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| Improve Your Safety Culture in 9 Steps |
Unlike the weather, though, Higbee asserts that a stormy safety culture can be changed. "I've seen it happen again and again in all kinds of industries and at all kinds of workplaces."
How do these organizations do it? And how can you change your safety culture? According to Higbee, there are nine steps you need to take.
1. Practice What You Preach (and Vice Versa). Safety leaders must remain dedicated to the safety message 100 percent of the time.
2. Meet Regulatory Standards. Be familiar with all of the regulatory requirements and tailor your safety programs accordingly.
3. Build a Base of Support. Enlist the support of like-minded people in your organization—those who understand the concepts of compliance, conditions, risk, reward and behavior.
4. Promote the Company Line. Ask upper management to issue a written statement of support for and commitment to a safe and healthy workplace, and post copies of the statement around the workplace where employees will see them.
5. Train Your Supervisors. Safety isn't an ingrained supervisor responsibility, at least at many organizations; it's something that requires deliberate training and explanation.
6. Provide Management Meaningful Data. Report to management every day on matters such as critical safety concerns, injuries and near misses. Use your monthly reports to concentrate on long-term matters such as rates and activities like training, inspections and audits.
7. Hold Management and Supervisors Accountable. Make sure that the individuals you count on to perform safety functions—such as employee attendance at training sessions, timely and accurate accident investigations, audits, etc. —are held accountable for the way they carry out those functions.
8. Recognize Safety Achievements. Go out of your way to give credit to those who deserve it. Expressing appreciation is the best way to ensure that you get the same level of effort the next time.
9. Gain Access to Top Management. To succeed, you need the support of top management. To garner support, you need to gain access to management. How? By providing the information management needs to stay informed. The reporting process naturally creates lines of communication, which in turn create opportunity to deepen communication.
It takes commitment to build or improve a safety culture, and SafetySmart has many tools that can help, such as this article on How to Get Workers to Develop a Safety Attitude.
Need access to additional resources on this topic? Try SafetySmart today and get immediate access to safety talks, presentations and more. Sign up for a free 14-day trial now. |
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| It seems that someone doesn't have a proper handle on safety here. If something snapped or slipped, these workers would be in a tight and possibly deadly spot. (Naval Safety Center photo of the week archives) |
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| 8 Traps to Avoid in Responding to Work Refusals |
OHS laws let workers refuse work they reasonably believe is dangerous. Once a refusal is initiated, companies must determine whether the refusal is a justified assertion of a safety right or an act of insubordination subject to discipline.
Responding to refusals isn't simply about figuring out if a worker's fears are reasonable; a big part of the challenge is ensuring that you follow the proper procedures for investigating work refusals that are set out in your jurisdiction's OHS laws.
Read the list of the traps on OHS Insider.com.
(Note: subscription is required; to get instant access , simply sign up for a No-Obligation Trial.)
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| MSHA Issues Largest Fine to Date for Mine Disaster That Killed 29 |
The US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has fined Massey Energy Co. and its subsidiary, Performance Coal Co. (PCC), $10.8 million—the largest penalty it has ever assessed—in connection with the April 2010 Upper Big Branch-South Mine disaster that killed 29 miners.
An MSHA investigation concluded that corporate culture at Massey Energy was the root cause of the West Virginia coal dust explosion.
"The results of this investigation led to the conclusion that Performance Coal Company/Massey promoted and enforced a workplace culture that valued production over safety and broke the law as they endangered the lives of their miners," says Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
Massey/PCC was issued 369 citations and orders, including 21 flagrant violations, which carry the most serious civil penalties under the law. Violations include illegally providing advance notice to miners of MSHA inspections, failing to properly conduct required examinations, allowing hazardous levels of loose coal, coal dust and float coal dust to accumulate, failing to adequately apply rock dust to the mine, adequately train miners and comply with approved ventilation plans and approved roof control plans.
MSHA says it reached a nearly $210 million non-prosecution agreement among the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, the US Department of Justice, Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Alpha Appalachia Holdings Inc., formerly known as Massey Energy Co.
The agreement will cover remedial safety measures at all Alpha Mines, a trust fund for improvements in mine safety and health, payment of outstanding civil penalties for all former Massey mines and restitution payments for the victims' families.
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Related story: Former Miner Jailed for False Statements
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