How To Evaluate Your Safety Program
Just as regular physical checkups by a physician evaluate a person's overall health, a professional skilled in safety and health administration can evaluate the health and ultimate effectiveness of a safety program. In order to get an accurate and complete evaluation of a safety program, it is necessary to focus on a set of important factors, which include administrative and management tasks; training and employee education; employee performance; and a variety of environmental, physical and psychological issues.
Instructions
Analyze the Data
1.Review recent accident and incident investigations to determine any current trends or serious risks and hazards associated with the safety program which is currently being evaluated. Investigate historical accident and incident loss data to determine trends of loss in the more distant past that may be related to the current safety program.
2.Evaluate training records to determine whether training is being performed as required by the written safety program. Determine what percentage of employees covered in the scope of the safety program have been trained. Examine the method used to measure training effectiveness, if this has been measured.
3.Analyze employee reports of safety concerns, violations or near misses relating to the safety program. Determine whether concerns or root causes have been addressed by management.
4.Read safety committee meeting minutes or attend a live committee meeting. This will help you determine the level of employee involvement in the safety program as well as the overall safety culture.
Interview the Management and Employees
5.Interview management using questions developed to gauge their knowledge of the requirements, operation and importance of the safety program. Questions should be designed to determine both regulatory knowledge and practical knowledge of how the safety program is applied in practice.
6.Talk with employees individually and ask them to explain what hazards they are exposed to and how they protect themselves from those hazards.
7.Ask employees to explain what barriers if any they see in fully implementing the safety program and how those barriers could potentially be overcome. Field Observations
8.Conduct a job-hazard analysis to compare with those already completed by management in the development of the written safety program. Specifically identify any significant hazards found that are not accounted for in the written safety program.
9.Complete a general safety inspection or audit focused on the implementation of engineering controls, administrative controls, utilization of personal protective equipment and completion of preventive maintenance tasks. Identify any deficiencies in practice as compared to the safety program.
10.Develop general work observations focused on work controls, safety procedures and safety rules contained in the written safety program. Document any performance gaps.
Instructions
Analyze the Data
1.Review recent accident and incident investigations to determine any current trends or serious risks and hazards associated with the safety program which is currently being evaluated. Investigate historical accident and incident loss data to determine trends of loss in the more distant past that may be related to the current safety program.
2.Evaluate training records to determine whether training is being performed as required by the written safety program. Determine what percentage of employees covered in the scope of the safety program have been trained. Examine the method used to measure training effectiveness, if this has been measured.
3.Analyze employee reports of safety concerns, violations or near misses relating to the safety program. Determine whether concerns or root causes have been addressed by management.
4.Read safety committee meeting minutes or attend a live committee meeting. This will help you determine the level of employee involvement in the safety program as well as the overall safety culture.
Interview the Management and Employees
5.Interview management using questions developed to gauge their knowledge of the requirements, operation and importance of the safety program. Questions should be designed to determine both regulatory knowledge and practical knowledge of how the safety program is applied in practice.
6.Talk with employees individually and ask them to explain what hazards they are exposed to and how they protect themselves from those hazards.
7.Ask employees to explain what barriers if any they see in fully implementing the safety program and how those barriers could potentially be overcome. Field Observations
8.Conduct a job-hazard analysis to compare with those already completed by management in the development of the written safety program. Specifically identify any significant hazards found that are not accounted for in the written safety program.
9.Complete a general safety inspection or audit focused on the implementation of engineering controls, administrative controls, utilization of personal protective equipment and completion of preventive maintenance tasks. Identify any deficiencies in practice as compared to the safety program.
10.Develop general work observations focused on work controls, safety procedures and safety rules contained in the written safety program. Document any performance gaps.
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