Section 9 - Safety Policy

The written safety policy of management is a concrete expression of the management’s philosophy and commitment to safety. ”Philosophy” and “Policy” are the first two items expressed in the “4 P’s” of safety management mentioned on page 2 of TP 13739. The safety policy does not have to be a lengthy volume. It should be a straightforward statement of the following points:

• Senior management commitment and intentions
• Establishment of safety as a core value
• Setting of safety objectives
• Responsibility for the safety program
• Non-Punitive Reporting policy

The Accountable Executive must sign it.

This can take many forms, but simpler is better. It could look like this:

• To prevent accidents and to eliminate damage or injury, this company will maintain an active safety management system. I support the open sharing of information on all safety issues and encourage all employees to report significant safety hazards or concerns. I pledge that no disciplinary action will be taken against any employee for reporting a safety hazard or concern to this company’s management. I pledge also that no staff member will be asked to compromise our safety standards to ‘get the job done’.
  
  
• Safety is a corporate value of this company, and we believe in providing our employees and customers with a safe and healthy environment. All employees must comply with this policy.
  
  
• Our objective is the proactive management of identifiable risks and the elimination of injury to personnel and damage to equipment. To that end, we will continuously examine our operation for hazards and find ways to minimize them. We will report incidents, train staff on safety management, document our findings and our responses, and strive for continuous improvement.
  
  
• Ultimate responsibility for safety in the company rests with myself as the accountable executive. Responsibility for making our operations safer for everyone lies with each one of us - from managers to front-line employees. Each manager is responsible for implementing the safety management system in his or her area of responsibility, and will be held accountable to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to prevent incidents and accidents.

Non-Punitive or No Blame Reporting Policy

A policy describing under what circumstances an employee would be disciplined should be clearly laid out and communicated to all staff. Some operators communicate this policy to their staff by having it printed on the hazard reporting forms. In order to encourage a healthy reporting culture in a company there should really be only three reasons to discipline an employee. They are

1. Willful negligence
2. Criminal intent
3. Use of illicit substances