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Supervisors and Your Safety Program
(Summary of Safety Breakfast Meeting held Wednesday, October 14,
1998)
WHY DO WORKERS COMMIT UNSAFE ACTS?
"Why can't they just be careful?" you ask. Why do my
workers do things that can get them hurt? The answers to this and more
questions were provided at this month's Agricultural Safety Breakfast
meeting hosted by the Center for Agricultural Business at California
State University, Fresno. Gabe Lorente, operator of Gabe's Bilingual
Safety Services of Fresno, cited "risk-taking" as a key worker
problem during a presentation focusing on how to get supervisors up to
speed on their responsibilities under your workplace safety program.
According to Lorente, most workplace accidents - up to 80 percent -
are caused by workers' unsafe acts. These unsafe acts are a result of
numerous factors, which include lack of knowledge, fatigue, poor
conditions, new surroundings, etc. The most common and deadly cause of
unsafe acts is risk taking. "Risk-taking is when a worker does
things he knows are dangerous, against the rules or incorrect,"
Lorente noted. Most common reasons for risk-taking are as follows:
- Wanting to save time - so workers hurry up, disregard the rules,
take short cuts, don't ask for help, move too fast, etc.
- Nothing has ever happened before - the "it will never happen
to me" attitude sets in; the worker gets away with it once so
he or she sees no purpose or benefit in doing the job the correct,
safe way.
- Machismo, peer pressure - some workers, especially men, are overly
concerned about impressing their buddies or the ladies; they take
risks as a means to prove their manhood or bravery.
- Emotional instability - often workers bring problems from home to
the job; marital, family, financial and personal problems can
distract a worker or make him or her adopt a near suicidal, hostile,
and uncaring approach to work.
YOU, THE EMPLOYER, ARE RESPONSIBLE
Whatever the reason for workplace injuries, California lawmakers have
decreed that you, the employer, in almost all situations are responsible
for the on-the-job safety of the workers you hire. You are responsible
to provide proper training so your workers will know how to do their
jobs safely. You are responsible to implement and document a workplace
safety program that proves you are taking responsibility for your
workers' safety.
Like it or not, you should be doing these things with or without
California's Occupational Safety and Hazard Agency requiring it, since
common sense and respect for the lives and livelihood of your workers
demands that you offer them the safest possible environment to work in.
WHY MUST I CONTROL RISK-TAKING AND OTHER UNSAFE BEHAVIORS?
"All too often management, supervisions and employees become
involved in other matters and do not get around to doing what is
necessary and effective to prevent [workplace] injuries," Lorente
stated in his report. He outlined three basic but vital reasons why you
the employer must make time for safety.
- If you fail to take steps to prevent accidents, your employees are
going to get hurt or killed, and that is something totally
unacceptable. A good supervisor values his employees and takes
actions that will protect them from harm.
- Accidents are costly to the company. Workers' compensation
insurance rates can climb to a point where they endanger the
employer's ability to make a profit. Every time a worker is injured,
even if it is a "minor" injury, workers' compensation
costs start rising very quickly.
- By law, supervisors are personally liable for the safety and health
of their employees! The following quote from the Cal-OSHA booklet,
"A Guide to Cal-OSHA," explains: "Any employer, and
every employee having direction, management, custody or control of a
work operation, who willfully violates an occupational safety or
health standard, order, or special order, and whose violation causes
death or permanent or prolonged impairment to an employee, will upon
conviction, be punished with a fine of not more than $10,000 or
imprisonment of not more than six months, or both."
The law also contains other provisions for fines and imprisonments
for other related offenses, Lorente noted.
WHAT MUST I DO AS A SUPERVISOR TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES?
Simple. Train your employees. According to Cal-OSHA law, you
"must" provide employees with training in general safe work
practices and specific training with regard to hazards unique to any job
assignment, including training and information about the potential
health hazards of materials and chemicals which workers use or may be
exposed to, Lorente explained.
The law further states that all employees will be trained when the
training program is first established. All new employees, and all
employees given a new job assignment, shall be provided with training
whenever new substances, processes, or equipment are introduced to the
workplace and represent a new hazard, and whenever the employee receives
notification of a new or previously unrecognized hazard.
Lorente offered written information that contained pointers under the
following headings:
- Tips on training
- Correcting unsafe employee work practice
- Suggestion on how to obtain worker compliance
- Workplace safety inspections
- Tips on workplace safety inspections
- Listening to employees concerns and complaints about unsafe
conditions
- Investigating all accidents to prevent further accidents
- Tips on conducting an accident investigation
- Supervisors - set a proper example
- Why do workers commit unsafe acts?
- How can I control risk-taking?
IT ALL STARTS WITH ATTITUDE
The foundation of good safety practices at any workplace begins with
a commitment by management, Lorente noted. "It starts at the
top," he said. "Are we pro-active, reactive or we don't care?
If we have a pro-active attitude about safety, we won't have
accidents."
In his seminars, Lorente stresses incentive programs that reward
supervisors and employees for following safe practices. He discusses in
detail many of the topics mentioned in this article. He also offers
specific guidelines and workshop presentations in the areas of tractor
safety, job sites, dairy safety, employee safety meetings, supervisor
safety training, safety inspections and fire safety. For more
information, he may be reached at (209) 432-0807.
UPCOMING SAFETY BREAKFAST MEETINGS
"Change Their Habits... Change Your Results!" is the topic
of discussion for the next safety breakfast meeting, scheduled for
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1998. Speaker will Dr. Vincent Porters, D.C., injury
prevention consultant and regional sales manager for Future Industrial
Technologies, Inc. He will discuss how helping employees to work more
safely can enhance a company's production and profitability.
The meeting will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the CATI
Conference Room at the California Agricultural Technology Institute,
2910 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno, California.
Safety Breakfast meetings are hosted monthly (normally each second
Wednesday) by the Center for Agricultural Business. The purpose is to
provide a forum for safety professionals to meet and exchange ideas,
information and concerns. Topics vary according to interests and needs of
the agricultural and agribusiness industries.
More than 20 sponsoring businesses and organizations currently
provide financial support for the safety breakfast meetings. Sponsors
names are listed on publicity fliers and signs at the meetings. For more
information or to discuss becoming a sponsor, call (559) 278-4405.
