Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION
CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Discuss the supervisor’s responsibility for safety.
2. Appreciate the costs associated with work-related accidents and illnesses.
3. Discuss the major causes of work-related accidents.
4. Measure safety in the workplace.
5. Explain the basic purposes of a safety program.
6. Outline several organizational strategies for promoting safety.
7. Outline several specific things that the supervisor can do to prevent accidents.
8. Identify several warning signs that can help supervisors learn to recognize potentially violent employees.
9. Understand the purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
10. Explain the basic purpose of the “Hazard Communication Standard.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTATION
Get a discussion going
Safety programs in most companies are mandated, but often ill received. Everyone has the attitude that "it can't happen to me." Getting people involved in some controversy may raise the interest level.
Some things that might be good discussion starters:
· Should seat belt use be mandatory?
· Should motorcycle and/or bicycle helmet use be mandatory?
· How much does insurance cost your employer? What kinds do (or must) they carry?
Do a safety inspection
Do a safety inspection of the classroom building in which you are meeting. What problems are uncovered?
LECTURE OUTLINE
Supervision Dilemma
¨ John has filled out OSHA forms for two major injuries in his department this year. He is concerned about preventing more accidents.
Overview: Safety is an important concern of today's organizations. The costs of workrelated accidents to American industry are in the billions of dollars annually. A number of things can be done to reduce the occurrence of accidents and illnesses.
I. Supervisor's Responsibility for Safety
A. Supervisor's responsibilities for the safety of their employees include the following:
1. See that the safety directives of management are carried out.
2. Shape the employee's attitudes toward safety.
3. Listen to employee complaints about safety.
4. Give clear instructions regarding safety methods and procedures.
5. May also include accident investigation, first aid, maintenance of proper safety records, and the dissemination of changes in safety regulations and methods.
II. The Cost of Accidents
The cost of work-related accidents is high and includes several factors.
A. Lost production and training replacements
B. Insurance and medical costs
1. Workers' compensation (Figure 21.1)
2. Health insurance
3. Disability insurance
C. Employee morale, employee relations, community relations
III. The Causes of Accidents
Accidents are generally the result of unsafe personal acts or an unsafe physical environment, or both.
A. Personal acts
1. These include taking unnecessary chances, engaging in horseplay, failing to wear or use protective equipment, using improper tools and equipment, taking unsafe shortcuts, operating equipment too fast, and throwing materials.
2. Employees with low morale tend to have more accidents.
B. Physical environment
1. Unsafe situations wherever heavy, awkward material is handled, around any type of machinery that is used to produce something else, wherever people walk or climb, wherever people use hand tools, wherever electricity is used other than for the usual lighting purposes.
2. Unsafe physical conditions - serious understaffing, improperly guarded machines, poor housekeeping, defective equipment and tools, poor lighting, improper ventilation, improper dress.
C. Accident-proneness
1. Some people's physical and mental makeup make them more prone to accidents.
2. A temporary condition, such as excess fatigue, may make anyone more prone to accidents.
3. This tendency should not justify an accident. These employees should be identified and receive special attention.
IV. How to Measure Safety
A. Frequency and severity are the two most widely accepted measures of an organization's safety record.
B. Useful comparisons can be made with other departments within the organization, with the rates of the previous years, or with the rates of other organizations to objectively evaluate a safety record.
V. The Safety Program
A. Basic elements present in most safety programs
1. The safety program has the support of top and middle management.
2. Safety is clearly established as a line organization responsibility.
3. A positive attitude toward safety exists and is maintained throughout the organization.
4. One person is in charge of the safety program and is responsible for its operation.
B. Organizational strategies for promoting safety
The authors give a number of suggestions for promoting safety.
1. Make the work interesting.
2. Incorporate ergonomics.
3. Establish a safety committee.
4. Feature employee safety contests.
5. Publicize safety statistics.
6. Periodically hold safety training sessions.
7. Use bulletin boards.
8. Reward employee participation.
C. How the supervisor can prevent accidents
1. Be familiar with organizational policies that relate to safety.
2. Be familiar with the proper procedures for safely accomplishing the work.
3. Know what safety devices and personal protective equipment should be used on each job.
4. Know what safetyrelated reports and records are required.
5. Get to know the employees.
6. Know when and where to make safety inspections.
7. Learn to take the advice of the safety director and the safety committee.
8. Know what to do in case of an accident.
9. Know the proper procedures for investigating an accident and determining how it could have been prevented.
10. Always set a good example with regard to safety.
VI. Violence in the Workplace
A. Because most violent acts are not spontaneous, supervisors must learn to identify potentially violent situations. Specifically, supervisors should learn to spot the following warning signs:
1. Employees making threats or being threatened.
2. Employees who are suddenly terminated or anticipate being laid off.
3. Employees with serious problems at home.
4. Employees with a chemical dependency.
5. Employees showing signs of paranoia.
6. Employees fascinated by weapons.
VII. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
A. Purpose of OSHA
1. Encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement safety programs.
2. Provide for research in occupational safety and health.
3. Establish responsibilities and rights for employers and employees.
4. Maintain a reporting and record keeping system to monitor jobrelated injuries and illnesses.
5. Establish training programs to increase the number and competence of occupational safety and health personnel.
6. Develop and enforce mandatory job safety and health standards.
7. Provide for the development, analysis, evaluation, and approval of state occupational safety and health programs.
B. The supervisor and OSHA
1. Supervisor is required to keep very specific records.
2. Supervisors are often asked to accompany OSHA officials while these officials inspect an organization's physical facilities.
3. Supervisors should be familiar with the OSHA regulations affecting their departments, since it is their responsibility to see that the employees follow all safety rules.
C. Hazard Communications Standard
1. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that employers and employees know what chemical hazards exist in the workplace and how to protect themselves against those hazards.
2. It establishes uniform standards for evaluating chemical hazards and maintaining information on the nature of the hazards, appropriate handling, and remedies for unexpected exposure.
VIII. Solution to the Supervision Dilemma
IX. Summary
Supervision Illustrations
211: Reacting to a Safety Program
212: Involving Employees in Accident Prevention
21-3: Violence-Prevention Program Offered by Great American
21-4:Being Prepared to Respond to Hazardous Conditions
SkillBuilding Applications
Incident 211: The Safety Inspection
Incident 212: No One Listens
Exercise 211: Potential Safety Problems
Exercise 212: National Safety
SUPERVISION ILLUSTRATIONS
211 Q: How did the safety manager react to a potentially dangerous situation?
211 A: He immediately installed a vehicle restraint system on all the docks to prevent it from happening again.
212 Q: What are the purposes of the Incident Awareness Program?
212 A: The purposes are to promote employee involvement and ownership in the safety program and to make a lasting impression on employees concerning the importance of safe work practices and equipment.
21-3 Q: How does Great American assist its clients in violence prevention?
21-3 A: Representatives from Great American visit the workplace sites, train managers in handling and reporting incidents, and train both supervisors and employees in conflict resolution.
21-4 Q: Where did Dean Blauser get the idea for HazCom Solutions?
21-4 A: After responding to several emergencies involving chemical or hazardous materials, Dan Blauser developed the idea for HazCom Soulutions.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Name three major categories of accident costs to the organization.
(1) Lost production, (2) insurance and medical costs, and (3) employee morale, employee relations and community relations. [pp. 365-366]
2. What are the differences between workers' compensation and disability insurance?
Workers' compensation is a form of protection for the worker from loss of income and extra expenses associated with workrelated injuries. Disability insurance protects the employee who experiences a longterm or permanent disability. [pp. 365-366]
3. What are the major causes of accidents? Which cause results in the majority of work related accidents?
The major causes are unsafe personal acts and unsafe physical environment. Personal acts probably cause up to 80% of the accidents. [p. 366]
4. Name five unsafe physical conditions that frequently cause accidents.
(1) Unguarded or improperly guarded machinery, (2) poor housekeeping, (3) defective or improper tools, (4) poor lighting, (5) poor or improper ventilation, etc. (Others are listed on the referenced page. [p. 367]
5. What is accident proneness?
It is a susceptibility to accidents due to physical and mental makeup. [p. 367-368]
6. What are the most widely accepted methods for measuring an organization's safety record?
Accident frequency and accident severity. [p. 368]
7. List several things that the organization can do to promote safety.
Make the work interesting; Establish a safety committee; Feature employee safety contests; Publicize safety statistics; Hold regular safety meetings; Use the bulletin boards. [pp. 369-370]
8. State several specific things that the supervisor can do to prevent accidents.
Be familiar with organizational policies relating to safety; Be familiar with the safe procedures for accomplishing the work; Make safety inspections; and a number of other ideas suggested on pages 370-371.
9. What is the stated purpose of OSHA?
The purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is to assure safe and healthy working conditions for every employee. [p. 373]
10. What does OSHA specifically require of the supervisor?
OSHA requires that the supervisor keep certain specific records. These include OSHA Forms 101 and 200. Supervisors may also be asked to accompany OSHA officials while they inspect an organization's physical facilities. [pp. 375-376]
11 What are Material Safety Data sheets (MSDS)?
MSDS provide information on the nature of hazards, including appropriate handling and remedies for unexpected exposure. [p. 377]
SKILL BUILDING QUESTIONS
1. How would you answer this question: "How can I improve safety in my department. since I don't have the authority to significantly alter the physical environment?"
Only about 20% of the accidents are caused by unsafe environments. By far the majority are caused by unsafe acts of employees. There is a lot, then, that a supervisor can do which doesn't involve changing the physical environment. Making employees aware of safe and unsafe practices, and taking positive steps to eliminate the unsafe ones will be a major step in improving safety.
2. Susan Baker has just been appointed the Que Company's director of safety. a newly created job. What are some of the more important safety thoughts that she should keep in mind?
Susan must work to raise employees' awareness of safety. A key aspect of her program should be to educate the supervisors about the importance of safety, since they can and should play a key role in influencing the work of their subordinates. Particular points she should investigate are the use of safety equipment, role which is or could be played by a safety committee, potential for contests to promote safety, and ways to involve the workers.
3. Suppose many of your employees circumvent the safety regulations whenever possible because they feel that these regulations slow them down unnecessarily and keep them from making more money. What might you do in this situation?
For this to be a concern, you apparently are on a piecerate system or some form of incentive/variable compensation. One of the most serious arguments against these systems is that they may, in fact, discourage the use of proper safety measures. Positive forms of motivation are usually best, and education about the real reasons for the regulations is also appropriate. Perhaps the piecework system could be modified to add a bonus for proper safety procedures or a reevaluation of the rate should be done to properly account for the inconvenience caused by the safety equipment or procedures. A negative, though probably effective, technique would be to impose some sort of a fine for persons who violate the rules regarding safety.
4. Do you think the overall benefit of OSHA has been positive or negative? Support your answer.
Opinions will certainly vary on this. Many government advocates would say that it has saved many lives and reduced injuries. Many, perhaps most industry representatives would say it's a nuisance and dismal failure. The truth is probably somewhere in between. No question that the cost to industry to meet the OSHA regulations has been high. Part of the problem is, of course, there's no way of telling what might have happened without OSHA, nor is there any good way of valuing the "prevention" of an accident.
SKILLBUILDING APPLICATIONS
Incident 211: The Safety Inspection
This case illustrates some of the problems in getting employees to follow the safety rules.
1. Do you think that Joe's problem is unique?
No, unfortunately. Most employees prefer convenience over safety unless they've been party to an accident recently or unless they face some severe penalty for not following rules.
2. Why do you think that employees are often lax with regard to safety rules that have been established for their own safety?
People always believe that accidents happen to someone else, not to them. Some safety rules may appear to be unnecessary because the reason for their existence has never been explained to the workers. The employees may have had little or no input into the development of procedures, thus feel less compelled to follow them. Piecework and incentive systems also may push people for productivity at the expense of safety.