Making safety a priority may be as simple as sending a letter to all employees outlining your plans to make safety as important as quality. Your employees should believe just as strongly as you do in safety.
Hire the safest employees, starting in the interview process. Get a sense of how prospective employees feel about a total commitment to safely. Have they worked in other organizations where safety is a top priority? Always make the prospect aware of the physical demands the job entails.
Review your workers compensation losses and ask your insurance carrier for a list of all of your workers compensation claims for the past 6 years. Look for trends, note the type of injury, the job the employee was performing when hurt, the name of the employee and the equipment or tools being used . Focus on the common causes that are responsible for the greatest number of you claims.
Get all employees involved in the safety effort. Solicit employee suggestions on what they think can be done to prevent accidents and take action on these suggestions.
Many businesses have regulations imposed on them by state and federal agencies. Your state’s insurance department or labor department may have employer requirements related to workers compensation and the provision of medical services OSHA has several volumes of rules and regulations that may affect your business. You should contact your trade association, chamber of commerce or state business and industry council to get a listing of codes and regulations that are specific to your state and industry.
Hazard Identification and control.
The identification of workplace hazards is critical to establishing a workplace safety program. There are a number of reasons to document the hazards that exist in your business.
As the nature of business changes, so do the hazards of the operations For example. Who would have thought that operating a computer could cause an injury? The advent of computers saw a new major type of injury in an office, carpal tunnel syndrome.
Identifying and documenting hazards also uncovers the need for employee training in some areas. Using experienced employees to identify hazards and suggest controls can be valuable in establishing a team concept in your business.
Various methods can be used to establish a regular inspection program. Using checklists and flowcharts are just two ways to get started.
Specify the top 10 regulations
1. Blood borne Pathogens – 1910.1030 Blood borne Pathogens are pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
2. Hazard Communication – 1910.1200 the purpose of this section is to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are classified, and that information concerning the classified hazards is transmitted to employers and employees. The requirements of this section are intended to be consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), Revision 3. The transmittal of information is to be accomplished by means of comprehensive hazard communication programs, which are to include container labeling and other forms of warning, safety data sheets and employee training.
3. Respiratory Protection – 1910.134 the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used