A proper safety program will be intentional, but what does that really mean? Let’s consider the ground circuits installed in homes and businesses. For normal operation, zero current will be flowing in the grounding conductors. By code, we are required to intentionally install a grounding circuit that we hope will never be used for current, and many measures are in place to ensure these ground fault circuits operate properly. When applying this methodology to the safety program, one example is that we must train on accident reporting and emergency procedures, even though we hope to never need to submit an accident report.
One safety challenge people face is that it may seem like a waste of time because we are preparing for something that should not happen. This type of thinking can impact other ideas, such as “How much time do we spend on training?” or “What should we train on?” By all merits, a safety program should be intentional, not because we intentionally devote time to it, but because we ensure the program is functional and operates properly.
SETTING POLICY
A company without a safety program is equivalent to driving a car without traffic laws or street signs, hoping that nothing goes wrong and everyone does the right thing. If an accident were to occur, being able to provide policy, doctrine, and records to prove that the company met the legal requirements could help prevent fines, penalties, and lawsuits. The policy will also protect employees, because it outlines the requirements and expectations of the company.
There is no one-size-fits-all for a safety program. Your program must have structure (Figure 1), make sense, and cover your company’s core principles. An effective program also provides a method for feedback and improvement. Gathering feedback can be challenging for a safety program because people do not always have a way to bring that information back. The feedback from reporting, leadership, employees, new laws, and changing technologies should drive changes to ensure that the safety program is compliant. No system is perfect, but with constant improvement (ideally, annual revision), any program will become better.
With this in mind, consider:
- How thorough is your company’s safety policy?
- Do your employees get (annual) training on it?
REPORTING MISTAKES
People make mistakes, and assuming that work is always performed flawlessly is blindness to reality. A safety professional will double-check their own and other people’s work, not in an attempt to discredit, but rather as an effort to ensure the task is properly completed. However, when a mistake is found, it is important to report and/or record it. Everyone should report potential concerns so the issues can be corrected.
Reporting mistakes is also a valuable opportunity to learn. If the report was in error, the person making the erroneous claim could learn something new. Teaching others and building up the team is extremely important for instilling a culture of trust and safety. It is not a violation of trust to report an issue; rather, it is an obligation to each other to ensure we perform our jobs properly and safely.
Above all, reporting must be an avenue for improvement and communication. When reporting becomes a system associated with reprimands and negative action, it will never be used to improve and benefit others.
With this in mind, consider:
- When was the last time a stop-work authority was used?
- Do employees come to you for help when they are unsure?
SAFETY TRAINING
Safety training is for performing job hazard analysis and lock-out/tag-out, but it should also include training in industry standards such as NFPA 70E, NFPA 70B, AED/CPR/First Aid, and company policies and procedures. Some business units dedicate an entire week of the year to these trainings. Consider that many employees only know what was taught to them on the job, but is that enough? No one wants to get hurt or make mistakes, but people should know their company’s policies and procedures to ensure that emergencies are handled properly.
Training on company policy during initial or annual refresher training may also identify policy issues that require updates and revision. As we continue to develop the next generation of electrical safety professionals, let us make sure we are providing them with the required safety training so they know where to find the answers to critical questions, such as the correct PPE, and the required approach distances for an arc-flash boundary.
With this in mind, consider:
- Could OSHA deem your employees unable to perform their jobs safely?
- How often do your employees question LOTO?
ON-THE-JOB AND PERSONAL TRAINING
Employees need training to be qualified to perform their tasks. One type of training is on-the-job (OTJ) training. This can be beneficial because it is a real environment and it is billable. Unfortunately, some companies do not document this OTJ training. This leads us back to the issue where an employer would have no proof if an incident were to happen. Training sessions and courses have an advantage because they quite often include exams and certifications.
Personal development is a responsibility we all must accept. Unless you accept this responsibility, the only thing you will ever know is what your employer provides. Many people spend two to four years working on a self-funded college degree, with no employer assistance, but plenty of resources are available, including reading, free online platforms, books, schools, and online courses. There is no excuse for a lack of training other than a lack of commitment to ourselves.
PRODUCTION AND SAFETY WORK TOGETHER
Production is the focus of every business, but customers do not want to work with unsafe companies. They want to be confident that the company they hire will make an effort to prevent damage to equipment, injury to personnel, loss of production time, and ultimately, lost money. Having a safety mindset and devoting more time to safety can help customer relations, boost retention, and even save money.
The right balance between spending too much time or too little time on safety can best be answered in the company safety program. This approach ensures transparency and helps to assure compliance. When personnel have no time to breathe due to a high-pressure operational tempo, the likelihood of accidents and mistakes increases. It is important to have scheduled downtime where employees can recover their equipment, finish paperwork, work on teambuilding, and complete training.
With this in mind, consider:
- Is training often cancelled because of job requirements?
- Have you refused to work with a customer due to safety concerns?
QUALITY LEADERSHIP
It is often stated that safety is a top-down approach. If we as leaders encourage employees to do what is right regardless of the outcome, this mentality can spread, resulting in a lead-by-example mentality across the entire team.
Are you a leader or a manager? Leaders focus on demonstrating the right example and building people up, while managers focus more on streamlining processes, efficiency, and holding people accountable. Both are required to ensure efficient and safe production. The goal of leading by example is to influence others to do a task; it has nothing to do with doing the work yourself. Instead, it is showing others how to properly do the work and influencing them to want to do it too.
As a leader, it is also important to demonstrate that you are human. Many employees hold their supervisors in high regard, but leaders need to be open about their faults and strengths. This demonstrates that we value open communication and don’t hide our personal shortcomings.
With this in mind, consider:
- Are leaders also tasked with work, leaving too little time to supervise and observe?
- As a supervisor, do you regularly share your mistakes to help others learn?
ATTITUDE & TEAM MENTALITY
A good attitude is crucial for any task. Without it, no crew will ever be a team. Some people walk by issues and say, “That’s not my job to fix.” It would be better to say, “Let me see if I can find out who is working on that.” This focuses on the solution rather than acknowledging a problem and brushing it off. If individuals have poor attitudes during less stressful times, it will get worse during times of high stress. A good attitude reinforces the team mentality, while a poor attitude causes people to avoid each other.
In effective teams, every member holds themself accountable. This is not easy because it usually means the spotlight is on that individual, but it is necessary to ensure that the safety culture is never undermined by any person or process. It also proves that each member genuinely cares about safety and doing their job, even when other people may be against them. Failure is a time for learning, and it is important to have a positive attitude when teaching a lesson. If one person ignores an issue, it can be the small crack that eventually destroys the foundation.
With this in mind, consider:
- When people intervene to help, are they welcomed and applauded?
- Are employees sent out to perform work alone?
CONCLUSION
A company’s safety program is the responsibility of every person in the company. If one person fails to do their part, it is only a matter of time before the program itself is in jeopardy. Accidents will happen, even with a perfect safety program, but having an effective safety program can reduce risks, hazards, accidents, injuries, and even reduce costs.
REFERENCES
Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.). Safety, Merriam-Webster.com.
“Employees Are Concerned About Safety and Lack of Training,” EHS Today, June 13, 2024.
S&H Staff. “One-Third of Workers Say Their Employer Favors Productivity over Safety, NSC Survey Shows,” Safety + Health. June 22, 2016.
Brietta, Austin. “Study Smarter By Improving Your Memory,” Rio Salado College News, June 9, 2022.
Sellars, K. “Auditing Electrical Safety,” Training Talk, Summer 2023 NETA World, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 7–8.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Training Requirements in OSHA Standards, pp. 79–80), OSHA 2254-09R 2015.
Thomas Wire is Vice President of Technical Services at USC Power Services, a NETA Accredited Company. He served in the military from 2006 to 2018 as a Blackhawk mechanic and then in the 249th Prime Power. After he completed his military service, he worked with NETA companies as a Lead Technician and a Manager while earning NICET III, NETA Level 4 Senior Certified Technician, Thermography Level 2, and UVographer certifications. He earned an AAS in electric power technology at Bismarck State College.