Make Sure Your Safety Policy Isn't a Paper Tiger

​A strong safety culture depends on much more than adopting a workplace safety policy or ensuring Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance. Developing a culture of safety requires leadership and listening—a team effort among the C-suite, supervisors, HR and front-line employees.

Technology has a role to play too. Automation can help improve a workplace's safety culture but adds new risks. Employers still should strive for ongoing review and improvement.

Making the workplace safer can't be left to a written policy in a handbook. "If that is all there is, there is no safety program," said Maribeth Meluch, an attorney with KJK in Columbus, Ohio.

Upper management has to lead the charge. "They must support that the driving message is that their employees' safety is of the utmost importance," said Travis Bennett, associate director, national casualty loss control leader with Risk Strategies Company, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in Boston.

But no matter how large the investment or how great the leadership's messaging, the safety culture of an organization is driven, implemented and enforced by front-line supervisors, he added. These employees understand how the work gets done and know when tasks aren't being done correctly.

Once front-line supervisors are on board, an organization can start building a strong safety culture, Bennett said.

HR’s Role

HR professionals do not have to be safety experts. They instead need to help with buy-in and accountability, Bennett said.

"As an HR professional, get involved to get a better grasp of safety," he said. HR should participate in safety inspections, assist in incident/near-miss investigations and follow up on corrective actions once the root causes have been identified, he said. In addition, HR should incorporate safety activities in annual reviews for all levels of employees.

Lead or be a member of the safety committee, Bennett recommended. Ensure the safety and wellness committees work together to promote employees' safety as well as their physical and mental health, as wellness plays a big role in injury prevention.

Reach out to other HR professionals, OSHA and your insurance brokers and carriers. Challenge them to engage with your facilities and employees and ask for feedback relevant to your industry, Bennett said.

Employee Contributions and Incentives

Employees should be included in workplace safety efforts and could be incentivized to participate in them.

"To improve safety of work environments, employers need to recognize that shop floor workers are experts in their work environment and demonstrate that understanding by sincerely asking them how their work environment can be improved and implementing the suggestions," said Joel Pettit, global director of environmental, health and safety with nVent, an electrical connection and protection solutions provider in Isanti, Minn.

Spend time with front-line workers to understand the hazards associated with their work, said Duane Duhamel, director of health, safety and environment at ISN, a contractor and supplier information management company headquartered in Dallas.

"Whether this is through an impromptu site visit or a more formal safety culture perception survey, this gives employers insights into their organization's current safety culture, serving as a baseline and helping them track future progress and improvements of safety practices and perceptions," he said.

Meluch also recommended holding meaningful training on real-world scenarios that can happen to employees on the job.

Implement a program to motivate employees to report hazards and design improvements to a facility, process, machine or personal protective equipment, she recommended. That could include rewards for each occurrence, bonuses at the end of the year and recognition of the most engaged employees.

"Make it fun and ubiquitous," Meluch said. Use posters, signs and digital billboards to present reminders, display safety records and recognize employees who contribute to the safety program.

However, use rewards wisely. From a safety professional's perspective, a safety culture killer is basing pay, bonuses and career advancement solely on production numbers and shipping counts, Bennett cautioned.

Over the past few years, he has consulted for different concrete companies, half of which paid their drivers based on the number of concrete deliveries to construction sites while the other half paid their drivers based on hours worked.

"The concrete companies that compensated their drivers based on the number of deliveries had significantly higher vehicle and workers' compensation losses," Bennett said. "When drivers are incentivized to drive faster and take shortcuts, it results in higher losses. This means those losses cut into profits and cause insurance premiums to increase."

Automation Has Pros and Cons

Robots and automation can move high-repetition tasks and high-force activities away from people, which reduces the general safety risks found in manufacturing and warehousing environments, particularly the development of musculoskeletal disorders, and improves strain and sprain prevention, Pettit said.

However, automation may just shift the risk profile of a facility, he added. Any person's interaction with a robot that's not specifically designed to work near people may result in severe accidents.

A strong management-of-change program before implementing robotic and automated equipment can help reduce injuries. As part of this program, "it is critical that robust machine guarding, electrical safety and energy control programs are well-developed to reduce any risk of accidental exposure to employees who may program, diagnose, repair and routinely adjust equipment," Pettit said.

Despite great technological advances, safety comes back to the basics: proper training, routine maintenance and accountability, Bennett said.

Track Safety Trends

Employers should retain a qualified safety expert service to perform a full OSHA compliance assessment, provide recommendations and give a report, said Peter Spanos, an attorney with Taylor English in Atlanta.

"Before an onsite assessment, I will review the client's past losses or analytics," Bennett said. "This allows me to address loss leaders and truly focus on what is hurting employees." He also spends time watching employee behaviors. "This allows me to identify everything from ergonomic hazards to improper operation of forklifts."

Regardless of the methods an employer uses to create safer workplaces, establishing a process to regularly reassess the state of their safety culture is essential, Duhamel said: "Tracking trends in safety over time enables businesses to continuously identify areas for improvement and pivot their safety efforts to adapt to the evolving needs of the organization."