GUIDE TO DEVELOPING YOUR WORKPLACE INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM

1. Assign Responsibilities

Decide who in your company will be given responsibility and authority to manage this program. In many cases, it’s the owner. Sometimes the plant manager or a ranking member of the management team is the one to develop and set up the program. It could even be an engineer, personnel specialist or other staff member.

The person assigned must be identified by name in your program. Your program’s success hinges on the individual you choose, and he/she cannot succeed without your full cooperation and support. Remember, though, that even when you appoint someone as your safety manager and delegate authority to manage the program, the ultimate responsibility for safety and health in your workplace still rests with you.

When considering responsibility, do not forget to include all of your employees. Give each employee training and responsibility to follow your safety and health procedures, and to recognize report hazards in his/her immediate work area.

ASSESSMENT OF YOUR WORKPLACE SHOULD BE CONDUCTED BY THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INJURY AND ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM, AND/OR A PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CONSULTANT.

2. Safety & Health Survey

The first is a comprehensive safety and health survey of your facility to identify existing or potential safety and health hazards.

This survey should evaluate workplace conditions with respect to: safety and health regulations and generally recognized safe work practices and physical hazards; use of any hazardous materials; employee work habits; and a discussion of safety and health problems with employees. The survey must be documented if made for the purpose of establishing an Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

Your safety and health survey includes:

1. Equipment

   Make a list of your equipment and tools, including the principle locations of their use. Special attention should be given to inspection schedules, maintenance activities and your facility’s layout.

2. Chemicals

   Make a list of all chemicals used in your workplace, obtain material safety data sheets on the materials used, and identify where they are used.

3. Work practices

   Detail specific work practices associated with equipment, tools and chemical use. Special attention should be given to personal protective equipment, guarding, ventilation, emergency procedures and use of appropriate tools.

4. OSHA/FMA Standards

   Review standards applicable to your type of operation, equipment, processes, materials, and the like. These standards are minimum requirements for workplace safety and health.

3. Workplace Assessment

The next activity is an evaluation of your existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program to identify areas that may be working well and those that may need improvement.

Examine your company’s:

1. Accident, injury or illness data.
2. Worker’s compensation costs.
3. Rates of employee turnover or absenteeism.
4. Information on safety and health activities ongoing or previously tried.
5. Company policy statements.
6. Rules-both work and safety.
7. Guidelines for proper work practices and procedures.
8. Records of training programs.
9. Compliance with requirements of California’s Right to Know Law and Hazards Communications Standard.
10. Employee capabilities-make an alphabetical list of all employees, showing the dates they were hired, what their jobs are, and their experience and training. Special attention should be given to new employees and employees with handicaps. Joint labor-management safety and health committee activities.
11. Other safety-related programs.

4. Review & Compare

After all the facts are gathered, look at how the information on your workplace corresponds with the standards, and with the critical components of an Injury and Illness Prevention Program: management commitment/assignment of responsibilities; safety communications system with employees; system for assuring employee compliance with safe work practices; scheduled inspections/evaluation system; accident investigation; procedures for correcting unsafe/ unhealthy conditions; safety and health training and instruction; recordkeeping and documentation.

5. Develop an Action Plan

An action plan is a specific, written description of problems and solutions-it can and should be changed to correspond with changes in the workplace.

A good action plan has two parts. One is an overall list of major changes or improvements needed to make your Injury and Illness Prevention Program effective. Assign each item a priority and a target date for completion, and identify the person who will monitor or direct each action.

The second part of an action plan involves taking each major change or improvement listed and working out a specific plan for making that change. Write out what you want to accomplish, the steps required, who would be assigned to do what, and when you plan to be finished. This part of the action plan helps you keep track of program improvement so that details do not slip through the cracks.

6. Take Action

Put your plan into action, beginning with the item assigned highest priority. Make sure it is realistic and manageable, then address the steps you have written out for that item.

You can, of course, work on more than one item at a time. Priorities may change as other needs are identified or as your company’s resources change.

Open communication with your employees is crucial to the success of your efforts. Their cooperation depends on understanding what the Injury and Illness Prevention Program is all about, why it is important to them, and how it affects their work. The more you do to keep them informed of the changes you are making, the smoother your transition will be.

By putting your action plan into operation at your workplace, you will have taken a major step toward having an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program. Remember, an Injury and Illness Prevention Program is a plan put into practice.

7. Maintain Your Program

Schedule a review-quarterly, semiannually or annually-to look at each critical component in your Injury and Illness Prevention Program, to determine what is working well and what changes, if any, are needed. When you identify needs that should be addressed, you have the basis for new safety and health objectives for program improvement.

GOOD STRATEGIC DECISIONS AND ORGANIZATIONAL, THOROUGH PLANNING, HARD WORK AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT ARE KEYS TO PREVENT ANY INJURY AND ACCIDENT IN YOUR WORKPLACE.