Don't get soft on safety

When workers are educated about work safety and are empowered to insist on safe practices, the number of workplace injuries will decline.A solid safety program should begin with management’s commitment to the safety of workers. A workplace that minimizes the downtime and absences resulting from work-related injuries is a more productive workplace. Morale is higher when workers know that management is committed to their well-being. A safe workplace has lower insurance costs and lower workers’ compensation costs.
 
It’s a trickle-down situation. When owners and managers create a culture of safety, supervisors will understand that safety must never be sacrificed for expediency or economy. When supervisors have the safety attitude, workers will be sent out with proper equipment and training. When workers are educated to work safely and are empowered to insist on safe practices, the number of workplace injuries will decline.
 
Anticipate some resistance. For some workers, safety training will be a change in workplace culture, and surprisingly, some people may resist using safety equipment or using safe work practices.
 
There is always the unexpected, but a good safety program trains workers and supervisors how to respond to emergencies so the impact of a workplace incident is reduced. Should an injury or death occur in the workplace, management must be able to meet a grieving family knowing that they did everything possible.

Getting started
A successful safety program must do three things:

• Lay the proper foundation of safety commitment and safety knowledge with every employee
• Make safety training an ongoing aspect of the workplace
• Create a feedback mechanism so that if an incident does occur, it generates information that makes the incident less likely to occur in the future.

The foundation of a safety program has two parts:

• Safety policies and procedures
• Safe work practices.

Printing and distributing policies, training employees in safe practices and confirming the commitment to safety is where a safety program begins. But to remain effective, your program needs a continuing education component.
 
Key elements of your continuing program should include:

• Daily reminders about safe practices, including signage and display spaces dedicated to safety
• Mechanisms that invite group discussions and allow worker feedback
• Training updates and refreshers.

Some nurseries start every day with a short gathering to review the previous day’s work and to discuss activities for the new workday. This can be 5-10 minutes that gives employees an opportunity to bring up their safety concerns. Supervisors may need guidance to make sure that these sessions are productive, and while giving opportunities to express concerns, do not turn into gripe sessions. An important element for maintaining the tone of these meetings is for workers to know that legitimate safety concerns are addressed promptly by management.
 
Once or twice a week, morning meetings can be used for “tailgate training,” brief safety reminder sessions. This is a much better approach than waiting for a near-miss or actual injury to wake someone up.
 
Plan longer training/refresher sessions on a monthly, or at least quarterly, basis. These sessions may become repetitive for long-term employees. Keep the sessions fresh by inviting speakers who can give different perspectives on safety information or by using different formats ranging from straightforward lectures to safety games.

Two-way communication
A safety program must also include feedback mechanisms that prevent incidents.
 
Communication about safety in the workplace must go two ways, so workers know that management will become aware of any incident, near-incident, pattern of unsafe practice or lack of proper equipment. If a supervisor becomes lax in maintaining a safe workplace, workers must know they can communicate their concerns appropriately to management and action will be taken.
 
In the event of a specific incident, an incident investigation report is an important tool. Use your incident reports as a way to bolster your training, to train for specific situations and to reassure workers that they are being given the tools and practices to work safely.
 
Finally, an important aspect of feedback is to let everyone know how well they are doing. On your company safety display, keep track of the number of days without an incident. Reward teams that have exemplary safety records. Acknowledge workers and teams that do the right thing, and in the case of an incident, respond in the right way.
 
If you need help writing a new safety policy and procedures manual, Florida AgSafe has a template to use. Find it and specific safety topics at www.flagsafe.ufl.edu/csp/tree-nursery/tree-nursery-LP-2009-07.pdf. 
 
Carol Lehtola is the Florida Extension agricultural safety specialist, clehtola@ifas.ufl.edu.