Company safety policy

The performance of human beings is profoundly influenced by the culture of the organization (see discussion of the right stuff above). Unit/plant/company cultures vary in the degree of decision making by an individual operator. Cultures vary in their approach to the conflict between shutdown for safety versus keep it running at all costs. Personnel in one plant reportedly asked Is it our plant policy to follow the company safety policy In an organization with an inherently safer culture, people would say, "Our plant policy is to follow the company safety policies and standards ... 

For the most part, future trends will be found in liazard accident prevention, not liazard analysis. To help promote liazard accident prevention, companies should start employee-training programs. These programs should be designed to alert staff and employees about tlie liazards tliey are exposed to on tlie job. Training should also cover company safety policies and tlie proper procedures to follow in case an accident does occur. A major avenue to reducing risk will involve source reduction of hazardous materials. Risk education and communication are two other areas tliat will need iniprovemcnt. 

Appendix A Typical Company Safety Policy Statement... 

Provide oversight to ensure compliance with company safety policies and standards at the plant... 

Provide leadership on safety issues, including the creation and enforcement of a company safety policy... 

In all likelihood, the above incident occurred because no guidelines and procedures existed for management to identify and control exposure from at-risk drivers. An enforced company safety policy was absent. 

If the stated company procedure is to use battery drills whenever possible, or 110 V drills when this is not possible, and to never use 230V drills, then this again will reduce the risk. If a policy such as this is written down in the company safety policy statement, then you can simply refer to the appropriate section of the safety policy statement and the level of risk will be low. (Note PAT testing is described in Advanced Electrical Installation Work.)... 

Prepare and effectively communicate changes to company safety policies, procedures, rules, or standards. 

Driver discipline — Carriers feel that disciplining drivers is more important or equally important as rewards in encouraging and reinforcing safe driving behavior. Carriers discipline drivers for poor safety performance when drivers violate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, violate company safety policies, or demonstrate generally unsafe driving performance. 

Top management is responsible for seeing that company safety policies and procedures are supported, issued, imderstood, and communicated to all employees. 

Are your drivers involved in important decisions affecting them and their careers, or concerning company safety policies, direction, and goals ... 

An electrical maintenance supervisor with 15 years of experience ordered his assistant to deenergize a machine they were about to service. Before the assistant could cut the power, the supervisor reached into the back of the unit, made contact with bare leads, and was electrocuted. The supervisor had been an outstanding employee with no record of accidents or related lost workdays, but he had violated several company safety policies while performing this task. An electrician with his years of experience should never have made the mistakes he made. The results of the accident investigation revealed the... 

Top management establishes and provides the leadership and resources for carrying out the stated company safety policy. Table 8-1 shows sample responsibilities of top management. 

Make sure that all vendors, customers, contractors, and visitors comply with the company safety policy... 

An example of criteria for an individual would be to keep in compliance with all company safety policies or participate in all of the safety training for the week. If you tie too many activities of criteria together to earn one reward, people will give up. Then, put in place a monthly team criteria tied to an easy-to-measure activity such as 100 percent team participation in monthly safety meetings or training. 

Supervisors play a critical role in ensuring that company safety policies are observed. Their many duties associated with safety may include... 

If you are required to conduct training as a part of your job, remember to incorporate safety into the training as discussed in the above example. It could be as simple as reviewing the company safety policy. 

HM Government and HSE Guidance, industry guidance and manufacturers data sheets. Company safety policies, method statements, emergency procedures, etc. 

Your company safety policy does not permit you to crossConnecting natural gas to plant air killed 17 workers at a Louisiana refinery. 

Inform New Employees of Company Safety Policies and Expectations. Before new employees start their job activities, they should be informed as fully as possible about what safety information and attitudes the employer expects them to have, and the overall company safety policies. They should understand at the beginning the importance of these issues in their success and advancement. This will allow them to evaluate the deficiencies in their safety education, and start to remedy them. 

Thorough knowledge of company safety policies and practices. 

The company safety policies set the tone for leadership s intent as to what is to be accomplished. A safety policy should be brief and clearly written and incorporated into the overall management process. It should be in the same form and style of aU other policies used in the organization. 

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