Before the company was bought, it had instituted very little safety procedures for the workers. It was only concerned with the safety precautions which it regarded as mandatory in order to avoid OSHA fines. The author worked for the company in the 1970s. When he joined the same company 20 years later, the management of the company had done very little to upgrade and improve their safety standards.
After joining the company in the 1990s, he realized that the company had not still instituted a formal safety plan. In addition, new employees did not get any safety training which is considered very necessary in mitigating injuries in such undertakings. Most of the jobs in the company were not accompanied by any fall protections.
The company did not use any PPE in most instances, unless the contractor it was working for insisted on it. To make matters worse, the company did not have an employee who was a CPR or first –aid certified.
Therefore, the company was not well prepared to give first-aid assistance to those employees who suffered from falls or injuries. The company suffered from a high number of injuries which were very expensive as insurance expenses (Mundy, 2003). To have employees who are first-aid certified is very necessary for roofing professionals as first-aid services are very essential in managing injuries.
They greatly help to stop bleeding in case of injuries which is one of the major causes of deaths in many accident victims attributed to hemorrhage. In addition, first-aid skills are very essential as they guide the people who assist in rescue on how to handle the injured and especially victims of falls in order to avoid worsening of the internal injuries or spinal chord injuries.
The sale of the company to a new owner was regarded as a new era because of many safety changes that were put in place to make the company compliant with OSHA Standards. The new management emphasized the importance of employees to their own benefits as well as those of the company. The new owner realized the positive results that accompany the implementation of appropriate safety programs.
An effective safety program was expected to reduce employees’ injuries as well as the insurance costs in order for the company to establish a competitive edge over its competitors. Because the company lacked a safety plan, the new owner recommended to hire a safety manager who would thoroughly understand the challenges that roofers experience in order to help the company establish a successful safety program.
The owner anticipated to get a full-time manager who would be an experienced roofer and could identify with the other workers in order to influence them to embrace the changes. The move was meant to transform the manner in which business was conducted in the company.
After being selected as a new safety manager, I initially formalized the OSHA standards in order to be conversant with all the safety procedures that were needed to be implemented in order for the company to be fully compliant with the safety requirements specified by OSHA.
I then explained to the workers on how they would benefit from the new changes as well as how these changes would help improve the performance of the company for everyone’s wellbeing. This was then followed by pre-employment and random testing of employees. The workers who could not cope with these new changes left the company. Some tried to test the system and were penalized accordingly.
Initially, it was very challenging to convince the employees to adopt the changes but in a time span of three years, the workers had internalized the changes which was reflected in improved performance and reduced accidents. To make the program more effective, the company bought warning lines as well as guardrails and safety vests for monitors. In addition, mandated and fall protections were also purchased.
I campaigned a lot in order for the workers to embrace these new facilities for their own safety as their jobs became more secure. These procedures were followed by safety training for all the employees. The company provided us with all the required training materials that include training videos that covered fall protection as well as appropriate roofing protocols.
Employees were also taught on how they could safely use cranes and forklift. All foremen and lead-men were obliged to become CPR/ first-aid certified in order to give appropriate assistance in case of accidents. Apart from receiving these skills, I was authorized to train and certify the others. The adoption of the safety program helped the company reduce the number of accidents from 20 to less than 4 cases.
To make the safety plan more successful, the management used a motivational strategy to supplement the safety skills learned. In this perspective, the company started rewarding the well-experienced employees (Mundy, 2003).
The issue of safety at the work places has prevailed for long. In the early 1930s when there were no established courses about work place safety, companies used to employ a safety man, who, in most cases, was once a victim of an accident. Thus, that person could keep his job as well.
A safety man was in charge of recording accidents in the company that were to be handled by relevant insurance companies as well as appropriate government agencies. During those days, companies did not have extensive safety programs as compared to these days.
The management employed only people to record the accidents that occurred in the industries for compensation purposes as well as reporting to appropriate governments. Nowadays, the issue of safety at the work places has gained a lot of attention. Companies employ qualified professionals to manage safety issues.
The department in charge of safety gives new recruits the appropriate training in order to minimize accidents at the work places. In addition, they ensure that workers wear appropriate clothes as well as follow the set standards while working. That is why relevant programs have been establishment in learning institutions in order to teach about appropriate safety procedures at the work places.
These programs have greatly assisted in reducing the number of accidents at workplaces which have in turn cut down the costs incurred for insurance covers. The issues highlighted by the article discussed above are similar to the subject matter in this chapter. They both agree on the need to reduce the number of accidents at the work places as well as the importance of safety training in mitigating accidents prevalence.
Reference List
Mundy, R. D. (2003). The safety man cometh: Professional Safety. Professional Safety Journal, 48, 12, 43-46.