Don’t Try to Do Everything All at Once – 11/7/22

Safety E-Quick Tip

OWYN Safety Mgmt Platform

Nov, 7, 2022

Don’t Try to Do Everything All at Once

A couple weeks ago we talked about how your company had decided to put a safety program in place and you were put in charge of getting it set up and running.

The problem – no one could agree on how it should happen.

Employees, supervisors, and upper management all had their own ideas, leaving you in the worst position possible.

If you choose to setup the program based on upper management’s ideas, supervisors and employees will not be on board. If you choose to go along with the supervisors, employees and upper management won’t be on board.

Wait, maybe you can setup the program based on what the employees say.  Well, you get the point.

Sounds like it’s all on you. I can tell you that’s a lonely place because I’ve been there many a time and it never turned out well.

But there’s still hope.

Why not start with something everyone can agree on and then work into those more controversial areas little by little, after everyone is onboard.

That’s right – keep it simple.

Maybe it could go something like this.

You start with a weekly documented safety meeting about general workplace safety, then gradually work up to meetings that are more relevant to the work being performed at each worksite.

Once that is running smoothly, maybe in a month (or whatever time frame works for your company), you could consider having supervisors complete a weekly workplace safety inspection checklist.

After those have been happening a few months, you could start a monthly or quarterly review process of the safety meetings and inspections.

Now some of you may be thinking you need to get things rolling a little quicker or you need to do everything all at once.

I can tell you that rarely works.  In fact, those programs rarely get off the ground because everyone gets too wrapped up in making the program perfect.  Then it never happens.

So, if you’re looking to get your safety program off the ground, start slow, keep it simple and build it in a way that works for your company and you. I guarantee you’ll have the best chance of making it a reality.

Next week I’ll give you a couple different options for getting started.  Then you can tweak them to meet your company’s needs or just use them as a reference.

But if you want to get some ideas together on your own, feel free.  The sooner you get started, the sooner you start protecting your company’s greatest assets – Employees, Company Reputation and Profits.

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Employee QuickTip

Working with management is key to protecting yourself from workplace hazards. Don’t let thoughts like, “I’ve done it this way for years and never had any problems,” get in the way. Remember that a couple times doing it that way almost ended in disaster.

Employer/Management QuickTip

When developing and implementing your safety program, make sure to get your employees involved so they feel they are a part of the process.

Have you received your first Safety E-QuickTip or just want to look at 500+ past issues? Check out our Safety E-QuickTips Archive Page on our website.

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Thanks for Reading and Please – “Be Safe this Week”.