WORKSITE ANALYSIS
is just one piece of the puzzle
SH Mgt. System
Elements
- Management Leadership and Employee Involvement
- Worksite Analysis
- Hazard Prevention and Control
- Safety and Health Training
SH Elements
Interrelated
·
All elements of a safety and health system are
interrelated.
·
All pieces are related to all other pieces.
·
A flaw in one piece will probably impact all the
other pieces, and therefore the system as a whole.
The Bigger Picture of
the Safety & Health Management System
·
Now let's talk about the safety and health
management system and its components:
o A system is an established arrangement of components that work together
to attain a certain objective, in this case to prevent injuries and illnesses
in the workplace.
o Within a system, all parts are interconnected and affect each other.
Overview of System
Components
- Management must provide the resources and authority so all personnel
can find the hazards in the worksite and, once found, to eliminate or to
control those hazards.
- Training is the backbone of this system. For management to lead, for
personnel to analyze the worksite for hazards, and for hazards to be
eliminated or controlled, everyone involved must be trained.
- No parts of this system exist independently. An effective and
functioning program is the sum of all the parts.
Worksite Analysis and
Inspections/Observations is Just ONE piece of the puzzle!
Worksite Analysis
· Worksite analysis involves a variety of worksite
examinations to identify not only existing hazards, but also conditions and
operations in which changes might create hazards.
- Effective management actively analyzes the work and the worksite, to
anticipate and prevent harmful occurrences.
Comprehensive surveys
·
For small businesses, OSHA-funded, state-run
consultation services can conduct a comprehensive survey at no cost. Many
workers’ compensation carriers and other insurance companies offer expert
services to help their clients evaluate safety and health hazards. Numerous
private consultants provide a variety of safety and health expert services.
Larger businesses may find the needed expertise at the company or corporate
level.
·
For the industrial hygiene survey, at a minimum, all
chemicals and hazardous materials in the plant should be inventoried, the
hazard communication program should be reviewed, and air samples analyzed. For
many industries, a survey of noise levels, a review of the respirator program,
and a review of ergonomic risk factors are needed.
Here’s a suggested
plan to identify all worksite hazards:
- Conduct a
comprehensive, baseline survey for safety and health and periodic,
comprehensive update surveys.
- Conduct periodic
and daily safety and health inspections of the workplace.
- Perform routine
job safety hazard analyses. (JSA or JHA)
- Change analysis
of planned and new facilities, processes, materials, and equipment.
·
Conduct Self Assessments/Bench Marking
·
In
order to get where you want to go, it is essential to know where you are
starting from.
·
You
can use a variety of self-audit mechanisms to compare your site processes with
other recognized models of excellence such as SHARP sites or Star VPP sites.
·
Visiting
other sites to gain first hand information is also invaluable.
·
You
can use perception surveys to measure the strengths and weaknesses of your site
safety culture.
·
These
surveys can give you data from various viewpoints within the organization. For
instance, you can measure differences in employees' and managers' perceptions
on various issues.
·
This
is an excellent way to determine whether alignment issues exist and, if so,
what they are. One example is the Safety and Health Program Check Up.
·
At
this stage, it is important to look at issues that surface as symptoms of
larger system failures. For example, ask what major system failed to detect
the unguarded machine, or why the system failed to notice that incident
investigations are not being performed on time, or if workers are being blamed
for the failures. Your greatest level of success will come when these larger
system failures are recognized and addressed.
Develop an Inspection
Program
- 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.
- Routine site
safety and health inspections are designed to catch hazards missed at
other stages. This type of inspection should be done at regular intervals,
generally on a weekly basis. In addition, procedures should be established
that provide a daily inspection of the work area
- You can use a
checklist already developed or make your own, based on:
- Past problems.
- Standards that
apply to your industry.
- Input from
everyone involved.
- Your company's
safety practices or rules.
- Important things
to remember about inspections are:
- Inspections
should cover every part of the worksite.
- They should be
done at regular intervals.
- In-house
inspectors should be trained to recognize and control hazards.
- Identified
hazards should be tracked to correction.
- Information
from inspections should be used to improve the hazard prevention and
control program.
Perform routine job safety hazard analyses (JSA, JHA, or
JSHA)
·
Hazard
analysis techniques can be quite complex. While this is necessary in some
cases, frequently a basic, step-by-step review of the operation is sufficient.
One of the most commonly used techniques is the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). Jobs
that were initially designed with safety in mind may now include hazards or
improper operations. When done for every job, this analysis periodically puts
processes back on the safety track.
·
Other,
more sophisticated techniques are called for when there are complex risks involved.
These techniques include: WHAT-IF Checklist, Hazard and Operability Study,
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, and Fault Tree Analysis.
Change Analysis
- Anytime
something new is brought into the workplace, whether it be a piece of
equipment, different materials, a new process, or an entirely new
building, new hazards may unintentionally be introduced. Before
considering a change for a worksite, it should be analyzed thoroughly
beforehand. Change analysis helps in heading off a problem before it develops.
- You may find
change analysis useful when:
- Building or
leasing a new facility.
- Installing new
equipment.
- Using new
materials.
- Starting up new
processes.
- Staffing
changes occur.
For more information visit OSHA's e-tools
Author: Deborah Grow, Safety Specialist
Kansas Department of Labor-Industrial Safety and Health
(21d) OSHA Consultation Program
