Employment Clearing House

Employment Safety and Health Guide, Commerce Clearing House, Chicago, lU., 1985. 

The truly parallel approach employed in the design of the /./Pl.C system described in this chapter produces a clear reduction in analysis time when compared with traditional HPLC techniques. For example, a separation method of 5 min duration in a //Pl.C system would allow simultaneous evaluation of 24 samples within that time—an average analysis time of 12.5 sec/sample. Similarly, the dimensions of the columns housed in the cartridge require smaller amounts amount of solvent (mobile phases) for the analysis. 

For the water analysis, automation is clearly best achieved with an auto-injector for the mechanical handhng of the samples coupled with on-hne data capture, using the computer to analyse the peak data. Serious consideration was given to employing the very considerable in house automation experience to construct a purpose-built auto-injector. However, in the interests of a speedy implementation of the automatic system, it was decided to purchase a commercially available auto-injector and to concentrate the laboratory s efforts on the area of on-hne data capture. Interfacing the complete system assembly via a data communications network required the development of a special control device (commhox), which allowed the LGC hardware to run unattended hut provided an audible warning in event of a fault condition. 

The married quaners estate was purchased by the local authority in 1958 and a few years later Wiltshire County Council ruled that the workers hostel and the ninety-four married quarters must be demolished by the end of 1965. At that time 70% of the tenants were Enfield workers, a substantial proportion of the 200 people still employed underground. The wartime huts were subsequently replaced by a permanent estate of council houses, but the community centre and dance hall remained and were later taken over by Royal Enfield as a drawing office and stores. After 1970 the surface buildings were used for a short time by a local rubber company, but in the early 1980s the land was partially cleared to make way for a housing development, which was later cut back substantially when concern was raised about the stability of the mine workings under the site. 

In the situation where there is a clearly defined client who has sponsored the project, development could be carried out in-house by staff employed by the same organization as the client or could be carried out by a supplier from outside. With both types of structure there is likely to be a range of different stakeholders, both individual and group, who have a legitimate interest in the project. This may be because they will be affected by the operation of the new system once implemented, or because their assistance will be needed for the development or implementation of the application. With in-house projects these stakeholders can be categorized as business managers who will be concerned that the application should further the business s objectives, users who will have to interact with the operational system, and various people, not just technical staff, who will be needed to develop the application. 

In the case of in-house management, and especially so when the responsible executive is very senior in the company hierarchy, he can be expected to ensure that the project will be seen to be successful, and in particular be completed within the authorized budget. There are many ways for the executive to do this, including the setting of targets that are easy to meet, without the problem of competition. As corporate financial controls normally require a fixed project budget, one of the methods more often employed to ensure the financial success of the project is to allow some flexibility in the scope of work. For instance, the executive may decide, when the project is at an advanced stage and cost trends are clear, whether to provide a fully equipped plant maintenance workshop. 

For those investigations that are carried out entirely in-house there is often predetermined levels of investigation. It is important that a clear policy detailing the employer s arrangements for investigating safety events exists to enable managers and other employees at all levels to initiate the necessary investigation with the least delay. 

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