Many California companies recognize the seriousness of a workplace accident and openly acknowledge that extreme incidents could immediately compromise their organization. To mitigate the risks of hiring employees and relying on them to assume responsibility for operating critical parts of the company, corporate leaders often go to great lengths to develop and implement a functioning safety management program.
While the concept is promising in that it suggests a mechanism for providing education about avoiding dangerous behaviors, such programs are actually quite useless unless they have been developed with the unique circumstances of an organization in mind. When a company is able to identify the risks that are unique to both its industry and its individual processes, they can much more effectively develop a program that addresses each risk and hazard with critical attention to detail.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, structurally sound safety management programs actually do help to prevent workplace injuries by providing education to employees about how to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Guidelines are also provided about how to react in situations where an accident does happen and people’s lives are at risk.
The Society for Human Resource Management suggests that companies involve their employees in the process of implementing their safety management programs through frequent training, teaching them protocols for reporting hazards and encouraging regular site inspections to identify potential risks. Well-trained and educated employees can play an invaluable role in seeing that the safety management program is actually being used and in providing insight into its overall effectiveness.