Spring Safety Zone: Safe Driving | Culture of Safety | Survey Use

Spring 2022 Safe Driving Saves Lives Driving can potentially be the most dangerous part of your work day. That is why it is so important to minimize distractions and drive safely to protect yourself and others on the roadways. It is easy for drivers to become distracted by their phone, eating, reading or passengers in the car. Even with fewer people on the roadways due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there were still many occupational fatalities related to transportation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, transportation incidents accounted for 1778 occupational fatalities in 2020. Remember to take your time, slow down and be cognizant of your surroundings. With April being National Safety Council's Distracted Driving Awareness Month, take this time to evaluate your driving behaviors and become a safer driver. Check out the safe driving tips below and help keep Missouri roadways safe. Wear your seatbelt. Be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to sudden changes in traffic around you. Look out for pedestrians and roadway debris. Obey the posted speed limits. Avoid aggressive driving behaviors. Don't be tempted by another bad driver. Use caution in inclement weather. Slow down and leave extra space between yourself and others. Minimize distractions in your vehicle. Avoid eating, reading, and using your phone. Slow down in work zones. Avoid driving while tired. Steps to Achieve a Safety Culture Achieving and maintaining a safe workplace requires strong leadership throughout a company's organization. Safety leaders consistently lead by example, communicate the value of maintaining a safe work environment, and promote safe working behavior. A strong safety culture begins with top management. The desire to create a safe working environment for each worker must reside at the highest level of the organization. This is best communicated by developing a strong safety policy statement that reflects the values of the organization. Once the policy statement is established, it's up to the managers and supervisors to properly communicate it to staff.  Training is an integral part of a strong safety culture. There are two main areas of training: training for the job and required training for OSHA-mandated programs.  Training for the job includes properly created PPE Hazard Evaluations, Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), and correct machine-specific work procedures. There should also be a way to test the employee to make sure the training has been retained. The second area of training is required training on OSHA-mandated programs. Although this list may vary due to the requirements of each facility, if employers truly want to move to developing a safety culture, they should have the OSHA-mandated programs in written form and make sure they are correctly communicated to all employees. To establish a strong safety culture, the organization will need strong support from upper management. Managers and supervisors must buy into the process because they are the ones that must sell it to the employees. There needs to be strong written work processes and safety programs. To achieve a strong safety culture, employees need to believe that they deserve a safe working environment and be willing to work toward that goal. Culture/Perception Surveys The use of surveys is a good tool to engage employees and challenge management. When properly designed and used, surveys provide an opportunity for employees to improve their work environment by defining specific areas where policies, training and supervision is satisfactory or challenging.  Management can take the information gained to drive changes and improvements within the organization. Initial surveys establish a baseline of the current workforce's culture and perceptions within the organization. Surveys should be short and concise, contain open-ended questions, and allow for confidentiality.  Follow-up surveys should be performed at regular intervals to measure progress in improving areas of concern.  To show surveys are taken seriously by management, the results of surveys should be widely shared within the organization and workforce. Any objectives to improve the organization designed by management based on the surveys should also be communicated. Overall, this tool can drive continuous improvement in the workforce engagement, improve morale and employee retention, productivity, quality of product output and customer satisfaction. Upcoming Events & News The annual Workers' Memorial Day Ceremony will be held April 25, 2022, at the Missouri State Capitol. Contributing authors: Mark Frerking – Health and Safety Supervisor Breanna Reimund – Health and Safety Analyst Brian Jones – Health and Safety Analyst   Questions? Contact Us STAY CONNECTED: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Subscriptions  |  Help This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Missouri Department of Labor · P.O. Box 59 · Jefferson City, MO 65104-0059 · 1-800-320-2519