Safety Posters Courtesy of SAFETY TOOLSHED
Play safe ball…or just go home
Guest Post By John Wettstein
Unlike baseball, occupational health and safety does not allow three strikes before you’re out.
In safety training, the term “Red Rules” is often used. And at its heart, it means, “One strike and you’re out.”
Any violation of a so-called Red Rule — those safety rules or regulatory requirements related to processes that involve high risk of death, serious injury or illness — should be viewed as grounds for dismissal, regardless of outcome.
Examples of the sorts of rules that should never be broken (unless a person wants to be shown the door) include lockout/tag-out/control of hazardous energy; trenching and excavation/cave-ins; overhead energized power lines/within safe limit of approach distance; fall protection; and openings (roof and floor).
Red Rules identified as top priorities will be dependent on the life-threatening work activities that may be present in a specific sector. Fall protection, for example, may not make it high on the list of an office, but would figure prominently on a construction site.
These rules demand there be documented evidence that expectations have been communicated, workers have current training, workers and conditions are monitored, compliance is reinforced, and enforcement is carried out. Formal training with respect to Red Rule activities should be done every three years, with annual reviews in the years between.
Evidence of a consistent and documented discipline process for violations is an essential part of any OH&S management system, and efforts to be duly diligent. This sort of enforcement demonstrates the values of an organization and motivation for those who accept their responsibility for safety.
John Wettstein is president of Wettstein Safety Strategies Inc. in Edmonton. safetystrategies.ca
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