"We look all the time." "Everyone is in charge of safety."
If employees are looking all the time and everyone oversees safety, how do slips, trips, and falls keep happening? Serious Safety Managers know that while we hope everyone always looks, and we hope someone will take charge, many times people do not.
An enterprise needs to have a plan. A well-developed plan comes from performing a gap analysis identifying weak or problematic points of concern that need risk treatments to prevent incidents from occurring.
Risk Treatments can be simple or complex. The most important aspect of a risk treatment is the outcome. Does it work? If the answer is no, then more is needed. If the answer is sometimes, then more is needed. The desired outcome is ALARP, which means the risk is as low as reasonably practical.
The plan should identify specific people do perform specific tasks at specific times or intervals to ensure the operation remains safe and that anyone visiting the property is not subjected to unnecessary risks. The plan should include protocols, procedures, and practices that all employees are knowledgeable about.
For example, Simon was inspecting his area and as he was doing so, he saw a spill occur. Simon is a trained safety professional and had his towel in his pocket ready to go. However, this spill was too large, so Simon began to contain the spill and warn people to avoid the area. This is called "guarding a spill". Simon knows NOT to leave a spill; which unfortunately many employees do when they see a spill to get a mop or supplies. They do this because they think the priority is to clean up the mess, rather than think about safety. Simon however understands that it is more important to stand guard and wait for assistance (if feasible) rather than to leave a spill unattended while getting clean-up supplies. Simon knows from experience that even when it takes only a few minutes to get a mop, that is when someone unknowingly slips and falls due to a spill hazard.
Simon knew what to do in this case because there was a plan, he knew the plan, and he knew how to execute the plan successfully. Having a safety plan is much more than thinking everyone is in charge or that everyone is going to look all the time.
About the Author – John Peterson - Safety Expert is a Commercial Safety Expert who specializes in Service, restaurant and retail, and commercial property safety. John evaluates safety plans, prevention plans, and strategies for slip, trip, and fall prevention. John also evaluates incidents involving striking, collisions, colliding with, or materials handling events where someone was hit or struck by equipment. For more information, please visit our website at www.rlcsafety.com.
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