Safety in the workplace is of paramount importance for any organization. Ensuring a safe and secure working environment for employees is essential for business success, as well as for the well-being of the people who are employed there. A critical aspect of workplace safety is regular safety observations. Safety observations are an important tool for assessing the safety of a work environment, identifying potential hazards and ultimately creating a safer work environment for everyone. This blog post will discuss the purpose and benefits of safety observations, and provide guidance on how to ensure effective safety observation processes in the workplace. The importance of safety observations cannot be overstated – it is essential for businesses to incorporate them into their safety protocols in order to ensure the safety and security of their staff.
What’s included in a safety observation?
A safety observation includes the following elements:
What is a safety observation?
A safety observation is a formal assessment of workplace safety procedures. In order to identify both positive and negative safety behaviors, address them, and record them for reporting purposes, managers, supervisors, or other employees conduct safety observations in person. Workplace conditions and employee behavior in relation to established safety procedures and expectations are included in safety observations.
Organizations frequently incorporate safety observations into their overarching strategy for worker safety and legal compliance. Other strategies may include:
Who uses safety observations?
The following industries, where there are inherent risks in employees’ daily tasks, are likely to have safety observations:
How to conduct a safety observation
The procedures you can follow to conduct, document, and analyze a safety observation are as follows:
1. Determine a time
Pick a time for your safety observation when you can observe employees going about their daily business. To maximize your assessment, you should also try to schedule safety observations when you can see the most employees.
2. Create a checklist
Create a checklist to follow during your safety observation. Typically, professionals organize the checklist by area. The different categories depend on your facility and industry. For instance, a warehouse’s safety observation might include the following sections:
3. Consider safety management software
Look into safety management tools to simplify and compile your safety observations. Utilizing specialized software can guarantee accuracy and consistency in safety reports. It can also make it simple for you to search past reports and spot patterns in safety issues that your team might need to address. Many programs come with a mobile app that lets you access your software even when you’re offline and without an internet connection. You can complete safety observations and reporting more quickly and effectively with the aid of safety management software.
4. Make initial observations
You must spend several minutes observing a worker or an area of the workplace in order to conduct a safety observation. Pay attention to the employees’ behavior and any potential oversights. Look at the work area and check for cleanliness.
5. Offer encouragement or guidance
If you observe a worker violating a safety policy, provide direction to help them rectify the situation and outline the risks involved. Speak politely but firmly so that staff members are aware of the gravity of the situation. To help employees understand how they can behave better, you can also ask them questions. Consider a worker on a construction site who is not donning a hard hat, for instance. What are your responsibilities for the day? Do you feel adequately protected from potential risks? What would happen if the beam they’re carrying above us came loose?
Encourage any staff members exhibiting safety-conscious behavior and have nearby crew members discuss what they are doing correctly.
6. Record your findings
Make sure to note every observation you make, both positive and negative findings. Note the names of the staff members you spoke with and any potential environmental or construction hazards.
7. Report to your supervisor or stakeholders
Share your report with company owners or other stakeholders. Additionally, you can make suggestions for how to deal with any safety problems, like arranging for machine upkeep, mentoring, and additional training. If you are employing safety management software, you can send your report to the relevant parties directly. Consider printing copies of your report and recommendations for each attendee if you are meeting with supervisors so they can easily follow along.
8. Involve employees
Encourage employees to be a part of workplace safety initiatives. Your company should put safety first and demonstrate to employees that you care about their health and wellbeing. Establish a procedure that enables staff members to report both successful safety events and safety violations. Make the reporting anonymous so that staff members feel more at ease providing feedback. Employees who consistently adhere to rules and practice safety should be commended.
9. Repeat safety observations frequently
Make safety observations a regular practice in your organization. This demonstrates to staff that your business is dedicated to giving them a safe working environment. Your productivity and efficiency can be maintained or increased by reducing workplace injuries. Additionally, having more safety data available for analysis can make it easier to pinpoint areas for improvement and create problem-solving plans.
BBS Safety Observations
FAQ
What is an example of a safety observation?
Employees should keep an eye out for actions that put unnecessary risks in danger as well as those that could be done better. Examples include workers who are not holding the handrails, are not wearing fall protection while in an elevated position, or are riding on the forklift’s counterweight.
What is a positive safety observation?
Seeing someone lift a box properly using manual handling techniques could be a positive safety observation. Someone using their knees, forgetting their brace, and lifting a box in a way that makes you wince from across the room is a bad safety observation.
What are the types of safety observations?
- Identify and control risk exposures.
- Reinforce safe behaviors.
- Drive a speak-up culture.
- Reduce employee injuries.
- Increase safety awareness.
How can we observe safety in the workplace?
- Your safety is your personal responsibility.
- Always follow the correct procedures.
- Never take shortcuts.
- Take responsibility and clean up if you made a mess.
- Clean and organize your workspace.
- Make sure the emergency exits and equipment are visible and accessible.
- Be alert and awake on the job.
