Implementation of Safety Culture

Question: Discuss about the Implementation of Safety Culture. Answer: The safety climate is defined as the emphasis on the safety practices at any point of time in the organization. The safety climate refers to the perception of the employees and the workers related to the health and safety culture practiced in the organization. It is a related term to thee safety culture but denotes entirely different thing. While, safety culture denotes the safety measures, techniques and methods used in the organization, safety climate denotes the perception of the employees related to the importance of the safety. Therefore, it can be critiqued that safety of the organization is dependent on the safety climate of the organization. The workers and the employees will practice the safety methods only when they understand the importance of following them and the mishaps and the accidents that can occur due to negligence. In spite of the safety equipment several employees do not follow safety measures due to carelessness. The safety climate denotes the practices followed by the organization and encompasses all the perceptions, beliefs, value and opinion of the workers regarding the safety. An employer is legally obliged to create a safe and healthy workplace environment. It includes usage of the machinery, equipment and influencing the perception of the workers that ensure workplace safety. It is also duty of the employer to create a safe work environment in the organization (Touzet, 2004 May). An employer must maintain the workplace in a condition where the workers are not exposed to hazards or risks and must provide instructions and training regarding safe workplace practices. The safety climate is an important asset to the organization to control the workplace mishaps and accidents. It is related to safety measures and provides means to measure the perception of the workers regarding the safety culture in their organization. The safety climate of an organization can be measured by examining the importance of the perception and the view point of the employees regarding the safety methods. The safety climate is integral in combating the workplace hazard and accidents. The leaders and the management are critical in developing safety climate in the organization. The management can develop a safety intervention program that can educate the workers regarding the importance of the safety in the workplace (Zizzo, 2011). The intervention may include workshops with the managers or department head and coaching sessions. The leader should also give value to the feedback and input of the employees regarding the safety problems and issues. The management of the organiz ation can also modify the job designs to provide clear safety responsibilities for the managers. Other than that, the employees and the workers should be acknowledged regarding the safety by enforcing accountability in the actions of supervisors and the workers. It is important that a company trains its personnel regarding safety practices and how to protect themselves. The training should encompass how to handle instruments with safety guidelines and how to handle situations in case of mishaps or workplace accidents. In developing the safety culture within the organization, the management must focus on three elements of safety culture, namely, self-regulation, culture of self-regulation and culture of compliance. These elements will assist the organization in creating an understanding and appreciation of the safety practices followed in the workplace. It is also important that the management encourages its senior employees to make safety and environmental awareness its highest priority (Touzet, 2004 May). The new employees should be provided with a safety orientation regarding the safety regulation and emergency procedure required in the job. Along with it, they should be provided regular training regarding the safety issues in their specific department and how to compete their jobs safely. The workers should also be provided regular retraining when the job standards are changed, job changes or employee remain absent from the organization for a long time. The Company can encourage personal participation and motivation by increasing the possibility of the workplace promotion for the employees who conduct safety practices. The employees should also be provided recognition regarding their performance. The business organizations can promote safety culture by identifying it as a matter of self-interest. The workers will also understand that adopting safety culture will reduce the chances of mishaps and the companies should also understand that maintaining safety culture will reduce the investment and cost to the organization. It also provides the business orga nizations to implement management and control system that reduces the cost of operations and increases the operational efficiency (Zizzo, 2011). The safety clime is responsible for the health, safety and the climate issues in the organization. References Krause, T.R. (2005). Leading with Safety. London: John Wiley Sons. Touzet, R.E. (2004, May). The practical implementation of Safety Culture. In Proc. 11th International IRPA Congress, Madrid, Spain (pp. 23-28). Zizzo, S. (2011). 8 steps to a strong safety culture. ISHN. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ishn.com/articles/91474-8-steps-to-a-strong-safety-culture [Accessed on: 2 January 2017].