safety culture

Safety Goal-Setting Tips for a New Year

/ safetyb4beer

Goals Cropped with S

Well, it’s time to get back to the grind after a nice holiday break.  It’s also a time for fresh starts and goal-setting for a new year.  It can be tricky to set safety goals in advance – sometimes it’s difficult to quantify how many incidents and accidents were prevented, or will be prevented.   However, there are some solid ways to set attainable goals for safety in your workplace.  Here some tips to set a tone for a very productive and safe year:

Think of safety goals as two categories – Quantitative (numbers) and Qualitative (how are you going to achieve that number?)

For example, start with your company’s injury rate, a quantitative goal – can it be lowered?   What about the number of safety inspections – can the amount be increased?  What about the number of employees participating in your safety program?  All great ways to lay out quantitative metrics.

Okay, you have a number.  Now think, how is your company going to get to that number? Is it by an emphasis program (ie. PPE usage), increased training, increased audits?  Come up with a statement outlining concrete steps or strategies to hit that quantitative metric.  Plan a timeline to carve the metric into smaller chunks that you can target to meet on a regular basis (monthly or quarterly). Measure how well you are performing to that goal, and determine ways to change the game if you’re falling behind your targets.

Look at the low hanging fruit

Are there incidents happening over and over again  or is your facility not in compliance with an OSHA standard?  Are you so perfect, you can’t stand yourselves?  Think of the future with an aging workforce – is it time to implement ergonomic programs to prevent injuries?  What about implementing a behavioral based safety program?

My best advice: include employees in the goal setting process

Hopefully, you have some ideas brewing in your head.   Setting a safety goal that is not achievable can be a huge drag for the rest of year and can also bring the overall effectiveness of your safety program down.   Employees can give great feedback, and involvement and can also motivate participation in strategies to achieve the safety goals.

 

 

4 Tips for Developing a Safety Culture at Your Brewery

/ safetyb4beer

Grimes electrical

Although developing a safety culture takes a great deal of effort and time, here are some tips to get your brewery on the right track:

Tip # 1 – Open communications with employees

Give employees an open way to communicate safety issues.  Don’t wait for employees to tell you.  Ask questions at production meetings, such as, “I noticed safety glasses are not being worn, any reason why?”  When asked, employees will tell.  

Tip #2 –  Be an example

There is nothing worse than telling someone else what to do, then not following the same rules.  Not cool.

Tip #3 – Be positive

When correcting a safety behavior, be positive first, then point out a way to improve.  Nobody likes getting a lecture on the job.  

Tip #4 – Care

The whole reason for creating a safety culture is because you care about your employees, and employees should care about the people working around them.  Encourage employees to speak up when they see risky conditions or behavior.  Point out that this will save someone from getting injured, and give them the ability to hold their kids or pet their dog when they get home.