Safety talks/walk through programs on safety awareness - OHSAS 18001

[sarasheed]

Ours is Heavy Electrical equipment manufacturing company with 5500 regular employees and about 2000 contract personnels.An OHSAS 18001 Auditor expects us to show the evidence of safety talks/walk through programmes on awarness of safety to the employees &contractors.
Can some one suggest how ot organise and show evidance for the above.

sarasheed

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by sarasheed

Ours is Heavy Electrical equipment manufacturing company with 5500 regular employees and about 2000 contract personnels.An OHSAS 18001 Auditor expects us to show the evidence of safety talks/walk through programmes on awarness of safety to the employees &contractors.
Can some one suggest how ot organise and show evidance for the above.

sarasheed

Do you currently have ANY safety program in place? What is included in new employee/new contractor orientation?

In my experience in the REAL WORLD [where I was more concerned about employee safety for themselves and for others working near them than passing muster with an auditor], I found that relatively short, simple programs or "presentations" of safety requirements such as:

1. keeping fingers and clothing from being caught in machinery
2. reporting fires and evacuating building
3. lifting heavy objects without injury
4. how to get first aid for a cut or injury for self or coworker
5. etc.
6. etc.

was best delivered and absorbed in short presentations of less than 15 minutes. After the presentation, we'd take a short break, then we would present a "surprise retention test" of four or five questions based on the material to evaluate whether employee had retained the info. Employee would sign the test and we would score it immediately. Passing the test moved one to next training stage (only 100% correct answers would pass test) and the [signed/dated/countersigned by training officer] test would go in employee personnel file as record of training and understanding.

Employees who did not pass were not allowed to work or move on to other training until able to pass the test (often after personalized instruction to determine whether employee could read/write in the language of the test.)

After the first "surprise" test, employees would understand EVERY training period was followed by test - each session after that found much more attentive audience.

We did not allow any employee (permanent or temporary) to work in ANY area until passing safety tests applicable to that area. We used a similar process in assuring competence in operating production equipment to assure conforming parts would be generated. We always kept meticulous records of training and subsequent competence/retention test in each employee's personnel file. We often conducted simple "retention tests" without retraining before transferring an employee to an area where he/she had not worked for more that three months previously.

Key factors:

1. training was conducted by supervisors
2. each topic was limited to 15 minute segments
3. understanding and retention were required before moving on to new topic.
4. we kept records
5. we referred to records before assigning employee to any work area to assure employee was competent and safe to work.

Suggestions for your large operation:

1. using joint teams of supervisors and workers, develop "curriculum" of safety topics which pertain to various areas of the plant.
2. Administer "competence test" BEFORE training to assess level of understanding of each topic. (Those who pass test do not need to undergo training on that topic)
3. Administer training in small groups (15 to 25 people at a time) to those who do NOT pass the "pre-test" and retest.
4. If there is a possibility that some employees cannot read/write in the language of the test, arrange for private oral test to assess competency
5. Keep meticulous records
6. Be firm and do not allow any employee (permanent or contractor) to work in an area until proving competency in safety rules and practices for that area.

Depending on logistics, budget, and general experience of work force and potential trainers, some operations might be filmed with a small digital camera and presented as a video to small groups of employees (in groups or individually on a computer) and then test administered using computer to score and record results. This method would assure consistency of administering training and test from employee to employee.

[RCBeyette]

Originally Posted by sarasheed

Ours is Heavy Electrical equipment manufacturing company with 5500 regular employees and about 2000 contract personnels.An OHSAS 18001 Auditor expects us to show the evidence of safety talks/walk through programmes on awarness of safety to the employees &contractors.
Can some one suggest how ot organise and show evidance for the above.

sarasheed

Get creative! There are many ways in which to accomplish this:

• Safety Hours - one hour each day dedicated to Management walking around on the floor with a dedicated safety topic each day. For example, mine last week was Lock-Out Tag-Out and my team was to ensure that the contractors and employees followed the proper process and that actions were initiated on any issues found.
• Orientations - for new employees and contractors prior to starting the job.
• Bid process - an excellent opportunity to promote your safety programme with contractors prior to them even getting the job...allows for the opportunity for you to determine their past history and if they are a high risk contractor.
• Team meetings - with a dedicated safety topic in the presentation like what Wes detailed.

Think outside of the box - in others, be creative. Find communication methods that work for you...and don't forget to keep records of the communication taking place!

[SteelMaiden]

We use:
Orientation - training record.
Weekly crew meetings - training record.
Weekly contractor meetings - training record.
Monthly safety topic based on OSHA requirements, there is a matrix set up to show topics vs. personnel required to undergo recurring OSHA training. These are short videos with a test that are taken individually via the intranet and tests are electronically logged with username and test score - training record.
Pre-job briefings for large or specialty maintenance projects, things that are not an everyday or recurring task - training record.
Area inspection records - monthly safety and housekeeping audits.

[gpainter]

Look at the STOP Program by DuPont. We use it here as an awareness tool and has worked out well. Go to www.dupont.com/safety

[ScottK]

Originally Posted by gpainter

Look at the STOP Program by DuPont. We use it here as an awareness tool and has worked out well. Go to www.dupont.com/safety

I have used STOP in the past. I like it and am considering implementing it at my current place of employment.

[Crusader]

We have monthly safety inspection walk-thrus by an appointed team memebr and a meeting afterwards to discuss the saftey violations, other topics, etc. We're trying to improve our system. This thread is excellent.

[RCBeyette]

Our daily Safety Hour has been very productive! Every day (Monday - Friday) between 1100 and 1200, an assigned team inspects their assigned area.

Due to some recent issues noted with contractors and lock-out tag-out, my team has expanded to our two production areas if they are having a shared downday (as in today).

Notes are retained and any actions noted are entered into a follow-up log. We will also use our Employee Request System to assign tasks to individuals where we have found deficiencies.

Doing Safety Hour every day with a team of 4-5 people takes a lot of resources, but it's been a win-win. Our floor sees the committment towards safety and it allows people who traditionally remain in their administrative ivory towers to actually see what we do.