Establishing a Health, Safety, and Environment Program

This manual serves to establish the key components that should be included in a formal HSE program. Chapter 2 describes Job Safety Analysis (JSA) as a means to proactively examine and mitigate existing hazards on the worksite. Chapter 2 also introduces the hierarchy of controls, a methodology that is carried throughout the manual. A thorough 

The rest of this introductory chapter presents research that demonstrates the need for formal HSE programs. This chapter then describes how to establish an effective program by delineating management steps and development activities that should be applied to each of the components offered throughout this manual. 

Research conducted by the Lincoln Nebraska Safety Council in 1981 (Reese and Eidson 1999) surveyed more than 140 national construction-related companies. The council found that companies with formal safety plans and established procedures had fewer accidents than companies without plans and procedures. Table 1-1 summarizes those results. 

Safety plan component Increase in accident rate % 

No document/review accident reports and reviewers did not have safety as part of their job responsibility 122 

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The updated ANSI/ASSE A10.33-2011 standard, Safety and Health Program Requirements for Multi-Employer Projects, sets up the minimum elements and activities of a program that defines the duties and responsibilities of construction employers working on a project where multiple employers are or will be engaged in the common undertaking to complete a construction project. It is intended as a minimum safety and health guideline for establishing both a safe and healthy work environment and cost-effective construction. 

Within the safety and health realm, the vision for the safety and health program is often tied to creating and maintaining a safe and healthful work environment and/or reducing work-related injuries or illnesses. Safety and health professionals should provide the time and effort necessary to develop, establish, and integrate your safety and health vision into the company s or organization s vision that provides employees, contractors, and all others affiliated with your safety and health efforts a clear direction as to where your safety and health direction is focused. 

Standards in safety are referred to as measurable management performances. Standards are set for the level of work to be done to maintain a safe and healthy environment free from actual and potential accidental loss. Standards are established in writing for all the safety and health management systan elements. Without standards the management program has no direction or safety expectations established. (If you don t know where you re going, any road will take you there.)... 

Phase 2. Follow-up Inspection. After reviewing the self-inspection checklists for a specific group or facility, CCHASP schedules a follow-up inspection of the area. Problems identified in the self-inspection process (phase 1) establish the basis for an in-depth inspection of the laboratory or facility. The CCHASP inspector uses the same checklists used in the self-inspection phase to verify compliance with environment, health and safety requirements and to point out problems that may have been overlooked. An important part of this inspection program s success lies in the inspector s ability to offer immediate solutions to identified problems. The... 

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