The risk management firm PMA Companies recently released a report, Six Steps to a Safer Workforce: Building Accountability as an Essential Element for Injury Prevention in the Healthcare Industry. According to the report, a safety program that includes top-management commitment, as well as accountability for safety at every level of the business, will help optimize productivity, keep employees safe and healthy, and reduce costs.
Although PMA wrote the report for healthcare firms, these guidelines apply to any industry and any workplace.
Six steps to a safer workforce
- Create a safety environment that begins with top management and focuses on actions.
- Demonstrate your commitment. Implement a zero-tolerance policy for violations and maintain a strong safety program led by mid-level supervisors. Create a system of accountability that includes effective documentation, thorough training and communication, and consistent follow-through on safety rules. Accountability means ensuring everyone performs their roles safely and looking for opportunities to improve processes.
- Focus on unit leaders. Secure buy-in and active participation from mid-level managers and supervisors, who are largely responsible for maintaining a culture of safety. Address not only unsafe employee behavior but also failures by managers and supervisors to enforce policies.
- Give managers authority to take actions to improve safety, whether that involves using safer materials or equipment or changing work practices or schedules.
- Measure safety. Use reliable loss-trend data to set unit-based safety goals.
- Encourage safety-minded decisions. Train employees to identify the safest solution for a task and hold them accountable for choosing and following that option.
Effective communication and training are essential to make these steps work; see Enhancing Workplace Safety Communication for strategies to improve training and documentation.
Practical safety improvements can include equipment or procedure changes such as lockout/tagout programs; additional guidance is available at Lockout Tagout (LOTO) Safety Plan.
The report concludes: “The benefits of greater employee safety can be profound. Studies show that employee satisfaction increases and employee turnover decreases when organizations are committed to providing a safe work environment.”
If you need help applying these steps to your business, talk to an agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should be held accountable for workplace safety?
Accountability starts with top management and extends to mid-level supervisors and individual employees; each level has specific responsibilities for enforcing and following safety policies.
How can a workplace measure safety progress?
Use reliable loss-trend data and unit-based safety goals to track incidents, near misses, and improvements over time.
What role do supervisors play in a safety program?
Supervisors maintain daily safety culture by enforcing policies, delivering training, and having the authority to make practical safety changes.
How do you encourage safety-minded decisions among employees?
Provide training that teaches workers to identify the safest option for tasks and hold staff accountable for following those procedures consistently.