The Recommended Practices are designed to be used in a wide variety of small and medium-sized business settings. The Recommended Practices present a step-by-step approach to implementing a safety and health program, built around seven core elements that make up a successful program.
- The main goal of safety and health programs is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths, as well as the suffering and financial hardship these events can cause for workers, their families, and employers.
- The recommended practices use a proactive approach to managing workplace safety and health.
Traditional approaches are often reactive –that is, problems are addressed only after a worker is injured or becomes sick, a new standard or regulation is published, or an outside inspection finds a problem that must be fixed. These recommended practices recognize that finding and fixing hazards before they cause injury or illness is a far more effective approach.
The idea is to begin with a basic program and simple goals and grow from there. If you focus on achieving goals, monitoring performance, and evaluating outcomes, your workplace can progress along the path to higher levels of safety and health achievement. Employers will find that implementing these recommended practices also brings other benefits.
Safety and health programs help businesses:
Prevent workplace injuries and illnesses Improve compliance with laws and regulations Reduce costs, including significant reductions in workers’ compensation premiums Engage workers Enhance their social responsibility goals Increase productivity and enhance overall business operations
What is the purpose of safety First?
Conclusion – Safety 1st is a slogan that means it’s always best to avoid unnecessary risks, It sounds like an easy task, but sometimes we so hurry in making deadlines and meeting the goals that we forget about the safety of ourselves and others. We encourage you to remember this slogan because it can ultimately save lives! Some experts believe as many as hundreds of people die per day from workplace accidents alone.
What is the safety first approach?
How do you create a good safety culture? – Management commitment and style- Value life above all else Every line manager would want that secret wand that could eradicate all worker safety incidents—including slips, trips, and falls that result in minor injuries. But, because the stakes of job accidents are so high leaders’ focus must be on preventing serious injuries and fatalities.
In high-hazard industries, making a mistake can lead to a horrific catastrophe, killing or hurting colleagues or a member of the public. A safety-first culture starts with one simple premise: Value life above all else! If that’s your number one objective, the probability of you making the best decisions in guiding your organisation to achieve the best safety results have gone up dramatically.
Employee involvement- Consult the people most affected No one knows what the safety situation looks like better than colleagues in the field, two way engaging conversation is paramount for success in this area. Desk top and remote risk assessments are a thing of the past.
Giving power to colleagues to stop the job if they feel unsafe and celebrate this fact if a job is stopped for this reason is another fundamental area, to create a safety-first culture and reduce safety incidents, it’s critically important for colleagues to be empowered to stop a job if they believe this to be unsafe.
As leaders who are focused on the correct health and safety culture it should be your job to make sure that any team member is confident to pull a job at any moment, without the fear of retribution. Listen up and follow through Making it easy and non-punitive for colleagues to report safety incidents means nothing if managers don’t listen to their insights and take action where possible.
If you ask colleagues for their advice, and you listen to it but don’t do anything with it, are they going to bother to speak up in the future? we all know the answer to that one! Training and Competence Training means helping people to learn how to do something, telling people what they should or (often as important) should not do, or simply giving them information.
Training isn’t just about formal ‘classroom’ courses and obtaining ‘tickets’ (certificates) to work. A competent person must have a good mix of skills, experience and knowledge (SKE’s), having great credentials on paper, does not mean they are a competent person.
Communication The best plans in the world can still fail because of communication; either a total lack of it, or miscommunication when meanings are lost and what is said is misconstrued or received incorrectly. Therefore, effective communication needs to be given just as much time and attention as the actual plan itself, as there is a high probability of failure if the communication element is ignored or not enough resources are allocated to it.
A lack of clear communication can not only hinder the unmitigated implementation of a health and safety culture, but can also end up contributing significantly to a dangerous workplace where accidents and illnesses occur more frequently As part of HSG65 it calls out the following areas under effective communication: Leaders ■ Ensure that time is allocated so that communications can take place. Managers ■ Formulate plans for cascading information. Remember to plan how you will get messages across to contractors, anyone with low levels of literacy, or those whose first language is not English.
Think about what needs to be communicated and to whom. How will your health and safety policy, risk assessment findings and safe systems of work be shared? ■ Lay out clear communications procedures for safety-critical tasks. ■ Where needed, plan your communications with emergency services. Who will co-ordinate this and how will it be done? ■ Ensure that communication is included in change management procedures.
■ Ensure that written instructions are clear and up to date. ■ Make sure that safety-critical messages have been given attention and are understood. Worker consultation and involvement ■ Involve workers or their representatives in planning communications activities. Health and safety breaches are generally well-meaning, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. Often, violations of employees’ health and safety come from a poor perception of risk. This is when workers believe the risk to be so low that there won’t be consequences to themselves or others from noncompliance.
This can also come from a lack of understanding of why a health and safety rule is in place, and workers believing it is not relevant. While some breaches of health and safety are intentional, they’re rarely malicious.Violations generally come from wanting to get the job done and on time, rather than a desire to sabotage.
Working under time pressures or not having enough workers to do the job can increase the likelihood of violations. Workers may believe that cutting corners will help get the job done on time, therefore line managers need to be close to their utilisation numbers & capacity planning so that jobs do not come with the issues highlighted above.
- There are occasions where workers will breach health and safety violations purely because they think they can get away with it.
- It may be to save time or effort or because of a belief that the rules are too strict among the workers which means that there is potential exposure and gaps within your safety culture.
Organisational learning- Learn from mistakes The final step to building a better colleague safety culture is for leaders to closely examine past safety incidents to see what can be learnt? When something goes wrong, you can’t accept simplistic explanations. You can’t accept that the colleagues didn’t follow procedure or they used the wrong piece of equipment.
What is the importance of safety first onboard a ship?
Taking Care of Personal Safety on Ships – Personal safety primarily includes the various ways and means which sailors can adopt to stay safe on an individual level, such as careful movement around the ship, steady handling of heavy cargo, etc. In addition, appropriate use of safety equipment is also a part of personal safety on ships.
Wearing Protective Clothing
It is imperative to wear comfortable and well-fitted clothes on board a ship as loose clothes can get caught in the machinery and cause injuries. Proper footwear with slip-resistant soles helps in minimizing the risks of slipping and must be worn at all times on the ship.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment includes safety helmets, shoes, goggles, ear-muffs, safety harness, life-jackets, life rafts, etc., which is used to safeguard the individual seafarer from any harm. This equipment is mandatory for ships to ensure that there are no fatalities due to lack of life-saving appliances.
Safety Equipment for the Crew
Apart from personal life-saving devices used aboard ships, there are safety equipment for the entire crew, including lifeboats, fire extinguishers, fire suits and breathing devices, emergency medical equipment, and distress signals for summoning help.
Movement About the Ship
On ships carrying heavy cargo, the containers should be securely tied at all times. Sudden lurching of the ships may cause these to dislocate if not tied properly, which can result in major bodily harm. It is necessary to be constantly on alert for slippery patches, unguarded railings, or open hatches through which people may fall.
Appropriate Use and Placement of Tools
Portable tools and equipment must be carried with both hands. In case of climbing or descending a staircase, the equipment should be carried in a tool belt (if handy) or across the body, leaving the hands free for a firm grip. Portable power tools such as drills and welding equipment should be checked before operation and must be used only by professionals.
Steady Handling of Dangerous Cargo
Cargo often consists of highly flammable fuels and other such dangerous materials. Such cargoes must be stored away from the passengers. Safety instructions must be followed and the cargo must be labeled and segregated according to its nature. The containers must regularly be checked for any spills or leaks as they can prove to be hazardous.
Mooring
Mooring is the process of anchoring the ship to the docks, using equipment such as ropes, cables, chains, deadweight anchors, etc. During this process, the passengers must stay away from the mooring area. While mooring goods and cargo, ropes under tremendous strain can break and cause damage.
The entire area should be cleared before mooring. The safety of the ship depends upon the safety of the passengers. Therefore, it is necessary to put your own safety first and take the proper precautions and follow the rules while travelling onboard a ship. The SOLAS convention of 1914 has been a pathbreaker in this area, emphasising the necessity of maritime safety.
Not only has the act taken ship and seafarer safety to new heights, but it has also spurred many amendments by the IMO to improve cargo management. Ship and safety equipment manufacturers in India provide all the required safety gear while travelling on water.
