OSH 410W: Assignment 1 Mohammed Alamri

Management Philosophy for Occupational Safety

Safety program can be written by anyone, but commitment and involvement by everyone is
required to implement and develop a robust safety culture. The philosophy behind creating a safety
system is to develop a process which includes every worker within organizations for achieving
excellence in safety. Such a system could only be implemented through involvement of everyone.
Similar to the dependence of strength on the weakest member, safety of staff only as safe as the
least-exposed worker. In a robust safety culture, each worker takes care of their own safety as well
as the safety of people working around them. An effective philosophy would be able to beget
change in behavior which becomes the part of daily habits and lifestyle of an individual, whether
at work or at home.

Safety management program should be continuous evolving. Safety philosophy should be kept at
center of every task performed within the organization. Instead of just writing down procedures,
SOPs, policies, reports, and instructions, the safety should be made as essential part of
organization’s strategic and mission plans. Following approaches should be made essential part of
the safety management philosophy; comprehensive safety programs, risk management systems,
continuous training, risk-free worksites, updates on material/ equipment safety, site inspections,
and OSHA assistance and visits (PETERSON, 1988).

Implementation
Safety management system should be consistently implemented through target-setting on current
employees and training of new-comers. Safety management program should ensure constant
training of all the prospective and current workers. Safety program should be utilized as refresher
of safety management philosophy even for safety-conscious workers (Baxendale & Jones, 2000).

Elements
To ensure safe work environment for everyone, safety management system should encompass all
essential elements of safety which require due attention. Health and safety should be made
essential pat of business process through safety management philosophy. An effective system for
safety management would ensure the organization has processes for management of
responsibilities, reporting, resourcing, and planning to ensure safe work environment for everyone.

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OSH 410W: Assignment 1 Mohammed Alamri

Below-given six elements are essential for a safety management program;

 Reporting;
 Supervision;
 Monitoring;
 Induction and training;
 Processes, policies and procedures;
 Safety plan;

Adopting merely a satisfactory management system is not enough; rather, organization should
implement this system more proactivity. To achieve this, following should be ensured;

 Workers shall be subjected to continuous supervision;

 Workers shall be properly trained;
 Workers shall comply with instructions, procedures, and legislation at all times.

Reporting
Safety reporting should be made essential part of administration of governance structure at all
company levels and not just the upper management. Workers should be aware of what safety is –
they should have understanding or rights and wrongs for reporting. Workers should receive feedback
from safety supervisor, for example, number of identified hazards, levels of risk associated with
hazards, and potential control methods.

Supervision
Adequate supervision is key to ensure that workers are having sufficient obligation with regards
to their responsibilities. If the level of safety controls implemented within organization are low,
high level of supervision would be required i.e. higher the supervision if fewer effective methods
are utilized as control measures.

Monitoring
Requirements and circumstances dictate the obligation to monitor the workplace. Level of risk
should be duly considered before setting the monitoring criterion. More detailed and frequent
monitoring shall be done if risks are higher.

Monitoring should be necessary in following circumstances;

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OSH 410W: Assignment 1 Mohammed Alamri

 At times of investigation after an incident took place;

 After implementation of new risk-assessment, to ensure that all potential risks have been
covered in the program.

Induction and Training

Everyone who is part of the workforce should be subjected to proper training and awareness
programs. Below-given aspects should be ensured in training;

 Rules related to worksite/ station they are working on;

 Rules regarding overall workplace;
 Safety rules implemented throughout the company.

Processes, Policies and Procedures;

Processes, policies, and procedures should encompass all the safety management information and
infrastructure utilized within the organization. Paperwork should be utilized to describe the record-
keeping, expectations, safety related behaviors, incident notifications, near-misses, and incident
reports.

Safety Plan
A robust safety plan should be made part of the overall business plan. Safety plan should be
focused on prospective and current risks within the organization. It should include comprehensive
strategies to mitigate those risks and control measures.

Through safety plan, adequacy of administration structure shall be ensured within the organization.
It would ensure that workers understand their obligations with regards to safety.

References
Baxendale, T., & Jones, O. (2000). Construction design and management safety regulations in
practice—progress on implementation. International Journal of Project Management, , 33-
40.

PETERSON, J. (1988). The philosophy of occupational safety and health regulation. American
Industrial Hygiene Association Journal,, 137-142.