Safety management are one of the most cost-effective measures an employer could ever have in the workplace and this is possible through the implementation of illness and injury prevention programs.
Key Elements
A successful illness and injury prevention program must be composed of elements which aim at identifying the potential hazards in the workplace and designing a scheme for the managing such hazards. These key elements should basically include management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and prevention, education and training, and program evaluation and improvement.
Management Leadership
An organization who values and promotes a safety culture among its workers invests in leaders who are dedicated in maintaining a healthy and safe work environment but without sacrificing productivity. He or she understands that worker protection cuts business costs and that safety does pay off.
Worker Participation
In its efforts to achieve a healthy and a safe workplace, management should partner with its employees, after all they are the ones who are directly exposed to the many hazards of the daily operations. Safety and health programs achieve a higher rate of success through this management-employee cooperation.
Hazard Identification
Determining hazards in the workplace involves the process of evaluating the chemical and physical elements that may cause potential harm or injury to personnel exposed to these. This evaluation serves as a useful guidance in the comprehensive policy-making of an illness and injury prevention program.
Education and Training
Ongoing Education and training are both critical in occupational safety management. It is even more important that work-site safety goals and objectives are well understood by employees. Relevant safety and health aspects of the program are integral to all management training, new employee orientation and refresher courses.
Program Evaluation and Improvement
Periodic assessment of an illness and injury prevention program ensures its effectivity and long-term success. The management should set its goals for worker safety, track the success of the program as well as share results from its employees.
An illness and injury prevention program that is based on simple and sound elements will help decrease workplace injuries and illnesses, reduce costs and maintain a safe but productive overall business operations.
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