What Topics Should Be Covered in a Pre-Job Safety Meeting?
Since accidents cost time, money and labor, and can even cause fatalities, having a pre-work safety meeting is a requirement in many companies. This is especially true in the construction or manufacturing industries, where hazards are always present. Unfortunately, many safety meetings are a boring resuscitation of facts, and as a result, many employees do not heed the warnings buried deep inside the rote verbiage. Making a safety meeting dynamic is the key to employees heeding the warnings and following safety procedures.
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Legal Issues
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The first statement in a safety meeting is that OSHA safety regulations are not optional but, in fact, laws. Anybody, whether an individual or an organization, not following the regulations is breaking the law and can be fined, such as when OSHA proposed over $96,000 in penalties against the Packaging Corporation of America (see reference 1). It should be stressed that individuals can be fined as well and that the company has a legal right to suspend or terminate anybody, up to the president, for not following OSHA rules.
Think Safety First
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The meeting leader should stress that this is an important concept. The question to ask before starting a task is: "Can I do this job safely?" If not, then obtain the necessary safety gear, such as tie-off lanyards or safety glasses. The meeting leader should not bore employees with an endless recitation of numbers, such as "Mandate number 125-56GL requires that..., Mandate number 34-52R requires that....". Get the point across firmly, and quickly, that thinking before acting is one of the best ways to work safely.
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
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It should be stressed that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is there for a reason: to stand between you and injury. The meeting leader must stress that he or she understands that while PPEs are bulky and sometimes cumbersome, accidents often happen faster than humans can react, and that an accident may not even be an employee's or the company's fault. For example, a bolt falls from overhead. This is not the employee's fault. However, the hardhat will protect the employee's head. If no hardhat was worn, then the possibility of injury or death would be great.
Duty To Warn
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The meeting leader should state that everybody in the company, from the resident to the janitor, has a duty to warn of an unsafe condition, such as a frayed hoisting cable.
Teamwork And Attitude
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It should be stressed that safety is a team effort. If an employee sees another associate working in an unsafe manner, then it should be called to that worker's attention, and he or she should be helped the to obtain the proper safety equipment. It should be also stressed that a good attitude is crucial, and that everybody should help each other.
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References
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