Safety Month Week 3 - Risk Reduction

In observance of National Safety Month (National Safety Council), we present this week's theme, Risk Reduction. This theme is intended to focus on identifying and mitigating potential hazards in the workplace via proactive risk management. This topics transitions well from our Week 1 topic, Safety Engagement, which we covered here: Safety Engagement Week.

If one thinks about risk in the workplace from a holistic perspective, the 1st obvious step in proactive risk management is the actual identification of risk. As we mentioned during Safety Engagement Week, a key method to driving employee engagement is to have established and open communication channels for employees to to report concerns, near misses, safety observations, actual incidents / injuries, kudos for good practice, etc. Employee participation is a crucial element for the initial stages of a proactive risk management plan. As the old saying goes, sometimes a "different set of eyes" is needed to observe or pick up on risks that managers or other employees may have missed. This can also be accomplished via independent 3rd party EHS professionals, who will offer an independent unbiased and fresh perspective in terms of risk identification and ranking in terms of risk to human health, the environment, and potential legal exposures.

So once risks are identified, then what? If you are unsure or searching for answers to that question, then you may be in need of a defined and written EHS Management or Risk Management Program. These types of programs are intended to:

• Define your company's EHS Mission Statement
• Sets goals and objectives as well as establishing metrics to define success and maturity of your EHS program (number of reports, injury rates, number of EHS committee meetings held, % complete for training programs, average time to close an open incident, etc.).
• Establish a process for evaluation of hazards present in the workplace (Job Hazard Analyses or other).
• Define roles and responsibilities for reporting, incident investigation, recordkeeping, implementation of corrective actions, etc.
• Outline EHS Aspects & Impacts to Business - What are your companies EHS regulatory obligations and where are your largest deficiencies / exposures?
• Document investigation & corrective action processes, types of investigations (FIshbone, 5 Whys, Bowtie Analysis, etc.).

Of course, it is hard to reduce risk in your workplace if you are unsure or unaware of what the risks may be. Risks can be obvious (risks to human health or the environment), or they may be regulatory compliance-based with the potential to impact company financials or operational efficacy.

If you would like further information on how to identify and reduce risk in your workplace, or would like more information on 3rd party independent EHS compliance auditing or the development of EHS written programs, do not hesitate to reach out to Corporate Environmental Services.