The importance of a successful safety management program seems self-explanatory, but unfortunately, they are not implemented by all companies. An organization’s ability to keep its employees safe depends on its ability to design, implement, and continually evaluate and improve safety management processes and programs within the company.
Leading companies value employee health and safety to make it a shared responsibility. These companies do so in a strategic way that enables employees to effectively practice prevention, while also equipping them to effectively handle any incident as they occur.
An effective safety management program should:
- Reduce the risk of workplace incidents, injuries, and fatalities through data-driven measurements and improvements.
- Involve people from all levels of the organization to make safety a shared responsibility.
- Be well organized and structured to ensure consistent growth and performance.
- Be proactive, preventive, and integrated into the culture of the entire organization.
Safety Policies
The initial step to safety success is to put into writing your organization’s position on the importance of safety management, and the general expectations of each employee as to how to act in certain situations. Safety policies should include critical operating information for employees to embrace and follow throughout their day.
The initial step to safety success is to put into writing your organization’s position on the importance of safety management, and the general expectations of each employee as to how to act in certain situations.
Regular Communication
Having safety policies that are frequently communicated and accessible to everyone is important. Organizations must discuss the safety policies with employees and managers to ensure their understanding.
It’s also a good idea to remind employees often that safety is valued in the organization along with other key components such as quality and productivity.
Focused, consistent messaging about safety and health can create loyal, productive, and accountable employees who feel respected and valued by the company. Regular, ongoing communication educates employees, helps to show the values of the company, and helps to reinforce the right behaviors.
Focused, consistent messaging about safety and health can create loyal, productive, and accountable employees who feel respected and valued by the company.
Data-Driven Evaluation
Organizations with outstanding safety records should develop a systematic, data-driven method to measure what’s going on throughout their entire safety operation. This enables them to quickly and easily understand deficiencies and negative trends within an organization’s safety performance.
Many organizations primarily rely on lagging indicators, choosing to measure the past (lost workdays, workers’ comp costs, or injury frequency). These metrics do very little for future prevention of accidents and injuries.
Leading indicators provide insight that allows the organization to predict what could happen and take preventive action to minimize risk. Leading indicators include measures such as safety interactions, frequency of safety training, and number of employees trained.
Through gaining insights into leading and lagging indicators, organizations can gain a complete picture of their entire safety program with the primary goal being risk mitigation.
Safety Training
Leading companies understand the importance of well-trained employees and prioritize their education.
Effective safety training provides employees with the:
- Knowledge to do their job safely
- Awareness of how to eliminate or control hazards to reduce risk
- Specialization when their specific roles require unique preparation
Reporting Issues
World-class organizations emphasize the importance of timely reporting of potential problems or safety incidents.
Employees should feel obligated to report a hazard or potential issue when they see it. When everyone feels a sense of responsibility for carrying out safety policies and procedures, the entire organization will improve its safety.
Continual Improvement
Committing to the establishment of a safe and healthy culture is never-ending. There are continual areas of opportunity for improvement, new hires to train, new equipment, and more. A leading safety management program employs a systematic approach to evaluating, improving, and reviewing organizational risk to increase organizational success.
For support or consultation on creating an effective safety management program, contact EHS consultants, Cardinal Compliance Consultants.