Safety Plans Adopted By Safest Companies In The U.S.A.

In recent years, workplace security seems to be gaining the importance it deserves. Companies have started to look in the direction of safety plans. They engage teams to come up with ideas to ensure workplace safety. Occupational health aims at maintaining the highest mental, physical and social well-being. Companies in the U.S.A. as well as all over the world are trying to adopt measures to ensure the same. Likewise, they use measures like employment involvement, management support among others. As a matter of fact, companies realized that lowering the rates of worker claims is the only way to hold a place in the market. Let us look at what plans some of the safest companies in the U.S.A came up with. 

See something, say something

ACCO Brands, named to be one of the safest companies in the country, came up with this idea. They encouraged everyone to bring the attention of the supervisors to any kind of hazards they see. Furthermore, they hold meetings where they teach every one of the consequences of failing to do so at the right time. ACCO ensures employee involvement in all aspects of the process. Safety teams at job sites, role-playing, group discussions, and first aid teams make a large part of the process at the company. Also, all employees are also required to review and update their job hazard analysis documents annually. 

Risk management program

Risk management programs are nothing new, so what is so special about this one? M.C. Dean Inc. altered this program a bit. The operational risk management program that the company follows is an employee-based one. Their management personnel is required to solicit feedback on safety plans from employees. Additionally, they participate in risk assessment activities and safety meetings. The company, as a result, was able to reduce the compensation costs of workers. 

Safety Employee Engagement Model

The SEEM, as aforementioned, stands for Safety Employee Engagement Model. It consists of a safety team with an average of 30-35 employees at every site. The SEEM model finds its genesis in the National Office Furniture, now called National. This advanced safety model helped the company expand its safety team from an average of five members per team to a current count of 25-35. In addition to being one of the safest companies in the country, National believes in employee involvement. The Safety Director of the company credits this very force with the success of the company's safety plans. Their safety plan also included the Full Court Audits. These are said to be the opportunity for employees, managers, and safety coordinators to come together at one site. Together they discuss documentation and processes and bring into being action plans. 

A Four-tier safety approach

Being an electrical contractor requires immense safety and precaution if one wants to avoid injuries. Electrical Systems and Instrumentation Inc. made sure their core value is safety. The tiered approach they adopted employed workers of all levels. ESI assigned various safety activities to the groups. These safety activities are there to identify and then correct unsafe behaviors and situations. Safety communication on field observations, field supervision and auditing for meeting safety goals, behavioral-based safety observations, and compliance verification by electrical safety auditors all make up the four-tier approach. Not to mention, there are programs one each for all the different risks posed during work. The company makes it mandatory for all workers to use gloves while at work without fail. In fact, they do not allow possession of pocket knives of any type at the premises except the ones needed for use at specialty tasks.

Good Catch; Near Miss Program

A good catch is something that has the potential to cause an incident if not corrected timely. On the other hand, a near miss is defined as something that would likely cause an accident. Safety professionals at Atkins Energy America made quite efficient use of this concept. The company asks its employees to report any good catches or near misses. They believe in understanding why operations are successful as a part of providing a safe work environment. They hold anonymous annual safety surveys and encourage employees to voice their concerns. 

HSE Audits

Once every four months, the CEO of H + M Industrial EPC, Larry Hogan takes to the fields to perform an HSE audit. The management team also conducts these audits quarterly. At the HSE Leadership Team Meetings held monthly, the entire team discusses what they find in the audits. This way, the team also learns efficient and quick decision-making. 

All-inclusive safety committee meetings

Involving everyone from the president to the chief financial officer, Mangan Inc. holds safety staff sessions first thing every week. The management personnel at Mangan are obliged to attend safety committee meetings where they take suggestions from the employees. There is first-aid training held every year for the workers to attend voluntarily. Reports on injuries, safety efforts, and employee entries are all presented to the office directors. 

Safety is as important as work!

Since, occupational health has really come a long way with the most prominent companies bringing up new and innovative policies to ensure the safety of their employees. The claims by workers have seen a reduction in the past few years. True that companies have come to realize that if their employees are healthy mentally and socially, only then will they be able to produce the maximum output. To reach one's full potential; one must not only be disease-free but also in a sound mental and social state. A holistic approach is what is needed here. This is where safety plans come in. These are a way to ensure the overall well-being of the staff that is the heart and soul of any company. Occupational health still needs more attention, but there are reasons to keep our hopes high.