An effective accident prevention program should include the defined responsibilities for management, supervisors, and employees.
Management, by law, has responsibility for the safety and health of all employees as well as providing a safe workplace. Supervisors have responsibility for providing a safe work place as well as managing the production issues. Now we need to address employees responsibilities and what those entail.
Employers and supervisors should expect the employees to be responsible. This starts with getting to work on time, working safely through the day, and addressing concerns to their supervisor.
Suggested areas of responsibility
Employees have the responsibility to:
- Listen and learn from any training. Be an active participant in learning a job skill or safety issue.
- Ask for assistance if the training or instruction is not clear or you don’t feel comfortable in performing the task correctly and safely.
- Report unsafe acts and near misses immediately. Especially if the unsafe act is ongoing. This will help keep the workplace safe for everyone.
- Address problems with the supervisor ASAP. BUT always try to give solutions to every problem- you may understand more than the supervisor about the problem and how to fix it.
- Re-address issues with the supervisor on un-resolved topics discussed in the past- the supervisor may have forgotten about those topics.
- Be an active member in the safety of the workplace. Participate in safety committee meetings, safety meetings and when trained on a safety issue.
These are just a few areas employees should be responsible for. The list is endless. Try to develop other areas to assist in safety and production. Bring these areas to the supervisor’s attention and expect an answer. This input should be appreciated.
The name of this game is clear and open communication between management, supervisors and employees.
The lack of communication is also one of the largest problems faced today in any workplace. Don’t let this happen to you and your company. Be responsible to see that it doesn’t.