Many times a supervisor faces serious obstacles (real or imagined) to attaining a good safety record for his or her department. Here are some of the excuses supervisors commonly given along with some solutions:
I can’t stand over each subordinate all the time! You don’t have to. Workers often repeat the same unsafe practice many times before they are hurt. You should be able to see violations and take immediate action before an accident occurs.
I have warned my workers repeatedly! You should probably spend less time warning subordinates and more time teaching them safe work practices. You can’t bully workers into safety–you have to lead them.
I can’t fire everyone who acts unsafely! You are not expected to. A good supervisor has executive and leadership qualities and gets results without firing employees.
What can I do other than re-instruct my workers? Do the same thing and do it in the same way that you would if they had violated instructions in regard to tolerances of production or if they had failed to follow specifications.
Workers complain that safety shoes and protective clothing are uncomfortable! Take their complaints seriously and investigate them. If it is true, then there is something wrong with the safety equipment. Employers often find that giving their workers a choice in selecting equipment solves the problem.
I don’t have time to teach safety! Time and again, studies have shown that the greatest production has been turned out at the lowest cost when the job was done safely.
Why all the fuss? Our workers haven’t had any serious accidents! Intelligent accident prevention consists of constant vigilance to ensure that plant equipment and safeguards are properly maintained and used. It also consists of a never-ending job of impressing upon workers the importance of observing safe practices.