“Think Safety.” How many times have you seen those words in a workplace? It sounds good, but what exactly does it mean?
Many supervisors unwittingly play a safety con game with their employees. They tell them that they are responsible for their own safety. They encourage the workers to “think safe,” “act safe,” “be safe,” etc. They may, however, fail to teach employees exactly what they should do. Employees have to be supplied with the “how-to” of safety.
In fact, the supervisor’s responsibility goes even further. They must demonstrate to the employees that they really mean what they say about safety’s importance. One way to do this is to involve themselves in the process. Supervisors should see how they themselves stack up in terms of personal involvement by looking at the following areas of safety achievement:
- Facility inspections: Do you participate in formal safety inspections on a regular basis? Do you review and comment on the record of inspections?
- Safety contacts: Do you personally make contact with your employees, seeking their ideas or concerns about loss prevention? Do you share your ideas with them?
- Safety newsletters: Replace that old safety policy statement curled up on your bulletin board with a current notice that describes a pertinent safety practice or recent near miss.
- Accident investigation reports: Make sure investigations of all accidents are accomplished and reviewed. Do you follow up on the recommendations?
- Safety rules: Have a simple set of rules that are tailored to your workplace. Make sure the employees are thoroughly familiar with them. Use booklets, talks, briefings and bulletin boards to get your message across.
- Recognition: Make an effort to point out a particularly noteworthy safety achievement. Publicize safety accomplishments. Give out awards.