessment is done by sampling and analysis. Sampling has been well prescribed by the Draft British Standard (DD54) for breathing zone and background samples. Chemical analysis techniques for milligram amounts of fume obtained are outlined in DD54; part I.(Moreton,1982) Aluminium work related Asthma has been established by characteristic patterns of repeated peak flow measurements supported by changes in methacholine responsiveness in workers with work related asthma (Konyerud, 1994).A recent study by keith Harrison of the Queens land Fertility group, Australia has proved the testicular toxicity of such Chemicals in male workers. Studies have also proved that exposure of workers to these metal fumes aged between 20-64, admitted to 11 hospitals in England during the period between 1996-1999, caused health hazards and is a classic case of occupational hazard of metal fume exposure (Palmer, 2003). Further studies on 27 welders with long-term exposure to these metal fumes revealed a reversible increase in the risk of Pneumonia. In the sputum, cell counts, soluble levels of the metal, levels of Interleukin-8, tumour necrosis factor-, myeloperoxidase, metalloproteinase -9, Immunoglobulin (Ig)A, 2-macroglobulin and unsaturated metal binding capacity were analyzed and in the blood samples, evidence of neutrophil activation and IgG pneumococcal antibodies were analyzed. The studies concluded that the local inflammatory response was affected by chronic exposure (Palmer,2006). All welding workers thus, are exposed to acute or chronic respiratory disease. Welding fumes cause

Employee Development and Talent Management Essay

Employee Development and Talent Management - Essay Example It is evident from the study that human resource department is responsible for attracting prospective employees through hiring, and training, evaluating, retaining, and performing other functions that make work beneficial for both employees and the firm. In other words, the human resource management is the link between the senior management and employees. This department works to ensure that the workforce is utilized effectively to further organisational goals while ensuring employee interests are not ignored. The human resources department has various professionals who must work together for the department to execute its roles flawlessly. In small start-up businesses, one individual handles the various roles of a human resource officer since the issues are few with a low number of employees. However, in larger organizations, human resource is a full department with various professionals specializing in the numerous functions of the human resource management.The functions of the huma n resource management include creating an enabling environment, in addition to, promotion of employee training and talent development. This task includes regular, formal and informal training of employees at all levels as well as identifying and encouraging growth of careers for employees with the potential for growth. One current concern of the human resource management in the UK revolves around striking a balance between the cost of labour and the quality and quantity of production. This is because there is highly qualified labour in the UK, which comes at a cost so high that it deters a company from making desirable profit margins. In addition to the cost, human resource departments face the challenge of workforce shortage and have to contend with importing labour, especially from Asia where majority of the educated population is young (Scholz and Bohm 2008, p. 245; Banfield and Kay 2008). In employee training and development, the human resource team faces many issues that harden tasks and make it ineffective. Crucial issues include assessment of administrative performance, and setting of benchmarks for competency, transparency, accountability and a sense of public interest. Other issues are categorised based on the functions of the human resource management. These categories include recruitment issues, employment issues, autonomy concerns and structural issues. All these issues have to do with fair decision making and allocation of resources in a way that promotes achievement of company objectives and at the same time taking care of employee interests. The human resource should create a balanced workforce with no discrimination whatsoever which is mainly based on race, gender, education level, religion or any other basis. However, the non-discrimination policy should not put the main company objective profit maximisation in jeopardy. In an attempt to explain why employee training is not all that effective, the study first aims to identify various issues th at the human resource management team faces as it does employee training and development. The next aim was to make recommendations on some steps that could reduce or eliminate these challenges for effective human resource management (Briscoe, Schuler and Claus 2008, p. 200; Dowling, Festing and Engle2008, p. 153). Critical Issues Administrative Performance The human resource management is responsible for the welfare of the whole company’s workforce, including that of the top management. The human resource management is part of the company management that it is supposed to assess. However, it is a hard task analysing the performance of administrative departments since that is akin to supervising oneself. In this case, the human resource management may not be objective enough to ensure impartiality in its analysis. This is a matter of concern especially because the people that sit in other management offices are, in many cases, the ones that sit in assessment panels. It is huma n nature for these individuals to put their personal interests