Is this your safety program?
If you answered “yes”, then it is time to dust off and look at your Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). Remember, the IIPP IS your safety program. It IS NOT an expensive document that just sits on the shelf in case CalOSHA walks in. Make sure all eight (8) required elements are alive AND effective:
- RESPONSIBILITY: Who is the person in your organization responsible to oversee the IIPP?
- COMPLIANCE: Are employees following the IIPP?
- COMMUNICATION: How is safety information shared to ensure the whole company gets it?
- HAZARD ASSESSMENT: How often are hazards assessed in your business?
- ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION: When doing an accident investigation, are you seeking understanding to improve OR to place blame? Always focus on improvement!
- CORRECTION OF HAZARD: Do employees know how to report or correct a hazard?
- TRAINING: Is this a lecture of dos and don’ts or do you educate so employees understand WHY you do things the way you do them?
- RECORD KEEPING: The training didn’t occur if it is not documented.
Every accident or near miss can be traced back to a breakdown of one of these eight elements. You can ask yourself: Was the employee properly trained? Did we communicate the hazard effectively? Did the employee know how to report or correct that hazard? Who was responsible for following up on that training or hazard correction?
For help on reviewing the effectiveness of your safety and insurance programs, contact Chad Watts with Bender Insurance Solutions at 916-380-5321 or cwatts@mybendersolutions.com
