Supervising Safety• Safety Leadership

• Being a Safety Trained Supervisor is a great deal about safety leadership. We’re going to spend some time now in this module to discuss some very specific aspects of leadership and its role insafety and health.

• Much of what we discuss here will directly impact the eight taskareas covered in the previous module. However, the primary objective in this module is to provide you with specific leadership concepts and tools.

Supervising Safety

Safety Leadership• Supervising safety• Planning for safety• Leadership skills• Management commitment• Coaching and mentoring• Safety culture

Supervising Safety• Supervisors Role in Safety

• The most important factor for implementing a good safety program is getting all supervisors, managers and employees actively involved and sharing ownership of the safety program. The solid commitment and involvement of supervisors is critical to the development and success of all safety programs.

• Occupational accidents and injuries are seldom caused by one single factor or cause. Most often there are a series of factors that contribute to an event and many of those can be traced back to amanagement system failure, often called root cause.

• Supervisors can help prevent injuries and incidents from occurring to new and existing employees by properly training them in the detection and mitigation of hazards that they will be working around. Always inform employees of the hazards that exist in their work area BEFORE they are assigned to perform work around the hazards.

Supervising SafetySafety in Construction• High Fatality Rates• In 2006, the construction industry experienced 1,226 fatal work

injuries, the most of any industry sector and an increase of 3 percent over 2005. These 1,226 fatalities represent an average of 5 construction workers across the United States that didn’t return home to their families each and every workday.

• In comparison, nearly twice as many construction workers lost their lives in 2006 than service men and women fighting in the Iraq War. How can it be more dangerous to work in an industry where you carry a lunch pail to work versus fighting a war where you carry a rifle to work? The construction industry employs 6% of the US workforce but accounts for 22% of the workplace fatalities… this dismal safety performance borders on criminal neglect, is totally unacceptable and is 100% preventable

Supervising SafetySafety in Construction• Spanish Speaking Laborers• The trade that experiences the highest incident rate of serious

injuries and deaths is the Construction Laborers trade. The reasons behind this high experience rate is that many laborers do not receive adequate training before they are told to perform tasks that have inherent risks associated with them. Laborers are often told to get in that hole or climb up there and get that done, performing jobs that no one else wants to do.

Supervising SafetySafety in Construction• Spanish Speaking Laborers• When you add the lack of adequate training with the fact that many

Hispanic laborers do not speak, read or understand English very well, you have a recipe for disaster.

• Always take the time to ensure your laborer workforce are well trained and fully understand the risks and the proper mitigations necessary to safely complete their tasks.

• The use of English to Spanish interpreters is the easiest way tobridge the communication gap. In addition, ensure that all hazard signs and written communications are posted in all languages commonly used on the job site.

Supervising Safety• Supervisors & Training

• Supervisors have the responsibility to ensure each employee receives proper training and fully understands the hazards that exist in their workplace, before they are allowed to perform work. Taking the time to develop a formal training program, that includes both classroom and on the job training, will allow your employees thebest possible chance at working safely through out their career.Students learn more quickly and retain information longer when ahands on approach is used.

• Just teaching them about the hazards will not be as effective aswalking the jobsite and showing them in person what hazards looklike and how to protect themselves. Developing your employees safety awareness through proper education and leadership will always pay huge dividends.

Supervising Safety• Management Accountability

• Many state laws now hold the “manager” accountable for their employee’s safety. That means that a supervisor can go to jail for failing to properly identify, train for, warn, supply critical PPE or mitigate known hazards in the workplace. Being a supervisor is a very important role and it is paramount that you have both sufficient training and authority to make decisions that affect your safety and the safety of your employees. Never assume that something is safe unless you have a job safety analysis, performed by a qualified person, for a particular task or job.

• Ensure that your employees are 100% clear on the minimum safetyrequirements to perform all work, before you allow their work tobegin. Always take the time to review and update safety procedures on a routine basis to ensure they are up to date and employing the latest and safest methods available.

Supervising Safety• Hazard Awareness

• In today’s ever changing workplace, supervisors must remain aware of all potentially hazardous conditions and changes that can and do occur throughout the jobsite. Everyday new hazards can develop such as new chemical deliveries, changing field conditions, maintenance issues with equipment, worksite coordination issues and a host of others that must be identified and mitigated to prevent employee exposure.

• Training your employees in hazard detection methods and implementing a formal safety audit process is a great way to ensure all eyes and ears are looking for hazards. Employee, supervisor and management participation and engagement in your company’s safety program is the best way to help ensure a safe place to work. Empowering employees to take accountability for their personal safety and the safety of their coworkers is the first step in developing an excellent safety culture, which will result in world class safety performance.

Planning for Safety• Proactive vs Reactive• In 2006, more than 59% of all federal inspections performed in the

US by OSHA took place in the construction industry. The federal government has targeted construction as a focus area due to the excessive amount of injuries and incidents that continue to occur. Many of these inspections resulted in fines and citations due tofailure to comply with basic OSHA requirements.

• The key to a successful jobsite OSHA inspection is often determined by whether your safety program is proactive or reactive. Proactively planned and executed safety programs are often positively recognized by OSHA, not cited. A typical approach used by industry leaders to maintain a safe jobsite and to minimize risk is a three-phase strategy of planning, training and auditing. Proactive planning and execution is by far the most critical aspect for ensuring compliance with local, state and federal safety regulations.

Planning for Safety• Safety up Front• Incorporating safety in the project planning process is an extremely

important element in the overall success of the safety program. Too many projects are planned with schedule and budget as the overriding focus areas with safety becoming an after thought when injuries and incidents occur.

• Project executives, managers and supervisors should actively include the safety department in planning all work activities. Requiring their input into the overall planning process is a best known method of proactively embedding safety into all aspects ofproject execution. The ideal place for safety to be engaged is from the first meeting with the owners of the construction project to get their buy in of the overall safety program.

• Owners Perspective• Many owners in today's construction environment are very actively

engaged in construction oversight, including safety. For a general contractor or construction management firm to be successful theymust identify the scope of work and performance expectations of the owner, upfront, before work begins.

• This holds true for safety as well. Most owners look to the GC/CM to build their facility without any negative publicity or incidents. No owner wants their name in the paper surrounded by negative publicity, but many times after a major incident or fatality, that is exactly what occurs. Taking the time to develop a world class safety program and getting the owner’s buy in before construction begins, is a necessary step in creating a successful project safety plan.

Planning for Safety

Planning for Safety• Supervisor’s Engagement• There are many elements that must be included into a successful

safety program. While the safety department often has the content experts of the overall program, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to work closely with the safety department to ensure that the safety program meets the needs of the employees, the project and the company.

• It is all too often that supervisors either admit that they had not read the safety program or that is was out of date and not being followed. Ensure that you know your company’s expectations and procedures that are outlined in your safety manual. Make safety your ally by taking the time to proactively engage with the safety staff and by demonstrating interest in the overall safety program.

Planning for Safety• Project Specific Safety Plan• Before any project begins, a project specific safety plan should be

developed that identifies the specific programs, policies and procedures that will be implemented and enforced on the project.

• The site specific safety plan should also identify all emergencyresponse and evacuation procedures, specialized training requirements, employee orientations, federal, state, local and owner requirements, auditing and data collection procedures and all other safety related items pertinent to the project. In addition, most GC’s require that their sub-contractors complete their own individual project safety plan and ensures that it aligns with the overall plan.

Leadership Skills• Leadership• Leadership is the process by which a person influences others to

accomplish a common objective. Though some people may appear to be natural born leaders, great leaders are made, not born. The most successful leaders develop their skills through a continuous process of self-study, education, training, experience and vision.

• Great Leaders then apply their leadership attributes which are strongly based upon their beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and passion. Successful leaders express their vision and establish direction by displaying passion for what they believe in. The passion and commitment that they openly display for their vision becomes the foundation upon which others are inspired to follow.

Leadership Skills• Leadership Attributes• Great Leaders Operate from fixed principles and do not make up the

rules as they go along. Successful leaders are very disciplined, seek to understand others and are excellent listeners. Admired leaders care about those they lead and are candid and forthright at all times.

• Most are selfless and place themselves and their needs second totheir team. The most successful leaders delegate important and specific tasks to those they lead, and are never condescending. Maintaining technical proficiency is a trait of a dedicated leader that is always searching for ways to enable their organization to newachievements. And most importantly, when things go wrong, they accept the responsibility and never blame others.

Leadership Skills• Leading the Injury Free Effort• The skills necessary for great safety leadership are no different than

for any other leadership effort. Safety leadership is about establishing a vision for the future and using your passion and commitment to obtain that vision. The great leaders in history all had a vision that they believed in and were committed to accomplish.

• The Vision of an Injury Free Culture is a workplace that is dedicated to preventing all injuries and incidents. When this vision is established and shared by everyone, with demonstrated leadershipand commitment from management, the creation of a successful injury free culture moves from a vision to becoming a reality. This reality will result in world class safety performance that you and your management team can be proud of.

Leadership Skills• Establishing Core Values• Believing that it is possible to prevent all injuries and incidents is a

vital fist step in the journey to create an injury free culture. The basic foundation of an Injury Free Culture is the establishment of Core Values. The most basic of these Core Values are believing in theintrinsic value of human life and the prevention of human pain and suffering due to injuries.

• To be successful, these two basic Core Values must be communicated thoroughly and internalized by everyone from seniormanagement down to the newly hired employee. When management openly demonstrates commitment to these core values, employees are likely to follow.

Leadership Skills• Key Components for Success• There are 6 key components that are critical in the successful

implementation of an Injury Free Culture. These key components are:

1. Demonstrated Safety Leadership by all management and supervisorypersonnel.

2. Management actively and passionately sharing the Injury Free Vision.3. Commitment to and Accountability for safety by all members of the culture.4. Free and Open Lines of Communication established and maintained to

pulse the culture.5. Continuous Improvement Processes in place to ensure corrective actions

are implemented and effective.6. Recognition and Positive Reinforcement for safety role models and those

that exhibit the desired behaviors in the field.

Leadership Skills• Effect on Safety Culture• By being a supervisor, you are already in a leadership position. By

taking your safety leadership responsibilities seriously, you can have a very positive effect on the safety culture at both your company and on your jobsite. Every individual that you supervise looks to you for daily guidance and support.

• As their leader, you have the ability to influence positive changes in both their safety behaviors and the conditions that they work in. There is nothing more important to your workers than going home safely after every shift. The safety skills that you exhibit on a daily basis will be noticed and appreciated by those that depend on your leadership, for their safety.

Management Commitment• Commitment to Safety• Once Management exhibits its commitment to safety the cultural

boundaries for safety are formed. What management pays attention to sends a loud message to the field as to what is important. Constant oversight and meetings that focus on schedule and budget issues, without an equal amount of time on safety, sends the message that schedule and budget are the more important.

• It is imperative that safety is held in the same regard or higher than schedule and budget concerns to have a successful safety culture. YOU WILL ACHIEVE THE LEVEL OF SAFETY PERFORMANCE THAT YOU DEMONSTRATE YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE!

Management Commitment• Reviewing Safety Data• One of management’s key responsibilities is the continuous review

of safety data that includes both the details and trends for all injuries, incidents and near misses. This data should be collected and normalized to reflect OSHA recordable and Day Away Case rates so they can be compared with the performance obtained by competitors and to industry standards.

• By analyzing this data and sharing it with the entire organization, everyone can learn from the unfortunate experiences of others and help share in the solution for preventing recurrence.

Management Commitment• Modern Approach to Safety Management• The traditional approach to safety management has been to improve

safety performance by focusing on operator error. The theory being that if you fixed the failures in people, things had to improve. With the advent of behavior based safety techniques, the old traditional approach has been replaced by a more modern method.

• This modern method to safety management improves safety performance by focusing on the cultural and management systems that influence safety behavior. In other words, it looks at the management processes that either allow or don’t prevent unsafe behaviors and conditions to exist. It also uses the position of leadership in an organization to empower employees, at all levels, to take responsibility for their safety and the safety of their co-workers.

Management Commitment• Leadership in the Field• A true measure of management commitment is the amount of time

they spend in the field focusing on safety. The time spent by management out in the field, engaging in safety dialogue with the workforce and developing relationships is probably the single most effective leadership tool a manager possesses.

• Taking the time to introduce yourself to a few new faces each day and sharing your personal commitment and goals about safety withthem, will help create a successful safety culture on your project. Always make the extra effort to look for the good things that are happening and offer positive recognition as often as possible. Even a simple “Thanks for wearing your gloves and safety glasses” goes a long way in building trust and respect for management and the safety program.

Management Commitment• 5 Key Focus Areas• There are 5 key areas that all managers and supervisors should

ensure are part of their safety management program. Number one is that it is crucial that management is fully cognizant of both the physical operations and the associated risks that their employees are exposed to daily. Managers that “try” to get into the field at least once a week are not putting in the effort necessary to have a positive effect on the culture.

• Second is ensuring that proper planning occurs for every job. Implementing Pre-Task Planning will improve both safety performance and productivity. Third is proactively promoting the reporting of all injuries, incidents and near misses. Fourth is getting personally engaged with when an injury or incident occurs, and last is understanding the importance of relationships and trust when leading a safety culture.

Coaching and Mentoring• Building Trust and Respect• Your ability to have a positive effect in modifying safe behaviors and

attitudes with your staff is often reliant on your initial approach and follow up. It is a given that the majority of people want to do be successful in their jobs and go home safely everyday. However, on a daily basis you can find people needlessly putting themselves and others at risk of injury.

• Typical excuses range from “I forgot” or “I didn’t know” or even defiance to following the rules. The ideal state between supervisors and workers is one built on trust and respect. First, they must trust that you are truly concerned for their safety, and second, there must be mutual respect for each other during the interactions.

Coaching and Mentoring• Approach• Always approach every individual with the same dignity and respect

that you like to receive. No matter how upsetting the situation may be, taking the time to relax and talk in a professional, non threatening manner will always gain the best results. The best success in approaching someone to correct an unsafe behavior or condition is to politely get their attention and ask questions.

• This is the best way to determine if they are aware of the hazard they are facing or knowingly violating a safety rule. Personally taking the time to coach and mentor your workforce on the safety rules is time well spent. Ensuring that each and every worker understandsyour own personal expectations for them to work safely and follow all safety rules, at all times, will produce even better long term results. Supervisors that personally express expectations for safety performance have the safest worksites.

Coaching and Mentoring• Rules of Engagement• There are a few standard rules for engagement that will bring out the

best results. Always be specific to the issues you want to discuss and keep the discussion pure and positive. This means that you should stay focused on the issue that started the discussion butalways try to remain positive and helpful. Your initial approach will often dictate the success of your safety engagement.

• One common pitfall to avoid is abusing your position of authority by talking down to the person you are addressing. You are already in a position of power. The effort you put forward to openly listen to what the individual has to say before you automatically correct theirbehavior, will show that you are interested in them and only want to ensure their safety at all times. Always listening before reacting will ensure you fully understand the facts before offering correctiveactions.

Coaching and Mentoring• Giving Advice• There are also some standard rules for giving advice that are very

effective. Keeping current with all new safety rules and regulations is crucial before walking the field and making corrections. Being proactive instead of reactive is always the ideal state, however many times coaching and mentoring should have taken place before workbegins, not after.

• When giving advice always identify the desirable outcome or behavior that you would like to see and then follow up at a later time to see if the advice given was actually effective. If yes, give praise to the student and thank them for their support. If your coaching was not successful, take the time to find out why. Then try a different approach. Different methods work for different people. Your role as a supervisor is most effective when you can convince people to follow the rules for the right reasons.

Safety Culture• What Is Culture?• In its simplest form, Culture is a set of shared attitudes, values,

goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation.• A common way of understanding culture is to break it down into four

basic elements that are passed on from generation to generation by learning alone. These 4 basic elements are Values, Norms, Institutions, and Artifacts. Values comprise ideas about what in life seems important. They guide the rest of the culture.

• Norms consist of expectations of how people will behave in various situations. Each culture has methods, called sanctions, of enforcing its norms. Norms that a society enforces formally become laws. Institutions are the structures of a society within which values and norms are transmitted and artifacts are materialistic things passed on from one culture to another.

Safety Culture• Injury Free Culture• The basic foundation of an Injury Free Culture is the establishment

of Core Values that become the underlying tenants of the overallsafety culture. A major success factor in the creation of an Injury Free Culture is the understanding that the intrinsic value of human life and the prevention of human pain and suffering due to injuries are key values that must be internalized by everyone.

• Once the leaders of an organization accept these values as theirown, and actively participate in the leadership of the cultural evolution, world class safety performance can be achieved.

Safety Culture• Management’s Responsibility• Management engagement is critical for an Injury Free culture to be

successful. Each leader in the organization must exhibit a personal commitment to and positive role modeling of Injury Free behaviors and conduct themselves with open and honest communication. Thismust occur at all management levels, especially at the supervisory level. In addition, project level engagement with the field personnel is a critical element of the culture.

• Last, but not least, is management accountability. Management must take responsibility for its failures and share the wealth of its successes to gain the trust and respect of the field. For the culture to mature and become sustainable, continuous improvements and adjustments to each of these core components must be made by theproject management team.

Safety Culture• Aligned Vision• The Vision of the Injury Free culture is a workplace that is free of

injuries and incidents. When this vision is shared by all members with support and encouragement from management, injury free performance becomes not just a goal, but a reality.

• Believing that it is possible to prevent all injuries and incidents is a vital fist step in the journey towards injury free performance.

Safety Culture• Commitment & Accountability• Each individual must accept full responsibility for their actions and

make a commitment to work safely for an Injury Free Culture to flourish. When all members of a project are personally committed to Injury Free values, accept responsibility for their safety and the safety of their coworkers, the foundation is set to create a sustainable culture.

• Everyone must work together to coach and mentor new employees to the safety culture so that the learning curve is short and effective.

Final Words• Conclusion• You have now completed the ClickSafety, Safety Trained Supervisor

for Construction Training program. We have discussed OSHA regulations, best known safety methods and industry leading programs that can help you to be more successful in managing your day to day safety responsibilities.

• The team at ClickSafety and CCHEST applaud you for your efforts and commitment to becoming a certified Safety Trained Supervisor. Your current and future employees are all fortunate to have you as their supervisor. Thank you for taking the time to complete thisprogram and good luck as you go forward and implement an Injury Free Culture on your projects.

Final Words• Conclusion• You have now completed module three, STS Safety Leadership.

This completes the content training on the STS exam prep course.The team at Click Safety and CCHEST applaud you for your effortsand commitment to becoming a certified Safety Trained Supervisor. Your current and future employees are all fortunate to have you as their supervisor. Thank you for taking the time to complete thisprogram and good luck as you go forward and implement an Injury Free Culture on your projects.

• In the next and final module we’ll discuss some tips for preparing for and taking exams with special emphasis on the STS Certification exam.