INGENIEUR
Safety and Health : Needs and Opportunities
INGENIEUR
knowledge of running the area , must plan , lead and monitor implementation , thereby securing ownership and increasing participation and involvement by virtue of the team members being present on the ' ground ’.
Leadership from the top is the foundation for successful safety improvement . Managers must start to change the way they approach safety management . As the company grows in safety performance , this will involve a transfer of responsibility and activity to local teams at the site and will require progress to be dependent on local ‘ leaders / champions ’ emerging . Many individual leaders / champions for the various safety programmes will be required , who will lead / champion by example through individual dedication rather than prompting or receiving orders . The principles of safety leadership require responsibility to be cascaded down to the first-line supervisors and their leadership of local programmes should be actively encouraged .
The link between safety performance and plant reliability must also be explored in greater detail . Improved reliability not only reduces intervention in the process and therefore reduces the opportunity for harm , but measures taken to improve safety can also improve reliability .
SUMMARY
Leadership accountability across the vertical slice of the company and sanction must be clearly defined and understood . Institutionalising safety considerations into job planning for routine and non-routine tasks allows a company to foster a culture that values hazard recognition . Without careful evaluation and preparation , employees who conduct non-routine tasks can be at risk of serious injury . Timely reporting of all incidents is essential for proactive risk management , enabling companies to implement corrective actions and cultivate a safer work environment . Safety must be driven by adherence to systems and procedures .
Excellent safety performance is not about selecting safe people but about a long process of education and training , looking ahead , managing risks and hazards , not only to avoid things going wrong but also trying to make sure that they go right — key elements in growing a safety-centric workplace culture .
Safety and Health : Needs and Opportunities
● How do you demonstrate leadership with respect to safety and health performance and how can this be improved — both from a senior management and frontline supervisor standpoint ?
● What role does general supervisor development — outside the specific parameters of safety and health — affects the way they motivate , lead , empower , and hold employees accountable ?
● What can you do as an organisation to improve the execution of job planning and hazard recognition tasks ?
● What can you do as an organisation to promote the reporting of incidents ?
44 VOL 97 JANUARY - MARCH 2024