People Don't Do What You Expect

People just don't do what you expect, but they do what you inspect

Inspections to find and fix hazards should be a cornerstone of your safety program.  Then, base your safety training on the hazards you are finding.  The more you train your employees about the hazards, the more you involve your employees in the inspections and the training, the more the employees will understand what the hazards are and help the employer to eliminate hazards in the workplace.

Nobody goes to work today thinking, "wow wouldn't it be great to get hurt and put my family through all that trauma and drama?"  The employees want to do their jobs and do them efficiently.  But, your employees will do whatever it takes to get the job done.  If you don't provide your employees with the right tools and training, they will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Involve your employees in inspections and training and you will be amazed at the results!!

Safety Inspection Programs

The objective of a self-inspection program is to identify hazardous conditions and employee behavior and determine what actions are required to reduce or eliminate accident potential. Additionally, inspections can help determine the extent to which employees adhere to the company's safety program, operating procedures, rules and regulations.

 

Developing a self-inspection program and associated checklists can help to protect company assets from fire, employee injury and injury to the public. Their development will require the attention of someone who has a sound knowledge of the company's operations and as well as knowledge of relevant safety standards and local codes. The self-inspection program should be a process of fact finding with an emphasis on identifying potential hazards and developing the necessary corrective actions necessary to eliminate them.

 

Responsibility For Self-Inspection

Everyone in an organization has a role to play in recognizing and identifying those conditions that can lead to accidents or property destruction. But in a self-inspection program, there should be a clear assignment of inspection duties made to various members of the management and supervisory team.

It may be a responsibility of the safety committee to perform monthly safety inspections and to record their results. The maintenance department or others having responsibility for correction should take immediate action to eliminate the deficiencies observed and ensure proper follow through to completion of necessary action. A work order system can be a useful method to start the process of correction. Safety issues and their abatement should be given top priority by all employees.

Supervisors should inspect their department on a daily basis to ensure work areas are maintained in a safe condition. Workers should inspect their workplace daily to ensure tools and personal protective equipment are in safe condition.

 

When developing any self-inspection program, six questions should always be answered:

· What areas and/or operations need to be inspected?

· What aspects of each need to be examined?

· What conditions or actions should to be inspected?

· How often must each area/operation be inspected?

· Who will conduct the inspections?

· What records or reports are needed?

 

 

Author: Deborah Grow, Safety Compliance Specialist

Private Safety Consultant, Sales-Marketing Director Damon Fall Protection and Coordinator EHS Network ~ Kansas.

 

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OSHA Violations

Types of Violations — There are six types of OSHA violations:

De Minimis, Non-Serious, Serious, Willful, Repeat and Criminal. Each is defined as follows:

• De Minimis Violation — A De Minimis Violation is one in which there is no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health (i.e., an employer complies with the clear intent of the standard, but deviates from its particular requirements in a manner that has no direct relationship to safety or health).

• Non-Serious Violation — A Non-Serious Violation is more severe than a De Minimis Violation, but less severe than a Serious Violation. There must be a direct and immediate relationship between the violation and safety or health, but no substantial risk of death or serious injury.

• Serious Violation — A Serious Violation occurs when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result (probability refers to the degree of injury, not the likelihood that the event should occur). The accident need only be possible, and not a probable consequence of the violation.

• Willful Violation — If an employer has intentionally disregarded or is plainly indifferent to the Act’s requirements (virtually any time a violation is not negligent or accidental), a Willful Violation has occurred.

• Repeat Violation — A Repeat Violation has occurred when a substantially similar violation has previously occurred (usually within the three years prior to the current violation) at the facility or establishment. A Repeat Violation differs from a Willful Violation in that it may result from an inadvertent, accidental or negligent act.

• Criminal Violation — Willful Violations resulting in a death and/or knowingly making false statements, representations or certifications are all Criminal Violations. There is also the Failure to Abate Violation, which is a violation where an employer failed to correct a hazard that was recognized in a previous inspection.

Contesting a Citation Penalty — To contest a citation, a written Notice of Intention to Contest must be filed with the OSHA area director within 15 days of receipt. Unless a citation is properly contested, it will become final within 15working days after receipt.

In virtually all cases where a citation has been issued, whether or not a facility has decided to contest it, it will probably be appropriate to hold an informal conference with OSHA’s assistant regional director to discuss the matter.

This conference should be requested and conducted prior to expiration of the 15-day period. Even if the assistant regional director determines that a violation occurred, the class of violation and/or the penalty may be reduced as a result of the conference. If the assistant regional director agrees to a violation/penalty reduction or any change to the citation, a settlement agreement will be forwarded for completion.

Safety Recognition

Safety Recognition vs. Safety Incentive Programs

Are you opposed to recognizing your employees for a job well done?  Or do you just think that since you pay your employees to perform work for you that there is no need to recognize them for doing the work well?

Here are my thoughts on Recognition.   Recognition is motivation.  Motivated employees perform better than employees who are just there to earn a paycheck

•      What comes to mind when you hear the term “safety incentives”? Pizza parties held after 30 days worked without an injury? Prizes raffled off after six weeks without a lost-time incident?  Major problems with OSHA because they have made their position very clear on "incentive programs based on accident rates". 

•      There are many ways to recognize-reward performance that meets or exceeds our expectations that will enhance our Safety Performance and improve the Safety Culture!

•      So why not have "Safety Reward & Recognition" that Celebrate what you do right!  That will change the employee participation in safety activities that will result in improving your overall Safety Performance!

•      Interestingly, small tokens of appreciation have been shown to be more effective than larger rewards in increasing compliance.   When positive feedback is moderate and personal, employees know that they are not being safe to earn extra cash—they are being safe because they want to be safe.  When the reward is immediate, it causes the behavior to reoccur!!

The intent to cause the safe behavior to occur again!

•      Compliance with standards=non-negotiable, it is required and the bare minimum! 

•      Nobody is interested in paying employees to follow the rules, or even to work safely for that matter.  THAT should already be a condition of employment and is non-negotiable! 

•      However, immediate rewards that will get people involved will help you to change your safety culture!

•      "Safety Recognition" that is based on "leading indicators" of workplace safety, which are recorded and measured before an accident occurs has proven to effectively change the safety culture, thereby reducing work related injury and illness. 

•      Ideas: SAFETY BUCKS program, Bee Safe Recognition (cool safety glasses, cool bandana, cool hard hat, pair of gloves (kills two birds with one stone if you get employees to do something safe and reward them with PPE that you want them to use), Housekeeping contest, Qrtly Safety Quiz=4 gift cards=only $160/year and a Qrtly BBQ or Pizza Party when you achieve successes, Year-end Celebration when achieve the Annual Goals and Objectives

•      So your goals and objectives must be assigned and measurable to know what to reward