ingenieur vol 97 2024 Vol 97 Jan-Mar 2024 | Page 45

towards initiating the evolution of a safety culture change that is needed for such growth , as they strive to partner and support the needs and objectives of OSHMP25 . The recommendations are straightforward but require considerable effort from management and employees for their implementation and continued success . The safety roadmap construct concludes with a “ Blue Box ” which contains a brief description of some specific ‘ Needs and Opportunities ’ for performance improvement .
RECOMMENDATION 1 : Rules , Standards and Procedures The foundation for safe working behaviour is in the system of safety rules , standards and procedures . These have to be comprehensive , respected and understood . Consistent enforcement will eventually generate the change and culture change behaviour will become “ second nature ’. Recognising that standards and procedures in many companies may already be available , a complete self-assessment and review should be completed to ensure that the standards and procedures are fully comprehensive ( in particular including simple rules for “ everyday ” behaviour ) and that the standards and procedures are kept alive in the minds of employees at all times . Procedures must be task specific . As an example , a site procedure for ladders should include not only the specification of approved types and registration / inspection requirements but also rules on how to use the ladders — three-point contact , no tools , no working off ladders , etc . Past experience may confirm these lessons but the lessons must find their way into the standard procedure and related training programmes .
RECOMMENDATION 2 : Training Programmes To ensure that rules and procedures are understood by everyone , employees must be able to access , discuss and , if required , participate in formulating or changing the contents of the rules and procedures . With the amount of rules and procedures in place , many of which are workplace-specific , the ideal plan would be to provide workplace-specific training programmes . Encouraging these programmes to be organised and taught by personnel who have firsthand experience and practical knowledge of the tasks involved will help bridge the gap between theory and practical application , thereby enhancing the relevance and impact of the training . Customising communication to suit different learning styles and backgrounds together with regular assessments and feedback loops will help maintain the quality and effectiveness of training conducted by such personnel .
RECOMMENDATION 3 : Addressing Individual Behaviour Safety in the workplace is a combination of three measurable components : the person , their environment and their behaviour . Addressing individual behaviour is the most important form of safety activity for a company — the area of safety improvement that requires the greatest degree of effort — to promote and drive the culture change envisioned . Assuming that companies already have ongoing programmes to promote safe behaviour , the existing programmes may require further commitment as individual situations are examined and corrective actions put in place . The opportunity to use behaviour-based safety ( BBS ) observations on a much larger scale involving all employees to produce a significant measure of a company ’ s safety performance ( climate ) at a particular point in time must be understood , as it will enable safety awareness to be increased , underpinning a process that helps employees identify and choose a safe behaviour over an unsafe one .
PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Safety improvement must be led by line management . Line management must carry out detailed implementation by establishing local improvement teams in each workplace area , with a representative composition of the workforce . The safety improvement team , through its detailed
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