You
may already have written job descriptions for
all the positions in your company. This chapter
will help you develop a safety and health section
to add to these personnel documents and to include
in your overall safety and health program. While
some small businesses do not rely on written
job descriptions, we believe that written statements
are preferable to oral assignments with respect
to safety and health responsibilities. Carefully
written documents:
- Remove
any doubt about the responsibilities and authority
of each position;
- Enhance
communication and coordination among jobs;
- Aid
in determining whether all responsibilities
have been accounted for within the organization
and whether new tasks and responsibilities
should be assigned; and
- Aid
in developing job performance objectives and
establishing performance measurements.
REVIEW
THE EXISTING ORGANIZATION
Within
every business there are people who should be
involved in carrying out the safety and health
program. On a sheet of paper or a form like
the Appendix 5-1 Worksheet, list all the positions
in your business. Use a separate sheet for each
position. (You can group similar positions later.)
See Appendix 5-2 for descriptions of the basic
positions normally involved in a safety and
health program.
DETERMINE
THE SAFETY AND HEALTH ROLE OF EACH POSITION
What
role do you want each position or group of positions
to play in your safety and health program? What
level of authority will the person holding this
position need? Write a general statement of
overall responsibility and authority for each
position. This statement will correspond to
the first three entries on the Appendix 5-1
Worksheet.
While
authority is built into managerial and supervisory
positions, you may want to make changes specifically
relating to your safety and health program.
If so, be sure you clearly state the scope of
authority by showing supervisory relationships,
the amount of money the position holder can
spend or any other measures that describe what
a person in this position can do without obtaining
further approval. At this stage do not attempt
to describe in detail each job's specific safety
and health tasks. Here are some examples of
safety and health roles:
The
Owner: establishes and provides the leadership
and resources for carrying out the stated company
safety and health policy.
Managers
and Supervisors: maintain safe and healthful
working conditions within their respective
jurisdictions.
Employees:
exercise care within their work to prevent
injuries to themselves and to their co-workers.
Visitors,
Vendors, Customers, and Subcontractors:
comply with all safety and health regulations
while on the premises.
The
people with responsibility in the following
areas may have some additional general duties:
Safety:
be fully responsible to the owner or manager
for the direction and day-to-day operation of
the safety and health policy.
Engineering:
ensure that all equipment that could affect
the safety and health of employees is selected,
installed and maintained in a way that eliminates
or controls potential hazards.
Purchasing:
ensure that safety and health equipment and
materials are purchased in a timely manner;
and that new materials, parts and equipment
are analyzed for potential hazards so that
preventive measures or controls can be implemented;
and that such materials, parts and equipment
are obtained in accord with all applicable
safety and health requirements.
DETERMINE
AND ASSIGN SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
You
have decided who should be involved in your
safety and health program. Now you need to develop
written statements that specify what each person
must do to help you meet program goals. This
corresponds to the last entry on the Appendix
5-1 Worksheet.
Refer
to Appendix 5-2 for some suggested safety and
health responsibilities of several categories
of employee. This is appropriate wording for
job descriptions. Which of these responsibilities
fit into your program? At what authority level
and to which specific positions within your
business should these responsibilities be assigned.
When
writing out responsibilities for non-supervisory
employees, be careful not to confuse these responsibilities
with specific work rules and safe work practices.
A brief, general statement about the employee's
responsibility to understand and follow rules
and safe work practices is more appropriate.
You
should delegate the details for carrying out
your safety and health program to the same people
who are responsible for plant operations and
production. In this way you build safety and
health into the complete management system as
firmly as production. Be sure that each assigned
responsibility comes with the authority and
resources needed to fulfill it.
COMMUNICATE
WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES
After
you have clarified the safety and health responsibilities
of each position you must discuss this information
to your employees. You may find it useful to
combine all these written statements of safety
and health responsibility into a single document.
Then post it or circulate it to all employees
involved. Discuss the job descriptions and responsibilities
in face-to-face meetings with the employees
who will be responsible for carrying out the
program. Keep a copy of this document and periodically
refer to it when meeting with employees for
performance reviews.
SUMMARY
For
your safety and health program to succeed you
need to delegate responsibility to specific
positions, departments and staff levels within
your company. Follow these steps:
1.
Review your existing structure.
2.
Decide what part each job position should have
within the overall safety and health program,
and what authority and resources are needed
to carry out this role.
3.
Determine and assign safety and health responsibilities
and write these responsibilities into each position's
job description.
4.
Communicate with the employees involved by discussing
the responsibilities and authority in face-to-face
meetings and circulated documents.
APPENDIX
5-1
WORKSHEET
SAFETY
AND HEALTH PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES
All
employees will be fully responsible for carrying
out the provisions of our safety and health
policy that pertain to operations under their
jurisdiction. The responsibilities listed below
are our minimum expectations. We encourage individual
initiatives to curb losses.
JOB
TITLE: _________________________________________
GENERAL
STATEMENT: _____________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
LIMITS
OF AUTHORITY AND RESOURCES (Expenditures, reporting,
authority
to
shut down equipment): _______________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
THE
EMPLOYEE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR AND HELD ACCOUNTABLE
FOR:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
APPENDIX
5-2
SAMPLE
ASSIGNMENT OF SAFETY AND HEALTH RESPONSIBILITIES
PRESIDENT/OWNER/SITE
MANAGER
- Establish
a policy to hold the worksite in compliance
with all applicable Federal or State standards
and to provide safe and healthful work and
working conditions for every person at the
site.
- Provide
the leadership and resources to carry out
the stated company safety and health policy.
- Set
objectives and support safety and health personnel
and employees in their request for information,
training, experts, facilities, tools, and
equipment needed to conduct an effective program
and to establish a safe and healthy workplace.
- Assign
clear responsibility for the various aspects
of the safety and health program. Ensure that
employees with assigned responsibilities have
adequate resources and authority to perform
their duties.
- Hold
accountable those employees (including managers
and supervisors) with assigned responsibilities
by checking to make sure they are meeting
their responsibilities and by correcting or
rewarding them, as appropriate.
- Keep
in touch with employees and the company's
safety and health activities, assist in giving
direction and authority for those activities,
and visibly show your involvement.
- Set
a good example by following safety and health
rules and safe work practices.
- Require
all vendors, customers, subcontractors and
visitors to comply with the company safety
and health policy.
- Thoroughly
understand the hazards and potential hazards
that employees may be exposed to at the worksite.
Ensure that a comprehensive program of prevention
and control is set up and operating.
- Provide
a reliable system for employees to report
to appropriate managers any conditions and
situations that appear hazardous. Ensure that
responses to such reports are appropriate
and timely.
- Encourage
employees to use the established hazard reporting
system(s). Guarantee a strict prohibition
of retribution for all employees, supervisors
and managers who use the system(s).
- Establish
an inspection system, including self-inspections,
and review the results periodically to ensure
proper and timely hazard correction.
- Establish
a plant preventive maintenance program to
ensure proper care and functioning of equipment
and facilities.
- Review
accident reports to keep informed of causes
and trends.
- Provide
a medical program, emergency response system
and first aid facilities adequate for the
size and hazards of the worksite.
- Require
periodic drills to ensure that each employee
knows what to do in case of an emergency.
- Establish
training programs that improve the ability
of all employees, including managers and supervisors,
to recognize and understand hazards and to
protect themselves and others.
SAFETY
AND HEALTH DIRECTOR/COORDINATOR
- Maintain
safety and health expertise through training,
reading, conferences and use of outside experts.
- Keep
informed of and be able to interpret laws
and standards dealing with employee risk reduction
in this industry and illness and injury recordkeeping
requirements.
- Act
as the eyes, ears, and "conscience"
of top management where employee safety and
health are concerned.
- Working
with managers, supervisors, hourly employees
and experts as needed, develop a complete
inventory of hazards and potential hazards,
and plan a program of prevention and control.
- Evaluate
the effectiveness of the plant preventive
maintenance program in ensuring a safe and
healthful workplace.
- Conduct
a hazard analysis that includes hazard detection
and plans for prevention or control whenever
new equipment, facilities or materials are
designed, purchased or used, and whenever
new processes are designed.
- Provide
technical assistance and support to production
supervisors and employees in their safety
and health activities.
- Assist
management to ensure that appropriate general
plant safety and health rules are developed,
communicated and understood.
- Assist
in or oversee the development of a system
for consistent and firm enforcement of the
rules and safe work practices.
- Assist
management in providing adequate equipment
for personal protection, industrial hygiene,
safety and fire prevention.
- Inspect
and/or assist in inspection of facilities
to detect hazards that may have escaped established
prevention and control mechanisms and to uncover
any previously undetected hazards.
- Assist
supervisors in investigating accidents and
incidents such as property damage and near
misses.
- Provide
technical assistance to employees in the performance
of their duties under the safety and health
program.
- Assist
in developing and providing safety and health
training to all employees so that they will
understand the hazards of the workplace and
their responsibility to protect themselves
and others.
- Oversee,
analyze and critique periodic emergency drills
to improve worksite emergency readiness.
PLANT
SUPERINTENDENTS/DIVISION MANAGERS/DIRECTORS
- Provide
the leadership and direction essential to
maintain the safety and health policy as the
fundamental priority in all operations.
- Hold
all subordinate supervisors accountable for
all assigned safety and health responsibilities,
including their responsibility to ensure that
employees under their direction comply with
all safety and health policies, procedures
and rules.
- Evaluate
the safety and health performance of subordinate
supervisors taking into account these indicators
of good performance: low injury and illness
experience; good housekeeping; a creative,
cooperative involvement in safety and health
activities; a positive approach to safety
and health problems and solutions; and a willingness
to implement recommendations of professionals.
- Ensure
the safety of the physical plant including
structural features, equipment and the working
environment. Insist that a high level of housekeeping
be maintained, that safe working procedures
be established, and that employees follow
these procedures and apply good judgement
to the hazardous aspects of all tasks. Participate
in regular inspections of the plant to observe
safety and health conditions and to communicate
with employees. Offer positive reinforcement
and instruction during these tours, and require
the correction of any hazards.
- Actively
participate in and support employee participation
in safety and health program activities. Provide
timely and appropriate follow-up to recommendations
made by any employee (or joint labor-management)
group operating under the safety and health
program.
- Make
certain that all new facilities, equipment,
materials and processes are analyzed for potential
hazards before completion of design or purchase,
that all potential hazards are prevented or
controlled before their introduction into
the worksite, that tools and machinery are
used as designed, and that all equipment is
properly maintained.
- Ensure
that job hazard analyses are conducted periodically
for all jobs, with particular emphasis on
tasks known to be dangerous, so that hazards
can be uncovered and prevented or controlled.
- Make
sure that employees know about and are encouraged
to use systems for reporting hazards and making
safety and health suggestions, that they are
protected from harassment, that their ideas
are genuinely considered, and that their ideas
are adopted when helpful and feasible.
- Ensure
that prompt corrective action is taken whenever
and wherever hazards are recognized or unsafe
acts are observed.
- Make
sure that all hazardous tasks are covered
by specific safe work procedures or rules
to minimize injury.
- Provide
all necessary safety and health equipment
and protective devices, and make sure employees
understand and use them properly.
- Ensure
that all injured persons, regardless of how
minor the injuries, receive prompt and appropriate
medical treatment.
- Ensure
that all accidents and incidents are promptly
reported, thoroughly investigated and properly
recorded, and that safety award programs do
not discourage reporting of any incident that
must be recorded on the log.
- Keep
abreast of accident and injury trends. Take
proper corrective action, when needed, to
reverse these trends.
- Ensure
that all employees are physically qualified
to perform their work.
- Make
sure that all employees are trained and, when
necessary, retrained to recognize and understand
hazards and to follow safe work procedures
for each hazardous job.
- Ensure
that supervisors hold periodic safety and
health meetings to review and analyze the
causes of accidents/incidents and to promote
free discussion of hazardous work problems
and possible solutions.
- Use
the safety director to help promote aggressive
and effective safety and health programs.
- Help
develop and implement emergency procedures.
Make sure that all employees have opportunities
to practice their emergency duties.
SUPERVISORS
- Supervise
and evaluate worker performance, including
each worker's safety and health behavior and
work methods.
- Encourage
and actively support employee involvement
in the safety and health program. Provide
positive reinforcement and recognition to
outstanding individual and group performance.
- Obtain
and maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills
required to detect safety and health violations
and other hazards, such as improperly functioning
machinery, tools, or equipment.
- Maintain
good housekeeping in your work area.
- Ensure
that the plant preventive maintenance program
is being followed and that any repair and
replacement needs found during those activities
are tracked to completion.
- Conduct
frequent inspections, using a checklist, to
evaluate your area's physical conditions.
- Investigate
accidents thoroughly to determine how the
situation can be made foolproof.
- Actively
discourage short cuts. Consistently and fairly
enforce safe work procedures and safety and
health rules.
- Provide
continuing on-the-job training in safe work
procedures and the use and maintenance of
personal protective equipment.
- Make
sure each employee knows what to do in case
of an emergency.
- Practice
what you preach. Be thorough and conscientious
in following the safe work procedures and
safety and health rules that apply to the
area.
EMPLOYEE
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Learn
the rules. Understand them, follow them and
avoid short cuts.
- Review
the safety and health educational material
posted on bulletin boards and distributed
to work areas. If you do not understand something,
ask questions.
- Take
personal responsibility for keeping yourself,
your co-workers and equipment free from mishaps.
- Be
certain that you completely understand instructions
before starting work. Avoid taking short cuts
through safe work procedures.
- If
you have any doubt about your safety or health
when completing a task, stop and get instructions
from your supervisor before continuing.
- If
you have a suggestion for reducing safety
and health risks, offer it. It is your responsibility
to get involved.
- Take
part in the employee participation system
and support other employees in their assigned
roles under the safety and health program.
- Make
sure you understand exactly what your responsibilities
are in emergency situations.
- Know
how and where medical help can be obtained.
- Report
all accidents and unsafe conditions and acts
to your supervisor or use the system set up
to allow reporting elsewhere.
Previous
Section: Employee Involvement
Next Section: Developing
Accountability
