Using Your Star Resource: Involving Employees in the Safety and Health Process

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Development, Validation, Implementation and
Enhancement of a Voluntary Protection Programs
Center of Excellence (VPP CX) Capability for
Department of Defense (DoD)

• Using Your Star Resource Involving Employees in
  the Safety and Health Process

Department of Defense Voluntary Protection
Programs Center of Excellence Operated by
DoD Lead AgentOffice of the Assistant
Secretary of the Army (Installations and
Environment)
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Objectives

• During this presentation we will
• Define Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection
  Programs (VPP) requirements for employee
  involvement
• Identify meaningful employee involvement
  activities
• Describe how to establish and maintain successful
  employee safety and health (SH) committees.

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VPP Requirements for Employee Involvement
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VPP Requirements

• The establishment must enable and encourage
  effective employee involvement
• In planning and operation of the SH program
• In decisions that affect employees' SH.
• All employees must have at least three active and
  meaningful ways to participate in SH problem
  identification and resolution.

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Employee Involvement Examples
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Employee Involvement Examples

• Examples of employee involvement include
  participating in
• SH problem-solving teams
• Routine assessments or worksite inspections
• Accident and near miss investigations
• Hazard analysis and abatement programs
• Acting as safety observers
• Various SH committees.

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Employee Involvement Program Selection

• Consider establishing a VPP implementation
  committee with a subcommittee chartered to work
  on establishing employee involvement activities.
• Prioritize programs to implement based on
• Ability to involve a large number of employees
• Number of observed gaps program will help address
• Ease of implementation.

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Employee Involvement Program Development

• For employee involvement program development, a
  site should decide how to
• Collect metrics
• Maintain appropriate records
• Publish or communicate the results of these
  activities.

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SH Problem Solving Teams
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SH Problem-Solving Teams

• Establish teams of employees to participate in
  SH problem
• Identification
• Evaluation
• Resolution
• Making any necessary process changes.

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Routine Workplace Inspections
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Routine Workplace Inspections

• VPP requires monthly workplace inspections.
• A written inspection program should be developed
  and include
• Inspection schedule
• Members of self-inspection teams
• Record of findings/results
• How responsibility for abatement will be assigned
• How identified hazards will be tracked through
  timely correction.

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Employee Involvement in Workplace Inspections

• Involve employees in
• Helping to write/enhance the program for employee
  involvement
• Developing area or equipment-specific inspection
  checklists
• Participating in inspections.
• Train employees in the inspection process and
  hazard identification.

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Accident and Near Miss Investigations
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Accident and Near Miss Investigations

• The establishment must have a written process for
  investigating all near misses, incidents, and
  injury accidents, illnesses and deaths.
• All investigations should include
• Qualified team members to conduct the
  investigation
• Determination of the root cause and
  contributing factors
• (include written report)
• Established timetables for investigation and
  resolution
• Assignment of responsibility
• Appropriate follow-up, and dissemination of
  results to
• prevent occurrence at other locations.

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Hazard Analysis Program
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Hazard Analysis Program

• Involve employees in a program to identify
  hazards in jobs, tasks, or processes. Engage them
  to
• Assist in conducting a job hazard analysis (JHA)
• Identify needed changes/controls to make
  equipment or processes safer
• Conduct periodic review of JHAs
• Train other employees on job hazards.
• Train all employees in the hazards identified and
  controls methods.

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Job Hazard Analysis
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Safety and Health Observers
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Safety and Health Observer Program

• Involve employees in a safety and health observer
  program
• Assign observers to conduct daily informal
  observations
• Gather data and identify critical safety and
  health behaviors
• Provide positive and negative feedback to
  encourage improvement
• Use data to identify and improve SH management
  system weaknesses.

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Employee Involvement Ideas

• Employee involvement is as diverse as the
  establishment
• Conduct monthly emergency equipment inspections
  (e.g., fire extinguishers, first aid kits, eye
  washes, respirators)
• Participate as team members in Lean events
• Create emergency drill scenarios and
  debriefings
• Update emergency phone numbers and signs
• Review/update emergency evacuation maps
• Update safety communication posters or bulletin
  boards
• Host a VPP booth during a safety day or health
  fair.

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Safety and Health Committees
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SH Committee Purpose

• The purpose of the SH committee is to
• Bring workers and management
• together in a non-adversarial,
• cooperative effort
• Promote safety and health in
• the workplace
• Assist the installation with
• recommendations for
• change/improvement in the
• SH Management System.

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SH Committee Members

• SH committees should
• represent the organization
• Commander
• Directors
• Managers
• Supervisors
• Employees
• Union representatives
• Safety, health, and industrial
• hygiene professionals.

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Desirable Personalities for SH Committee

• Content-oriented
• Likes to make decisions
• Get to closure OK, next item
• Organized
• Punctual dependable.
• Process-oriented
• Information gatherers
• Flexible spontaneous
• Want to understand not control
• Interested in exploring options.

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SH Committee Initial Meeting

• Organize a kickoff meeting where all the members
  are present
• Establish key positions and responsibilities
• Chairman
• Vice Chairman
• Secretary.
• Set the goals for the year
• Publish goals throughout the installation
• Schedule routine meetings to be held throughout
  the year.

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SH Committee Activities

• Providing meaningful projects to work on is the
  key to an effective safety committee
• Example safety committee roles or functions
• VPP Steering committee
• Review track results of routine worksite
  inspections and employee reports of hazards
• Ergonomic program
• SH communication and training
• PPE evaluation selection.

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Tips for SH Committee Effectiveness

• Set clear expectations and goals
• Develop an agenda and stick to it
• Measure the committees progress
• Motivate committee members
• Encourage communication and dialogue among
  members
• Give members time for their duties.

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Tips for SH Committee Effectiveness

• Assign action items and follow-up
• Prohibit non-safety and health related issues
  during meetings
• Keep minutes and make available to all employees
• Recognize the committees accomplishments.

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SH Training

• Train SH committee
• members on
• Purpose of the committee
• Duties and functions
• Activities they will be
• tasked to do
• How to conduct an
• effective meeting.

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Summary

• During this presentation, topics discussed were
• OSHA VPP requirements for employee involvement
• Meaningful employee involvement activities
• How to establish and maintain successful employee
  SH committees.

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References

• DoD VPP CX Members Only Web Site
  (http//www.vppcx.org)
• Resources to support installations in
  implementing and sustaining VPP such as VPP best
  practices, training, etc.

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Questions?