Industrial Safety and Health for Goods and Materials Services - Chapter 6 docx

Providing a program evaluation By developing a clear statement of management policy, you help everyone involved with the worksite understand the importance of safety and health protectio

6 Safety and Health

Management

6.1 SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT

Management of safety and health is accomplished through a strong leadership that provides the resources, motivation, priorities, and accountability for ensuring the safety and health of the workforce This leadership involves setting up systems to ensure continuous improvement and maintaining a health and safety focus while attending to production concerns Enlightened managers understand the value in creating and fostering a strong safety culture within their organization Safety should

be a priority so that it is a value of the organization as opposed to a mundane duty Integrating safety and health concerns into the everyday management of the organ-ization, just like production, quality control, and marketing allows for a proactive approach to accident prevention and demonstrates the importance of working safety

in the entire organization

You can increase worker protection, cut business costs, enhance productivity, and improve employee morale Worksites participating in OSHA’s voluntary protection programs (VPP) have reported OSHA-verified lost workday cases at rates 60%–80% lower than their industry averages For every $1 saved on medical or insurance compensation costs (direct costs), an additional $5–$50 are saved on indirect costs, such as repair to equipment or materials, retraining new workers, or production delays

The safety and health program needs to be professionally managed (Courtesy of U.S Environmental Protection Agency.)

During 3 years in the VPP, a Ford plant noted a 13% increase in productivity, and a 16% decrease in scrapped product that had to be reworked Bottom line, safety does pay off Losses prevented go straight to the bottom line profit of an organization With today’s competitive markets and narrow profit margins, loss control should be every manager’s concern Management actions include the following:

. Establishing a safety and health policy

. Establishing goals and objectives

. Providing visible top management leadership and involvement

. Ensuring employee involvement

. Ensuring assignment of responsibility

. Providing adequate authority and responsibility

. Ensuring accountability for management, supervisors, and rank and file employees

. Providing a program evaluation

By developing a clear statement of management policy, you help everyone involved with the worksite understand the importance of safety and health protection in relation to other organizational values (e.g., production vs safety and health) A safety and health policy provides an overall direction or vision while setting a framework from which specific goals and objectives can be developed

Companies should make general safety and health policy specific by establishing clear goals and objectives, and make objectives realistic and attainable by aiming at specific areas of performance that can be measured or verified Some examples are as follows: have weekly inspections and correct hazards found within 24 h, or train all employees about hazards of their jobs, and specific safe behaviors (use of job safety analysis sheets) before beginning work

Values and goals of top management in an organization tend to get emulated and accomplished If employees see the emphasis that the top management puts on safety and health, they are more likely to emphasize it in their own activities Besides following set safety rules themselves, managers can also participate in plant-wide safety and health inspections, personally stopping activities or conditions that are hazardous until the hazards can be corrected, assigning specific responsibilities, par-ticipating in or helping to provide training, and tracking safety and health performance

Everyone in the workplace should have some responsibility for safety and health Clear assignment helps avoid overlaps or gaps in accomplishing activities

Safety and healt h is not the sole respon sibility of the safety and healt h profes sional Rather, it is everyon e’ s respon sibili ty, while the safet y and health profession al is

a resour ce

Any realisti c assi gnmen t of respon sibility must be accom panied by the needed authority and by having adequat e resources This incl udes appropr iately trained and equipp ed person nel as well as suf ficient operat ional and capita l fundi ng

Accountabi lity is cruci al to helping manag ers, superv isors, and empl oyees under-stand that they are respon sibl e for their own perfor mance Rewar d progre ss and punish when appropr iate Supervi sors are motivated to do their best when manag e-ment meas ures thei r performanc e, ‘‘ what gets measured is what gets done ’’ Take care to ensure that measures accurat ely depict acco mplishment s and d o not encoura ge negative be haviors such as not report ing accide nts or near misses Accountabi lity can be estab lished in safet y throu gh a variety of met hods:

. Charge backs — Charge accide nt costs bac k to the depart ment or job, or prorate insurance prem iums

. Safety goals — Set safet y goals for manag ement and superv ision (e.g., accident rates, accide nt costs , and loss ratios)

. Safety acti vities — Conduct safety activities to a chieve goals (e.g., hazard hunts, train ing sessio ns, safet y fairs, etc., activities that are typi cally deve-loped from needs identi fied based on accide nt history and safet y progra m

de ficiencies)

Once your safety and health progra m is up and runni ng, you will want to assur e its quality, just like any other aspect of yo ur compa ny’ s operation Each progra m goa l and objective shoul d be evalua ted in addition to each of the progra m elements , for examp le, manag ement leader ship, empl oyee invol vement, worksite analysis (accident reporting, inves tigations, survey s, pre-use analys is, h azard analys is, etc.), hazard prevention and control, and training The evaluation should not only identify accomplishments and the strong points of the safety and health program, but also identify weaknesses and areas where improvements can be made Be honest and identify the true weaknesses The audit can then become a blueprint for improvements and a starting point for the next year ’s goals and objectives (Figur e 6.1)

6.2 SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS

The need for health and safety programs in the workplace has been an area of controversy for some time Many companies feel that written safety and health programs are just more paperwork, a deterrent to productivity, and nothing more

than another bureauc rati c way of manda ting safety and health on the job But over a period of years, data a nd infor mation have been mount ing in support of the need to develop and implem ent writt en safety and health progra ms

To effectivel y manag e safety and healt h, a compa ny must pay attentio n to some critical facto rs that wer e ment ioned in Section 6.1 These factors are essent ial

to manag e safet y and health on worksit es The written safety and healt h progra m is of primary imp ortan ce in ad dressing these critical facto rs Have you ever wond ered how your compa ny is doing in compariso n with a co mpany without a safety and health profession al and a viable safety and he alth progra m? Well , wonde r no more

In resear ch conduct ed by the Lincol n Nebr aska Safety Coun cil in 1981, the following conclu sions wer e based on a compariso n of respon ses from a survey of

143 nationa l co mpanies All conclu sions have a 9 5% con fidence level or more

Table 6.1 is an abstr action of results from that study

It seem s apparen t from the previ ous resear ch that in order to have an effective safety progra m, at a min imum, an empl oyer must

. Have a demon strated commitment to job safet y and health

. Comm it budgetary resour ces

. Train new person nel

. Insure that superv isors are trained

. Have a written safety and healt h progra m

. Hold superv isors accountable for safet y and hea lth

. Respond to safet y co mplaints and investig ate accide nts

. Conduct safety audits

Other re finemen ts can always be part of the safety and hea lth progra m, whi ch will help in reducing those workplace injuries and illnesses They are as follows: more worker involvement (e.g., joint labor=management committees), incentive or recog-nition programs, getting outside help from a consultant or safety association, and setting safety and health goals

FIGURE 6.1 Monitoring and evaluation are keys to assuring effectiveness (Courtesy of U.S Environmental Protection Agency.)

A decrease in occupational incidents that result in injury, illness, or damage

to property is enough reason to develop and implement a written safety and health program

6.3 REASONS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PROGRAM

The three major considerations involved in the development of a safety program are

as follows:

1 Humanitarian—Safe operation of workplaces is a moral obligation imposed

by modern society This obligation includes consideration for loss of life, human pain and suffering, family suffering, and hardships

2 Legal obligation—Federal and state governments have laws charging the employer with the responsibility for safe working conditions and adequate supervision of work practices Employers are also responsible for paying the costs incurred for injuries suffered by their employees during their work activities

3 Economic—Prevention costs less than accidents This fact is proven con-sistently by the experience of thousands of industrial operations The direct cost is represented by medical care, compensation, etc The indirect cost of

4–10 times the direct cost must be calculated, as well as the loss of wages to employees and the reflection of these losses on the entire community

TABLE 6.1

Effectiveness of Safety and Health Program Findings

Fact Statement Findings

1 Do not have separate budget for safety 43% more accidents

2 No training for new hires 52% more accidents

3 No outside sources for safety training 59% more accidents

4 No speci fic training for supervisors 62% more accidents

5 Do not conduct safety inspections 40% more accidents

6 No written safety program compared with companies that have written

programs

106% more accidents

7 Those using canned programs are not self-generated 43% more accidents

8 No written safety program 130% more accidents

9 No employee safety committees 74% more accidents

10 No membership in professional safety organizations 64% more accidents

11 No established system to recognize safety accomplishments 81% more accidents

12 Did not document =review accident reports and reviewers did not have

safety as part of their job responsibility

122% more accidents

13 Did not hold supervisor accountable for safety through merit salary

reviews

39% more accidents

14 Top management did not actively promote safety awareness 470% more accidents

These three factors are reason enough to have a health and safety program It is also important that these programs be formalized in writing, since a written program sets the foundation and provides a consistent approach to occupational health and safety for the company There are other logical reasons for a written safety and health program Some of them are as follows:

. It provides standard directions, policies, and procedures for all company personnel

. It states specifics regarding safety and health and clarifies misconceptions . It delineates the goals and objectives regarding workplace safety and health. . It forces the company to actually define its view of safety and health . It sets out in black and white the rules and procedures for safety and health that everyone in the company must follow

. It is a plan that shows how all aspects of the company’s safety and health initiative work together

. It is a primary tool of communications of the standards set by the company regarding safety and health

6.4 BUILDING A SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM

The length of such a written plan is not as important as the content It should be tailored to the company’s needs and the health and safety of its workforce It could

be a few pages or a multiple page document However, it is advisable to follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) To ensure a successful safety program, three conditions must exist: management leadership, safe working conditions, and safe work habits by all employees The employer must

. Let the employees know that he=she is interested in safety on the job by consistently enforcing and reinforcing safety regulations

. Provide a safe working place for all employees; it pays dividends.

. Be familiar with federal and state laws applying to your operation.

. Investigate and report all OSHA recordable accidents and injuries This information may be useful in determining areas where more work is needed

to prevent such accidents in the future

. Make training and information available to the employees, especially in such areas asfirst aid, equipment operation, and common safety policies . Develop a prescribed set of safety rules to follow, and see that all employ-ees are aware of these rules

The basic premise of this chapter is that all employers should establish a workplace safety and health program to assist them in compliance with OSHA standards and the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHACT) of 1970 (Section 5(a)(1)) Each employer should set up a safety and health program to manage workplace safety and health to reduce injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by a systematic approach to safety and health The program should be appropriate to conditions in the workplace, such as the hazards to which employees

are exposed and the number of employees there The primary guideline for employ-ers to develop an organized safety and health program are as follows:

. Employers are advised and encouraged to institute and maintain in their establishments a program, which provides systematic policies, procedures, and practices that are adequate to recognize and protect their employees from occupational safety and health hazards

. Effective program includes provisions for the systematic identification, evalu-ation, and prevention or control of general workplace hazards, specific job hazards, and potential hazards that may arise from foreseeable conditions . Although compliance with the law, including specific OSHA standards, is

an important objective, an effective program looks beyond specific require-ments of law to address all hazards This effectively will seek to prevent injuries and illnesses, whether or not compliance is at issue

. Extent to which the program is described in writing is less important than how effective it is in practice As the size of a worksite or the complexity of

a hazardous operation increases, however, the need for written guidance also increases to ensure clear communications of policies and priorities and consistent and fair application of rules

The primary elements that should be addressed within this program are manage-ment leadership and employee participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, information and training, and evaluation of program effectiveness

Management commitment and employee involvement are complementary Manage-ment commitManage-ment provides the motivating force and the resources for organizing and controlling activities within an organization In an effective program, management regards workers’ safety and health as a fundamental value of the organization and assigns as much importance to it as other organizational issues Employee involve-ment provides the means through which workers develop and=or express their own commitment to safety and health protection, for themselves and for their fellow workers

Management must state clearly a worksite policy on safe and healthful work and working conditions, so that all personnel with responsibility at the site and personnel

at other locations with responsibility for the site understand the priority of safety and health protection in relation to other organizational values

Management must establish and communicate a clear goal for the safety and health program and objectives for meeting that goal, so that all members of the organization understand the results desired and the measures planned for achieving them There needs to be visible top management involvement in implementing the program, so that the management’s commitments are taken seriously

Employees must be encouraged to be involved in the structure and operation of the program and in decisions that affect their safety and health, so that their insight and energy help to achieve the safety and health program’s goals and objectives

Management should assign and communicate responsibility for all aspects of the program so that managers, supervisors, and employees in all parts of the organization know what performance is expected of them Adequate authority and resources must

be provided to responsible parties, so that assigned responsibilities can be met Managers, supervisors, and employees must be held accountable for meeting their responsibilities, so that essential tasks will be performed Ensure that managers understand their safety and health responsibilities, as described previously, so that the managers will effectively carry out those responsibilities

Review program operations at least annually to evaluate their success in meeting the goals and objectives, so that deficiencies can be identified and the program and=or the objectives can be revised when they do not meet the goal of effective safety and health protection

Management commitment and leadership provides a policy statement that should

be signed by the top person in your company Safety and health goals and objectives are also included to assist you with establishing workplace goals and objectives that demonstrate your company’s commitment to safety An enforcement policy is provided to outline disciplinary procedures for violations of your company’s safety and health program This enforcement policy should be communicated to everyone

at the company

Establish the program responsibilities of managers, supervisors, and employees for safety and health in the workplace and hold them accountable for carrying out those responsibilities; provide managers, supervisors, and employees with the authority, access to relevant information, training, and resources they need to carry out their safety and health responsibilities; and identify at least one manager, supervisor, or employee to receive and respond to reports about workplace safety and health conditions and, where appropriate, to initiate corrective action

The safety and health program should contain the following to demonstrate management commitment and leadership:

. Policy statement: goals established, issued, and communicated to employees . Program revised annually

. Participation in safety meetings and inspections; agenda item in meetings . Commitment of resources is adequate

. Safety rules and procedures incorporated into jobsite operations

. Management observes safety rules

Assignment of responsibility identifies the responsibilities of management officials, supervisors, and employees Emphasis on responsibility to safety and health is more creditable if everyone is held accountable for their safety and health performance as related to established safety and health goals The assignment of responsibility should include the following aspects:

. Safety designee on site should be knowledgeable and accountable.

. Supervisors’ (including foremen) safety and health responsibilities should

be understood

. Employees should be aware of and adhere to safety rules.

The employer must allow employees to establish, implement, and evaluate the program The employer must regularly communicate with employees about work-place safety and health matters; provide employees with access to information relevant to the program; provide means for employees to become involved in hazard identification and assessment, prioritizing hazards, training, and program evaluation; establish means for employees to report job-related fatalities, injuries, illnesses, incidents, and hazards promptly and to make recommendations about appropriate ways to control those hazards; and provide prompt responses to such reports and recommendations

The employer must not discourage employees from making reports and recommendations about fatalities, injuries, illnesses, incidents, or hazards in the workplace, or from otherwise participating in the workplace safety and health program

The employer must systematically identify and assess hazards to which employees are exposed and assess compliance with the General Duty Clause and OSHA standards The employer must conduct inspections of the workplace; review safety and health information; evaluate new equipment, materials, and processes for hazards before they are introduced into the workplace; and assess the severity of identified hazards and rank those hazards that cannot be corrected immediately according to their severity

Identification of hazards includes those items that can assist you with identifying workplace hazards and determining what corrective action is necessary to control them These items include jobsite safety inspections, accident investigations, safety and health committees, and project safety meetings To accomplish the identification

of hazards, the following items should be addressed:

. Periodic site safety inspection program involves supervisors

. Preventative controls in place [personal protective equipment (PPE), main-tenance, engineering controls]

. Action taken to address hazards

. Safety committee, where appropriate

. Technical references available

. Enforcement procedures implemented by management

The employer must carry out an initial assessment, and then as often thereafter as necessary ensure compliance, usually, at least once every 2 years When safety and health information or a change in workplace conditions indicates that a new or increased hazard may be present, then the employer should conduct a reassessment The employer should investigate each work-related death, serious injury or illness, or incident (near miss) having the potential to cause death or serious physical harm The employer should keep records of the hazards identified and their assessment and the actions the employer has taken or plans to take to control those hazards These will

be positives if OSHA were to inspect the workplace It shows good faith effort and commitment to safety and health

Worksite analysis involves a variety of worksite examinations, to identify not only existing hazards but also potential hazards Unawareness of a hazard that stems from failure to examine the worksite is a sure sign that safety and health policies and=or practices are ineffective Effective management actively analyzes the work and worksite, to anticipate and prevent harmful occurrences Worksite analysis is to assure all hazards are identified This can be accomplished by the following:

. Conducting comprehensive baseline worksite surveys for safety and health and periodic comprehensive update surveys

. Analyzing planned and new facilities, processes, materials, and equipment . Performing routine job hazard analyses

Providing for regular site safety and health inspection, so that new or previously missed hazards and failures in hazard controls are identified, is critical to worksite analysis

So that employee insight and experience in safety and health protection may be utilized and employee concerns may be addressed, a reliable system for employees is

to be provided, without fear of reprisal, to notify management personnel about conditions that appear hazardous and to receive timely and appropriate responses; and encourage employees to use the system

All accidents and near miss incidents should be investigated, so that their causes and means for their prevention are identified Analysis of injury and illness trends over time should be undertaken, so that patterns with common causes can be identified and prevented

The requirements of the General Duty Clause and OSHA standards are to be met If immediate compliance is not possible, the employer must devise a plan for prompt compliance, which includes setting priorities and deadlines and tracking progress in controlling hazards Note: Any hazard identified by the employer’s hazard identifi-cation and assessment process that is covered by an OSHA standard or the General Duty Clause must be controlled as required by that standard or that clause, as appropriate Control means to reduce exposure to hazards in accordance with the General Duty Clause or OSHA standards, including providing appropriate supple-mental and=or interim protection, as necessary, to exposed employees Prevention and elimination are the best forms of control

Hazard prevention and controls are triggered by a determination that a hazard or potential hazard exists Where feasible, hazards are prevented by effective design of the jobsite or job Where it is not feasible to eliminate them, they are controlled to prevent unsafe and unhealthful exposure Elimination or controls should be done in a timely manner, once a hazard or potential hazard is identified