How Can Organizations Manage Workplace Safety?
Safety managers can reduce on-the-job accidents and lawsuits by determining the risks that are particular to their industry, becoming aware of the dangers presented to visitors and new hires and foreseeing problems that could occur under plausible scenarios. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. “The safety department has to know the specific hazards,” said Patricia S. Eyres of Litigation Management & Training Services, Inc., Long Beach, Calif. Not only should safety managers try to determine the everyday hazards in their industries, but they also should look at foreseeable conditions, she said. Some areas, for instance, are prone to earthquakes, while others might have volcanoes or chemical plants nearby. Managing risk, not safety. A risk manager or consultant also should focus on how the company can improve safety, said Don Hughes, a loss prevention consultant with National Farmers Union Insurance Company. “The focus should be on the positive,” he stressed during a Sept. 16 interv
