The Safety and Health Policy Statement Declaration

The most important step in the culture change process is the declaration of management s commitment to safety by declaring, issuing, and publicizing the company safety and health policy statement. As Jim Montanaro (2007) put it  

Make safety a corporate mission That corporate mission statement that yon see hanging in a company s reception area and boardroom generally includes a nice statement about satisfying the customer by providing a quality product. That s all well and good. But if there isn t also a reference to the company s commitment to maintain a safe and healthy work environment, then odds are you re looking at a company that doesn t have a trne safety culture. 

The safety policy statement is a substitute for repetitive management decisions and is viewed as mandatory. This is sometimes referred to as the occupational health and safety policy. This is the gniding document in a safety system 

The safety policy statement must be practical and achievable. Tangible objectives should be set by the policy. The policy should also list practical ongoing steps that will ensure compliance, and it should be written in such a way that it is understood by all. Ongoing briefing sessions should be in operation to ensure that everyone understands the gist of the policy, which should be featured on the company website as well as in the safety handbook, etc. 

The safety policy can be linked with other policy documents of the organization and should be consistent with the organization s overall business policies and with its policies for other management disciplines, such as quality or environmental management. 

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