Precast Inc. - July/August 2008 - (Page 30) way to promote proactive performance and supports an ongoing review of all practices, procedures and processes. It shows appreciation for a job well done and allows recognition on measurable improvements rather than luck. It keeps the focus on safe performance rather than “not getting hurt.” Recognition encourages optimal performance in doing the task right rather than on maximum performance that could inherently promote shortcuts or other risk-taking. they can evaluate the overall process while establishing procedures and practices of employees performing tasks to provide a prevention climate that is not intimidating. Recognizing employees who take the initiative to correct or eliminate identified hazards encourages others to do the same. You are responsible for ensuring a safe work place and cannot remove an employee’s responsibility to help identify Everyone has a part in keeping each employee safe on the job. 3. Values versus Priorities. A priority changes when circumstances change. As an example, a vital piece of machinery has just seized and production grinds to a halt. An employee should lock out the machinery before working on it, but the lock-out will take longer than the 30 seconds of exposure to remove the blockage. What do you tell the employee to do? That depends on whether the employee’s safe performance is a value or the quick performance is a priority. Safety is not a piece of the pie but one of many balanced ingredients that make the pie. You can’t remove customer service; you can’t remove product quality; and you can’t remove safety. To remove any of these or other ingredients, you create a deformed or bad end product. Without all the ingredients, you don’t maintain a profitable business for long. Safety is one of those ingredients. 4. Team Cooperation versus Individual Cowboy. There are times when a person can be distracted from a task and do something he might not normally do because of that distraction. An injury can occur if team members are not helping each other to stay focused and attentive to the task at hand. Have you ever been driving on the interstate and suddenly realize you are 20 miles farther down the road than you thought? Have you ever been in such a fixed routine on the job that you didn’t remember whether you performed a specific step in the process? These are examples of times when you are prime for an injury. Everyone has a part in keeping each employee safe on the job. Whether it is taking a couple of minutes to review a group task with all those ready to perform it, reminding someone to wear the appropriate PPE for a task, or getting someone out from under a suspended load, we all have the responsibility to help each other perform safely. Failure to get that level of cooperation could result in a fatal injury. 5. Prevention versus Complacency. Does safety at your site include proactive prevention measures, or complacency to not respond until reacting to an incident? When preventive measures are part of the safety culture, every member of the team proactively looks for ways to prevent injuries. Together 30 JULY/AUGUST 2008 | PRECAST INC. and correct problems. Such involvement may include an employee suggestion program that crosses all department boundaries. A suggestion to enhance a product should include a safety review as well as an engineering or marketing review. A suggestion to improve safe conditions should also include a review with maintenance or production to ensure the change doesn’t adversely affect other tasks in the process. 6. Performance versus Compliance. Compliance is required by law, but performance ultimately benefits the employee. If a task is done correctly, it is safe, efficient, productive, profitable and in compliance. Most employees are not exposed to OSHA regulations on a day-to-day basis and therefore may not always realize what they should or should not do to remain in compliance. Telling an employee that he must do something “because OSHA says so” will not help the employee comply with the regulations; intimidation does not eliminate injuries. However, helping an employee understand why it is in his best interest to perform a task a certain way provides him with a means to make the right choice. Showing him how his choices may enhance or risk his and his family’s quality of life will more directly influence those choices when he is alone. As a manager, you are responsible for the success of your employees. Remember, your minimum expectations of your employees will become your employees’ maximum output. Give them a high enough bar to reach and you will see production and safety integrated together. Randy DeVaul has more than 25 years in safety and emergency services. He is the author of three performancebased workplace safety books (www.filbertpublishing.com/safety.htm) and creator of the “Safe At Home” series. His background includes experience in regulatory, corporate and industrial settings in human resources and safety as a consultant, speaker and internationally published writer. For more information, e-mail Randy at safetypro@roadrunner.com. http://www.filbertpublishing.com/safety.htm
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