How to Create an Effective
Departmental Safety Program
Preventing accidents improves the quality of life for workers and leads
to more efficient and cost-effective operations. A strong safety program
demonstrates an organization’s concern for employee welfare. It can
improve morale, create a positive image, and help an organization attract
and maintain better workers.
Safety is not a matter of luck; it is a management issue that requires
time and effort. To succeed at safety is a sign of good management.
Why Involve Employees in the Safety Process?
Wouldn’t it be easier for one or two people to decide what needs to
be done and just do it?
It might be easier, but it probably wouldn’t be very effective. Safety
is a “people” issue: most injuries result from the actions or inactions of
people. Making a workplace safer requires people to change their behavior;
thus, a safety program will work only if it has the cooperation and
support of the people who work there.
How do you get workers to support a safety program?
People give their greatest support to a process when they are asked to
be involved. Employees develop a sense of ownership and commitment when
they know what is going on, when they are asked for their input, when they
are given a voice in matters that affect them, and when they are empowered
to solve problems on their own.
Employees develop a sense of pride when they see changes and realize
that they are an important part of a successful safety effort. This pride
spills over into other aspects of their work and affects the entire
organization. Modern management theories stress the importance of getting
employees involved in improving an organization. Safety is one of the best
ways to get employees involved because everyone can see the value of
preventing injuries.
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How to Increase Employee Participation in Workplace Safety
Programs
Different people make contributions in different ways. Make sure you
have a variety of opportunities to get the maximum participation from
everyone. Here are some examples:
Safety committees. Committees exert a strong influence on the
safety program, so include people who are respected, viewed as leaders by
their peers, and who are known for getting things done. Include
administrators, faculty, classified staff, and students. Periodically
rotate people on and off committees so that different points of view can
be expressed.
Safety suggestions. Encourage employees to contact members of
the safety committee any time they have suggestions about how to make the
workplace safer. Make sure employees know who the committee members are
and how to contact them.
Incident reports. Encourage employees to file reports if someone
gets hurt or if there is a problem that needs to be corrected. Make sure
employees know how to submit reports, and make the process easy and
blame-free.
Incident investigation teams. Investigating incidents can
provide valuable information, but it requires tact and good judgment.
Teams must be trained so that they can gather information that will
prevent future incidents without allowing the process to deteriorate into
fault-finding and blaming.
Ad-hoc problem solving committees. When concerns arise,
temporarily assemble a group of people with various viewpoints to find
ways to solve the problem.
Safety equipment selection. Be sure to get the input of
employees who will be using equipment and allow them to try it out if
possible before making a big purchase.
Safety reviews. Include people with a variety of backgrounds to
evaluate new programs, activities, equipment, and facilities in the
PLANNING STAGE when problems can be solved with the least expense.
Contests. Encourage friendly competition among work groups to
see which office can get the most people trained, correct the most
hazards, submit the best safety suggestions, report the most near-misses,
etc.
Safety meetings. Frequent informal safety meetings give
employees a chance to express their views and bring attention to important
concerns.
Surveys/questionnaires. This is a more formal approach to
soliciting input. To generate candid information, responses should be
anonymous.
Face-to-face communication. Safety leaders must visit with
employees frequently to find out what’s on their minds.
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How to Respond When Employees Become Involved
Listen to and value what others have to say, even if you may not agree.
Make a timely, appropriate response to every suggestion. Nothing
discourages participation more than a perception that no one is taking
action.
When warranted, make changes based on people’s recommendations. When it
is not possible to make those changes, explain the situation, let them
know that you appreciate their input, and explain any plans for addressing
the issue in the future.
Never discourage people from making suggestions or from reporting
injuries and unsafe conditions. Don’t make people feel like they are being
disloyal or troublesome. Let them know you appreciate their suggestions
even if you have many other important things you need to do.
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How to Establish Worthwhile Safety Objectives
The most effective safety efforts are proactive rather than reactive.
Don’t wait for a tragedy to occur to take action.
Consider as many sources of information as possible when selecting
objectives. Relevant sources of information include employee suggestions,
accident history, regulations, known hazards, industry standards, and
self-inspections.
Eliminate the most serious hazards first. Prioritize your efforts by
ranking concerns according to both the likelihood and severity of an
accident.
Establish clear goals and break the process into successive steps so
that you can recognize your progress in increments (as a series of “small
wins”).
Create a realistic and responsible schedule. Take on enough projects to
make a meaningful difference, but don’t take on so much that you fail to
meet your own deadlines.
Don’t limit your goals to existing hazards. One objective should be to
review proposed new activities, programs, procedures, equipment, and
facilities so that safety is “designed in” from the beginning.
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How to
Accomplish Your Objectives
A combination of approaches is usually required in order to make a
workplace safer:
Elimination or control of hazards. This may involve altering or
replacing equipment and facilities, using less hazardous materials, using
mechanization, installing ventilation, enclosing hazards behind barriers,
etc.
Training. This involves informing people of hazards and teaching them
how to avoid injury while doing their jobs.
Workplace procedures. This involves changing the way work is performed
in order to reduce the risk to employees. It could include limiting the
number of people who are allowed to perform certain tasks, using chemicals
at times when fewer people are in the area, limiting the amount of time a
worker can be exposed to heat, chemicals, vibration, and other hazards.
Personal protective equipment: This involves using safety glasses,
respirators, chemical-resistant gloves, ear plugs, safety shoes, etc. to
limit the damage done to employees’ bodies.
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How To
Measure Your Accomplishments
It takes time to reduce injury rates, and you may find that the number
of injuries reported actually goes up as people make an honest effort to
provide information about safety problems. Over time, a good safety
program will reduce the number of SEVERE injuries, even if there is an
increase in the number of minor incidents reported. Keep in mind that
focusing only on injury rates may lead to fault-finding and suppression of
truthful reporting.
A better approach is to focus on successes rather than failures.
Measure what is being done, not what is being avoided. Focus on proactive,
process-oriented accomplishments such as the number and/or quality of:
- Safety inspections and reviews
- Safety meetings and training
- Hazards corrected
- Safer procedures, equipment, facilities being used
- Safety suggestions received
- Near misses reported
- Housekeeping improvements
- Safe behaviors exhibited by employees
- Risk assessments completed
- Incidents investigated
- Problems solved
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How to Keep the Momentum Once You Get Started
Document and publicize each accomplishment. Make sure everyone in your
organization knows what has been achieved. Keep an ongoing record of
hazards identified, actions taken, and progress made. Safety is achieved
in successive steps (small wins) and this record will be a valuable
reminder of how far you have come.
At least once a year, reevaluate your progress and set new goals.
Identify what worked and keep doing it. Decide what didn’t work, find out
why, and make the necessary adjustments. Remember to involve people in the
process and get as many points of view as possible.
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How
to Get Others to Follow Your Lead
Effective leaders motivate employees to work safely, even when it is
easier to take dangerous shortcuts. Effective leaders influence others by
providing information, showing people that change is in their best
interest, challenging people to do better, and providing a dependable
example.
Don’t ask people to start doing things differently and expect them to
do it just because you said so. Take time to make sure people understand
why they need to change and exactly what is expected of them. Have they
been trained? Have they been told what specific actions to take? Have they
been recognized for doing things right? Have they been gently reminded if
their behaviors are less than ideal?
The influence you have on others will depend as much on what you do as
what you say. You will capture and hold peoples’ attention only if your
daily decisions and actions are consistent with your message.
Take time to understand other peoples’ perspectives and make sure you
know what’s really going on before you give advice. People will be more
open with you if they know you won’t jump to the wrong conclusions.
Don’t drop the ball. If you promise to do something, do it. Take
responsibility when you make a mistake.
Ensure that employees are not prevented from working safely by poor
equipment, inadequate operating space, excessive production pressure, lack
of hands-on training, or peer pressure to take shortcuts.
Be confident that your goals will be achieved, but don’t feel like you
have to know all of the answers. Increase peoples’ motivation and
ownership in the program by offering choices, letting them provide input,
and giving them some control over how to achieve the desired outcome.
Don’t blame people for accidents. Someone who has been injured needs
compassion and concern—not a lecture. Later, when the pain and
embarrassment have worn off, give the employee a chance to show what was
learned by asking a question such as “I wonder what we can do to keep
something like that from happening again?” You will probably find out that
the employee learned some things, and you can use the situation to have a
productive discussion. Moreover, the employee will appreciate that you
were tactful and he/she will be more likely to approach you about
important issues in the future.
Look beyond the specific task at hand and remember that every
leadership opportunity is a chance to help others increase their own
self-esteem, sense of accomplishment, personal optimism, and sense of
belonging.
Treat employees with dignity and respect. No matter how frustrated you
get, remember that people are the solution, not the problem.
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