Safety Management Basics

Safety management involves setting organisational safety goals and implementing procedures to control risk. The goal is to keep employees safe and reduce the financial costs of accidents and incidents.

Top tier organisations make safety an integral part of their culture and demonstrate this by making it clear that everyone is accountable for safety. They also use behavior based systems to improve safety through habit creation.

Identifying Hazards

When it comes to Safety management, identifying hazards is one of the most important steps. Hazard identification is the process of evaluating whether a person or environment has the potential to cause harm, including illnesses and injuries.

When identifying hazards, there are a number of different methods you can use, such as reviewing inspection and injury reports, consulting workers, and reviewing medical records (with personal identifying information redacted). Another useful tool is hazard mapping. This involves drawing a large outline of the worksite(s) and marking existing and potential hazards. It’s a great way to involve workers and solicit feedback.

In addition to implementing hazard identification strategies, it’s also essential to regularly review workplace conditions and processes. This will help ensure that any existing hazards are addressed and new ones aren’t introduced. Using a cloud-based employee safety solution such as SHEQSY can also improve hazard identification by making it easy for employees to report on hazards, near misses, and incidents via their smartphone. This enables managers to seamlessly analyse and identify risks in real time.

Identifying Risks

Risk identification is a key step in Safety management. It involves identifying all possible risks that could impact business operations in some way, whether that be lawsuits, theft, technology breaches or even something as big as a Category 5 hurricane. The resulting list of hazards is typically recorded in a risk register and kept up to date. There are many different ways to identify risks, including brainstorming, thinking pessimistically and seeking employee feedback.

Once the hazard is identified it is necessary to determine how serious the hazard is and who might be harmed if the hazard actually takes place. Often this information is buried in the minds of employees and accessing it requires brainstorming sessions, one-on-one meetings or group discussions.

The most significant risks are then analyzed and reduced by eliminating them, controlling them or mitigating them. The most serious risks are typically eliminated first, followed by a second group of risks that are less severe. In some cases, all of the risks may need to be mitigated in order to comply with regulatory or industry standards.

Identifying Controls

Safety management requires that businesses identify the ways to minimize risks, and then develop and implement controls to control those risks. In most cases, controlling hazards is more effective than attempting to eliminate them entirely. The best way to manage risk is through the hierarchy of controls: Elimination, Substitution and Engineering Controls.

The first step is to remove the hazard from the workplace, such as removing a hazardous chemical or replacing a machine with a safer version of the same product. Elimination is typically simplest at the design phase, but it can also be implemented in existing processes.

When eliminating a hazard is not possible, the next step is to substitute it with something less hazardous. For example, using alcohol as a solvent instead of benzene or toluene. Engineering controls reduce exposure by changing the work environment to separate workers from the hazard, such as installing ventilation systems.

Finally, administrative controls change the way employees work to eliminate or reduce their exposure to a hazard by requiring them to follow safety procedures. This is a more difficult and expensive option, but it can be the best solution in some situations.

Developing a Safety Plan

When it comes to safety, many organizations rely on lagging indicators such as lost workdays or workers’ comp costs, which only tell a story of what happened and not how to prevent it from happening again. To truly be successful, your organization must develop a plan that addresses each of your hazards and potential risks.

Developing a safety plan should include policies, procedures, training, disciplinary action and any other aspect of your business that affects worker safety. It should also be reviewed and revised periodically as your business environment changes.

Some of the things you will do in your safety plan may be specific to your type of business. Restaurants, for example, will likely have different hazards than a manufacturing plant that uses chemicals and other potentially dangerous substances. Having the right personal protective equipment (PPE) in place is essential for anyone working in these environments. It should be readily available and easy to understand how to use. Your safety plan should also include a reporting system where employees can report injuries, illnesses, accidents and concerns without fear of retaliation.

Developing a Safety Culture

When a company prioritizes safety, it benefits in many ways. Fewer incidents mean lower workers' compensation and insurance costs, less disruption in production, fewer days missed from work and a better reputation among employees, customers, prospective hires and shareholders.

Developing a safety culture requires ongoing communication and proactive procedures for addressing issues that arise. Workers should feel comfortable sharing their concerns and voicing ideas for improvement, and managers should respond positively rather than punitively when they report unsafe conditions or lapses in safety protocol.

Handing out demerits for minor lapses in the rules is counterproductive to a safety culture and can reduce employee trust. Duress Alarm Likewise, putting too much emphasis on policing safety violations can lead to people feeling like they're being treated unfairly and are being singled out for punishment.

Having leadership commit to the importance of a strong safety culture is essential. In great safety cultures, leaders don't just talk the talk -- they walk it. All employees throughout the organization display a working knowledge of safety topics and exhibit the psychological and behavioral readiness required to support and sustain a high level of safety culture.