OPEN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITI TERBUKA
MALAYSIA

FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN DAN BAHASA

PROGRAM SARJANA MUDA PENGAJARAN
(PENDIDIKAN RENDAH)

OUMH2203
ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE
COMMUNICATION
BAHASA MELAYU
TUGASAN KURSUS
(SEM. SEPTEMBER 2012)

NAMA

NO. MATRIKULASI :
NO. K. PENGENALAN
EMAIL

ENGKU ZURAINI BT
ENGKU JOHAN ISKANDAR
740119035790002
:
740119035790
:
kunieyiskandar@gmail.com

PENSYARAH PEMBIMBING:

CIK NUR AIN BINTI ABDUL MALEK

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN:
PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN OUM KELANTAN

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CONTENT

PAGE

Introduction

26

Content

7 -11

Conclusion

12

References

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REPORT ON THE LOW OCCUPATIONAL AND SAFETY STANDARDS IN

DELPHY PACKAGING SDN BHD AND SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
IN IMPROVING THE SITUATION
INTRODUCTION
This report is mainly focus on the background of Occupational and Safety Standards in
Delphy Electrical Packaging Sdn Bhd which seemed very poor to the writer as
Occupational Health Manager in the company. The major purpose of this report writing is
to reveal the real situation in aspect of Health and Safety which is very important to the
workers and several suggestions of how to improve the weaknesses. The department which
involved is Material and Handling Department. In the content section, the aspects of
occupational and safety standard will be discussed. There are several aspects which
contribute to hazardous and dangerous level in workplaces. However the content will be
opened with the interpretation and meaning of all the terms used in the report. The content
of this report would not be completed without the recommendations or suggestions of the
measures or steps that would be taken in order to eliminate or improve the hazardous and
weakness of the Occupational and Safety standard in the workplace. In the conclusion
section, all the steps of improvement or change will be evaluated and the proper
recommendation will be highlighted so the measure of actions can be taken in order to
make sure overall condition of occupational safety and health standard in Material and
Handling Department of Delphi Electric Packaging Sdn Bhd will be at the top notch.
As for the overcoming measures, several actions will be proposed in this report.
The actions or suggestions stated in this report are based on the needs of the defect
situation in the Material and Handling Department. The actions proposed are as follow:
i)

The first action to be taken is weekly routine inspection. The manager of

Handling and Material Department himself should do this inspection. The
inspection need to be carried out in order to make sure the physical
condition of the workplace environment of Material and Handling
Department is in the safe status. Unnecessary and improper condition such
as messy floor of workplace with remaining wires and harness should be
eliminated. Empty boxes that are not useable at present time should be
neatly folded and stacked at proper place. In other words, the manager of
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Material and Handling should make sure that the workspace in the
department in neat and tidy condition especially the floor as it could cause
the accident if the workers are tripped and fall down on the working
machine.
ii)

The second action that to be proposed here is the enforcement of the rules
and regulations of wearing safety working gears such as gloves, safety
boots, safety eye wear and for the need of certain areas in the department,
the use of gas mask should be compulsory. The use of proper safety
working gears in Material and Handling Department, Delphy Packaging
Sdn Bhd is highly important since all workers in the department are
dealing with wires, rivets, chemicals and electrical harness which
hazardous to their safety. The enforcement and penalty on the disobey of
this regulation should be taken by the supervisors of each line in the
departments and will be checked in routine period by the departments
manager. As the Occupational Health Manager of the company, I think this
action is necessary even it would be looked as a stern and harsh action by
some employees. It is necessary because the need of safeguarding their
safety is very great responsibility of the company.

iii)

The next important action that needs to be taken is to make sure that all
the safety equipment either for the workplace or for the workers is
adequate and up to date. From the observation made by myself during my
tour to the Material and Handling Department, most of the safety
equipments are out of date and in adequate. The example of the
equipments for the workplace is fire extinguishers, first aid boxes and exit
signs for evacuation during emergency meanwhile safety equipments for
workers such as safety boots, eye wears, gloves and gas masks. When I
asked one of the worker for the reason he did not wear gloves while
handling machine, he stated that the last pair of safety gloves provided to
him was two years ago. It shows that it is not the workers refused to wear
the safety gears, but the safety gears were not provided to them. For this
matter, it is the responsibility of Manager, Logistics and Supply
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Department. Thus, one copy of this report will be handed to him. The
company should be ready to spend some amount of money as an
investment on ensuring the safety and health of the workers are secured.
iv)

Other than the above actions, I would like to propose that all workers
should have sufficient training and basic knowledge on how to operate the
machineries properly. They also need to be taught about the safety
guidelines in the workplace. From my short observation, most of the
workers whether they are locals or foreigners such as Nepalese and
Bangladeshi, do not know how to operate the machineries according to the
users manual. They just been given short training by the seniors and it can
be said that they operate they machineries based on very short time watch
and do learning method. It is very dangerous because those machineries
can result injuries or even death. In the aspect of safety guidelines, those
workers were not given proper exercise such as fire drills and I am
confident the situation will be chaos if emergency happens. Furthermore,
majority of the foreigners workers are not able to read either English or
Bahasa Malaysia. It is impossible for them to really follow the safety
instructions whether written on the machineries or on the signboards
around the workplace. Hence, it is strongly recommended that all workers
are given full training on handling the machines and they also need to be
able to read and understand simple English or Bahasa Malaysia before
hired.

v)

The last but not least suggestion of action that to be taken is the benefit to
all the workers. The benefit meant is the insurance (either normal insurance
or SOCSO) and also the EPF (Employees Provident Fund). These two
things are very important to be fulfilled as charity of the workers is very
crucial to them when they are retired or unable to perform job anymore due
to accident or any other causes. During my tour to the department, I found
out that a few workers do not have insurance cover or SOCSO and also the
EPF. I considered this thing happened because the administration people of
Human Resources Department ignoring the safety and charity of the
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workers. Thus, I strongly recommended the General Manager of Delphy

Electrical Packaging Sdn Bhd look into this matter and solve it as soon as
possible.

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CONTENT
As stated in the introduction section, the major purpose of this report is to unveil the
weaknesses in term of workers safety in Material and Handling Department, Delphi
Electrical Packaging Sdn Bhd. During my tour as Occupational Health Manager of the
company, I found out four major problems involved in the situation. They are :
i)

Hazardous environment of working place.

During my visit to Material and Handling Department, the condition of working place was
in very bad shape. The workers did not keep their working place neat and tidy. Leftover of
wire harness scattered around on the floor. Empty unused boxes were not tidily kept in
stacks. I observed that the attitude of the workers is very worrying because the condition
abovementioned might cause accidents. Anybody could trip by the scattered things on the
floor and fall on the running machines. It seemed to me that majority of the workers there
do not mind about their safety but just rush to achieve the target of finished product at their
working terminals. They do not have a proper system of keeping aside leftover things in a
specific container and making sure their workplace neat and tidy. However, it is not
appropriate to blame on the workers alone. Their attitude is one thing, but the management
has to make sure that they were supplied facilities to practice the habit of tidiness. I suggest
that the management, namely the manager of Material and Handling Department provide
containers with label, so the workers would know where to put the leftover of things. After
they are given those facilities, then only the management entitled to enforce the rule of
keeping tidy. From my observation, there are thirty working terminals in Handling and
Material Department, so thirty containers for leftover/scrap materials are needed. The cost
for each 2 feet x 3 feet container is approximately RM10. Thus, total cost for this
improvement is RM300. It is considered very little compare to safety of the employees. It
is highly appreciated if the management could implement this suggestion.
ii)

Operators are not using safety gears / equipment.

The ignorance of the employees in using working safety gears is very worrying because
they are dealing with highly dangerous materials such as wiring harness, sharp objects, hot
things, electrical material and toxically vapor which produce during welding the circuit
board. The safety gear / equipment that they need to wear such as gloves, safety eye wears,
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gas mask or at least face mask and safety boots. The workers should be always reminded
about the important of wearing those things because they are working in hazardous
workplace. It is the responsibility of each line supervisor to make sure all employees
adhere to this rule.
However, it is very important to highlight here that most of the safety gears/equipment are
too old, not in perfect condition and some of them are out of date. Moreover, no types of
that safety equipment are in enough numbers to be used by all the workers. Each worker
should be given a set of safety gears that are new, in good and working condition. Once
again, it is not right to put the blame on the workers alone. The management also has to
take responsible on this matter. They should look for the solutions that are:
a) Make a purchase of enough numbers of safety equipment complete sets. The
company has to be ready to invest on quite big amount of money for the sake of
safety of the employees. From my random survey on the price, one set of
complete safety gears which consisting a pair of heavy duty and electric
resistant glove, a pair of safety boots, a pair of safety glasses and a light duty
gas mask will cost RM750. The number of the operators in Material and
Handling Department are 60 persons (2 shifts). The total of expenses for this
improvement is RM750 x 60 = RM45,000. The amount is still considered small
compare to the responsibility that the company has to take if accident happens
to the workers. It is in my expectation that the company would not hesitate to
invest on this amount for the safety of the employees.
b) Prior to the purchase of the abovementioned safety equipment, then only the
management of the company can implement the rules and regulation on the use
of safety gears / equipment. The manager of Material and Handling Department
should assign the supervisor of each line to enforce the rules and regulation on
using safety gears / equipment during work. Any disobey operator will be given
verbal warning for the first time, written warning for the second time and show
cause letter for the third time. After the third offence, the supervisor is entitled
to take a penalty of RM10 for each offence. In my opinion, the employees
would not consider this action as cruel as they should realized this rule is for
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their own safety. I am sure after the rule and penalty is implemented, there are
no more operators who blatantly ignore their own safety. Hence, there is no
reason for the management to delay the implementation of this rule and penalty.
iii)

Operators have lack of knowledge and written language problem.

The third major problem that I have found out during my recent tour to Material and
Handling Department is the operators have lack of knowledge. They do not have adequate
knowledge and training in operating the machine and did not follow the instruction manual
of the machine. It is very dangerous because the machines that they are working with have
potential to harm them if they handle it wrongly. Some of the machines produce high
voltage of current and some of them have sharp component which can hurt the workers. It
was observed that most of the operators do not have proper training on how handling the
machines. They just do their job by observing their senior colleagues. They do not even
know to read the manual instruction on the machines because they are written in English.
Most of them are not English literate especially local workers. Same thing goes to the
safety label in the working space of the department. The labels such as exit label,
instruction on fire extinguisher are written in Bahasa Malaysia only. It is difficult for the
foreigners such as Bangladeshi and Nepalese workers to understand the instructions.
Therefore, the recommendations to overcome the problem are as follow:
a) Give proper training to the workers on how to handle the machineries. The
company could consult the supplier or vendor of the machine and ask them to send
their instructor for teaching the operators on operating the machines properly. The
management should pass this responsible to the Human Resources Department and
they will get the quotation on the expenses. Normally the supplier will charge per
hour rate for the training and it is expected the charge will be RM100 for one hour.
The company will have to spend around RM3,000 for one month, an hour a day
training for all the workers. This action is important to be carried out because
some of the workers are not really sure what is to do if something out of norm
happens during the operation of the machine.
b) Assign at least one technician to look after all the machineries in Material and
Handling Department as it is crucial to have a man on the spot for the
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troubleshooting of the machines. I found out that the operators themselves tried to
troubleshoot the problem with the machineries every time they jammed or stop. It
is very dangerous because the operators do not have special knowledge on
servicing the machineries. To hire a technician, the company has to spend at least
extra RM1,500 per month. However, it is worth as the safety of the workers is
secured and the machineries life time will last longer.
c) Translate all the labels of instructions on machineries to Bahasa Malaysia and
translate all the safety labels in working area / space in to English. In other words,
all the labels and notice in this department should be in dual languages. It is vital as
the workers in this department are multi racial and multi language. Total cost
expected to be spent for making all those labels on the machineries and notice
boards around the working space are approximately RM1,500.
Other than that, the work environment also is recommended to be given attention in
term of improving the physical condition of the workplace. For example:
-

Up to date equipment and work terminal.

Noise level reduction.

Look for instant solution for any problem

adequate the lighting at work place, and

air quality improvement.

All the above recommendation are inspired from Industrial Accident Prevention
Association, 2006.
iv)

The workers work beyond the hour limit.

From my observation during the tour, I noticed that some of the workers looked fatigue and
sleepy. When I asked them why they are in such condition, without knowing that I am

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checking on them, they told me that they had been working for eighteen hours nonstop. It
was very shocking to me as according to my knowledge, an industrial worker only
permitted to work not exceeding eight hours a day. According to Malaysian Labor Law :
Regulation of Employment, stated in
http://my.jobsdb.com/MY/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker /handbook/regulation-of
employment/hiring_7.htm An employee shall not work on normal hours exceeding 8
hours a day excluding a period of rest, 5 consecutive hours of work without a period of rest
of not less than 30 minutes and 48 hours in a week.. Thus, it is clear that the
abovementioned workers were against the labor law. Therefore, I strongly suggest to the
management of the company to look seriously into this matter. Even the particular workers
are doing over time, they should not work beyond hours permitted. It is for their health. My
recommendation is ; the manager of Human Resources Department should instruct all the
supervisors to make sure their subordinates are not working exceeding permitted hours.

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CONCLUSION
Based from this report, hopefully the situation will be improved in Delphy Electrical
Packaging System Sdn Bhd in term of Occupational and Safety Standard. This is a must
because the company has to adhere with the guidelines issued by the Department of
Occupational and Safety Standard, Ministry of Human Resources. If refer to List of
Malaysian Standards Under ISC W Year 2010, Department of Occupational and Safety
Standard, Ministry of Human Resources, all the aspects mentioned in this report have to be
corrected. Thus the management of the company has to take action based on this report.
In the expenses wise, the total budget for improvement been suggested as follows:
-

Scrap/Leftover materials container

RM

300.00

Training on machineries handling

RM 3,000.00

New sets of safety gears / equipment

RM45,000.00

New safety labels and notice boards

RM 1,500.00

Total

RM49,800.00

Other than that, company also have to spend extra expenses of RM1,500 per month for
hiring a new machines technician in Material and Handling Department. All the above
expenses need to be assumed as an investment for the improvement of our company
Occupational Safety and Health Standards. Hopefully with the improvement actions that
we are going to take, our workers will be more productive and contribute to the success of
the company. Therefore, I, as the Occupational Safety and Health Manager of Delphy
Electrical Packaging Sdn Bhd strongly urge the top management of the company to look
into the above matters seriously and take action as soon as possible.

Words : 3,073

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REFERENCES
Ahmad, and Yan, (1996). The Performance Approach to Construction Worker Safety and
Health. University of Florida: Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation.
Colling, David A (1990). Industrial Safety: Management and Technology. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ :Prentice Hall
Industrial Accident Prevention Association (2006). Stress at Work, Taking Control.
Kohn, James P., Mark A. Friend, and Celeste A Winterberger (1996). Fundamentals of
Occupational Safety and Health. Rockville, MD: Government Institutes,.
http://my.jobsdb.com/MY/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker/handbook/regulation-ofemployment/hiring_7.htm
Available at www.osha.gov
Malaysia (1994) Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.
National Occupational Health & Safety Commission (1999) OSH Performance

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