14 ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL SAFETY & HEALTH PROGRAM Essay, Research Paper

14 ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL SAFETY & HEALTH PROGRAM

Element 1: Hazard Recognition, Evaluation and Control. Establishing and

maintaining safe and healthful conditions required indenifing hazards,

evaluating their pontential effects, developing ways to eliminate or control

them and planning action priorities.This process is the essence of successful

safety and health management.

Element 2:Workplace Design and Engineering Safety and health issues are most

easily and economically addressed when facilities, processes and equipment are

being designed. Organizations must incorporate safety into workplace design,

production processes and selection.They also need to evaluate and modify or

replace exisiting processes, equipment and facilities to make them safer. We

explore how the design and function of the workplace can complement safety and

health goals, minimize exposure to hazards and promote safe practices.

Element 3: Safety Performance Management As in all areas of operations,

standards must be set for safety performance. They should reflect applicable

regulatory requirements, additional voluntary guidelines and best business

practices. We describe how managers, supervisors and employees can be made

responsible and held accountable for meeting standards within their control. We

look at how job performance appraisals can reflect performance in safety and

health, as well as in other areas.

Element 4: Regulatory Compliance Management The Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and

state safety and health agencies establish and enforce safety and health

regulations.Other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, also

issue and enforce regulations relating to safety and health in the United

States. We discuss key aspects of international regulations in the European

Union, Canada and Mexico. Staying informed about and complying with regulations

are essential goals of safety and health programs.We also look briefly at

conducting regulatory compliance inspections.

Element 5: Occupational Health Occupational health programs range from the

simple to the complex. At a minimun, such programs address the immediate needs

of injured or ill employees by providing first aid and responce to emergencies.

More elaborate medical services may incude medical surveillance programs and

provision for an in-house medical capability. In addition, some companies are

beginning to focus on off-the-job safety and health through employee wellness

and similar programs.

ELEMENT 6: Information Collection Safety and health activities, including

inspections, record keeping, industrial hygine surveys and other occupational

health assessments, injury/illness/incident investigations and performance

reviews, produce a large quantity of data. Safety and health professionals must

collect and analyze this data. Small incidents often provide early warning of

more serious safety or health problems. Complete and accurate records can be

used to identify hazards, measure safety performance and improvement, and

through analyses, help identify patterns.

ELEMENT 7: Employee Involvement Design and engineering controls are limited in

their ability to reduce hazards. Companies now understand that their real

assets are people, not machinery, and they also realize that employees must

recognize their stake in a safe and healthful workplace. As employees become

more involved in planning, implementation and improvement, they see the need for

safer work practices. Solutions to safety and health problems often come from

affected employees. We look at how employees can contribute to safety and health

objectives through safety committees and teams.

ELEMENT 8: Motivation, Behavior, and Attitudes Movtivation aims at changing

behavior and attitudes to create a safer, healthier workplace. This elements

describe two general approches organizations use to motivate employees and

stresses the role that visible management leadership plays in changing unsafe or

unhealthy behaviors and attitudes. It also describes three motivational

techniques: communications, incentives/awards/recognition and employee surveys.

ELEMENT 9:Training and Orientation New and transferred employees must become

familiar with company policies and procedures and learn how to perform thier

jobs safely and efficiently. The use of on-the-job, classroom and specialty

training can contribute to a successful safety and health program. A complete

program includes hazard recognition, regulatory compliance and prevention. The

training is reinforced through regular follow-up with both new and veteran

employees.

ELEMENT 10: Organizational Communications Effective communication within the

organization keeps employees informed about policies, procedures, goals and

progress. We see how to spread the word about safety and health programs inside

the company through the use of bulletin board notices,newsletters, meeting and

other devices. Effective two-way communications between employees and managers

is critical as is publicizing safety and health information in the community.

ELEMENT 11:Management and Control of External Exposures Todays safety and health

programs must address risks beyond the organizations walls. We described the

kinds of contingency plans and “what if” worst-case scenarios that are part of

planning for disasters, contractor activities and product and other liability

exposures.

ELEMENT 12:Environmental Management Environmental management often requires a

complete program of its own and is addressed in a separate volume, 7 Elements of

Successful Environmental Program, available from the National Safety Council.

Many companies, however, address environmental issues along with safety and

health as part of their comprehensive programs. We discuss the minimum that an

environmental program should cover, including compliance monitioring and

contingency planning for emergencies. More aggressive environmental management

incorporates pollution prevention and an active role in environmental

improvement.

ELEMENT 13:Workplace Planning and Staffing Safety and health considerations are

important when planning for and staffing the companys work force. We consider

issues such as work safety rules, employee assistance programs and requirements

resulting from the American with Disabilities Act.

ELEMENT 14:Assessments, Audits, and Evaluations Every organizations needs tools

to measure conditions, monitor compliance and assess progress. A variety of

evaluative tools can be used to meet the needs of the organizations, including

self- assessments, third-party assessments and voluntary regulatory assessments.

Numerous resources are available for conducting assessments audits and

evaluations, including the companys own trained internal staff, consultants and

OSHA and other agencies.

The Continuous Improvement Model is a framework for safety presented in the

National Safety Councils Agenda 2000 Safety Health Environment Program. The 14

Elements are the materials that fit within the framework. Continuous improvement

is a process-oriented business approach that emphasizes the contributions people

make to long-range, permanent solutions to problems. It is the cornerstone of

total quality management. Applying the process that forms the Contiinuous

Improvement Model requires understanding causes before designing

solutions.Improvements may be dramatic or incremental. In any event, the model

helps ensure that occur regularly.

The Continuous Improvement Model

Phase 1: Management Commitment and Involvement

The first phase is to make a management commitment and to gain managements

involvement. Companies with successful safety and health programs have active

senior management participation. Without this active involvement, mid-level

managers and front-line supervisors tend to ignore safety and health as an issue.

Senior management signals its commitment by stating a position that is

communcated through clear, unambiguous policy and implementation procedures.

When management supports the 14 Elements, it also indicates a broad commitment

to the issues include in the reviews. It then supports continuous improvement

in safty and health through ongoing involvement, allocation of resources and

feedback.