Supporting Worker Participation in Safety Programs

Often, workers expect that safety and reporting are the concern of management. Also, they assume that if they follow along with the basics that managers openly speak about, they are doing enough. However, when it comes to safety, enough is just not enough. After all, workers have the most to lose when safety is not top of mind. 

The best safety programs do more than teach and retrain employees to follow safety practices. They encourage employees and workers to participate in safety measures, programs, and reporting.

Now, it should come as no surprise that the recommended OSHA practices include worker participation as a vital part. That is because supervisors and managers have many responsibilities, from daily operations to worker scheduling and client interaction. So, leaving identifying safety hazards and issues only to management often means they can’t give safety the attention it deserves. That leaves the workers in the best spot to identify and respond to safety hazards, unsafe conditions, near misses, and actual incidents. 

Worker Participation is the Key to Effective Safety Programs

Firstly, while OSHA makes suggestions for worker participation in all programs, they present added guidance for the construction industry. According to OSHA, construction workers included in well-run safety and health programs, are supported in the following ways:

• • They are encouraged to join the program by adding it to the daily toolbox talks or morning meetings.
  • Also, they encourage the workers to feel comfortable giving input to supervisors without feeling like they are betraying their crew members. 
  • The crew can get program information in many ways on and off the job site. 
  • Workers have chances to help in the design and application of safety programs, individually or as part of a group.
  • When raising safety concerns or reporting injuries, workers do not face backlash from the company. 

Keep Workers Involved in Safety with Mobile Apps

Lastly, one of the best ways to support workers in any safety program is to make reporting tools and training information easier to use. 

When on the job site, workers can get information and reports from a mobile phone, tablet, or computer with no problems. Why have clipboards with unreadable writing? Or spend time worrying about missing information, or lost reports when you can submit and save incident information right away?

The SR Observation App puts safety participation directly in the hands of the worker. Easily download from the Apple App Store and the Android app store. Workers can make quick safety observations, leave positive feedback for supervisors, and download safety documents easily. 

In conclusion, ready to get your workers involved and provide them the safety support they need? Download the app and sign up for a demo to see all that Safety Reports offers.