Safety Survey

Safety Survey – Detailed examination of one issue, topic:

It focuses on specific H&S topics like a survey of fire precaution, and is normally carried by a specialist.

A safety perception survey provides a quantitative measure of how employees feel about current safety policies and procedures, and provides them an opportunity to share their recommendations for improvement.Detailed report on main strengths and weakness with an action plan are normally produced as a result of survey.

E.g. Safety Opinion Survey, Safety Perception Survey, Climate Survey, Cultures Survey, Employee engagement surveys, Employee satisfaction Survey etc.

Safety Survey monitoring techniques helps in future safety performance:

• It helps to develop positive Safety Culture
• It provides more accurate measurements employees feel free to express their opinion.
• Surveys can reveal perception gaps , improvements and opportunities
• It is a cost effective method.

Safety Tours

Example -Management walk/Management visit

• It is a planned examination of the workplace to assess whether or not acceptable standard of housekeeping, access, fire etc. are being maintained.
• Some hazards may be identified but a tour gives a general impression rather than a thorough analysis of hazards .
• Tours by senior management can demonstrate the profile of commitment to H&S.
• The method is essentially a management style in which the managers walk around in unstructured and unplanned manner amongst the employees.

Objective & Advantages of Safety Tours

Example – Management walk/Management visit

• The objective is to interact with the subordinate sand supervise their work, while they are performing it.
• High-profile inspection including managers( e.g. works manager), Top Management, Safety Reps, Shift In-charge, engineer, Team Leaders etc.
• An opportunity to meet the employees at their workplace & it can be used to observe behaviours, too.
• Less time taken to Monitoring of safe systems at workplaces.
• Keeping an up to date knowledge on the current layout of the workplace & surrounding in place
• Identify and recommend improvements and corrective actions
• A chance to plan for further inspections
• It Enhance Employee Morale.
• Build Better Understanding of Operations.
• Build Positive Management/Employee Relations.
• Safety tours typically last 15 minutes or so and may be carried out after monthly intervals.

Planning of Safety Tours

• The reason for the tour e.g. law requires it
• The location or area (Identify the areas that you would like to visit)
• Date, time and duration
• Tour members
• Type i.e. announced or unannounced
• Method – checklist or direct observation
• Results of previous tours
• Remedial action and timescales
• Company rules and standards

Workarounds are not inspections. Successful workarounds focus principally on what employees are doing rather than on workplace conditions and predetermined specific behaviours. Remember, good workarounds are employee/supervisor partnering exercises, not compliance inspections.

Safety sampling

• It is a regular random exercise in which unsafe acts and conditions are noted and recorded. E.g. mistakes, violations , deficiencies, breaches, Non-complaisance.)
• The workplace is divided into routes , which assigned observers walk in an allotted time scale, noting incidenceof H&S defects on pre-prepared safety sampling sheet.
• The safety sampling sheets include tables of grouped and coded retrospective and prospective unsafe conditions and practices.
• Observers should report serious defects or hazards immediately.
• The number of non-compliance is then converted to provide a score of overall effectiveness of the safety performance.
Advantages:
• Representative sample to judge compliance.
• Less time-consuming, Low Cost ,

Safety Tours-Practice Question

Q- Explain how safety tours could contribute to improving H&S performance in an organisation.

Hint– Tour benefits should link with performance)( During tour , top management identify the compliance or non-compliance with performance standard,
During tour, talking to workers about their concern to improve performance)

Q- Explain how safety tours could contribute to improving H&S culture in an organisation.

( Hint – link with culture) ( like management showing commitments Which help to improve Culture.)
Note: Discussion of the specific H&S requirements, problems or standards that such tours may address, is not required.

See Also  –

Active and reactive monitoring

What are the advantages of Safety Survey over Safety inspection?

Health Surveillance