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Management Safety Techniques

Principal Author / Publisher:Safetyhow Admin
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Creating a safe workplace should be a top priority for all employers. Team members and management are a company's greatest assets and keeping them safe on the job is no small task. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), 4,340 workers died on the job in 2009. Employers are responsible for doing everything possible to keep employees safe.

Management Commitment


Building a strong safety culture starts with management. Management must be knowledgeable about safe work practices within its environment. Management without exception must practice and reinforce safe working behaviors. If safety glasses, hearing protection and specialized clothing are necessary to work safely, management must both wear the proper equipment and enforce its use. Management also must set standards that say it is unacceptable to work in any manner or condition that is not safe.

Team Member Knowledge
• A training calendar should be established each year. Teaching employees about workplace hazards on a regular basis assists in familiarizing them with each topic. Training topics include the proper use of personal protective equipment, handling of chemicals and accident reporting. Using a combination of training and reinforcement of proper safety behaviors in the workplace will reinforce the correct safety behaviors. Behavior-based safety is a great tool to encourage peer-to-peer accountability. Behavior-based safety is an auditing process where people are observed in their work environment doing their jobs. Observations should focus on the activity and not the person and could include proper personal protective equipment, proper ergonomics, or use of the proper tools.

Workplace Inspections
• In conjunction with altering the behavior of employees, management must also eliminate workplace and job-related hazards. One will not be effective without the other. Completing a job safety analysis (JSA) for each job in the workplace is a step toward eliminating hazards. Management should also complete walk-through inspections of different areas of the work site. Areas of concern should be noted and action taken to correct problems within a specified amount of time. Both management and team members should be involved in the work-site inspection process.

Formalized Programs
• Developing formalized safety programs further ingrains a strong safety culture. Some basic programs include accident prevention, personal protective equipment, hazard communication for chemicals used on site, respiratory, hearing loss and fall protection. Developing team members as safety program owners or experts helps make programs cohesive and sustainable. As a safety program owner, team members become experts on a specific safety topic, train employees in the topic, track training and ensure any regulatory requirements are met. Managers can act as mentors to safety program owners. Team members can attend train-the-trainer courses offered through local OSHA or Bureau of Workers Compensation offices and return to their workplace to train team members and management on the program.
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