Working Safely
By: Steve Sayer
Principle 1 of an injury/illness plan – The Buck Stops Here
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Harry Truman, who became commander-in-chief following the death of Franklin Roosevelt, had a sign on his desk for White House visitors to see. It read, “The Buck Stops Here.”
It’s fitting that we bring into focus Truman’s renowned dictum as we appraise the first of eight principles of an injury/illness prevention program (IIPP). Principle 1 is all about having a dogmatic commitment from the president of your company concerning OSHA safety. The same brand of pledge that she/he made towards the 1996 Mega Reg. If this commitment isn’t made and not consistently supported, then your communal effort to eradicate injuries/illnesses to manageable levels shall be quixotic.
With the fervor of Geronimo on horseback amid the insistence of Rommel in his tank, a mission statement from your president proffering her/his inveterate commitment to a safe, healthy workplace must be communicated to everyone. Truman relied on qualified, knowledgeable cabinet members and military generals to get his messages across that ended WW II. So must your president. Delegating responsibility to qualified plant management and supervisors who’ve been trained and educated in OSHA safety is a must.
With responsibility comes accountability. Principle I includes selecting the right people with the right stuff to be your safety coordinators/safety officers. They must be educated in OSHA safety with the objective to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment.
There’s an abundance of OSHA seminars across these United States where you can begin the education process for your OSHA team. Devote yourselves to OSHA safety like you do each day towards quality control. Your collective efforts towards reducing injuries and illnesses will then begin to be realized.
Like HACCP, form an OSHA committee that meets and discusses events that have transpired since your last meeting. Create quorum, record minutes, and file your records for future references.
IIPP Coordinator
ü Sets safety policies. Provides leadership/information updates. Liaises with governmental and workers compensation agencies. Assures records are maintained. Determines needs for authoritative safety references while procuring and distributing them. Coordinates loss control activities. Critiques program evaluations.
Safety Managers
ü Inspects and appraises workplace hazards. Works with management/IIPP coordinator to develop methodologies for abating workplace hazards. Validates hazards were abated. Investigates accidents. Reviews accident reports/corrective actions. Assures corrective actions were taken. Implements recognition programs for employees who exhibit commendable safety performances.
By launching your OSHA program with an IIPP that has been erected on a bedrock foundation of educated, knowledgeable people, you’re well on your way down the yellow brick road to stopping your tsunami of bucks to insurance companies.
As these 8 principles continue to unfold, you’ll perceive that an IIPP is as indigenous to HACCP as the boomerang is to the quintessential Australian weapon. Epiphanies?
Principle 2 of an IIPP – Its all about your people
(With last weeks principle 1 being realized by:
An unwavering commitment from the President of your company to providing a safe/healthy workplace for employees;
A qualified IIPP Coordinator being selected;
Safety Officers being trained/educated in OSHA Safety;
A Safety Committee being organized that establishes quorum, recorded minutes and reports on OSHA events since past meetings.
Now it’s time to take one small step to principle 2 and one giant leap towards achieving a safe and healthy working environment at your company. Principle 2 is hands-down my most precious of the 8 principles of an IIPP. It’s the gold-standard principle that I see missing in action in many food plants. Principle 2 is all about your people in relation to company training, recognition and disciplinary policies.
Discipline is a form of teaching. OSHA policies promote safety awareness. The objective is to simply eliminate and minimize employee risks. When your hire people, you — the employer — hold the inherent responsibility to educate your employees and let them know what is expected of them. Likewise, each employee should be held accountable for their actions beyond their first day of employment.
In our industry it’s an established norm that science-based HACCP programs are supported by a melting pot of SSOP, prerequisite, SPS and GMP programs. But what foundation do these programs rely on? It’s your people. Not just your production people, but those in sanitation, shipping/receiving and maintenance who prepare and ship the products, clean the facility and apply maintenance to the equipment.
If your people are the foundation for your company’s ultimate success, then a well-designed hiring and training protocol needs to be in place and working as intended. This is principle 2. It’s what you do or don’t do with your people from day 1 and beyond. Educating workers promotes self-worth; self-worth amplifies individual morale that naturally manifests itself into improved productivity and longevity with employers. Training is educating employees on how to perform their jobs properly, efficiently and safely.
Principle 2 also encourages the IIPP coordinator and safety managers with providing guidelines for corporate recognition programs for exemplary safety performances. Recognition may be gift certificates, letters of accommodation and/or an employee of the month awards. I’ve seen owners of companies hold meetings and draw out of their bumper caps random winners of TV’s, stereos and DVD players whenever thirty consecutive working days without a reportable injury or illness has been achieved. This type of interaction really helps to boost and maintain high employee morale.
Yes, I’m cognizant it’s a long way up hamburger hill, but once you’ve arrived and look down from the summit, you’ll love the vista from atop. Comments?
Principle 3 of injury and illness prevention – stop communication breakdowns
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Ahhh, communiqué!
With the conviction of Noah on the necessity of flood control, a two-way communication channel between management and employees concerning safety and health issues is critical to an injury free and productive workplace.
The rudiments of principle 3 are primed and fine-tuned to stopping the communication breakdowns between management and employees. You don’t need to possess the keen communication skills of Zig Ziglar or the judicious organizational talents of Lee Iacocca to get your messages across. By following principle 3, your communication breakdowns will plunge downwards like the Zeppelin Hindenburg of 1937.
New employee orientation – A new employee orientation must include a review of the injury and illness protection program (IIPP) including discussions of company safety policies and procedures that employees are expected to follow. A code of safe practices describing unique hazards of each job must be included. Orientations should exhibit company values while concomitantly providing the tools needed to succeed.
Well-planned orientations will help employees get up to speed while reducing costs associated with learning their jobs. It’s important that employees learn early on what is expected of them. That is; the safety goals of your company.
Bridging language barriers – Hablas Espanola? Taler du Dansk? Parlez-Vous Francais? Your OSHA training must be in a language that your employees can understand. You don’t have to turn your workplace into Ratatouilles 5-star café; use translators.
Meetings – Documented meetings with employees should be scheduled with safety openly discussed. I’ve always encouraged meetings being held prior to employee’s first break while they’re still fresh and impressionable.
Written materials – Post bi-lingual safety announcements on high foot-traffic bulletin boards. Questions should be directed towards supervisors.
Employee suggestions – Employees should be encouraged to inform supervisors of any workplace hazards and potential hazards, including hazardous work practices. A system should be designed for anonymous suggestions by depositing suggestions into a mailbox. Employees should never be reprimanded for reporting hazards and unsafe work practices. Supervisors and safety managers must investigate and document each reported hazard, unsafe work practice, including safety suggestions.
When an enforcement investigative analysis officer (EIAO) appears at your establishment to perform a food safety assessment (FSA), you’ll be asked to proffer a profusion of documentation. The same applies if OSHA spontaneously materializes at your doorsill. The safety committee needs to ensure that all safety related activities are well-documented for any needed future references.
Send me your ideas via your ergonomically engineered keyboard and tailless mouse vis-à-vis principle 3.
Steve Sayer
ALnews Columnist
Columnist/Blogger for meatingplace.com
