Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Case Study - Essay Example Basement and much of first floor occupying the administrative office, emergency room, operations, and cafeteria were flooded to about six feet. When we inspected the premises to put up a temporary office along with surgical suites and clinical laboratory on the second floor, which was not affected by flood water, we noticed heaps of trash and debris. The task I was assigned, to guide Incident Commander on the safe entry, cleanup procedure, appropriate PPE for all recovery works, and hazard assessment for the most critical items or operations that can cause acute or chronic health effects, illness or disease, was most challenging. We recognized that without organizational skills and knowledge of time tested processes we will achieve little with manpower, massive resources, and technical expertise. Only through a definite written plan, adequate training and basic safety knowledge of the workers engaged in cleaning, and a centralized control and coordination such a herculian activity could be materialized. To achieve the goal, following broad overview of the duties and recommendations has been chartered, according to priority, and submitted to the Incident Commander: â€Å"Industrial hygienists recognize that engineering, work practice, and administrative controls are the primary means of reducing employee exposure to occupational hazards. Engineering controls minimize employee exposure by either reducing or removing the hazard at the source or isolating the worker from the hazards.† (NOSH interim recommendations for the cleaning and remediation of flood-contaminated HVAC system: A guide for building owner and managers, 2004). Being a hospital, the main Industrial Hygiene concerns for our team and the clean-up recovery workers were exposure to skin and respiratory disorders. It is possible that during flooding the systems for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) could