Overview
Employee involvement provides the means through which workers develop and express their own commitment to safety and health.
The best safety and health management systems involve employees at every level of the organization. Employees are often those closest to the hazard, and have the most first-hand knowledge of workplace hazards. Clearly, the employer has ultimate responsibility for its workers, however, using employees’ knowledge and experience to help identify and resolve problems can make the system more effective.
Examples of how employees and employee representatives can be included in the safety and health management system include:
• Planning.
• Implementation.
• Evaluation, corrective, and preventative action.
Examples of effective employee involvement include participation in:
• Incident investigations.
• Procedure development.
• Safety and health audits or surveys.
• Development and implementation of safety and health training.
• Job safety analysis.
• Safety and health committee/team involvement.
• Recommendations for specific actions in response to employee safety suggestions.
• Problem-solving techniques to seek solutions to identified safety and health problems.
Employee involvement should also be recognized. Recognition encourages employees to use safe work practices and to integrate safety into the fabric of their jobs. Involving employees and using safe-behavior reinforcement develops a positive approach to managing the safety and health process.
Topic 1: Safety and Health Committees
Effective safety and health systems are built with good safety and health committees. A safety and health committee is a group of employees who work on matters of worker safety and health. The committee can serve as a channel for action on suggestions and ideas submitted by employees or from in-house inspections. The type and membership of safety committees varies depending on the size and structure of the organization.
Activity
Committee Checklist
Have your safety and health committee complete an effectiveness questionnaire. Compare your responses with other members. Use the outcomes of the checklist to identify your strengths and weaknesses and develop action plans for improvements.
Tools
UAW, A Checklist to Clarify Your Committee’s Status.
Topic 2: Safety Contests and Incentives
Safety contests and incentive programs can create interest and participation in an organized safety and health management system. They are not a substitute for a good system, but may help motivate employees, help promote team building and heighten awareness of worker safety and health.
Contests should be designed to increase employee involvement and participation in activities such as safety inspections, researching answers to safety and health quizzes and communicating with other employees about safety and health. Incentives focused on reducing accidents are not recommended as they may create reluctance for employees to report injuries and illnesses.
A few things to keep in mind when planning a safety contest or incentive:
• What is the contest based on? (For example, near accident reports turned in, safety or health inspections with actions completed in a timely manner, etc.).
• Who is involved in the contest? (For example, your department, several departments, or the entire plant.)
• If the contest is between dissimilar performance groups, how will you take the differences into consideration? (For example, make each team proportional representing high and low hazard occupations.)
• How will the winner be determined? (For example, number of hazards corrected, recommendations turned in. What if two groups have the same results?)
• How will you reward or recognize the winner(s)? (Donation to a charity. Each employee on a winning team receives an award. What will the prize be?)
Activity
Children’s Creative Art Work Contest
Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Do your children or grandchildren know what you do at work? Do they know that you have safety rules and may have to wear safety equipment?
A contest involving children and grandchildren will help start safety awareness at a young age. Have children draw a picture of “What my family member does at work” or “How my family member stays safe for me at work.”
Here are some contest suggestions:
Set specific age groups (preschoolers, K-2nd, 3rd-4th, etc.).
Choose one winner from each age group and send to MIOSHA (we will post the winners on our web site).
Offer participation awards or prizes.
Offer a raffle for all participants.
Display artwork in the lunchroom or a visible place for all to see.
Topic 3: Safety & Health is Everyone’s Responsibility
No one wants anyone to be injured at work. Encourage all employees to communicate with each other about unsafe actions and conditions. Emphasize that it is not “ok” to choose to look the other way.
Activity
• Use the Red (CET #0206) and Green (CET #0207) STOP! Cards to promote employee communication. The cards can be used as part of an awareness promotion. The red card is given to an employee observed doing something that could have caused an accident/injury. The green card is used when an employee does something that is commendable. (You may develop a drawing or contest, in conjunction with the use of the cards. The red card may be used as a topic for discussion at a safety and health meeting.)
• Hold employee meetings and discuss ways for employees to “make a difference” in safety and health. Discuss the importance of safety and health being everyone’s responsibility.
• Resources include free loan videos from the CET Library. “I Choose to look the Other Way,” accompanied by a poem, written by Don Merrell. The video (SET 778V) and poem demonstrates how speaking up save lives and helps develop a positive safety and health culture in your work environment. The poem was written because the author failed to speak up when witnessing an unsafe act. By choosing to “Look the other way,” he allowed the needless death of a co-worker to occur. Another video, “Remember Charlie,” SET 745V, demonstrates a worker who was burned over 90% of his body while doing his job. Charlie Morecraft’s emotional and dramatic video tell the story of the impact in his life after his accident and what he wishes he would have done differently -- taken responsibility for his own safety and health. To obtain a Video Catalog (MIOSHA-CET# 0145) contact the CET Division at (517) 322-1809 or www.michigan.gov/miosha or you can contact the Laboratory and Equipment Services Section (LESS) which has over 130 safety and health videos are available on a free-loan basis. Requests can be made by phone at 517-322-2633, E-mail mioshavideos@michigan.gov or fax 517-322-3219.
Tools
Red & Green Stop Cards (MIOSHA/CET #0206 & MIOSHA/CET #0207).
Poem – I Choose To Look the Other Way.
Videos
o I Choose To Look the Other Way, SET 778V.
o Remember Charlie, SET 745V.
Topic 4: Safety & Health Posters
Safety and health posters alert people to safe and healthful work practices. Consideration should be given to:
• Selection and location of posters.
• Maintenance (keeping posters looking clean and readable).
• How often to change posters.
• Where to obtain—resources.
Activity
Poster Check
Have safety and health committee review current posters in your facility and make recommendation for new posters.
Tools
Free MIOSHA-CET Posters.
Topic 5: Suggestion System
Employees have ideas that can help improve work methods and reduce hazards. Frequently these ideas get lost because there is no effective way to present them. A well-organized suggestion system encourages contributions from employees. The following are several things to consider when designing a suggestion system:
• How will employees make suggestions? (To a committee, to their supervisor?)
• Will suggestions be written on special forms? (If so, what information should be included on the forms?)
• How often will suggestions be collected and acted upon?
• Who will review the suggestions and how will they make their decisions?
Activities
Employee Suggestion Program
• Establish a team to create a system for employee suggestions.
Why I Choose to Work Safe Bulletin Board
• Encourage employees to get involved by sharing their reasons for why they choose to work safe. A “Why I Choose to Work Safe” bulletin board can be featured in a location where employees access information daily. The key reason employee’s choose to work safe may be for their families and loved ones; – to assure that their lives are filled with activities that generate happiness. The bulletin board will be the employee’s opportunity to express why they choose to work safe! These expressions may include: photos of employees, and their children, spouses, and grandchildren; personal achievements; and special hobbies or activities–things that recognizes each employee as an individual.
