Occupational Safety Programs

Cohen, A. (1977). Factors in Successful Occupational Safety Programs. Journal of Safety Research 9(4), 168-178. 

Metrics should relate to the elements of the process safety system. Poorly selected metrics that do not specifically relate to the execution of process safety elements will not provide an accurate evaluation of process safety system performance. Occupational injury and illness reporting rates are sometimes used to judge overall safety performance, and this metric does track the incidence of employee injuries quite well. However, this rate does not reflect the effectiveness of the process safety system. Occupational safety is quite important to the health and well-being of employees, but the metrics involved in assessing the occupational safety performance are not appropriate for process safety system evaluation the detailed elements of a process safety program differ markedly fl-om an occupational safety program (as discussed in Chapter 3). 

Jack Beno, Coordinator Occupational Safety Program School of Education Industrial Education Building 2 Room 122 Ames, lA 50010 515-294-5945... 

Thus the MORT approach to system safety tends to be more closely aligned with occupational safety programs. Department of Energy and contractor safety personnel, including those with MORT training and system safety responsibilities, tend to be more closely aligned with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the National Safety Council (NSC) than with the System Safety Society. 

Periodic, scheduled facility safety inspections are essential in any operational area, especially where hazardous tasks are performed on a regular basis. Compliance with safety inspection requirements should not be difficult to accomplish since similar requirements should already exist in an established occupational safety program. The facility inspection encompasses all facets of daily operation and considers the human-machine interface a primary candidate area for potential mishaps. Frequent facility inspections are an excellent method of maintaining current awareness of facility conditions and how those conditions affect, or might affect, the safe operation of that facility. A system should be in place to ensure implementation of corrective actions and to track repetitive items. Results of inspections should be properly documented and accountability for discrepant items appropriately determined and assigned in order for the inspection process to be effective. If properly performed, the facility safety inspection is an excellent tool in the overall success of the system safety function. 

Prevention is the primary goal of any occupational safety program. Prevention isn t always possible, so workers on construction sites should never be alone. In the event of an incident, someone needs to be able to call for help. All workers should be trained in the hazards they face on a construction site, and they should also be equipped with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). When hazards can be engineered out, they should be. The safety professional needs an in-depth knowledge of potential construction hazards so that he or she knows how to take an engineering approach. Worker attitude and behavior must be addressed. Horseplay, shortcuts, and lack of attention can and do kill on a construction site. New workers... 

The paradigm shift that The Baker Report helped bring about was an understanding that process safety requires its own management systems and that they do not necessarily correlate closely with traditional personal/occupational safety programs. In its ten key findings, the report uses the term process safety seven times. 

Janet H. Sprickman Acting Chief Division of Occupational Safety Programming... 

Ramos, D., Arezes, P. Afonso, P. 2013. The role of costs, benefits and social impact of injuries and prevention measures on the design of occupational safety programs. Arezes et al. (eds), Occupational Safety and Hygiene, Taylor Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-00047-6, pp. 153-157. 

Law and liability, threat and risk assessment, emergency preparedness, and safety design form the beginning of identifying a need for occupational safety awareness. The basic questions of Where we are Where do we need to be and How do we get there identify occupational safety needs and help us to form our objective for efficient and effective occupational safety programs. Risk assessment and cost analysis round out the formula for determining occupational safety needs. 

This book examines the policies and procedures necessary for an efficient and effective occupational safety program. For all occupational safety systems to work, the overall occupational safety policy must address issues of access control employee, visitor, and package screening and deliveries. Awareness programs must be developed to educate personnel on threats and occupational safety procedures. Finally, employee background checks and visitor access requirements are examined to round out the occupational safety program. 

UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANIZATION TO ESTABLISH OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PROGRAMS... 

The application of occupational safety programs shonld follow the critical thinking process regardless of the type of asset involved. The asset has a direct impact on the application of this process and how countermeasnre recommendations resulting from the process are to be implemented. Application of this occupational safety standard ensures a comprehensive approach to meeting organizational occupational safety needs in the threat environment, and ensures that the scope of occupational safety is commensnrate with the risk posed to an asset relative to cost. 

CHECK Examine the Occupational Safety Program IS It Doing What You Intended ... 

There are many kinds of familiar hazards, such as mechanical, electrical, and fire hazards, that are found in all laboratories. These kinds of hazards often are overlooked simply because they are so familiar and common, so that workers do not exercise the necessary degree of caution in proportion to the risk involved, because familiarity breeds contempt. The purpose of Part 4 is to identify these common physical hazards (which are normally covered by occupational safety programs), to discuss these hazards in terms of safe laboratory practices, and to describe techniques for controlling them. 

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