How to Conduct a Safety Assessment

Assessments are commonly conducted prior to the implementation of behavioral safety processes. Assessments may be conducted internally, or one of numerous safety consultants who perform safety assessments may be hired for this purpose. The purpose of safety assessments is to determine an organization s current level of safety performance and provide recommendations for improvement. 

McSween (1995, 64-82) notes that making an assessment is somewhat analogous to completing a puzzle and recommends the following steps to conducting an assessment  

Step 1. Review the organization s safety data, including injury statistics and actual accident reports. Determine if the organization is above or below industry average. Identify groups of workers with the highest and lowest incidence rates. 

Step 3. Observe safety meetings, safety audits, and safety practices in work areas. The observer should ask himself or herself if meetings are well run and if employees participate in meetings, and watch for safe and unsafe work practices. 

Step 4, Analyze information and develop an improvement plan. McSween (1995, p. 79) recommends that ideal areas for pilot testing recommendations are those areas that are representative of the organization and have high incidence rates and management personnel willing to support the behavioral process. 

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