Safety and Health Management The Basics

Oregon OSHA Online Course 1095 This material is for training purposes only. Its purpose is to inform Oregon employers of best practices in occupational safety and health and general Oregon OSHA compliance requirements. This material is not a substitute for any provision of the Oregon Safety Employment Act or any standards issued by Oregon OSHA. For more information on this online course and other OR-OSHA online training, visit the Online Course Catalog. (http://www.cbs.state.or.us/osha/education.html) This is a text only version. Some links and content may not be active.

Course Modules Introduction Getting Started Module 1: Management Commitment Introduction Why does the employer make a commitment to safety? It's a question of leadership Indicators of Management Commitment Put safety into your mission Sample Mission Statement Reactive vs. Proactive Safety Strategies Goals and objectives Talk money: The bottom line Write a cost benefit analysis The unknown costs of an accident Financial tools that "sell" your recommendation Take Action A Sample Action Plan Module 2: Accountability Accountability from the employer to employee What is accountability? Elements of an Effective Accountability System Accountability System Evaluation Checklist Last Words Module 3: Employee Involvement Introduction We do what we do because of consequences Recognition is more a function of leadership than management The big secret Reactive safety incentive programs Proactive safety recognition programs Effective recognition strategies Proactive recognition programs that work

Recognition is more a factor of leadership than management Why should the safety committee remain in the background? Last Words Module 4: Effective Safety Communications Its not what you sayits how you say it! A most important responsibility! A rusty latch on the suggestion box Module 5: Hazard Identification and Control The Four Hazard Areas Two strategies Controlling Hazards The Hierarchy of Hazard Controls Scheduling and job enrichment Module 6: Effective Incident/Accident Analysis Accidents just happendont they? Accident Causation Theories Plan the workwork the plan! Securing the accident scene Gathering information What happened next? What caused the accident? More on surface causes Root causes Time to report Module 7: Safety Education and Training The Big Picture What does education about natural and system consequences look like? Why is education so important? Now, you show me Module 8: Evaluating the Safety Management System Introduction The Big Picture The Evaluation Process Improving the Safety Management System

INTRODUCTION According to the Oregon Safe Employment Act, employers have a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. This course has been developed to help you meet that obligation. Chapter 654 Occupational Safety and Health 2007 EDITION OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH LABOR, EMPLOYMENT; UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION SAFETY AND HEALTH CONDITIONS IN PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT (http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/654.html) Taking risks is part of running a business. You take risks in product development, marketing, and advertising in order to stay competitive. However, some risks should never be taken. One of these risks is the safety and health of the employees in the company. Getting Started Study the seven key elements of an effective safety and health program covered in this course, and come up with a business plan to suit your individual workplace. Decide exactly what you want to accomplish, and determine what steps are necessary to achieve your goals. Some of the elements may already exist, needing only minor changes to make them more effective. Next, plan how and when each step will be carried out and who will do it. If your company has a safety committee, its members can be a great help in this effort. Put the plan in writing. It's smart to put your plan in writing so everyone can read it and get involved.

MODULE 1: MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT Introduction This first element in Oregon OSHA's safety management system model addresses management commitment. As you'll see below, commitment is more than just good talk. It's much more than that. To determine if adequate commitment exists, we actually have to evaluate the other six elements first. If management is doing a great job in each of the elements, I think we may assume management commitment is sufficient. It is essential to the success of your company's safety and health program that top management demonstrate not only an interest, but also a long-term commitment to protect every employee from injury and illness on the job. Nevertheless, if you think you don't have that commitment, how do you get it? It won't just appear out of thin air. What is the secret? Management commitment must be driven by a strong desire to improve the company's culture: A culture that includes effective safety plans and consequences. Why does the employer make a commitment to safety? Employers routinely prioritize these three obligations: The Legal Imperative The Fiscal Imperative The Social Imperative The Legal Imperative - This describes the employer's legal duty to comply with occupational safety and health standards. When this is the primary motivation, safety is considered just another cost of doing business (CODB) that may drain the corporate budget. Unfortunately, some employers will do only what is required by law...probably not much more. That employer's primary goals are to: Meet minimum OR-OSHA regulatory requirements Avoid OR-OSHA inspections Avoid litigation The Fiscal Imperative - The employer is obligated to corporate stockholders to operate the business in a financially prudent manner. In the private sector, this means, "operating at a profit." In the public sector, this means, "operating within budget." The goal here may reflect a reactive approach that emphasizes doing safety to reduce accident costs. However, if the employer really understands the long-term benefits of an effective safety culture, the goal will likely focus on proactively doing everything possible to maximize safe operations. (More on reactive and proactive approaches later) Safety is more likely to be thought of as "process-quality" and given priority equal to that of production. The employer's primary goals are to: Meet or exceed stakeholder (stockholders, board of directors) expectations Reduce workers compensation costs Reduce indirect (uninsured) accident costs

The Social Imperative - In the best-case situation, the employer feels a strong obligation to each employee, the community, and society in general to support and protect the welfare of all employees...its "corporate family." Safety is perceived as a core corporate value, not open to negotiation. The employer's primary goals are to: Meet or exceed industry and community expectations Protect corporate family members Improve morale, reputation, and image It's a question of leadership Every action a manager or supervisor takes teaches everyone something about his or her safety leadership and sends a message to everyone about his or her commitment to safety and health. Everything a manager or supervisor does creates a story that will be told. Great leaders in safety, those that project a "tough-caring" leadership approach, insist everyone comply because they care about everyone's' personal welfare and success. The motivation comes from the heart, not a policy. It's based on a genuine concern for the safety and health of each employee. What better way to demonstrate leadership then by providing a safe and healthful place of work for all employees. Indicators of Management Commitment Studies indicate that companies with strong top management commitment to safety and health take strong tough-caring leadership and management action. They say perception is reality and that's true for you because your reality resides inside your head. With that in mind, what can you, as a safety committee member, safety coordinator, or employee do about that reality? If management is not demonstrating commitment through action, then you have an opportunity to become a key player to get things moving. With the help of the safety committee, you can "educate up" to help management gain the vision and understanding needed to change their thinking. After all, thinking creates beliefs that drive attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, your primary tool is education. Now let's look at what you can do to change that thinking. Put safety into your mission Your first step may be quite simple, yet it can have a major long-term impact on safety and health in the workplace. Make sure your company includes safety as a core corporate value in its mission statement. The mission statement tells the world who you are and what you do -- why your company exists. If your company doesn't have a mission statement, develop a draft mission statement and submit it as a suggestion to help clarify purpose. Convince management of the benefits that will result from a written mission statement. Sample Mission Statement It is the mission of XYZ Widgets to safely manufacture and deliver the highest quality cyberwidgets to our customers throughout the Western United States. Now let's look at two different management approaches to safety and health that companies may adopt. Actually, most companies will adopt strategies that reflect an approach somewhere between these two "extremes."

Reactive vs. Proactive Safety Strategies Don't just react to safety It's sad but true - some companies may adopt an approach to safety and health that emphasizes a reactive strategy. A reactive approach assumes that accidents just happen, and there's not much that can be done about it. "It's not a problem 'til it's a problem."

The Reactive Process: Injury - Investigate - Recommend - Implement The reactive safety improvement process begins when an accident occurs. By definition, reactive strategies look backward. Unfortunately, when an accident occurs it may be investigated primarily to determine if employees violated safety rules. Recommendations regarding possible discipline and correcting hazards are proposed. Finally, corrective actions and system improvements may be implemented. As you can see, the company places most of its effort reacting to accidents after they occur. A reactive response occurs after an injury or illness and usually its primary goal is to minimize accident costs. Its a well-intended goal, but the strategy to achieve the goal is flawed. The safety professional attempts to prevent future accidents by investigating previous accidents and other historical data. Reactive safety approaches usually cost much more than proactive programs because they are initiated only after an injury or illness occurs. When management emphasizes a reactive approach to safety and health, it unintentionally communicates two negative messages to employees: The leadership message that says, "we don't care about you," The management message that says, "Its all about money, not your safety." Here are some characteristics of reactive safety programs: Accident investigation primarily to determine if safety rules were violated. Analysis is usually quite superficial and the search for root causes may not occur. Emphasis on an early return to work/light duty program. Great program, but it light duty should not be the primary tactical remedy in reducing costs. Incentive and recognition programs that reward employees for withholding injury reports. Promises of reward for working "injury free" may produce negative peer pressure and send a message that "every time there's an accident, it's the employee's fault." Actually, an employee can work all year in total compliance with all safety rules and still get hurt. On the other hand, an employee can violate company safety rules every day and not get hurt. The compliant employee would lose his or her reward while the consistent violator would receive a reward. Reactive incentive and recognition programs are very common. Chances are your incentive and recognition program may be reactive. Disciplinary program that is tied to accident record. You can bet adequate analysis has not been conducted if employees are being disciplined quickly after an accident. Relying on reactive strategies is like driving down the road and looking in the rearview mirror to help you stay safely in your lane.

Be smart...be proactive A proactive strategy emphasizes anticipation. It means taking action to make sure accidents never happen in the workplace. There are no excuses for an accident. A proactive response to safety and health in the workplace occurs before an accident has occurred. The Proactive Process: Identify - Anticipate - Analyze - Recommend - Implement The proactive improvement process first identifies a hazard and anticipates the potential injury if the hazard is not corrected. Next, the hazard is analyzed to see if engineering and/or management controls might be used to eliminate or reduce exposure. The information gathered from the analysis is then used to produce recommendations. Finally, the recommended corrective actions and system improvements are implemented in the workplace. The proactive improvement process predicts to prevent. Proactive strategies look forward. By emphasizing accident prevention, management sends a message of caring to all employees. The safety professional attempts to identify and analyze hazardous conditions and unsafe behaviors in order to predict future accidents. Proactive strategies are always less expensive than reactive strategies. Remember, proactive programs are implemented to prevent future injuries and illnesses. Here are some characteristics of proactive safety and health programs: Accident analysis program - To determine system weaknesses. The employer conducts an analysis of the accident event to discover and improve safety management system weaknesses that may have contributed to the accident. Hazard identification and correction - Everyone is involved in identifying hazardous conditions by conducting periodic personal safety checks and inspections. Actions are initiated immediately to correct hazardous conditions. Behavioral analysis and correction - Employee behaviors are observed, analyzed and corrected. Focusing on employee behaviors may be quite effective in making dramatic improvements to workplace safety because most accidents, by far, are caused by unsafe or inappropriate behaviors. Employee wellness program - Employees are engaged in one or more programs that improve their physical and psychological wellness. Incentive and Recognition program - Employees are recognized for professional/safe behaviors that help prevent accidents in the workplace. Complying with safety rules, active participation on safety teams, and making suggestions are examples of proactive behaviors that are recognized. Safety committee/team - An active safety team that performs as an internal problem-solving consultant group. Education and training - All employees receive comprehensive safety education and training and are certified competent and qualified to perform hazardous tasks. Everyone is somehow involved in the safety education and training plan. Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) - All hazardous tasks are analyzed to uncover hazards and develop preventive measures. Mandatory OR-OSHA safety programs - The company has designed and implemented written plans for the various rule-required safety programs (lockout/tagout, confined Space program, accountability system, etc.) Goals and objectives So now, you have a mission statement developed. The next step is to think of some proactive goals and objectives to improve your company's safety and health program.

Goals are easy to write. They're nothing more than wishes. However, operational objectives take a little more thought. Well-written objectives should have the following elements present: Starts with an action verb (Decrease, increase, improve, etc.) Specifies a single key result to be accomplished Is quantifiable - Uses numbers to measure a desired change (i.e., 50% increase) Specifies a target date for accomplishment For example, operational safety objectives might be written like this: "Increase the number of safety observations by 25% by the end of this year." "Show a 35% reduction in back injuries by the end of 2007." Remember to work with the safety committee to share the goals and objectives with everyone in the company. By the end of this course, you should be able to think of many more ways to increase management commitment. Talk money: The bottom line Do safety and health management programs improve a company's bottom line? Absolutely! Investing in safety can save in some very important ways: Worker's compensation claims Uninsured recovery expenses Civil liability damages Litigation expenses In safety and health, you can pay now or pay later. It is smart business to invest in safety and health prevention before an accident occurs. For every proactive dollar invested preventing workplace accidents, at least 4 are saved in direct/indirect accident costs. That's cost effectiveness. For every reactive dollar spent on the direct costs of a worker's injury or illness, much more is spent to cover the indirect and unknown costs associated with the injury or illness. In addition, investing in safety keeps people safe and healthful, improves morale, productivity and the quality of service or product. Make sure your safety management system emphasizes accident prevention strategies rather than placing emphasis on strategies that merely minimize accident costs. The first strategy is proactive, while the second is reactive. Write a cost benefit analysis If management is not displaying the desired level of commitment to safety and health, a solution to the problem may be to improve the quality of your written safety recommendations. One way to improve a recommendation is to include a cost-benefit analysis. The cost-benefit details the bottom-line advantages of investing in safety management system improvements. Let's review some of the information that you should be familiar with to write an effective recommendation. Direct costs of accidents...only the tip of the iceberg Direct costs for accidents are usually considered those insured costs covered by workers' compensation insurance and other minor medical expenses for the accident. The company pays insurance to cover these costs. The average direct costs depend on the nature of the injury or illness, but usually range from $1,000 to $50,000. A good round figure to use when estimating all average direct costs for lost time workplace injuries is $20,000. Indirect costshiding under the surface

Indirect costs are all the additional costs associated with an accident. It is important to realize that indirect costs are usually much greater than direct costs; from two to fifty times as costly. Another important point is that, unlike direct costs, indirect costs are uninsured: They represent an immediate debit in the corporate pocketbook. Indirect costs can drive your company into the red. Consider what one lost workday injury might cost your company in terms of: Production downtime Productive time lost by an injured employee Productive time lost by employees and supervisors helping the accident victim Cleanup and startup of operations interrupted by an accident Time to hire or train a worker to replace the injured worker until they return to work Time and cost for repair or replacement of damaged equipment or materials Cost of continuing all or part of the employee's wages, plus compensation Reduced morale among your employees, and perhaps lower efficiency Cost of completing paperwork generated by the accident OSHA penalties

The unknown costs of an accident You will hear or read a lot about direct (insured) and indirect (uninsured) costs associated with workplace accidents. However, other costs that are difficult or impossible to measure may have a "fatal" impact on the success of the company. We're talking about the unknown or unknowable costs of workplace accidents: morale and reputation. When a serious accident or fatality occurs in the workplace, a very basic, negative message may be sent to employees: "management does not care." The message may be subtle, but it's always present in the minds of one or more employees. In many instances, employee morale suffers, and this usually negatively influences the quantity and quality of the work they perform. Employee turnover usually increases after a serious accident, and always after a fatality. Another factor that might affect the long-term success of the company is that of reputation. What do employees and the members of the local community think about a company that does not keep its workplace safe and healthful? What message does the families of accident and fatality victims send to their family members, friends, and neighbors? Will a company with a poor accident record maintain competitive advantage when hiring the best-qualified people? The reputation of a company is a reflection of its public image and must be considered as an important factor influencing its success.

According to the National Safety Council, which considers all industries nationally, the average 2000 direct and indirect cost of a lost time injury is over $38,000, and a fatality averages $980,000. In Oregon in 2000, the direct costs to close a disabling injury claim is around $18,000 and it will cost an average of $300,000 to close a fatality claim. Today that number is around $22,500 for the direct costs of an injury and even greater for a fatality. Indirect costs, according to the NSC figures above average 1.6x direct costs. However, it's important to understand that indirect costs may amount to much more than this multiple with any single claim. Indirect costs can be as much as 2x to 50x direct costs...or more. The lower the direct cost, the higher the ratio between the direct and indirect costs. For instance, if someone suffers only minor injury requiring a few hundred dollars to close the claim, the indirect/direct costs ratio may be much higher than the NSC average. The following illustrate this variation: Capital-intensive operations - Where large sums have been invested in facilities, employers may experience much higher average indirect/direct cost ratios. For example, if someone is seriously or fatally injured on an oil-drilling rig, resulting in operations shutting down for a day or so, many thousands of dollars in lost production will result. In high capital-intensive work processes, the expected ratio between direct and indirect costs may be 5x to 50x or more. Labor-intensive operations - Where more investment is put into labor than capital assets, employers may generally realize lower indirect/direct cost ratios. Someone may suffer a serious injury, but operations are not as likely to be significantly impacted. In labor-intensive operations, the expected ratio between direct and indirect costs may be 1x to 10x. Financial tools that "sell" your recommendation Your supervisor may ask you what the Return on Investment (ROI) will be. If the investment to correct a hazard is $1,000, and it's likely the potential direct and indirect accident costs to the company may total $28,000 sometime in the foreseeable future (let's say five years), you can find the ROI by dividing the $28,000 by $1,000 to get 28. Now multiply that result by 100 to arrive at 2,800 percent.

Next, divide that total by 5 years to determine an annual ROI of over 500 percent! Whoa! Now that's a return! Management may want to know how quickly the investment will be paid back: what the Payback Period is. Just divide $28,000 by 60 months and you come up with $467 per month in potential accident costs. Since the investment is $1,000, it will be paid back in a little over two months. After that, the corrective action is actually saving the company some big money. Now that's talking the bottom line! When recommendations are not acted upon, it is usually because management does not have enough useful information to make a judgment and therefore does not act right away. To speed up the process and to improve the approval rate, you must learn to anticipate the questions that management may ask in order to sign off on the requested change. The more pertinent the information in the recommendation, the greater the odds for approval. What are the key elements to improve your odds? Take Action Now you have some ammunition to help get top management commitment you'll receive many more tips and ideas about this throughout the course. Right now, let's look at developing an effective action plan to get top management commitment. An action plan is nothing more than a set of long-term strategies and short-term tactics ("how" statements).

A Sample Action Plan First, examine the quality of the information your safety committee is giving management. The more useful the information you provide, the more likely management will take positive action on your committee's recommendations. Are you talking the "bottom line" with management? Is the safety committee able to present management with the estimated costs for correcting hazards? Can they estimate the much higher costs associated with accidents that might happen if the hazards are not corrected? Are all members of the safety committee trained on their duties and responsibilities, hazard identification and control principle, and effective accident procedures? Second, evaluate your company's accountability system that clearly informs, and includes procedures to consistently and fairly enforce safety rules. A written recognition/disciplinary plan should apply equally to all employees. Are you and the safety committee emphasizing that responsibility needs to be assigned to line managers, from the top on down to the lead person for carrying out safety and health programs. Management carries out the program by conducting safety training, providing close supervision, and by enforcing safety rules consistently. This responsibility should not be delegated to staff people such as the safety director or safety committee, who usually have neither the responsibility nor the authority to take action on those programs. To be most effective, safety supervision, training and enforcement should be line management's responsibility. Are supervisors adequately trained in identifying hazards and safety procedures associated with the tasks that their workers perform? Third, establish a program that acknowledges appropriate behavior. This includes: complying with safety rules, and reporting workplace hazards, and reporting work related injuries Is your company using a reactive incentive program that pressures employees, through peer pressure, not to report injuries? Does management understand why it is important for them to encourage employees to report injuries immediately? If you and the committee are doing everything possible, but not receiving the support, you need, talk directly with the person at the top of the organizational chart, one-on-one, about the need for support. Make sure he or she understands that the safety committee's role is that of an internal consultant group with the potential to greatly aid in protecting employees and the employer. A serious dialog between the safety committee and top management may be the catalyst needed to begin a revolution in your company's culture.

MODULE 2: ACCOUNTABILITY
Note: The subject of this module is extremely important to the success of any safety program, so we spend more time on it. Be sure to give yourself adequate time to complete the module so you won't have to rush. Accountability from the employer to employee Accountability ranks right at the top with management commitment as a critical ingredient in a company's safety and health management system. In fact, if employees don't believe they're going to be held accountable (experience consequences) for the decisions they make related to safety, you can be sure that any safety effort is ultimately doomed to failure. Generally, when people talk about "accountability," they want to know if you're enforcing rules using some sort of disciplinary system. So, that's one direction we're headed. The other direction is a look at positive accountability or reinforcement of behaviors. It's important to understand that Oregon OSHA does not require any specific or standard disciplinary process or procedure. The design and implementation of an accountability system is left to the employer. It must only be effective. What is Accountability? You hear a lot about responsibility and accountability in safety and health, and sometimes people speak as though the two terms have the same meaning. However, as used in Oregon OSHA standards and generally in safety and health management, these two terms have very different meanings. Let's find out why. How is accountability defined? Websters Dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accountability) Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability) What about responsibility? Websters Dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/responsibility) Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility) When applying these as management concepts in the workplace setting, it is important understand the differences in meaning and application for this discussion. Responsibility may be thought of as the "obligation to fulfill a task." Accountability may be thought of as the "obligation to fulfill a task...or else." To be responsible, you need only be assigned a duty by someone in authority. On the other hand, when you are held accountable, the assigned performance in fulfilling a duty is measured against some specific criteria that results in certain positive or negative consequences.

Elements of an Effective Accountability System The following six critical elements should be present in any employer accountability system: Element 1 - Established Formal Standards of Performance Oregon OSHA has developed rules in occupational safety and health that serve as standards of performance for Oregon employers. Similarly, employers are required to establish company policies, plans, procedures, job descriptions and rules that clearly convey standards of performance in safety and health to employees. It is important to understand that if progressive discipline policies and procedures are used, they should be clearly stated in writing and made available to everyone. In fact, it is a good idea to have all employees read and sign a statement that they read, understand, and will comply with safety procedures when they are hired, and annually thereafter. If standards of acceptable behavior and performance are not established and clearly communicated to employees, an effective accountability system is impossible. Since the system, itself is flawed; justification for discipline may be in doubt. Element 2 - Resources to Meet the Standards of Performance To be justified in administering discipline, management should first fulfill the obligation to provide employees with the means and methods to achieve the standards of performance that have been established. Employers should provide a safe and healthful physical and psychosocial workplace environment. Physical resources - Ensure safe and healthful conditions. Safe tools, equipment, machinery, materials, chemicals, workstations, facilities, environment. OSHA emphasizes this category. Psychosocial support - Ensures safe behaviors. Effective safety education and training, reasonable work schedules and production quotas, human resource programs, safe work procedures, competent management, tough-caring leadership. Through the years, Federal OSHA and professional safety organizations have demonstrated more emphasis in this area as evidenced by increased interest in developing rules requiring a comprehensive safety and health program, and workplace violence standards. Element 3 - A Process of Evaluation When applied to safety performance, accountability demands much more than simply being answerable. When employees are held accountable for meeting safety standards set by the company, the quality of their safety performance should be measured some way. Evaluation strategies include: Informal daily observations - Through observation, supervisors may provide feedback on safe behavior. Periodic formal evaluations - Supervisors keep track of employee safety performance, write an appraisal and conduct a review with the employee. It's important that behaviors, rather than results, be evaluated. When behaviors somehow impress the employer, recognition is certainly appropriate. However, when employees violate safety rules and discipline is justified, and then discipline is appropriate. If employees believe they will be disciplined for having an accident (a result), they are less likely to report incidents or accidents. Bottom line - don't discipline employees for having an accident (a result). Discipline employees, when justified, for non-compliance (a behavior). The accident, itself, is irrelevant to the discipline process. When an employee has an accident, he or she suffers natural consequences. Discipline is a form of system consequence and should address only behaviors.

Discipline for substandard behavior, not for getting hurt! Element 4 - Effective Consequences Without an expectation of effective consequences, accountability is not believable and has no credibility. No consequences...no accountability. Consequences need to be appropriate as well as effective. Everyone is probably most familiar with this element. Unfortunately, in many companies, consequences are either not appropriate and/or effective. Effective consequences increase desired behaviors. Effective consequences have the effect of increasing the frequency of desired behaviors. If employee safety performance meets or exceeds the standards set by the employer, some sort of recognition should follow. On the other hand, if the employee makes an informed choice not to comply with the company's safety rules, some sort of appropriate corrective action should follow. There are various strategies for administering positive and negative consequences. Careful planning is critical to ensure consequences are effective. Let's look at three strategies to consider. Three Types of Consequences Positive reinforcement - If we do something well, we are rewarded. When effective, increases desired behavior. Worker performs to receive a positive consequence Worker may perform far beyond minimum standards - discretionary effort Focus is on excellence - success based motivation If you report a hazard, you will be recognized. If you prevent an injury or save money, you will be rewarded. Negative reinforcement - If we do something well, we arent punished. Intent is to increase desired behavior. Can be successful when only looking for compliance. Worker performs to avoid the consequence Worker performs to minimum standard - just enough to get by Focus is on compliance - fear based motivation If you comply with safety rules, you won't be punished. Extinction - No matter how well we do, we arent rewarded. Withdrawal of positive reinforcement. Worker eventually performs without expectation of consequences (other than wages) Person is ignored - no relationship with management Is epidemic in organizations It doesn't matter how hard I work around here. Apathy is rampant, but who cares. In all instances, to be effective, consequences should be soon (after evaluation validates justification), certain, significant, and sincere. When consequences are inappropriate and/or ineffective, accountability is not functioning properly in your company. Consequences for safe behaviors that meet or exceed expectations usually include recognition and rewards. However, only appropriate behaviors should be rewarded. The employer should recognize employees for behaviors and performance over which they have exclusive control. If a person has authority...decision-making control, then he or she should be held accountable for the decision and subsequent behaviors and personal outcomes. Managers and supervisors have varying degrees of control over the conditions of their work areas

and the behaviors of their employees. For employees, control usually refers only to personal behaviors. Let's look at some examples of activities and behaviors that are typically accountability measures. Examples of measured safety behaviors and performance at various levels include: Top/mid-level managers - Unfortunately, measurement at this level usually includes results statistics over which top managers actually have little direct control. These measures include accident rates, experience modification rates, and workers compensation costs. This situation may place enormous pressure on top managers to pressure supervisors to hold down the number of accidents in their departments. The emphasis is placed on achieving "zero accidents" rather than "total compliance." Consequently, the result may be ineffective evaluation of results at all levels. To be most effective, appropriate behaviors and activities to evaluate at top/mid-level involvement include: Involvement in safety management system formulation and implementation Developing effective safety policies, programs, procedures Arranging management/supervisor safety training Providing physical resources and psychosocial support Involvement in safety education/training Supporting involvement in the safety committee Supervisors - Supervisors are not capable of actually controlling the number of accidents in their work area. However, they do have the ability to control their safety management and leadership activities. Therefore, measurement at this level should include personal safety behaviors and activities such as: Making sure workers have safe materials, tools, equipment, machinery, etc. Ensuring a healthful psychosocial environment Following company safety rules Conducting safety inspections Enforcing safety rules Training safe work procedures Recognizing employees for safety Conducting safety meetings Employees - Measurement of employees usually includes personal behaviors such as: Complying with company safety rules Reporting injuries immediately Reporting hazards Making suggestions Involvement in safety activities After all is said and done, if the behaviors and activities above are expected and recognized, the results that we all worry about will take care of themselves. Focus on measuring activities rather than outcomes. Improve the process and watch the outcome follow! Is this all "pie in the sky"? It doesn't have to be. Now let's look at some real-world problems related to this element. Element 5 - Appropriate Application of Consequences What are the criteria for appropriate consequences? First, consequences are justified. Consequences correspond to the severity of the infraction or violation. Consequences progress in significance. Consequences are applied consistently throughout the entire organization.

Are consequences justified? Negative consequences are justified only when the safety management system has not failed the employee. In other words, when management fulfilled all of their obligations to employees.
Take the Five-Finger Test to determine if discipline is appropriate:

Before administering discipline, managers and supervisors need to evaluate their own performance and make a judgment about how well they have fulfilled their obligations to employees. We can categorize them into five general obligations: Leadership, resources, training, supervision, and enforcement. To determine if discipline is justified, ask these very important questions: 1. Have I provided (or has the employee received) adequate safety training? The employee has the required knowledge and skills to comply. The employee understands the natural and system consequences of noncompliance. 2. Have I provided adequate resources that ensure a safe and health workplace? Do they have the physical resources and psychosocial support that gives them the ability to comply? 3. Do I fairly and consistently enforce safety policies and rules? Does the employee know that I will follow through with discipline? Or, do they know that all you will do is issue a threat, "If I catch you doing that again, I'll...." Remember, a supportive safety culture insists on, not merely encourages, safe behaviors. 4. Have I provided adequate safety supervision? I'm not stuck in my office all day...I'm overseeing their work regularly or delegating that responsibility to someone. Adequate supervision is defined as the ability to detect and correct unsafe behaviors and hazardous conditions before they cause an injury or illness. 5. Have I demonstrated adequate leadership by complying with all safety policies and rules? Do I set a good example? If a manager or supervisor can honestly answer yes to each of the above five questions, he or she is likely justified in administering discipline. If a manager cannot honestly answer each question in the affirmative, integrity might more likely require an apology along with a commitment to make improvements.

Do consequences correspond with the severity of the infraction? Consequences should increase with the severity of the potential injury or illness that might result from the behavior. If an employee is performing an unsafe work practice that could result in a fatal injury to himself or another employee, that certainly warrants a significant consequence such as suspension or termination. On the other hand, an employee who violates a safety rule that could only result in a minor injury, a lesser consequence, such as a verbal warning, is more likely appropriate. Consequences should increase with the level of responsibility of the person performing the behavior. If an employee neglects to wear personal protective equipment, discipline may be in order. However, if a supervisor or manager neglects to wear the personal protective equipment, a more significant level of discipline may be appropriate. Why? Due to the fact the manager is legally an "an agent of the employer," the act of violating a

safety rule has the effect of transforming a require rule into a voluntary guideline for employees. It effectively gives the employee the option to choose use/not use the PPE. The employer can't enforce guidelines, only mandatory policies and rules, so supervisor/manager non-compliance with safety rules might jeopardize the employer by increasing the likelihood of litigation should a serious injury or fatality occur. Do consequences progress in significance? If an employee continues to violate a particular safety rule, it's most effective if the resulting level of discipline progressively more significant. If a consequence does not change the behavior in the desired direction, the employee is likely perceiving the consequences as insignificant. If the behavior changes in the desired direction, the consequence has achieved significance. Are consequences applied consistently at all levels of the organization? To build a high level of trust between management and labor, accountability must be applied consistently at all levels of the organization. It's important to remember that one should be held accountable only for that which he or she has control. With this in mind... Do the right thing...Do the thing right! Most employers establish safety incentive programs to increase awareness and influence behaviors in a positive direction. However, some of those employers unknowingly reward their employees for withholding incident and accident reports. The employer's intent is to do the right thing, but the problem is that they're not doing the thing right. The company may be able to boast of thousands of production hours without a reported injury, but some of their employees may actually be injured or ill. (I call this the "walking wounded" syndrome) Negative peer pressure, the desire to "win", or other workplace factors may cause the employee to decide not to report their injury or illness. Since reporting injuries is a required by OSHA, the employer is obligated to do what is reasonably necessary to require this behavior. Consequences for failure to meet company standards typically include negative performance appraisals, some form of progressive discipline, or forfeiture of a tangible reward. Performance appraisals should speak to specific safety behaviors and performance just as other production/service criteria are evaluated. The bottom line For an accountability system to work effectively, managers, supervisors and employees should be evaluated only for those behaviors/activities over which they have the ability to control. Element 6 - Effective Evaluation of the Accountability System Although as a supervisor, you may not be responsible for evaluating the accountability system it's good to know that someone is. Usually, the safety coordinator and/or safety committee are involved this activity. In Oregon, the safety committee is required by OAR 437 Div. 1 Rule 765 to conduct an evaluation of the employer's accountability system. It's important to assist in that effort if asked. The process usually involves three levels of activity: Identification - Inspect the accountability system policies, plans, processes, and procedures to identify what exists.

Analysis - Dissect and thoroughly study each accountability system policy, plan, process and procedure to understand what they look like. The devil is in the detail. Evaluation - Compare and contrast each accountability system policy, plan, process and procedure against benchmarks and best practices to judge their effectiveness. If you believe there are weaknesses in your employer's accountability system, make sure to take notes on the behaviors and conditions you see in the workplace that may be pointing to accountability system policies, plans, processes, and procedures that are inadequate or mission. Accountability System Evaluation Checklist An effective accountability system is required to ensure compliance with required employer safety standards. Heres a checklist (http://orosha.org/consult/s-h_prgrm_assess_worksheet_print.pdf) your safety committee can use to evaluate your organizations accountability system. This is used by consultants to determine the health of a companys safety culture. Last Words I want to recommend that one or more safety committee members continually analyze and evaluate the safety accountability system to ensure continuous improvement.

MODULE 3: EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Introduction It's difficult to have an effective safety and health management system without developing a corporate safety culture that encourages genuine employee involvement. Why is it important to motivate employees to be involved in safety? Simply put, involvement increases ownership. We value what we own. We use what we own. What does this mean to safety professionals: Employees will use their "own" procedures when not being directly supervised. With this important principle in mind, it's important to understand that employees are much more likely to use safe practices and procedures they are involved in designing. Ownership increases the rate of safe behaviors when employees are not being directly supervised. This module will look at safety incentive and recognition programs, the first of two strategies for developing employee involvement in the safety and health program. Safety communications, the second of two strategies discussed, will be covered later in the module. We do what we do because of consequences As we discovered in Module Two, employees are held accountable by the employer to comply with safety rules, and report workplace injuries and hazards. However, the employer will not be able to successfully "require" employees to make suggestions and participate in voluntary safety activities unless they reinforce those behaviors by responding with effective positive consequences. The employee is motivated to participate in voluntary activities when they believe there is some real benefit. Here's an important idea I call the "5-R principle"... If you Regularly Recognize and Reward, you'll Rarely have to Reprimand.

Recognition goes a long way! One strategy companies use to motivate their employees is to have some sort of safety incentive and recognition program, and there are many such programs used and promoted these days. A company cannot be successful in its safety and health effort without motivated employees. Motivated employees are willing to put forth greater effort to accomplish tasks or reach objectives. But what motivates employees? There are many theories, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Maslow identified five human needs that motivate behavior. As each lower-level need is satisfied, the next higher need becomes more important to a person. Reference the graphic below. The most basic employee need in the workplace is Job security. If employees feel secure in their job, they are then free to place more thought about being safe. When safety and security needs are satisfied, employees will seek out relationships that provide for their social needs, respect, status and recognition from others. With all these needs satisfied, employees will place emphasis on self-actualization...achieving their ultimate potential. Recognition is more a function of leadership than management If your company does not presently have a formal safety recognition program, it doesn't necessarily mean safety incentives and recognition are not in place. It just means a formal program has not been established. If real safety leadership exists in your corporate culture, a formal program may not be needed because leaders are providing effective incentives and recognition informally. If effective leadership is not occurring, it's probably a good idea to think about introducing some of the ideas presented in this module to your safety committee or safety director so that your company may implement an effective program. Tangible rewards are great... Safety rewards come in a bazillion colors, flavors, and varieties. We are all motivated by primarily two types of rewards: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are tangible and external. You can touch, eat, see, smell, or otherwise use them. Examples of extrinsic rewards: Money - raise, bonus, stocks Awards - plaques, pins, cups, certificates, jackets Trips Time off from work Social - parties, lunches Intrinsic rewards may be better On the other hand, intrinsic rewards are intangible, internal, and housed within us. They are the result of what we think about ourselves. Examples of intrinsic rewards: Improved self-esteem Increased sense of purpose Higher credibility Feeling of accomplishment Now, is it the tangible reward, itself, or the underlying meaning that motivates you the most? If you're like most others, the sincere "thanks" that rewards intrinsically is the real motivation. We like to be appreciated for what we do. It makes us feel that we are valuable, important, and a part of a team...something bigger than ourselves. All this is improves what we think about ourselves.

The big secret To be successful, management doesn't necessarily have to spend money to motivate. They do need to spend time to personally acknowledge and express appreciation. As a supervisor, ask yourself, "Do I have time to praise for a job well done"? Of course you do. It's important, when designing safety incentive and recognition programs to remember that it's not the nature of the reward that is most important: the big secret is recognizing appropriate behavior with in a meaningful way. As we learned in the previous module, we do this by making the recognition soon, certain, significant, and sincere. Reactive safety incentive programs In Module One we talked about the concepts of reactive and proactive safety programs. Safety incentive programs may reflect aspects of one or the other, or (more likely) both. It depends on the behaviors that incentives and recognition are being rewarded in the program. No matter the approach, incentive and recognition programs always motivate some kind of behaviors. The trick is to motivate proactive behaviors. Believe it or not, most companies design and implement reactive safety incentive programs. In reactive incentive and recognition programs, workers are usually rewarded for "working safe" over a given period. (I bet you're familiar with this incentive.) Well, frankly, it's not appropriate, and here's why: Working safe, a behavioral concept, is commonly defined in a reactive program as an outcome or a condition such as, "working a year without getting hurt," or "working injury free." Consequently, employees work towards that result, and if they're motivated, they may use any strategy to achieve that result. The most common strategy is to withhold injury reports. That's right! Look for a banner or a sign that says, "80 bazillion work hours without an accident!" When you see that, you'll know the company is employing a reactive approach to motivate employees. Sure, the company might have actually achieved 80 bazillion hours without a reported accident, but that doesn't mean the workplace is accident free. It may mean accidents aren't being reported. In reality, the workplace may be full of the "walking wounded" who don't report an injury or illness. The problem is inherent in the approach. In an effort to win, be team players and loyal co-workers, or in response to negative peer pressure, workers do not report their injuries. They do not want to ruin the safety record. In some instances, peer pressure is so great they will not report an injury until the pain becomes severe: something they can no longer hide. Consequently, the actual number of injuries in the workplace may decline, but the severity of each reported injury increases, and becomes much more costly. In these instances, everybody loses. Proactive safety recognition programs More and more companies are discovering that the most effective safety recognition programs are proactive. Proactive recognition programs reward employee behaviors that occur before an accident...these behaviors help prevent accidents. These behaviors are mandated by the employer and/or Oregon OSHA regulations. In proactive incentive and recognition programs working safe is more appropriately defined as a behavior. Consequently, employees are rewarded for behaviors such as, "using safe procedures and practices," or "complying with all safety rules." Other appropriate employee safety behaviors include: Reporting injuries immediately, no matter how minor Warning coworkers and reporting hazards Submitting safety suggestions Active involvement in safety committees/teams

Effective recognition strategies Complying and reporting behaviors are usually required. Making suggestions and participating in safety activities and committees are usually voluntary. All of these behaviors represent very important professional behaviors that should be recognized. Once again, while both positive and negative reinforcement may be successful in motivating required behaviors, only positive reinforcement strategies will be effective in increasing the frequency of voluntary behaviors. When employees are recognized and rewarded for these behaviors, their overall involvement in safety and health increases greatly. They become more aware, interested and involved in uncovering unsafe work conditions and practices. They know that reporting injuries as soon as they occur reduces lost work time and accident costs. Proactive recognition programs that work Here are a few ideas from past students for developing a proactive incentive and recognition program for your company: Safety Bucks: Supervisors carry safety bucks, and when they see someone doing something impressive, they reward them. The employee can take the safety buck to the company cafeteria for lunch, or they can use it at a local participating store to purchase items. Bonus Program: When an employee (1) identifies a hazard in the workplace that could cause serious physical harm or a fatality, or (2) make a suggestion that prevents injury or saves the company money, supervisors are authorized to reward them with a bonus check. In some cases, the bonus check is a fixed amount. In other programs, the bonus check is a small percentage of the potential direct cost for the accident that might have occurred. By the way, the average direct cost to close a disabling claim in Oregon is around $20,000; a fatality costs about $300,000. Doesn't it make sense to reward an individual with a gift certificate or some money for identifying a hazard that could potentially cost the company thousands? Small investment for potentially huge returns! Safety Hero: After an extended period, management rewards employees with a certificate or bonus check for complying with company safety rules and otherwise demonstrating safety leadership. We're not talking about "employee of the quarter" here that creates one winner and many losers. Recognition should be criterion-based such that anyone and everyone that meets the criteria established receives the recognition or reward. Remember, this is safety, not sports...no first, best, most improved criteria. Reporting Injuries: Wait a minute...Do I really mean that supervisors should thank employees for reporting injuries immediately? Yes! If employees report injuries immediately, they not only minimize the physical/psychological impact of the injury on themselves, they reduce the direct/indirect accident costs to the company. The worker, his or her coworkers, and the entire company wins if the employee reports injuries immediately. Immediate reporting is not only OSHA law...it's smart business. Recognition is more a factor of leadership than management In each of the above examples, the supervisor, not the safety committee is recognizing the rewarding workers. The most effective safety incentive and recognition systems are designed such that recognition and reward opportunities are maximized for line supervisors and managers, not safety committees. (I encourage safety committees to get out of the recognition process, if they can, so that supervisors and managers get involved.)

Why promote supervisor and manager involvement? Because when line supervisors and managers promptly recognize in a sincere, spontaneously manner, workers perceive the "act" as leadership. Consequently, the working relationship between labor and management improves. We all want that outcome. Why should the safety committee remain in the background? When safety committees recognize, it's perceived more as a policy-driven management process. Safety committees want to maximize these opportunities for supervisors and managers who are responsible for "doing" safety. Last Words I hope the evaluation checklist will help you evaluate and improve the incentive and recognition program to make sure employees are fully involved in safety. Now it's time to complete the review questions below.

MODULE 4: EFFECTIVE SAFETY COMMUNICATION

In Module Three, we learned about the importance of recognizing appropriate safety behaviors to improve employee involvement. In this module, we'll continue learning about increasing employee involvement through effective communication: An extremely important skill to increase employee involvement in safety and health. Skilled safety communications will support leadership, at all levels, from the CEO to the employee. So, let's get started with a review of some basic communications concepts and principles. Return to sender... The most basic communication theory talks about the requirement for both a sender and receiver in the communication process. The characteristics of the sender and receiver may be quite different. For instance, communication may take place between two individuals, two groups, two companies, two nations, and sometime in the future... (maybe) between two worlds. Although the scope of the communications process may expand, the process still boils down to two people; a sender and a receiver. The sender initiates the communication and the receiver receives, interprets, and responds to the communication. At this point, the initial sender assumes the role of receiver. Where and how the process ends depends on the purpose of the communication and the dynamics of the process itself. Even the simplest communication between two individuals may be a very complicated process. It's not what you say...it's how you say it! Another important concept in communications is called the Two-Level Theory, which states that in any communications process messages are sent and received on two levels. The first level is called the content level and describes what is sent. The only information transferred at this level is data, usually in the form of written or spoken words (symbols). The second level of communication exists on a higher, more abstract plane. It's called the relationship level, which describes the communication that establishes the relationship between the sender and the receiver. It's how the message is sent that sets up the relationship. Relationships between sender and receiver are always established with every communication.

Back to Star Trek (the original series). Captain Kirk, the Captain of the Starship Enterprise, always communicated on both the content level and relationship level, while Mr. Spock, our favorite Vulcan, tried with some difficulty to communicate only on the content level. Consequently, he always appeared cool, calm, cold, and mechanical.

Let's take a closer look at the dynamics of content/relationship communications:

First Scenario: Charlie Pendergast is sitting at the breakfast table reading the morning paper while his wife, Gloria is cooking up some bacon and eggs (They take turns cooking). Charlie, suddenly looks up from the paper and asks rather flirtatiously, "Oh dear, when are those eggs going to be done." Gloria is getting positive attention from Charlie and responds casually with, "Here they come now, dear," and brings Charlie a nice plate of bacon and eggs, and gives him a big kiss.

Second Scenario: Charlie Pendergast is sitting at the breakfast table, face buried in the morning paper while his wife, Gloria is cooking up some bacon and eggs. Charlie, face in paper, obviously irritated, verbally assaults Gloria with, "Oh Dear, WHEN ARE THOSE EGGS GOING TO BE DONE?!" Gloria feels hurt and unappreciated. She slowly turns, fire in her eyes, and says, "Here they come now...DEAR!" and dumps a plate full of eggs over his head, and stomps off to the bedroom. In both cases, the content of Charlie's message was exactly the same. However, the relationship set up between the two in the second scenario differed greatly from that established in scenario number one. Consequently, Gloria gave Charlie a vastly different response in the second scenario. In the first scenario, Charlie sent a positive relationship message. In the second scenario, the relationship message was very negative. To Gloria, how Charlie sent the message had far more impact than what he said. Here's what Barbara V. had to say about positive and negative messages: "I find it intolerable riding to work with John, he is driving too fast and is talking on the %#$* phone all the time swerving from side to side and generally scaring us to death. I can't take it anymore and neither can the other guys. I'm going to call Brad and let him know what's going on. Next morning, I am wary that John will be angry with me when I load up my gear and climb in but he smiles at me and delivers us to the job on time and I actually slept on the way. Well that was easy, Brad did a good job of handling it and between us we stopped an activity that was potentially deadly to the crew and the company. Opening the mail the next day there is a thank-you note from Brad and he's treating me to a Big Mac to boot! We're a good team. I feel like he will listen to my observations and assessments of the situation and he trusts my judgment. I believe he will act upon my information in a thoughtful and assertive way. I feel he has my best interests at heart and those of the crew. "If I went to Jake with an observation or a report of a potential hazard and he tells me to mind my own business or is unresponsive to my report, I would be angry that he is unconcerned and he ignores me and the situation and lets it go by. It would be hard to tell him of anything else I see and the next time I might keep it to myself for all the good it does to tell him. He's not doing his job and I or someone else will pay the price. I can't work like this, I'm unhappy and resentful, and Jake's a Jerk." Every time a supervisor appropriately recognizes an employee for safe work behaviors, it reinforces and makes that behavior more likely to occur in the future. It sends a very positive message, doesn't it? On the other hand, if a supervisor yells at you for "complaining," a very negative message is sent. However, I think the worst situation occurs when you are totally ignored by a supervisor. It sends a message that you are invisible,

unimportant, and of little or no value. Ignoring others who are trying to communicate is the worst response possible. A most important responsibility! If you are a supervisor or safety committee representative, think about the relationship set up between you and your coworkers. What happens when you receive their concerns or suggestions, yet fail to immediately recognize them and provide feedback in a timely manner? Aren't you ignoring them? Again, it's the worst of all possible responses. Make sure that you get back with your coworkers as soon as possible to let them know the status of their concerns or suggestions. Positive communications is one of your most important responsibilities. A rusty latch on the suggestion box... Over the years of presenting these courses, I've learned that most companies have not put a lot of careful thought into the design of their safety suggestion programs. I hope that you have an existing suggestion program that's working. How do you know your safety suggestion program is successful? If you use a suggestion box, is it crammed with suggestions or candy wrappers and the remnants of old tuna sandwiches? If your suggestion program results in fewer and fewer suggestions each month, it's an indicator shouting that your suggestion program is not working. Again, communications is the key. If the suggestion program is failing, it means the program is (1) not designed properly and/or (2) not being implemented properly. People may not be communicating effectively or worse yet, ignoring employees who make suggestions. If management wants a successful suggestion program, they must effectively communicate positively on both the content and relationship levels. On the content level, they can write a suggestion program plan, and inform everyone about it. On the relationship level, however, they need to respond positively to each suggestion employees make. That means action! It means showing appreciation through recognition and rewards, and it means acting on the suggestions offered. Thank EVERY employee who submits a suggestion! Imagine, workers competing to be on the safety committee... it does happen, Ive met them. Are your coworkers just "dying" to be a member of the safety committee? Most likely not. Why not? They really don't perceive much benefit from it, do they?

MODULE 5: HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL

Murphy's middle name is Gotcha! In Module Four, we studied about communication and how it can be used to improve employee involvement in the company's safety and health program. In this module, we'll look at how employees can get involved in proactive hazard identification (uh-hem...that should be hazard analysis) to help eliminate hazards in the workplace. So, let's get hopping! OK...so what's a hazard?

Before we study identifying, analyzing and controlling hazards in the workplace, it's important to know how OR-OSHA defines the term. A hazard is: A hazard is an..."unsafe workplace condition or practice that could cause an injury or illness to an employee." Look around...what do you see? I'll bet if you look around your workplace, you'll be able to locate a few hazardous conditions or work practices without too much trouble. Did you know that at any time an Oregon OSHA inspector could announce his or her presence at your corporate front door to begin a comprehensive inspection? What would they find? What do they look for? Now, if you used the same inspection strategy as an inspector, wouldn't that be smart? Well, that's what we're going to discuss in this module. The Four Hazard Areas All workplace hazards exist in four general areas: Materials Equipment, machinery, tools Environment Employees When you conduct a walk around inspection, you're usually looking for hazardous materials, equipment, and environmental factors. These first three categories represent hazardous physical conditions in the workplace. The last category, People, refers to employees at any level of the company who may be using unsafe work behaviors/practices. An employee who is distracted in any way from the work increases the likelihood of an unsafe event happening. Management has a measure of control over the hazards and the exposure that cause the accidents that occur in the workplace because management controls the workplace!

Hazardous Materials Hazardous materials include: Liquids and solid chemicals such as acids, bases, solvents, explosives, etc. The hazard communication program is designed to communicate the hazards of chemicals to employees, and to make sure they use safe work practices when working with them. Solids like metal, wood, plastics. Raw materials used to manufacture products are usually bought in large quantities, and can cause injuries or fatalities in many ways. Gases like hydrogen sulfide, methane, etc. Gas may be extremely hazardous if leaked into the atmosphere. Employees should know the signs and symptoms related to hazardous gases in the workplace. Hazardous Equipment Hazardous equipment includes both machinery and tools. Hazardous equipment should be properly guarded so that it's virtually impossible for a worker to be placed in a danger zone around moving parts that could cause injury or death. A preventive maintenance program should be in place to make sure equipment operates properly. A corrective maintenance program is needed to make sure equipment that is broken, causing a safety hazard, is fixed immediately. Tools need to be in good working order, properly repaired, and used for their intended purpose only. Any maintenance person will tell you that accident can easily occur if tools are not used correctly. Tools that are used while broken are also very dangerous.

Hazardous Work Environments Are there areas in your workplace that are too hot, cold, dusty, dirty, messy, wet, etc. Is it too noisy, or are dangerous gases, vapors, liquids, fumes, etc., present? Do you see short people working at workstations designed for tall people? Such factors all contribute to an unsafe environment. You can bet a messy workplace is NOT a safe workplace!

Hazardous Work Practices Workers who take unsafe short cuts, or who are using established procedures that are unsafe, are accidents waiting to happen.

Management may unintentionally promote unsafe work practices by establishing policies, procedures and rules (written and unwritten) that ignore or actually direct unsafe work practices. These safety policies, plans, programs, processes, procedures and practices are called "system controls" and ultimately represent the causes of about 98% of all workplace accidents. Two strategies To identify and control hazards in the workplace before an incident or accident occurs, two basic strategies are used. First and most common is the walk around inspection. You've probably participated in a safety inspection, or at least have watched others conduct one, so this isn't something new. But, I'll wager that most walk around could be conducted in a more "profitable" manner. Who's doing the inspecting around here? Most organizations conduct quarterly safety committee inspections in compliance with Oregon OSHA rule requirements. Is that good enough? Safety committee inspections may be effective, but only if the safety committee is properly educated and trained in hazard identification and control concepts and principles specific to your company. In high hazard industries that experience change on a daily basis, it takes more to keep the workplace safe from hazards. In supportive safety cultures supervisors, as well as all employees inspect their areas of responsibility as often as the hazards of the materials, equipment, tools, environment, and tasks demand. It's really a judgment call, but if safety is involved, it's better to inspect often. A good policy is to inspect at the beginning and end of each shift. Employees should inspect the materials, equipment, and tools they use. They should examine their work area or workstation for hazardous conditions at the start of each workday. They should inspect equipment such as forklifts, trucks, and other vehicles before using them at the start of each shift. Again, it's better to inspect closely and often: How about prior to and after each shift.

Inspection checklists (http://orosha.org/standards/checklists.html)...write them and use them! Use the following steps if you are asked to write questions for a safety inspection: 1. Determine the area to be inspected. 2. Ask workers in the area what tasks/jobs they do. 3. Call Oregon OSHA Consultative Services (800-922-2689) and ask one of their representatives to help you determine which rules apply to your workplace. Ask them to send you links to applicable rules online. 4. When you find the rules (don't panic) read through the applicable sections and mark those rules that you feel might result in serious injury if violated. 5. Change each marked rule into a simple question. Questions will start with the words: Do, does, is, and are. 6. Construct your checklist using the questions you have developed. 7. Show your boss. He or she will be surprised! (You will probably become a safety director!) Using those procedures, you'll be identifying most of the same hazardous conditions that Oregon OSHA cites during their compliance inspections. That's smart, however it's not the total solution. Have a consultant out for a free confidential visit to show you what you may have missed. Theres no risk only more information for you to make good business decisions. What's the major weakness of the safety inspection? By it's very nature, the walk around inspection can be ineffective in uncovering unsafe work practices because most inspectors do not take enough time to effectively analyze individual task procedures. Usually the inspectors walk into an area, look up...look down...look all around...possibly ask a few questions, and then move on to the next area. Isn't it possible to inspect a workplace on a Monday, and then experience a fatality on Tuesday because of an unsafe work practice, which was not uncovered the day before? So, what's the solution?

A walk around inspection of this job site was completed just 30 minutes prior to this picture being taken. Did it catch this unsafe practice? This illustrates the major weakness of the inspection process. The Job Hazard Analysis can be the answer to this weakness. It uncovers unsafe work procedures as well as

hazardous conditions because sufficient time is given to the analysis of one unique task. A joint supervisor/employee JHA uses the following simplified steps: While the employee accomplishes several cycles of the task, the supervisor observes. The task is divided into a number of unique steps, which are listed sequentially. Each step is analyzed to see if hazardous materials, equipment, tools, or other hazards are involved. Each step is then analyzed to determine safe work procedures that will eliminate or at least reduce any hazards present. This might include the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), using new or redesigned equipment, or changing the procedure itself. A written safe work procedure is developed for the entire task.

Dig up the roots! When investigating hazards discovered in a walk around inspection or JHA, it's important that you uncover the root causes that have allowed those hazards to exist in the workplace. Taking this approach to hazard investigation is called root cause analysis. Check out the well known "accident weed." The flower represents the direct cause of an injury. It's always the result of the transfer of a harmful level of energy from an outside source to the body. The leaves of the weed represent hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices in the workplace. Conditions and/or practices are typically called the surface causes of an accident. The roots of the weed represent management's effort to maintain a safe and healthful workplace, safety policies, safety supervision, safety training, and enforcement of safety rules. Think of these as management controls, which pre-exist every hazardous condition, unsafe work practice, and accident. Inadequate or missing management controls represent the root causes for accidents in the workplace. They feed and nurture hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices. Controlling Hazards The Hierarchy of Hazard Controls When the supervisor or safety professional identifies a hazard, it's important that one or more strategies be used to eliminate or reduce the risk of injury. Hazardous conditions include unsafe materials, machinery, equipment, tools, and the environment. Unsafe work practices include: allowing untrained workers to perform hazardous tasks, taking unsafe shortcuts, horseplay, or long work schedules. To combat these hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices, control strategies, called the "Hierarchy of Controls"

(http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/engcontrols/) have been developed. The terminology for the different strategies varies in the literature, but generally, it describes two general strategies: Engineering Controls Management Controls

Engineering Controls These controls focus on the source of the hazard, unlike the other two control strategies that generally focus on the employee exposed to the hazard. The basic concept behind engineering controls is that, to the extent feasible, the work environment and the job itself should be designed to eliminate hazards or reduce exposure to hazards. While this approach is called engineering controls, it does not necessarily mean that an engineer is required to design the control. Why engineering controls? Engineering controls are considered top priority because they may effectively employ redesign, enclosure, substitution or replacement to eliminate the hazard, itself. The effective use of engineering controls not only eliminates the hazard; it also eliminates the need to manage human behavior using administrative controls to reduce exposure. No hazard...no exposure...no accident. Engineering controls can be very simple in some cases. They are based on the following broad principles: 1. If feasible, design the facility, equipment, or process to remove the hazard and/or substitute something that is not hazardous or is less hazardous; 2. If removal is not feasible, enclose the hazard to prevent exposure in normal operations; and 3. If complete enclosure is not feasible, establish barriers or local ventilation to reduce exposure to the hazard in normal operations. Management Controls This second strategy describes control measures aimed at reducing employee exposure to hazards, generally by designing safe work practices and procedures and through scheduling and job enrichment. Management controls should be used in conjunction with, and not as a substitute for, more effective or reliable engineering controls. This is because they are susceptible to human error. The controls first must be designed from a base of solid hazard analysis. While management controls are a necessity and can work very well, they are only as good as the management systems

that support them. Safe procedures and practices must be accompanied by good worker training and effective consequences. Safe Procedures are work procedures that are conducted in a safe manner and are extremely important in preventing injuries. Job hazard analysis is an excellent tool to make sure job tasks and procedures are free from the risk of exposure to hazards. They are normally very specific. Safe procedures include: lockout/tagout procedures chemical spill procedures retooling procedures confined space entry procedures maintenance procedures vehicle inspection procedures Safe Practices - Some of these practices are very general in their applicability. They may be a very important part of a single job procedure or applicable to many jobs in the workplace. Safe practices include general activities such as: Removal of tripping, blocking, and slipping hazards Removal of accumulated toxic dust on surfaces Wetting down surfaces to keep toxic dust out of the air Using personal protective equipment Using safe lifting techniques Maintaining equipment and tools in good repair Other safe work practices apply to specific jobs in the workplace and involve specific procedures for accomplishing a job. To develop safe procedures, you conduct a job hazard analysis (JHA). If, during the JHA, you determine that a procedure presents hazards to the worker, you would decide that a training program is needed. We recommend using the JHA as a tool for training your workers in the new procedures. A training program may be essential if your employees are working with highly toxic substances or in dangerous situations. Scheduling and job enrichment

These strategies use control measures that reduce employee exposure to hazards by manipulating work schedules. Examples include: lengthened rest breaks exercise breaks to vary body motions job rotation limit work shift

MODULE 6: INCIDENT/ACCIDENT ANALYSIS

If your hazard identification and control program fails to eliminate workplace hazards, chances are good an accident will happen. When it does, it's important to conduct an effective analysis of the accident process. Unfortunately, some employers perform accident investigations merely to place blame. When this occurs, the process becomes a very costly reactive procedure. The only way to receive any benefit from accident investigation is to make sure root causes are uncovered and permanently corrected. This module will help you understand the simple, but important steps in an effective accident investigation. Although accident investigation is a valuable and necessary tool to help reduce accident losses, it is always considerably more expensive to rely on accident investigation than hazard investigation as a strategy to reduce losses and eliminate hazards in the workplace. In some cases, it may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more because of direct, indirect, and unknown accident costs. But, when the accident happens...it happens. In addition, it's important to minimize accident costs to the company. This can be done if effective accident investigation procedures are used. So, let's take a quick look at some basic concepts and then discuss the first steps to take in building an effective accident investigation program. Accidents just happen...don't they? Do they? Are they really unexpected or unplanned? If a company has 20 disabling injuries one year, and sets an objective to reduce the accident rate by 50% by the end of the next year, aren't they planning 10 accidents for that year? If they reach that goal, will they be happy about it...content? Is that acceptable? (Just some food for thought) What is an "accident" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accident)? An accident is an unexpected (or unplanned, unwanted) workplace event that causes injury or illness to an employee. An accident will disrupt the orderly flow of the work process. It involves the transfer of an excessive amount of energy due usually to the motion of people, objects, or substances (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNwNqsx6xiI&p=A163EAAD13093EBA&index=3). Accident Causation Theories Heinrich's Domino Theory In 1931 W.H. Heinrich developed the domino theory, which argues that 98% of all accidents are caused by unsafe acts of people and actions and 2% by acts of God. He believed a five-step accident sequence occurred in which each factor would actuate the next step just as we see in a row of falling dominoes. The sequence of accident factors were:

1. ancestry and social environment 2. worker fault 3. unsafe act together with mechanical and physical hazard 4. accident 5. damage or injury He believed that by removing a single domino in the row the sequence would be interrupted, thus preventing the accident. The key domino to be removed from the sequence, according to Heinrich was domino number 3. It's surprising how firmly this theory took hold in the safety profession given that he provided no data for his theory. Multiple Causation Theory This theory argues that for any single accident there may be many contributing surface and root causes. This theory brings out the fact that rarely, if ever, is an accident the result of a single cause or act. Combinations of these give rise to accidents. According to this theory, the contributing factors may include: A typical accident, according to this theory, is the result of many related and unrelated factors that somehow all come together at the same time. It is the unintentional harmful outcome of a number of otherwise stable interactive work processes that undergo changes. The process, itself, is a set of simultaneous, interacting, and cross-linked events. Oregon OSHA education supports and promotes this approach to accident analysis. Environmental factors - Hazardous conditions in the workplace such as improper guarding, defective equipment, tools, equipment and machinery produced through inappropriate use and unsafe procedures. Behavioral factors - Factors such as improper attitude, lack of knowledge, lack of skills and inadequate physical and mental condition. These "states of being" also represent hazardous conditions in the workplace. It's important to understand there are underlying causes for these behavioral factors. Management can have great influence over these factors. Pure Chance Theory According to this theory, every of worker has an equal chance of being involved in an accident. Therefore, no single discernible pattern of events leads to an accident. All accidents correspond to "acts of God," and no interventions exist to prevent them. This theory contributes nothing at all towards developing preventive actions for avoiding accidents. (Personally, I think this approach to accident investigation is itself, a major system weakness.) Accident Proneness Theory This theory says that there exists within a workplace a subset of workers who are more liable to be involved in accidents. Contradictory research and professional consensus does not generally support this theory and, if accident proneness is supported by any empirical evidence at all, it probably accounts for only a very low proportion of accidents. Energy Transfer Theory This theory claims that a worker incurs injury from exposure to a harmful change of energy. For every change of energy, there is a source, a path and a receiver. In Oregon OSHA courses, we refer to the harmful transfer of energy as the "Direct Cause of Injury." This theory is useful for evaluating work for energy hazards and engineering control methods.

Plan the work...work the plan! When a serious accident occurs in the workplace, everyone will be too busy dealing with the emergency at hand to worry about putting together an investigation plan, so the best time to develop effective accident investigation procedures is naturally, before the accident occurs. The plan should include as a minimum procedures that determine and communicate: The purpose of the process (fix the system, not the blame!) Who should be notified of accident Who is authorized to notify outside agencies (fire, police, etc.) Who is assigned to conduct investigations Training required for accident investigators Who receives and acts on investigation reports Timetables for conducting hazard correction Now lets talk about the process

Securing the accident scene For a serious accident, the first action the accident team needs to take is to secure the accident scene so material evidence is not moved or removed. Material evidence has a tendency to walk off after an accident. If the accident is quite serious, OR-OSHA may inspect and require that all material evidence be marked and remain at the scene of the accident. The easiest way to do this is to place yellow warning tape around the area. If tape is not available, warning signs or guards may be required. Gathering information The next step in the procedure is to gather useful information about what directly and indirectly contributed to the accident. Interviewing eyewitnesses to the accident is probably one of the most important techniques in gathering information, but there are many other tools and techniques too. Take photographs of the scene. Videotape the scene. Make sketches of the scene. Make observations about the scene. Include measurements.

Remember you are gathering information to use in developing a sequence of steps that led up to the accident. You are ultimately trying to determine surface and root causes for the accident. It is not your job, as an accident investigator, to place blame. Just gather the facts. What happened next? Now you've gathered lots of information about the accident, and it's piled high on your desk. What do you do with it? It's important that you read the information initially to develop an accurate sequence of events that led up to and included the accident. See what an accident investigation sequence of events might look like. Sample - Accident Investigation Event Sequence 1. Employee #1 returned to work at 12:30 PM after lunch to continue laying irrigation pipes. 2. At approximately 12:45 PM employee #1 began dumping accumulated sand and laying the irrigation mainline pipe. 3. Employee #1 oriented the pipe vertically and it contacted a high voltage power line directly over the work area. 4. Employee #2 heard a "zap" and turned to see the mainline pipe falling and employee #1 falling into the irrigation ditch. 5. Employee #2 ran to employee #1 and pulled him from the irrigation ditch, laid him on his back and ran about 600 ft. to his truck and placed a call for help on his mobile phone. 6. About four minutes later, paramedics arrived and began to administer CPR on employee #1. They also used a heart defibrillator in an attempt to stabilize employee #1. 7. At about 1:10 p.m., an ambulance arrived and transported employee #1 to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. What caused the accident? The next step is to determine the surface and root causes for the accident. This step may be rather involved because you are first analyzing events to discover surface cause(s) for the accident, and then, by asking "why" each surface cause existed, attempting to identify their related root causes. Remember, surface causes are usually pretty obvious and not too difficult to uncover. However, you may find it takes a great deal more time to accurately determine the root causes (weaknesses in the management system) that contributed to the thinking, behaviors, and conditions associated with the accident. More on surface causes The surfaces causes of accidents are those hazardous conditions and specific unsafe or inappropriate behaviors that have directly caused or contributed in some way to the accident. It's important to know most hazardous conditions in the workplace are the result of a choices that have occurred, anywhere by any person(s), in the organization.

Root causes The root causes or "system causes" for accidents are the underlying system weaknesses that have somehow contributed to the general presence of hazardous conditions and common occurrence of unsafe behaviors that represent surfaces causes of accidents. If we see trends in conditions or behaviors - more than one unique instance - we should suspect system design or implementation weaknesses exist. Equally important is to understand that unsafe behaviors are caused by errors in thinking. The real solution is to find out why errors in thinking exist. Answering that question will usually uncover root causes. Root causes always pre-exist surface causes. Indeed, inadequately designed system components have the potential to feed and nurture hazardous conditions and unsafe behaviors. If root causes are left unchecked, surface causes will flourish! Time to report... Now that you have developed the sequence of events and determined surface and root causes, it's time to report your findings. Some employers also ask accident investigators to make recommendations for corrective action, so be prepared for that. Most companies purchase accident investigation forms. That's fine, but some forms leave little room to write the type of detailed report that is necessary for a serious accident. If you use such a form, make sure you attach important information like the sequence of events, and findings, which include both surface and root causes. A better idea is to develop your own form that includes the following five sections: Section One: Background Information. This is the who, what, where, why, etc. It merely tells who conducted the inspection, when it was done, who the victim was, etc: Just a fill-in-the-blank section. Section Two: Description of the Accident. This section includes the sequence of events you developed to determine cause. Just take the numbers off, and make a nice concise paragraph that describes the events leading up to, and including the accident. Section Three: Findings. This section includes a description of the surface and root causes associated with the accident. List the surface causes first, and then it's associated root cause. Remember, your investigation is to determine cause, not blame. It's virtually impossible to blame any one individual for a workplace accident. Don't let anyone pressure you into placing blame. Section Four: Recommendations. This section may be part of your report if requested by your employer. Recommendations should describe the engineering/management controls and/or interim measures that relate directly to the surface and root causes for the accident. It's crucial, after making recommendations to eliminate or reduce the surface causes, you use the same procedure to recommend actions to correct the root causes. If you fail to do this, it's a sure bet that similar accidents will continue to occur. Section Five: Summary. In this final section, it's important to present a cost-benefit analysis. What are the estimated direct and indirect costs of the accident being investigated? These represent potential future costs if a similar accident were to occur. Compare this figure with the costs associated with taking corrective action?

MODULE 7: SAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The Big Picture Safety education and training is extremely important to a successful safety and health effort. If this critical element is missing in your injury and illness prevention plan, none of the other program elements will be effective. But, this element is often neglected or managed ineffectively because the benefits may not be immediate, tangible, and directly related to profits. Managers may find it difficult to see the long-term improvements in process and product quality that results from fully developed safety education and training program. It's hard to see the big picture. This module will look at safety education and training, why its important, and how to implement an effective program. I want to emphasize that to be effective the program requires both education and training to be successful. However, what's the difference between the two? Education and Training: What's the difference? John F. Rekes, PE, CIH, CSP, says it well: "Education is a process through which learners gain new understanding, acquire new skills, and/or change their attitudes. The educational process is complex and learning usually takes place on many levels. An educational program can be successful even if the learners cannot do anything new or different at the end of the program. Training is a specialized form of education that focuses on developing or improving skills. While training incorporates educational theories, principles and practices, its focus is on performance. The goal of training is for learners to be able to do something new or better than before." Education is continuous. It begins as soon as you open your eyes each morning. There is not beginning or end to it. Training usually formal and planned. It has a beginning and an end. Safety education describes the who, what, where, when, and most importantly, the "why" of a particular subject. Education informs, persuades, motivates. We become educated in many ways including: Personal experience Formal classes Problem solving On-the-Job Training Observation Reading Viewing Feedback

Safety education attempts to primarily increase knowledge to change beliefs and, thereby, improve/change attitudes. The more we understand the importance of safety procedures, the more likely we will use them. We gain an understanding of natural and system consequences that result from using safe procedures and practices being trained. What does education about natural and system consequences look like? Natural consequences - Education helps employees understand the natural consequences of their actions; the injuries and illnesses that may result if we don't use the safe procedures and practices. Education helps everyone understand the natural consequences to the company; damage to equipment and machinery, lower trust between labor and management, and low morale. On the other hand, education helps employees understand the positive natural consequences resulting from safe behaviors in the workplace; fewer accidents, higher productivity and lower costs of doing business. System consequences - Education also helps us understand the system consequences of our actions; the disciplinary actions that result from noncompliance, and the recognition/reward that results from compliance. It also helps us understand the system weaknesses affecting the organization; OSHA penalties, civil and criminal penalties, possible work slowdown, decreased operational efficiency. Safety training, on the other hand, is one of the specialized forms of education that focuses on the how to do a particular task safely. It is concerned with showing you how to do something. It increases knowledge to improve/change skills. Gary, a past student wrote: "I stress to my co-workers that a life jacket is mandatory on deck. We hired a young guy who was a swimmer in college. He felt his swimming skills were such that he did not need the jacket. We educated him on hypothermia and that he could not save himself if he fell over in 35 degree water. Once he understood then he wore the jacket at all times, because he wanted to, not because he had to." Why is education so important? Earlier I said that education tells the "why" in a learning process. In safety and health, the why can save a person's life. By far the most common reason workers do not follow safety rules (or any rule) is that they don't understand why doing so is important. They don't understand the natural and system consequences. For instance, I'll bet your company has a list of safety rules that they directed you to read when you were first hired. Did anyone discuss with you during orientation "why" each rule was important to your safety and job security? If not, consider this lack of effective education as a symptom of a serious weakness in the safety education and training plan. (If your company has an effective safety orientation plan and it's being implemented well...congratulations!) A word about change. If your company attempts to institute change in any part of the safety and health management system, the effort will likely fail if the company only trains people how to change without informing, motivating, and persuading (educating) workers about why the change is important and what the benefits will be. Now, you show me... Safety education and training doesn't have to be difficult or expensive: it's not rocket science. So, what is the best method to train specific safety procedures? Here's what Rich H., another student, says about this: "Specific safety procedures are best done by telling, then showing, then having the worker show the trainer. The telling lets the worker get an introduction to what's going to happen, tells them what to watch for. The showing gives more exact information, clears up any vague areas the "telling" may not have made clear. It also decreases

the possibility that the worker will get in too deep, too fast.... The doing demonstrates competence, allows minor corrections, and (most importantly) instills the highest level of retention in the worker." Follow these: On-The-Job Training Strategy Classroom Training Strategy

MODULE 8: EVALUATING THE SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Introduction The Final element in the Oregon OSHA safety management system model addresses evaluation of the other elements. As you'll read below, the safety committee is required to conduct an evaluation and make written recommendations to improve safety programs. Let's see how you can make sure the evaluation process results in substantial improvements in the safety management system. The Big Picture OAR 437, Div 1, Rule 765(8) The safety committee is asked to assist the employer in evaluating the employer's accident and illness prevention program, and to make written recommendations to improve the program where applicable. A safety management system, like all systems, includes structure, inputs, processes, and outputs. Safety committees need to first acquire adequate knowledge and skills in the process of evaluation. This module will give you the information to help you do that. The Evaluation Process To improve the safety management system, we must diagnose and eliminate underlying causes. First, we must evaluate the current system against best practices and then implement changes to begin the transformation. It's important to remember that the process of analysis involves breaking a program up into its component parts to get a good idea how each component impacts the program. Evaluation, on the other hand, uses the information gained from the analysis to make a judgment about the quality of a component or the whole program. The process below describes a form of Gap Analysis and is used by many companies to improve organizational systems. Let's look at the process: Step 1 - Determine where we are now - identify and analyze! The primary questions asked during this early phase of the evaluation process are: What programs do we have right now What does each program look like How does it affect the safety management system Step 2 - Determine best policies and practices for your industry - visualize! The primary question: What do we want our safety system to look like? Research best practices with your industry by networking with other safety and health professionals. Subscribe to industry publications. In Oregon, an excellent source of help is the SHARP Alliance, an association of companies and organizations that have earned Oregon OSHA's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program award. You can also gain insight by reading safety and health magazines such as OSHA's Job Safety and Health Quarterly, The American Society of Safety Engineer's Safety Professional, Compliance Magazine, Ergonomics Solutions Magazine, Occupational Hazards, and others.

Step 3 - Evaluate the system for strengths and weaknesses - scrutinize! The primary question: How well are system components working? Take advantage of outside experts. Our Oregon OSHA consultants are available at no charge to provide confidential on-site consultations that can be helpful in evaluating your safety management system. Rate your current safety management system against best practices. You may want to use this survey as part of your evaluation process (http://orosha.org/consult/). You may also want to have a number of your employees complete the Sharp Alliance Survey to get their perceptions about the over all quality of your company's safety management system. Improving the Safety Management System When you decide some part of the safety management system needs to be improved, it's important use a systematic process to make sure the change is effective. We encourage the use of W. Edwards Deming's PlanDo-Study-Act process. Let's take a brief look at this process: Step 1: Plan Design the change or test. Take time to thoroughly plan the proposed change before its implemented. Pinpoint specific conditions, behaviors, results you expect to see because of the change. Plan to ensure successful transition as well as change. Step 2: Do - Carry out the change or test. Implement the change or test it on a small scale. This will help limit the number of variables and potential damage if unexpected outcomes occur. Educate, train, communicate the changehelp everyone transition. Keep the change small to better measure variable. Step 3: Study Examine the effects or results of the change or test. To determine what was learned: what went right or wrong. Statistical process analysis, surveys, questionnaires, interviews Step 4: Act Adopt, abandon, or repeat the cycle. Incorporate what works into the system. Ask not only if we're doing the right things, but ask if we're doing things right. If the result was not as intended, abandon the change or begin the cycle again with the new knowledge gained. I hope the information in these modules as been helpful to you and I hope to see you participate in another course soon.