Safety Committee Basic Training

MODULE 5: SAFETY COMMITTEE SUCCESS TOOLS

Introduction

Now that you've got a good idea about the training requirements for safety committees it's time to take a look at some of the tools available to identify hazards in the workplace and determine how to best correct those hazards.

Four Important Processes to Identify Hazards

Your ability to identify hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices can be very effective if you're given the correct tools. We'll talk about four such tools below.

One of the most effective methods to collect useful data about the hazards and unsafe behaviors in your workplace is the formal observation process. In this process employees are assigned the task of completing a minimum number of observations safe/unsafe behaviors during a given period of time. This data is gathered and analyzed to produce graphs and charts reflecting the current status of, and trends in employee behaviors. Just posting the results of these observations tends to increase awareness and lower injury rates. But, more importantly, the data gives important clues about the safety management system weaknesses that exist.

Observation processes like this are important because they can effectively identify behaviors when combined with unsafe conditions account for a majority of all workplace injuries. The other two processes just can't do that as well. One caution: An important requirement for a successful process is that disciplinary action is never linked to observations.

The Safety Inspection: Another effective Process.

This important tool is rather obvious: It's the safety inspection or audit. Three important points should be remembered when conducting the safety inspection:

• Use a checklist.

  
  

• Know what you're doing. Only competent individuals should conduct safety inspections. They should be aware of the different types of hazards in the workplace. Unsafe materials, tools, equipment, work station design, noise, atmospheres, temperature extremes, and work practices should be evaluated. The inspector should know what to look for, and how to look for it. Get trained.

  
  

• Allow enough time to conduct a thorough inspection. The more time you give to complete the safety inspection, the more likely you'll uncover that hazard waiting to injure someone. A short inspection conducted once a quarter by an untrained employees may not be worth the time spent to conduct it.

  
  

Advantages and disadvantages of using the safety inspection checklist

Advantages. Checklists, when properly constructed help you inspect for hazardous conditions and unsafe work procedures in a structured, systematic manner. If a checklist is not used, it's more likely that quality will suffer over time. Without a checklist, the conduct of the inspection will vary widely from person to person, depending on their expertise.

Disadvantages. Simply put, checklists take time to construct: time you may not have. But the long-term advantages far outweigh the short term effort. A second disadvantage is that using a checklist might cause the dreaded "tunnel vision" syndrome when an inspector overlooks a hazard in the workplace because it was not addressed in the checklist. The cure for this common disease is to merely place a "catch-all" question into the checklist that asks if "there are any other hazards that need to be corrected?.

Job Hazard Analysis

The Job Hazard Analysis or "JHA" is a less used procedure to identify and control hazards in the workplace, but it has the potential to be far more effective in reducing injuries and illnesses.

The Job Hazard Analysis works because it systematically identifies hazardous work conditions and unsafe work practices. The safety inspector, conducting a traditional safety inspection may not take the time necessary to watch every job being performed in the area he or she inspects. Consequently, many unsafe work procedures are not discovered. The Job Hazard Analysis does take the time necessary to uncover unsafe work practices and procedures. JHA procedures go something like this:

1. The supervisor and employee get together and talk about doing a JHA.
2. The employee works through about five cycles of a task.
3. The supervisor records what the employee does.
4. The supervisor and employee break the job down into distinct steps.
5. They analyze each step for hazardous conditions and practices.
6. They think up ways to correct the hazards in each step.
7. They devise ways to work safely in each step.
8. They write an improved safe work procedure for the job.

The good ol' OSHA 300 Log...

"What? you ask... The OSHA 300 Log? What is it good for? The OSHA 300 Log (Prior to 2002, OSHA 200 Log) is probably the best statistical tool you have in analyzing hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices. More than 25 important injury and illness trends have been identified using the OSHA 300 Log.

Take a look at each column of your company's OSHA 300 Log and ask the the following questions to determine trends.

• Who is getting hurt. Is someone getting hurt over and over, and is it the same kind of injury

  
  

• What actually caused the injuries. This question looks for the basic cause of the physical trauma to the body.

  
  

• Where are workers getting hurt? Are they doing their regular job, or are they working for another department when they get hurt? Are workers getting injured more in certain department or areas of the workplace, or in particular facility locations?

  
  

• When are workers getting hurt? Look for trends in:

  
  

  • A particular time of the day. Early or late in the work shift?

    
    

  • A particular day of the week. Mondays? Fridays?

    
    

  • A particular week of the month. Just before payday? Last production week?

    
    

  • A particular month of the year. December?

    
    

  • A particular quarter of the year. Last fiscal quarter?

    
    

  • A particular season of the year. Just before hunting season?

    
    

  • A particular business cycle. Just before annual report?

    
    

  • How was the worker injured? This question is directed toward hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices. Were hazardous materials, tools, equipment, being used? What was the worker not using: personal protective equipment? Are work shifts too long? Were workers using unsafe practices. Are workers getting hurt as a result of factors within or outside of work: factors the employer controls, or can't control?

Take the information you gain from this analysis to draw conclusions about where your greatest effort needs to be directed. Most lost workday claims are due to strains and sprains. Your log may reflect this trend. At any rate, analyzing the OSHA 300 Log allows you to act on facts, not hunches.

Let's Review

41. Which of the following is a hazardous condition?

a. Unsharpened saw
b. Leaving power on a machine you repair
c. Working with an unguarded saw
d. Horseplay

42. Which of the following is an unsafe work practice?

a. Unsharpened saw
b. Slippery floor
c. Untrained employee
d. Horseplay

43. Which is the greatest cause of all workplace injuries and illnesses?

a. Hazardous Conditions
b. Unsafe behaviors
c. Inadequate management controls
d. Uncontrollable acts

44. Why is the Job Hazard Analysis considered superior to the safety inspection in reducing workplace injuries and illnesses?

45. Which of the following variables is least important when analyzing for the OSHA 300 Log??

a. What kind of injuries are occurring
b. When injuries are most frequent
c. Who is getting injured
d. How employees are injured
e. Who is at fault

Answers to the quiz.

Congratulations on completing module five! I hope the tools and techniques discussed in this module will help improve your safety committee's ability to be successful. If you have any questions or comments, just drop me an email at allen.e.freauff@state.or.us.