DESIGN FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY:SAFETY PROGRAMS

SAFETY PROGRAMS

The preceding materials provide the basis for developing an effective company hazard-control pro- gram. However, there are a number of other elements to consider in developing a safety program or upgrading your current program. These include organizational policies, managing various elements of the program, motivational practices, hazard-control procedures, dealing with employees, accident investigations, and injury recording. Aspects of each of these have already been discussed, and in this section they are integrated into an effective safety program. There has been considerable research into the necessary elements for a successful safety program (see Cohen 1977; Smith et al. 1978; Cleveland et al. 1979; Zimolong 1997) and how these elements should be applied. One primary factor emerges from every study on this subject. A safety program will not be successful unless there is a commitment to the program by top management. This dictates that there be a written organizational policy statement on the importance of safety and the general procedures the corporation intends to use to meet this policy. Having such a policy is just the first step toward effective management commitment.

Smith et al. (1978) have shown that it takes more than a written policy to ensure successful safety performance. It takes involvement on the part of all levels of management in the safety program. From the top managers it means that they must get out onto the shop floor often and talk to employees about plant conditions and safety problems. This can be on a scheduled basis, but it seems to be more effective on an informal basis. For middle managers there is a need to participate in safety program activities such as monthly hazard awareness meetings or weekly toolbox meetings. This does not necessitate active presentations by these managers, but it does mean active participation in group discussions and answering worker questions. These activities bring the upper and middle managers in touch with potential hazard sources and educates them to shop floor problems. It also demonstrates to employees that management cares about their safety and health.

Another aspect of management commitment is the level of resources that are made available for safety programming. Cohen (1977), in reviewing successful program research, found that organiza- tional investment in full-time safety staff was a key feature to good plant safety performance. The effectiveness of safety and health staff was greater the higher they were in the management structure. The National Safety Council (1974) has suggested that plants with less than 500 employees and a low to moderate hazard level can have an effective program with a part-time safety professional. Larger plants or those with more hazards need more safety staff.

Along with funds for staffing, successful programs also make funds available for hazard abatement in a timely fashion. Thus, segregated funds are budgeted to be drawn upon when needed. This gives the safety program flexibility in meeting emergencies when funds may be hard to get quickly from operating departments. An interesting fact about companies with successful safety programs is that they are typically efficient in their resource utilization, planning, budgeting, quality control, and other aspects of general operations and include safety programming and budgeting as just another com- ponent of their overall management program. They do not single safety out or make it special; instead, they integrate it into their operations to make it a natural part of daily work activities.

Organizational motivational practices will influence employee safety behavior. Research has dem- onstrated that organizations that exercise humanistic management approaches have better safety per- formance (Cohen 1977; Smith et al. 1978; Cleveland et al. 1979). These approaches are sensitive to employee needs and thus encourage employee involvement. Such involvement leads to greater aware- ness and higher motivation levels conducive to proper employee behavior. Organizations that use

punitive motivational techniques for influencing safety behavior have poorer safety records than those using positive approaches. An important motivational factor is encouraging communication between various levels of the organization (employees, supervisors, managers). Such communication increases participation in safety and builds employee and management commitment to safety goals and objec- tives. Often informal communication is a more potent motivator and provides more meaningful in- formation for hazard control.

An interesting research finding is that general promotional programs aimed at enhancing employee awareness and motivation, such as annual safety awards dinners and annual safety contests, are not very effective in influencing worker behavior or company safety performance (Smith et al. 1978). The major reason is that their relationship in time and subject matter (content) to actual plant hazards and safety considerations is so abstract that workers cannot translate the rewards to specific actions that need to be taken. It is hard to explain why these programs are so popular in industry despite being so ineffective. Their major selling points are that they are easy to implement and highly visible, whereas more meaningful approaches take more effort.

Another important consideration in employee motivation and improved safety behavior is training. Two general types of safety training are of central importance: skills training and training in hazard awareness. Training is a key component to any safety program because it is important to employee knowledge of workplace hazards and proper work practices and provides the skills necessary to use the knowledge and the work practices. Both formal and informal training seem to be effective in enhancing employee safety performance (Cohen and Colligan 1998). Formal training programs pro- vide the knowledge and skills for safe work practices, while informal training by first-line supervisors and fellow employees maintains and sharpens learned skills.

All safety programs should have a formalized approach to hazard control. This often includes an inspection system to define workplace hazards, accident investigations, record keeping, a preventive maintenance program, a machine guarding program, review of new purchases to ensure compliance with safety guidelines, and housekeeping requirements. All contribute to a safety climate that dem- onstrates to workers that safety is important. However, the effectiveness of specific aspects of such a formalized hazard-control approach have been questioned (Cohen 1977; Smith et al. 1978). For instance, formalized inspection programs have been shown to deal with only a small percentage of workplace hazards (Smith et al. 1971). In fact, Cohen (1977) indicated that more frequent informal inspections may be more effective than more formalized approaches. However, the significance of formalized hazard-control programs is that they establish the groundwork for other programs such as work practice improvement and training. In essence, they are the foundation for other safety approaches. They are also a source of positive motivation by demonstrating management interest in employees by providing a clean workplace free of physical hazards. Smith et al. (1978) have dem- onstrated that sound environmental conditions are a significant contribution to company safety per- formance and employee motivation.