Workplace Safety - Writing the Plan

Well-thought and complete planning is essential to insist safety and health in the organization. Safety plans are intended to improvise and optimize survivor or victim safety at every stage. And for having a safety plan, the safety plan should be prepared, discussed, reviewed and written with the professionals or experts of the safety department.

Elements of Safety Plan

The safety plan can also be written by having a basic working knowledge of safety and the work your company deals with. Every safety plan should be a dynamic document that can be easily adapted to the specific safety with regards to change of time and changes in the situation and prospectus.

• Safety plan should be devised in accordance with the legislative requirements of the country.

• It contains the roles and responsibilities of the staff concerned to ensure safety and health

• It contains all matters of health, well-being and safety of those who are or belong to the organization

• It serves and protects the individuals who matter for the organization

• It delineates the areas of safety concerns, how to deal with the concerns and the requirements to deal with the concerns

• It differs from industry to industry depending upon the nature of work, company policies and the external environment.

Safety plans should start from the assumption that an abuser is dangerous and try to help the victim/survivor. It seeks to identify the circumstances under which the abuser typically becomes violent and how the abuser may react to help seeking strategies.

Safety and health written programs can establish and provide procedures, guidelines and documentation for safety practices such as equipment inspection, training, evaluation of contractors and performance review through job observations.

Management Involvement

Management involvement in devising the safety plan and its proper execution adds importance to it. Observable senior management leadership within your organization encourages safety management as an organizational value.

Senior management should take these actions to show energetic leadership in the safety and health processes −

• Edit a written safety policy as a central value of the organization and allocate roles and responsibilities

• Organize both yearly and long-term safety objectives

• Include safety as a scheme item in all day-to-day scheduled business meetings

• Reviewing progress of the safety & health processes with supervisors & employees

• Escort supervisors, safety team members or safety committee members during periodic departmental safety surveys

• Analyze and discuss all accident-enquiry reports with the supervisor or foreman;

• Present safety identification awards to worthy employees

• Openly debate safety issues with employees during periodic tours or meetings

• Take part as a student in employee safety training programs

• Take part in meetings with accident-prevention coordinators

Responsibility should be expanded throughout the organizational structure to ensure that the policy objectives are integrated into all activities.

Employee Involvement

Employee involvement and identification sustain employee’s chances to take part in the safety-management process requirements. To ensure the success of the program, both management and employees will take part in the safety and health management process.

Employee participation chances can include −

• Accident investigations

• Safety and health inspection

• Emergency response teams

• Development of operating procedures

• Presentation of training topics

• Feedback about the working of safety plan

• Safety and health involvement teams, focus groups, or safety and health committees

The team should meet every quarter with the planner. The planner should be a member of the team who plans the meeting, arranges for a meeting place and informs members of the meeting.

The agenda of the meeting should be to discuss the following points −

• Edit and make accessible records of the safety and health issues, and results discussed during meetings

• Use identification problem-solving techniques

• Advocate particular actions in response to employee safety suggestions

• Conduct surveys of the safety culture every 12 to 18 months

• Analyze investigations of accidents and causes of incidents resulting in injury, illness or subjection to risky substances, and recommend specific action plans for prevention

Workplace Safety Training of Employees

Conduct direction and training for all employees Requirements recognize and respond to the particular training needs of your employees, including supervisors, managers and team leaders. Develop a written safety-and-health training plan that documents particular training aims and instruction procedures.

The safety-and-health training plan should include −

• Company safety and health policy statement
• Employee accountabilities
• Risky communication
• Specific job/task safe work practices and hazard identification;
• Reporting
• Process for the safe and efficient use of machinery and tools
• Ergonomic risk factors, including the prevention of increasing shock disorders
• Chemical hazards and how to prevent contact or exposure
• Risks associated with movement like lifts and elevators and provision to deal with

No matter how safe a work environment you have, the success of your safety-and-health systems depends upon the managers, supervisors, team leaders and employees sticking to or implementing safe work practices.