Meet the Safety Challenge Every Day with Good Communication

It’s often said that safety is everyone’s responsibility. It’s also often said that management commitment and employee involvement are critical factors in developing an effective safety and health system.

Both these statements are true, of course. And you’re the messenger—the link between management and the workforce that makes it all work.

Safety communication is one of your most important roles as a safety professional. Fortunately, there are lots of good ways to communicate your safety messages.

Written Communication

Written safety communications are so often necessary because the material may be technical, complicated, lengthy, and/or because there may be documentation requirements. The written word is also the most flexible way to communicate any kind of safety information to large numbers of employees all at once, while ensuring a consistent message.

Opportunities for written safety communications include:

• Policy statements, which establish the importance of safety and health to the organization, create the safety culture, and drive management and employee commitment to maintaining a safe workplace

• Safety manuals, which provide technical information about specific equipment or processes

• SDSs and labels, which communicate material hazards and precautions

• Signs and posters, which alert employees to hazards and emphasize required protections graphically

• Monthly safety reports, which provide safety statistics and performance measurements, discuss safety initiatives, indicate changes in rules and procedures, and so on

• Incident reports, which analyze near misses, accidents, and other events to discover causes and corrections

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• E-mail reminders,which keep employees engaged in and up to date within workplace safety issues

• Safety bulletin boards, which can be used to display a variety of safety reminders, program information, and other eye-catching information

• Safety and health pamphlets, which can be easily and inexpensively distributed to all employees, covering basic safety and wellness issues

• Payroll stuffers, which allow you to reach all employees easily with short, important safety messages

• Letters mailed to employees’ homes, which can provide family safety and health information as part of an off-the-job safety program

Other Communications

As important as written communications are, let’s not forget the spoken word. Oral communications are an effective—and immediate—way to communicate small bites of safety information. For example:

• Safety reminders from supervisors
• Positive reinforcement for safe performance
• Weekly safety meetings
• Instructional briefings or toolbox talks
• Safety committee discussions
• Feedback from employees on safety issues and concerns
• Hazard and incident reporting

Last, but not least, there’s nonverbal communication, such as:

• Leading by example
• Conducting regular safety inspections and audits
• Maintaining housekeeping schedules and standards to provide employees with a clean and neat workplace
• Making safety training a priority

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Try OSHA Training System for a complete solution to your mandated training needs. You can do so at no cost or risk. Read more.

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Communicate with Training

A comprehensive approach to safety training sends a clear message to employees that your organization is committed to their safety and health.

As its name implies, the OSHA Training System is a complete system to meet your full training needs. All the materials are prepared in advance, so no prep time is required. All you do is reproduce what you need and put it to use.

Materials include:

• 32 complete safety units, meeting every key OSHA standard. Each includes full background for trainers, a ready-to-use safety meeting, and follow-up handouts. View a Table of Contents.
• Quizzes, handouts, and copies of employee booklets, coordinated to the safety meetings. (Additional booklets can be bought in any quantity at a discount.)
• A complete training recordkeeping and tracking system that tells you which employees need what training, and then tracks your program to ensure they get it.
• Quarterly updates, included with the program. You receive at least 4 new safety units every 90 days, covering new OSHA standards and training needs.

If you share the common problem of never having enough time or the right materials for training, we’d suggest you examine the OSHA Training System program. We’ve arranged for you to do so for up to 30 days at no cost or risk. Just let us know and we’ll be happy to make all the arrangements.