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Obviously you want to keep your employees safe, especially in a manufacturing facility where forklifts and pallet jacks abound (a friend actually broke his leg when it got stuck between those two items). As a manager, you need to create a culture of safety in your space that employees view as both easy to follow and non-negotiable.

  • Involve everyone.

Safety rules should not come down from on high, seen as something that employees have to consider because they’ll get in trouble if they don’t follow the rules. Rather, create a situation in which safety is everyone’s concern so employees will watch out for each other and keep each other safe by following clearly explained procedures. This also gives responsibility to managers and supervisors to be actively involved in following procedures, not just other employees. Get all parties involved in creating the safety rules as well with regard to objectives and goals. 

  • Take away the blame game.

Too many manufacturing facilities have safety policies in place that punish or simply want to find out whose fault an accident is…and that earns a severe penalty. Such programs that serve to punish or reward only when they have a low record of accidents on the job tend to have workers who sweep problems under the rug until they inevitably become dangerous hazards. When you truly make safety everyone’s shared responsibility by providing training and information on safety procedures, employees will report problems so they can be attended to to maintain overall quality. 

  • Continuously refine the process.

Once you have put together your guidelines and regulations for safety, make sure you revisit them regularly to ensure that, as changes occur and new employees come on board, the objectives you have in place for safety remain relevant. Look at the system in terms of prevention and control rather than a response to an incident — when you stay on top of your safety needs, you can stop problems before they start (especially if you’ve created a culture of reliable reporting by all staff). Conduct all investigations efficiently yet thoroughly, again making adjustments as needed.

Safety is more than a concept or a buzzword; at any facility, you want your people to feel confident and aware of procedures in place to keep everyone safe. For help creating that sort of culture in your manufacturing facility, visit PrideStaff.

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