Involvement in Safety at Work

INVOLVEMENT IN SAFETY IS ESSENTIAL
"Our goal is world class safety"
Thoughts and Notes from W.C.B. Talk at Safety Rep and Supervisor Training Nov, Dec 2002
We’ve Go To Do Something About Unsafe Acts and Conditions.
How do we get people to buy into safety, people are getting hurt doing their normal job duties. There is a need to educate workers and supervision more effectively, to motivate and inspire workers through education etc…enforcement is a last resort and usually doesn’t bring people on line. We need willing participation; it is essential everyone be involved in safety and uses his or her Personal Protective Equipment.
The Supervisor is responsible that workers comply with The W.C.B. Act and Mill Policies. If you direct anybody, technically W.C.B. considers you the Supervisor. The Worker has the duty to follow the training and supervision. The Worker must report unsafe acts and conditions we must cooperate. You need to know the applicable portions of the W.C.B. Regulations – Start looking at them! Be aware of the Regulations you are being measured by them. Overcome ignorance – if your following safe work procedures you won’t be worried about how many times your supervisor or W.C.B. comes by your job site.
Risk Taking
Why do people do the things they do? Why would someone take risks in the workplace?
Generally, people take risks to save time and effort. They do this because in the past, accidents have not occurred when taking that risk. As a result, the unsafe behavior was "rewarded". Each time, the unsafe behavior was reinforced by the worker receiving the "Reward of no Accident".
If you take risks enough times, eventually you may become seriously injured. The laws of probability make it inevitable.
For every lost-time accident, there are an even larger number of accidents that require first aid or medical treatment. All of these accidents, despite their consequences, are a result of an even greater number of unsafe acts. The larger the number of unsafe acts, the greater the likelihood of accidents requiring medical treatment, the greater the chances of lost-time accidents.
An Accident Is an Unwanted Consequence
The Supervisor has to focus in on the unsafe acts – you can’t do anything once the accident has occurred. To avoid or prevent accidents the Supervisor must modify the behavior of the Workers. Discipline means the Supervisor has failed and or worker refuses to do the job right. Positive reinforcement works best and creates behavior, enforcement stops behavior. If enforcement is needed – what are the people doing in the mill.
Supervisor Safety Rep Training needs to include inter-personal skills. If your not comfortable in telling another worker their doing an unsafe act you ought not be in these positions, and you are now responsible if you do not act. You can use other Supervisor’s and Safety Rep’s, if it is immediately dangerous to life and limb you have to Act – legally and morally you are responsible. A worker that is in this position lacks skills and information you have, so you have to Act. Observations need to be documented for due diligence reasons (positive and corrective actions). Supervisor has no choice in this duty. You have the responsibility to the worker – workers have the responsibility to work safely.
The approach to the worker is critical and needs to be supportive not combative, walls go up and people look for ways to get the other guy. But even with this unsafe acts have to be stopped one way or the other.
Use the Pre-job Hazard Inspection, it deals with the here and now.
The employers are getting a lot better at training workers, if a worker continues to work unsafely and has a serious accident or fatality, W.C.B. is going to ask "Why did you continue to employ this man". This is how W.C.B. looks at the situation. If the Supervisor doesn’t give a shit! He’ll be made to, cowardice and laziness stops corrective action.
People in the Mill are supposed to report unsafe conditions and acts, but the first thing is to Act and Stop the situation. A use of the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, shows some downfall in the Safety Program, but can also present an opportunity to effectively deal with a situation.
Nothing is effective in supervision if you’re a hardass, people do unsafe acts because they don’t think they’re going to get hurt and need to be approached in that way.