Make the “Near Miss” a “Good Catch”

“Near Misses” will always be a part of the safety world.  In fact, you want those long before you want an accident.  We know that reporting a good catch can have positive effects on your entire team.  Positive reinforcement of reporting near misses helps strengthen a positive safety culture. If anything, the reporting of a near miss should be celebrated and reinforced.  It’s through the entire conversation around the near miss that allows for better communications about safety.

When you reward the “Good Catch” you ensure that your whole team becomes aware of the importance or reporting incidents.  Whatever system you use make sure to make it as simple as possible.  Too many organizations make it so complicated that employees avoid such reporting entirely.

We should all want to know about the little things so they aren't big things in the future. Encouraging reporting of ‘good catches” will help you uncover those little things.

The wording, “Good Catch” while meaning the same thing, is much more positive, and encourages response.  Some clients also provide minimal types or rewards as positive reinforcement given publicly to acknowledge the reporter.

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

Challenges to Implementing Successful Behavior-Based Safety Programs

The simple methodology of BBS was founded on the principle that you can improve workplace safety by understanding what motivates employees to make unsafe choices on the job.

While BBS programs can be difficult to implement and measure, a successful program will ultimately improve workplace safety.  With the addition of data from predictive analysis, uncovering factors that influence risky decision making can be used to better educate employees on behaviors that affect their safety performance. 

However, when implementing BBS programs, there are common challenges safety executives often encounter:

Don’t shift Your Safety Effort Entirely onto the Employee. 

A successful safety culture requires participation across all managerial levels from executives to front-line workers.  Don’t forget employers must still do their part to minimize risk by educating employees about the potential hazards associated with their role, with regular hazard assessments and training before sending them out on the job.

Employee Engagement is Critical

Recent surveys show that 91% of safety professionals feel the most important element of an effective workplace safety program is direct employee participation.  From that perspective, BBS and engagement go hand in hand.  BBS offers instant recognition for workers for

positive safe behaviors and they feel like valued contributors to the company.

Workers empowered to become safety advocates foster two way communications between management and employee that is an integral part of employee engagement.

BBS Allows You to Move from Negative to Positive Safety Culture

In the past, safety managers often relied on punishment rather than using positive reinforcement to shape employee behavior.  In a BBS program management can introduce a corrective action process for spotting hazards in which that safe behavior is rewarded.

 This in turn helps to build a celebratory safety culture where you can expect an environment where positive safe behaviors are increased, hazards are minimized incidents are reduced.

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

How to Stop Workplace Hazards Before They Happen

It is essential that the employees report safety hazards when they are encountered. Employees are the most familiar with the detail and functions of the job or the jobsite and it is critical that they become the communications conduit to maintaining the safety of that job function. 

However, many employees are reluctant to report the dangers that may be encountered.  They can fear reprisals from management or simply don’t feel comfortable approaching higher management in these situations.  While this  may seem unlikely to most management, it nevertheless can happen and often does…as attested by studies for the last few years showing that the number of complaints filed with OSHA by workers who claimed to have been penalized increased by 50%.    Of course, reporting hazards is not only helpful, it is mandatory by the clear rules set up by OSHA in VPP in 2015.

Some Fundamentals Things You Can Do To Encourage Reporting

For the last few months, we interviewed several client safety professionals who had implemented hazard abatement programs in their companies.  Following is list of several of the ideas they shared with us about their progams:

• Assure employees that management will not retaliate in any way when a hazard is reported.  In fact consider this action as a time for recognition and reward

• Set up an easy process for reporting, don’t make it arduous or time consuming and clearly set up the chain of command involved.

• Have a sense of urgency and set up a timeline from reporting to the rectification

• Make sure your employees understand the consequences of not reporting hazards, which could
  
  include illness, injury or loss of life and in addition lead to financial penalties for themselves or their employers

• Set up a feedback mechanism so employees can see that their reporting results in a positive action of the hazard being removed and dangerous workplace habits corrected

• Publically acknowledge and recognize the employees’ and/or department’s initiative to report, with special mention in company communications, visits and meetings with appropriate executives, special celebrations etc.

• Positively issue each employee involved with an appropriate tangible award in recognition of their accomplishment in correcting serious hazards and as a reminder that they all share the responsibility of the wellbeing of their co-workers

• Institute recertification or re-training sessions with emphasis on best practices and new strategies now being employed

When you put these steps into action you are completely changing the dynamics about a subject that could have easily been a difficult negative turning it into something that is completely positive. 

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net