Category: Special Topics in Safety Management

Safety is a process, and as such, needs to be managed. This section offers resources to create a viable safety program, sell it to senior management, train supervisors and employees in using it, and then track and report your progress. Look also for ways to advance your own skills in these areas, both for your current job, and those that follow.

Free Special Report: 50 Tips for More Effective Safety Training

Fundamentals of Good Housekeeping: Clean, Orderly, and Safe

The importance of good housekeeping to your overall operation may not be incorporated into the company’s policy or work rules, but it should at least be firmly planted in everyone’s consciousness—from the CEO to the newest hire. A clean, neat, and orderly workplace not only contributes to the health and safety of employees but also […]

7 Steps for Effective Safety Signage

In order to use safety signs and tags effectively in your facility and remain in compliance with the OSHA regulations, be sure to take these 7 basic steps. Identify all hazards. The first step, of course, is to identify all the potential hazards in all parts of your facility. This includes office and industrial areas […]

‘Sign Up’ for Workplace Safety

Safety signage in the workplace prevents accidents and injuries. Make sure your signs and tags do the job. You’ve seen the signs—the ones that say important things like “Bridge Out” or “Wrong Way”—but somehow the cartoon and movie characters miss them because the signs are overgrown with brush, blown over by the wind, or otherwise […]

Turn Your Supervisors into Safety Role Models

In the safest workplaces, supervisors aren’t just safety rule enforcers, they’re also safety role models. Employees’ behavior on the job is significantly influenced by the way their supervisors think and act about workplace safety. Studies show that supervisors’ effectiveness in accident prevention is dependent on the behavior they model for employees. If workers believe that […]

Take Steps to Remove Invisible But Dangerous Indoor Air Hazards

Yesterday, we talked about the problems caused by poor indoor air quality in the workplace. Today, we focus on solutions. OSHA recommends a systematic approach to indoor air quality problems of the type you use to address other health and safety problems. "Management needs to be receptive to potential concerns and complaints, and train workers […]

How Clean Is the Air Your Employees Breathe?

Some experts believe that more people may suffer from indoor air pollution than outdoor air pollution. How about your employees? Most Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. Poor indoor air quality can cause all kinds of ailments and discomforts, including many that can mimic symptoms of allergies, stress, colds, and flu. Indoor […]

7 Steps to World-Class Safety Performance: Part 2

Yesterday, we reviewed the first 4 steps toward world-class safety performance. Today, we present the rest. 5. Be Ready for Anything Be prepared to handle a wide-range of unexpected events effectively. Emergency plans should anticipate all possible contingencies. Make sure your plans include at least the following: Procedure for reporting emergencies Evacuation policy, procedures, route […]

7 Steps to World-Class Safety Performance: Part 1

Today, we present the first 4 steps, and tomorrow we’ll review the rest. 1. Engage Employees Involving employees in the safety process is essential to safety success. It provides a way for them to demonstrate and share their commitment while building pride, ownership, and skills. Here are a few proven methods to spark participation:

Fall Protection: What OSHA Requires

Falls are a leading cause of workplace injury and death. Fall protection also routinely makes OSHA’s Top 10 Violations list every year. Employees fall for many reasons: unstable working surfaces, improperly positioned ladders, misuse of fall protection, and unprotected sides and edges of working surfaces. OSHA says that you must set up your worksite to […]

Innovative Safety Ideas: Part 2

Yesterday, we explained how Cintas® Corporation is making workers safer by innovating. Today, we introduce you to another VPP worksite where innovative programs are also improving safety performance. Morton Salt’s Grantsville, Utah, facility is one of the company’s four worksites to have earned VPP Star status. About 10 years back, the Grantsville plant had received […]