Safety observations timing

People trying low dosages report feeling disconnected from normal, everyday realities. Blood pressure and pulse are often elevated hypotension and bradycardia have been observed. "Ketamine has a wide margin of safety, observes Parke-Davis brochure "several instances of unintentional administration of overdoses of Ketalar (up to ten times that usually required) have been followed by prolonged but complete recovery. ... 

The first type of behavior-related measures that can be used before the fact, or before an accident occurs, is the percentage of safe behaviors observed for an observation time. The greater the percentage of safe behaviors, the smaller the percentage of unsafe behaviors, and, thus, the fewer chances for an accident. Other types of measures related to the performance of safe behaviors involve a number of activity-based measures. Some of these may include monitoring the number of job tasks evaluated for potential hazards and compliance with various safety regulations, the number of job tasks for which safe job procedures have been established, and the amount of safety training provided to workers. 

In a planned observation, the supervisor selects the employee and the job to observe. The supervisor also decides the most suitable time. Some supervisors may want to make assignments for planned job safety observations. The basic tool for making a planned observation is job safety/hazard analysis (JSA/JHA). (If a JSA/JHA is not used, the supervisor must be completely familiar with the job steps, job hazards, and safe job procedures.) The supervisor should observe the employee doing a complete job cycle, paying attention to safe or unsafe procedures and conditions. A Planned Job Safety Observation Form should be used (see Table 14.1). All safe practices noted should result in a sincere compliment to the employee involved while any unsafe actions call for appropriate corrective measures. In either instance, the supervisor should make an observation record. A planned safety observation is a valuable loss prevention tool. 

A planned safety observation gives snpervisors a positive means of determining the effectiveness of safety instructions. It also serves as a learning tool for the supervisor. The supervisor learns more abont each job, each worker, and areas requiring closer supervision. The supervisor will learn to be more perceptive in all areas of responsibility that will result in the best distribution of supervisory time. The supervisor... 

Some jobs involve only a few simple, routine tasks. Others involve doing many tasks, some more often than others. It is important to keep records of observations. See Table 14.1 for an example of a Job Safety Observation Form. The results will tell each supervisor just what has been or should be done about a particular worker. A Job Safety Observation Form contains the employee s name, department, job title, and a list of the tasks performed when doing that job. If the employee has completed the task safely, place an S in the appropriate column to indicate that the task was performed satisfactorily. An R indicates that, for some reason(s), the employee should be observed again at a later time. Use the comments space to record any observed unsafe practices, or any other information about the task(s) or the worker. To choose the task to observe, consider whether (1) it involves some new procedures because of a recent JSA revision, (2) there has been a change in equipment or machinery, (3) it poses an exceptional hazard, or (4) it is a job infrequently done but is complex. A U indicates unsatisfactory performance at a particular task and corrective action is required. 

The employee observed should be aware of the observation from time to time. Inform all employees, as part of their orientation, that planned job safety observations are a phase of the safety and health program. All employees must fully understand the reason for incidental and planned observations. 

Do not tell the employee in advance about the observation if the objective is to learn how the employee normally does the job. When the supervisor knows that an employee understands how to do a job safely, the supervisor must then find out how the employee works when no one is observing. To detennine this, the anployee should not be told in advance about the job safety observation. Most employees work safely under the eyes of the supervisor, especially when they are told of the observation. If the employee does not show unsafe practices, the supervisor can assume that the employee usually works safely. If the same person is later observed doing some part of the job unsafely, the supervisor must believe that woilc is performed unsafely at other times. The supervisor may know that the employee can perform the job safely from past observation. From observing employees without their knowledge, the supervisor may learn that they are not putting into practice their job knowledge. 

Downstream to upstream in real time Behavior-based safety measurements are more than a review of the injury roster. Although recordable and lost-time injuries are one measurement of safety success, they are not the only measure. Looking at injury data is downstream, or reactive. BBS encourages organizations to look upstream at proactive data hke unsafe acts from safety observations, safety audit scores, inspection results, etc. The problem with this proactive data, however, is at least two-fold. 

Area meets its safety target for a quarter. Area diat maintains safety observation process for a year. Area discussion with plant manager Opportunity to participate on steering committee Time to discuss issues with supervision Lunch certificates... 

VBSP implementation. Figure 24.1 demonstrates an inverse relationship between the number of safety observations conducted and the occurrence of accidents. The dramatic decrease in the number of recordable incidents is shown in Figure 24.2. In fact, the single recordable injury in 1994 occurred during the first quarter of the year, prior to implementing the behavioral safety process. The power thermal area had no recordable injuries for two years after implementation and no lost-time incidents four years after implementation in the pilot area. 

Now that a clever intervention had been developed, how could we get it off the ground We faced two significant challenges. First, how would we establish random sampling of observations Second, how would we motivate employees to perform the observations Our solution to both challenges was both simple and extremely effective. A fishbowl fiiU of slips of paper was placed near the exit of the linemen s station. Written on some slips was a specific time while others were blank. The times shown on the slips indicated when employees should conduct an observation on themselves and their team members. As employees exited the station to head toward a work site, they were asked to take a slip out of the bowl. To motivate participation, they would automatically receive a treat, such as a candy bar, when they did so. The response was extraordinary Everyone wanted to participate. Employees began to set their wristwatch timers to the time indicated on their slips as a reminder to conduct safety observations, and they offered to pitch in money in order to increase the selection of treats. 

The system remained in effect for two years, by which time each team had elected a member to conduct the observations and provide feedback. But then, unfortunately, the safety observations gradually began to slack off. We were no longer active consultants, and because the director of safety retired and was not replaced, a leadership vacuum developed. No one else was assigned to manage the safety improvement effort. Our follow-up assessments revealed that performance began to deteriorate. It was feared that eventually rates of incidents would increase. 

Select jobs or tasks where accidents have occurred. Jobs may be selected where there have been repeated accidents or lost time due to accidents, or jobs where accidents have required medical treatment. Other selections may be jobs that are not done often or ones the hazards of which may not be fully known. Some operations may have a system within their own safety program whereby violations are issued when a job is done improperly. These violations may serve as an indicator that a certain job(s) should be the subject of a plarmed safety observation. 

Each month, employees schedule a behavioral observation and feedback session with two other employees, who are safety observers. They select the task, day, and time for the coaching session, as well as two individuals to observe them. Employees choose their observers—and coaches—from anyone in the plant. At the start of their process, the number of volxmteer safety coaches was limited to about 30 percent of the workforce, but today everyone is a potential coach. 

Managers Demonstrate a personal commitment to safety at all times Participate in incident investigation process Lead weekly safety meetings Conduct safety observations Participate in audits/ inspections ... 

The ultimate level of safety observed at time TO in a socio-technical system is... 

Job safety observation (JSO) is a program that asks a supervisor to spend several minutes during the course of the day observing workers in his/her department. The time to openly observe the worker is when a specific task or function is being performed. As an example, many workers are killed or injured at docks each year. If a lift truck operator was unloading a trailer, the supervisor should not only observe the movement of the lift truck, but also whether the wheels of the trailer are chocked, the dockplate is properly in place, and the operator is wearing a seat belt if on a counterbalanced lift truck. 

The preliminary observations underline the manufacturer s responsibilities. He is obliged to analyse the hazards in order to identify those which apply to his equipment. He must design, manufacture and check his equipment to ensure its safety even with respect to their use under reasonably foreseeable conditions. In addition, the manufacturer must interpret and apply the essential requirements in such a way as to take account of the state-of-the-art at the time of design. That latter requirement underlines the evolutive character of the essential requirements which is inherent in the new approach. 

---