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THE SUPERVISOR’S ROLE IN SAFETY

A Safety Prevention Course for Shipyard Supervisors

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This material was produced under grant SH20859SHO from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.  It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Training Topics• Importance of accident prevention• Workers Compensation• Your role as a supervisor• Inspiring safe behavior • Training your team• You set the example!• Hazard Assessment and Control• Accident investigation• Legal Responsibilities• Summary

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Importance Of Accident Prevention

Loss of production

Accident prevention costs

Re-training costs

Equipment /material damage

Lower morale

Pain and suffering

It’s the human thing to do!!

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Worker’s Compensation

• What is workers compensation?

• What are the benefits?

• Physician Pre-designation

• Avoiding/Reporting injuries

• Fraud

• Getting more info on workers comp

• Summary

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• Created Over 85 yrs. Ago to Provide Benefits for Injured Employees

• Overhauled in 1993 to address soaring premiums and costs.

• Weekly Benefit raised from a max of 330/wk. to 490/wk. (Tax Free)

• Cash Benefit Paid after 3rd day of inability to work*

• Must accept/reject the claim in 90 days

What is Workers Comp?

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• Medical treatment

• Cash payments – Temporary Disability payments (Industrial leave etc..)– Permanent Disability Payments if you can’t completely

recover

• Rehabilitation services

• Death Benefits

What Are The Benefits?

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• Form must be completed prior to injury

• Allows employees personal physician to treat

• Physician decides: – What type of what light duty work can be done– When you return to work– Refers you to specialists if necessary

• Chiropractors can be pre-designated also*

Physician Pre-Designation

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Avoiding/Reporting Injuries

• Follow all Safety Guidelines

• Contact Safety Section with Suggestions

– Report Unsafe Working Conditions– Question Extremely Hazardous Situations

• Report all injuries immediately– Fill out Minor Injury form for less serious injuries

• Supervisors need to investigate all injuries

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Fraud

• Knowingly files claim for injury that didn’t occur

• Felony– 5 years State Prison– $50,000 Fine

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Fraud Consequences

In Fiscal Year 2008-09, the district attorneys reported a total of:

• 560 arrests

•District attorneys prosecuted 1,090 cases with 1,221 suspects

•555 convictions

•Restitution of $23,767,448

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Worker’s Compensation Summary

• Keep abreast of your rights

• Develop Safe Work Habits

• Report injuries within 24hrs

• Never file false claims

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• Supervisors play a key role

• Supervisors must handle many challenges

• This session reviews these practices to assist you as a supervisor

Your Role As A Supervisor!

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• Training your team

• Communicating with

• Role Modeling

• Enforcing the rules

• Coaching your team

• Conducting hazard assessments

• Conducting accident investigations

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Your Role In Accident Prevention

Leaders….

• Earn respect• Respect others• Are trustworthy• Communicate clearly• Provide constructive feedback• Plan and follow-up• Develop “people skills”

Inspiring Safe Behaviors

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Creating A Safety Culture

• Organizational systems• Policies and procedures• Hiring practices• Training practices

• Physical Environment• Hazards• Facilities• Tools and equipment

• People • Norms• Skills and knowledge• Team characteristics

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Coaching Your Team

• Establish clear expectations

• Recognize good performance and behavior

• Council performance and behavior that does not meet expectations

• Focus on behaviors and not on attitudes

• Role model performance and behavior

• Ask for improvement ideas

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Training Your Team

• Be prepared

• Explain what is in it for your trainee

• Provide context… how does what they are learning fit into the

“big picture”

• Put task into digestible chunks

• Practice, practice, practice!

• Provide on-going feedback

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• Speaks clearly

• Organized

• Approachable

• Patience

• Uses a consistent approach

• Reads their participant(s)

• Knowledgeable

The Characteristics of a Good Trainer

• Prepared

• Flexible

• Good listener

• Positive attitude

• Makes others feel comfortable

• Gives positive feedback

• Confident

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Remember…

I do it normal,

I do it slow,

You do it with me,

Then off you go!

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You Set The Example

• Follow all the rules

• Encourage all management to follow all the rules.

• The “little things” count as much as the “big things”

• No exceptions

• Be consistent and don’t play favorites

• Your team will watch you and if your words don’t match your deeds will ignore your words!

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Hazard Assessment And Control

• Effective Safety and Health Management Systems have a procedure that is used to identify, assess and control safety and health hazards. The results of hazard analyses are considered in determining:

• Interim Measures

• Engineering Controls

• Administrative Controls

• Personal Protective Equipment

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Hazard Assessment

• A Hazard Assessment is a written, formal appraisal of the safety risks that exist within a workplace.

• A Hazard Assessment is often performed by the safety team during a walk-through.

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Job Safety Analysis

• A Job Safety Analysis is an organized approach that involves the worker and supervisor or safety technician taking the following steps:

• Observing the task• Breaking the task down into

activities or steps• Analyzing each step for safety

or operational needs• Recommending procedures to

meet those needs

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Accident Investigation

• Below are the three reasons we should always investigate an accident:

• Find the cause• Prevent similar accidents• Protect company interests

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Accident Investigation Process

• A thorough accident investigation process is:

• Control the scene• Gather data• Analyze data• Write the final report• Implement corrective action

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Supervisor’s Legal Responsibilities

• You have an ethical and moral duty as a supervisor for workplace safety

• You have a legal duty as a supervisor for workplace safety

• Cal OSHA/Federal OSHA

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• Keep a safe and healthy workplace• Provide a safe work environment including training, ample

protection, safety equipment and hazard communication• Evaluate workplace hazards• Investigate and address safety and environmental hazards• Follow local, state and federal government laws regarding safety

and the environment• Keep accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses as well as

near misses• Record medical treatment beyond first aid• Assign proper personnel to manage the SHMS, including document

and control.

Management’s Specific Responsibilities

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• Misdemeanors and death– $250,000 for the individual– $500,000 for the corporation

• Knowingly Providing a False Statement– $10,000 fine– Imprisonment up to 6 months

Examples of Federal OSHA Criminal Penalties

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• Knowing or negligent violation– $5,000 fine– Imprisonment up to 6 months

• Repeat violation which “creates a real and apparent hazard– $15,000 fine– Imprisonment up to 1 year– $150,000 if a corporation

• Failure to timely abate which “creates a real and apparent hazard”– $15,000 fine– Imprisonment up to 1 year– $150,000 if a corporation

Examples of California OSHA Criminal Penalties

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California Case Study  2 Charged in Workers’ Deaths at Dairy

• In what is believed to be California's first manslaughter prosecution in a farm case, Patrick J. Faria, a dairyman, and Alcino Sousa Nunes, a dairy foreman, were charged with the involuntary manslaughter of two workers that fainted from waste fumes and then drowned in a pool of liquid manure.

• The dairy, Faria, and Nunes were also charged with multiple felony safety violations including not providing adequate training and respiratory equipment, and not testing for or eliminating hazardous gases.

• The dairy faced up to a $1.5 million fine, while Nunes and Faria each faced $250,000 in fines and a maximum prison term of four years, if convicted.

• Nunes entered into a pretrial plea agreement.

• Faria went to trial and was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. (Los Angeles Times, B1, 2/15/03) (34 O.S.H. Rep. (BNA) 988 (2004))

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California Case Study Safety Officer, General Manager Charged in 2001 Chico Explosion

• In the second felony case bring pursued by the Worker Safety Circuit Prosecutor Project, Northern Lights Mechanical and its two employees, Howard Jacobsen and Bob Derrick, have each been charged with six felony violations of California Labor Code §6425(a) in connection to a sludge tank explosion.

• Derrick, the on-site safety officer, was charged for his alleged failure to perform assigned duties, and Jacobsen, the general manager for Northern Lights, for his failure to ensure that safety standards were adhered to.

• One worker was killed and another was permanently impaired when static electricity ignited remnant fumes within the tank.

• Both Jacobsen and Derrick face jail sentences of up to 18 years each plus $2.55 million in fines, but the prosecuting Worker Safety Circuit Prosecutor Project attorney (Kyle Hedum) has stated that maximum sentences are unlikely.

• Northern Lights faces $15.3 million in fines and DOSH-proposed penalties of nearly $250,000. (Cal-OSHA Reporter, v.29, n.19, 5/10/02)

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Summary

• Supervisors play a key role in creating a safe work environment

• Your job is to:– Inspire your team– Train your team– Set the example!– Conduct hazard assessments– Conduct accident investigations

• Your legal responsibility is to comply with Federal and California OSHA regulations

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This material was produced under grant SH20859SHO from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.  It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.