Apr 2, 2013

Accountability for safety

In an article in Safety Center on accountability for safety, Bob Lapidus, Safety Management Specialist gave following five steps.
  1. Create written safety policies and procedures
  2. Train employees on the safety policies and procedures
  3. Provide all the necessary equipment to do the assigned work
  4. Hold everyone accountable for compliance
  5. Both supervisors and employees provide feedback as to how work is being done Corrective action is taken as necessary

Accountability means, in his words, praising when correct things done and correcting when things are done the improperly. It should not be like knee jerk reaction to punish people when something goes wrong.
While writing safety policy and safety procedures, I feel, it should be written by involving all concerned employees. If it is written by manager or consultant in his office without interaction and active participation of employees, the ownership for the document will not exist with the concerned shopfloor employees and it is likely that they may not like to read and follow.