Put a Safety Plan in Place
No matter what industry your company is in, it needs a safety plan designed to address hazards in your workplace and keep all employees safe and healthy. Not only is this a recommendation of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and a requirement of some state OSHA programs, it’s the right thing to do from a conscientious management standpoint. Here are some of the key issues to consider in creating a comprehensive occupational safety and health safety program.
What Should Be Covered in Your Safety Plan?
Evaluate your organization’s safety requirements and decide which topics need to be included in the safety plan. Here is a list of examples (your individual operation may not need to cover all these topics, or may have additional issues to integrate into its safety plan):
- Department safety analysis
- Job hazard analysis
- Accident Investigation
- Hazard communication
- Fire prevention
- Lockout/tagout
- Occupational ergonomics program
- Electrical safety
- Machine guarding
- First aid/injury procedures
- Power tools safety
- Ladders and stairs
- Working in hot conditions
- Working in cold conditions
- Slips, trips and falls
- Protective clothing/equipment
- Bloodborne pathogens
- Forklifts/Powered Industrial Trucks
- Hazardous waste and emergency response
- Preparation for workplace emergencies
- Office safety
- Process safety
Make Individual Procedures Part of Your Safety Plan
A sound safety plan includes provisions for creating and maintaining written individual procedures for dealing with the types of hazards that employees will or could potentially be exposed to. Each department or functional area should have its own safety plan as part of the overall company safety plan.
Each safety procedure outlined in the plan must comply fully with the pertinent OSHA regulation. There must also be a provision for reviewing and revising procedures as necessary.
Each written procedure must be clearly communicated to all personnel who will be affected by it. Employees must also receive the training and protective equipment they need to remain safe from injury while carrying out each procedure.
Inspections Ensure Effectiveness of Your Safety Plan
It’s not enough just to put a safety plan in place. You must also ensure that safety and health inspections take place on a regular basis. Routine safety and health inspections must be made of all company facilities and work areas. These inspections will be conducted to discover conditions and work practices that lead to job accidents and industrial illnesses.
The safety inspection team should be made up of both supervisory and hourly personnel. This will help ensure that problems are spotted and duly remedied before an accident or injury occurs, and will ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the safety plan.