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12/01/2004
Safety & Education Committee Update
New Tower Tools
You know the tools of your trade. Maybe you have that favorite wrench or hammer. Many tools are available to you to build and maintain towers. NATE committees have developed many safety and educational “tools,” but now your company has a safety program and they need you to be part of it. I would like to suggest a few tools that could help with that job. Whether you are the tower hand, the company owner, or field supervisor here are some new “tools,” and questions that can be used to help you evaluate your participation in a Safety and Health Program.
The Documentation Tool
• Are there one or more written programs that involve top-level management in safety and health activities?
• Are there one or more written programs that provide for employee participation in decisions about safety and health?
• Do training records show that every employee received the planned training?
The Employee Interview Tool
• Do hourly employees perceive that managers and supervisors follow safety and health rules and work practices, such as wearing appropriate personal protective equipment?
• Are employees aware of the ways that they can participate in decisions affecting their safety and health?
• When you ask employees what happens to people who violate safety and health rules or safe work practices, do they indicate that rule breakers are clearly and consistently held accountable?
The Site Conditions and Root Causes of Hazards Tool
• Are hazards ever found where employees could reasonably be expected to have previously recognized and reported them?
• Has a supervisor's lack of understanding of safety and health responsibilities played a part in creating hazardous activities or con-ditions?
• Have injuries occurred because employees at any level did not understand the importance of safety precautions in relation to other organizational values, such as production?
These questions may start the discussion about the level of understanding of safety and health rules where you work; or you could just use these tools to gauge your involvement in a safety and health program. You may have to move from discussion to action to get an answer to a question. Whatever your answers were to these questions I know you will continue to participate in your company’s safety and health program. Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Bob Schmeckpeper is a member of the NATE Safety & Education Subcommittee and is a Project Manager at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, Iowa. He can be reached at 712-274-6400 or schmecb@WITCC.com
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