On 5/28/20 Phil Mendelowitz (@witzshared) hosted a #USAMfgHour on Workplace Safety Programs and Theories of Safety. There are many safety programs available, and you should take a look at several to see what options make sense for your organization.
What is Behavior-Based Safety?
After brief introductions, Phil asked if the participants had ever heard of behavior-based safety? Unfortunately, most said that they had not. Phil shared that behavior-based safety focuses on changing employees’ behavior through education to increase their awareness of their environment and change habits so they don’t make bad decisions. Dr. Rob Long is the main guru behind behavioral safety and has some great resources here for people looking to learn more about the concept.
What Type of Safety Program Should Your Manufacturing Company Look For?
First, Phil asked, “When you look for a safety program do you go with the “easiest to use one size fits all in our budget” program?” @LiftWisco said, “We use a standardized program as a guideline and then tweak it to what OSHA requirements are in our industry. We have a PT Safety Manager onboard and Safety Asst. to provide documentation & implementation.” @NJMEP agreed wholeheartedly, saying that safety is not “One Size Fits All” and that implementing safety programs just to implement them isn’t enough.
Are You Light Handed and Heavy Handed When Dealing with Safety?
Phil then asked whether the participant companies were guilty of “heavy-handed-set-an-example punishment or fine-for-violation punishment to an employee right after an accident and then let the message fade with light punishment until the next accident?” Everyone who responded said an emphatic “No!”, with @SERVICECASTER chiming in with, “I’m not sure since I don’t handle that, but it seems like, with anything, consistency would be key. Having different standards and inconsistent consequences would, in my estimation, send mixed messages to employees.” Phil agreed, saying, “Everyone is treated the same and consistently otherwise there will never be trust.”
How Should You Treat Employees When They Break A Safety Rule?
Finally, Phil asked, how participants would want to be treated if they break a safety rule? Nearly everyone said that they’d want to be treated professionally with their errors explained and then given education on the proper course of action. While it is understandable that emotions can run high in imminent safety situations, yelling should be kept to a minimum when possible and disciplinary action done behind closed doors.
Phil closed out the chat by saying that when it comes to looking for a safety program, like in life, you should not accept just one way of doing it. You have to look at all the other alternatives available and then take some from each. Adapt it to your situation as one size does not fit all. But the bottom line is and always will be communication between employees and management.
~ Recap written by Jennifer Wegman
