Masonry Magazine April 2001 Page. 11
first aid treatment for injured workers. The final program element recognized by OSHA as important to a good safety and health program is Safety and Health Training. Employers must ensure that all employees understand the hazards they may be exposed to and how to protect themselves from injury. Supervisors should also be trained so that they can carry out their safety and health responsibilities. Retraining should be performed when necessary.
Now that the elements of the program have been laid out, they must be implemented into the workplace. One of the keys to implementing a safety and health program, and ensuring that it is effective, is to use the disciplinary program outlined under Hazard Prevention and Control.
ENFORCEMENT OF THE PROGRAM
Employees must understand that there are consequences for not following the rules. This may be the most important part of the overall safety program. If the workers do not believe that they will be punished for breaking the company's policies, then they are not likely to follow them on a daily basis.
However, all employees must be treated equally under the enforcement policy. If a contractor is not willing to discipline its best worker, then the policy is useless. If an employee who has been disciplined can show that enforcement has not been equally distributed, then he or she may be able to bring a lawsuit against the company for unfair treatment.
An enforcement schedule must be outlined in the safety program. One example of an enforcement schedule would be as follows:
* 1st violation of company safety policy written warning which explains to the employee what they have done wrong (this should be placed in the personnel file)
* 2nd violation of company safety policy-worker is sent home immediately
* 3rd violation of company safety policy worker is terminated
Contractors must ensure that each step of the way is documented in case the employee initiates legal actions. The employer generally must be able to show that the employee was: (1) trained and understood the company's safety rules, (2) understood the company's enforcement policy, and (3) disciplined according to the enforcement schedule in the company safety program.
SUMMARY
By developing and implementing a written safety and health program which covers all of the program elements discussed earlier, and enforcing the company's safety policies according to a disciplinary schedule, you may reduce the number of injuries occurring on the job and, in turn, reduce the amount of money spent on insurance and other non-insured costs each year.
Joseph O'Connor is Executive Vice President of Intec, Inc. He currently serves as a national representative for various employer organizations participating in OSHA-ACCOSH work groups and ANSI committees.
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ALSO AVAILABLE: PLYWOOD AND TOE BOARDS MASONRY APRIL, 2001 11