Thirteen signs that your health and safety management is in deep trouble

Monday, February 28, 2011

If any of these conditions exist in your workplace, it's a pretty safe bet that your health and safety program needs to be resuscitated

by DIANE HAROLD

We have all seen it before – dangerous work behaviours that leave you thinking, "Anyone with common sense would never do that!" The worker who fails to shut off the tractor while refueling or the worker that fails to turn off the combine before cleaning or removing a jam.

These workers should know better, right? WRONG! Workers will only perform their job based upon the information, training and supervision given to them by the employer.

Informing your workers about job-related hazards; training them so they can protect themselves and providing competent supervision goes a long way in preventing farm accidents.

Almost all accidents are preventable and are in the control of the safety management system.   Unless the old mentality of "it's the workers fault" or that these types of injuries are just "part of the job" ceases, accidents will be inevitable

If any of the following 13 signs exist in your organization, it's a pretty safe bet that your health and safety program needs to be resuscitated.

• Workers do not lock out/tag out machines or equipment when repairing or servicing them.
• Your farm has many little first aid accidents.
• New workers are not trained on how to work safely around animals, silos or confined spaces.
• Your equipment does not have guards on it.
• Your organization does not record any first aid treatments or accidents, or investigate them to determine the underlying causes.
• You don't have any written safety rules, procedures or policies (for example, for confined space entry of silos or grain bins or tractor safety.)
• Your supervisors do not know what their responsibilities are under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• Your farm does not conduct preventive maintenance or keep maintenance records.
• There is no system in place for identifying, reporting and controlling hazards.
• Your workers do not get orientation within the first few days of being hired.
• You do not have a disciplinary policy in place. When workers fail to follow procedures there are no consequences – unsafe behaviour is condoned.
• Workers use pesticides but have not received training on wearing personal protective equipment (e.g. respirators, masks).
• Workers do not conduct and document pre-operational checks on equipment, such as tractors.

If any of these conditions apply, you may have developed a false sense of security. You feel that a health and safety program is not necessary on your farm because you haven't had any accidents.

It's a mistake to get too comfortable. This just means that a specific sequence of events has not occurred yet to allow for an accident. You have just been lucky. It is simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time before that inevitable accident occurs.

Failing to prevent accidents on your farm can have many consequences, such as:

• Human suffering;
• Costs involved on time spent administering first aid;
• The Ministry of Labour issuing orders and fines for non-compliance;
• Legal costs;
• Property damage;
• Costs involved in investigating the critical injury or fatality;
• Cost and time spent completing the accident investigation report that must be submitted to the Ministry of Labour;
• Costs and time spent completing the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board report of injury or disease (Form 7);
• Costs of turnover;
• Retraining and replacement costs;
• Loss of reputation;
• Loss of customers;
• Loss of production due to during a critical injury or fatality investigation by the Ministry of Labour.

Don't wait until it's too late. You don't want to be one of those people who say, "I never thought something like this could happen to us!"

Understanding that farming accidents are preventable and taking proactive steps to protect your workers will reduce your risks, increase your profitability and prevent business interruption. BF

Diane Harold, CHRP, Human Resource Management, is owner/consultant for Human Resource Essentials in Kingsville, specializing in the agricultural sector.