Safety Managers take on the hefty responsibility of keeping聽employees safe. They choose PPE, employ security measures, conduct training, and so much more. At聽Magid Glove & Safety, Susan Punter takes on this important role as the manager of environmental聽health and safety. As a leading manufacturer and distributor in the industry whose mission is to keep聽workers safe, Magid asked Punter if she鈥檇 be willing to share her secrets with other managers and聽professionals across the nation.聽Here are five of Punter鈥檚 safety managers鈥� secrets to make the job easier.
Secret #1 鈥� Don鈥檛 Reward Workers by Counting Safety Incidents
Counting safety incidents is typical and is something all safety managers should be doing. But rewarding聽workers for completing a number of days without an incident is where things get tricky. By rewarding聽workers for beating a safety record, you鈥檙e encouraging employees to not report safety incidents for聽fear of ruining the party or reward for everyone else. Instead, try a proactive rewards program by聽celebrating workers for reporting near-misses or unsafe acts or conditions.
Secret #2 鈥� Talk About the Why
Always talk about the why. You can give everyone a list of rules but talking about the list of potential聽injuries that can result from breaking the rules is what will hit home. Have employees explain step by聽step what they are doing and why they are doing something. This will help everyone understand the聽risks involved. As a result, workers will be more willing to follow new safety measures because they will聽understand the dangers associated with the task at hand.
Secret #3 鈥� Know What Happens When You鈥檙e Not There
Safety is what happens when nobody is watching so It鈥檚 important to figure out what happens on the聽floor when you鈥檙e not there. Observe from afar, empower point people for safety, and put systems in聽place to create an effective safety culture that will function even when you鈥檙e not there. It鈥檚 no simple聽task! Learn more about how to get workers engaged and committed to safety with this Safety Matters庐聽Resource article from Magid.
Secret #4 鈥� Ask Employees What They鈥檙e Interested In
Instead of starting every meeting with a general and bland safety tip, consider ways to spice up the tip聽with content that employees are interested in. This could even be a safety tip that鈥檚 not related to work,聽for example, a winter tip could be five items to keep in your car in case you get stranded. At Magid, we聽host 3鈥�5-minute Toolbox Talks. During these talks, we let team members pick a topic that鈥檚 important to聽them. This can be something as simple as how to lift safely with a short demo.
Secret #5 鈥� Use Your Resources
It can be difficult to understand OSHA regulations, but the OSHA website has many resources to help聽break material down such as letters of interpretation. Plus, there are plenty of free safety resources聽online to help with things like safety training, building your safety culture, and even choosing PPE. One聽example is Magid鈥檚 Safety Matters Resource Center which even offers free webinars, posters, and聽samples.
Looking for more Safety Managers鈥� Secrets? Magid has taken some of the best advice shared by safety聽professionals across the nation and distilled it to create Magid鈥檚 Safety Managers鈥� Secrets Resource聽Page. On this page, you鈥檒l find dozens of helpful tips on a wide variety of safety topics.