1)))Seven Cs for Safety Success

Dec 12, 2018

In the seemingly never-ending search for success, there are so many elements that

 comprise an effective and

efficient safety program. How can management get the most out of their employees so that they
not only look out for their own safety, but also the safety of others?

Fortunately, E. Scott Geller, Ph.D., has some tips. In a peer-reviewed article titled “The
Communication Dynamic for OSH,” Geller shares “Seven Cs for Safety Success” and explains
how each, when utilized effectively, can create a culture where employees actively look out for
each other’s well-being and strive for continuous safety improvement.

1. Communication
Solving a problem, whether in OSH or any other profession requires effective communication.
Communication helps develop relationships, learn what employees hope to achieve, recognize
opportunities for improvement or identify the actions needed to accomplish organizational goals.

“Most, if not all, attempts to improve workplace safety include interpersonal communication,”
says Geller. “Indeed, the success of any intervention involving people is dependent on
appropriate communication.” 

Open and honest communications between safety professionals and workers, and between
workers themselves can create a culture where individuals across the organization are actively
caring for each other toward the greater good of ensuring that everyone gets home safely. 

2. Courage
Seeing a problem takes mere observation. Doing something about it requires courage. It is the
responsibility of workers and safety professionals alike that to act on behalf of protecting worker
safety when they see something that could cause harm to another person. 

 “Most people care, but too often people fail to act on their caring,” says Geller. “They seemingly
lack the courage to take action for the prevention of potential harm to another person.” 

Geller notes that while individuals with greater competence and commitment than others in a
given situation are more likely to demonstrate courage, someone’s propensity to show courage in
certain circumstances is increased whenever relevant commitment or competence is augmented. 

3. Commitment 
Commitment to one’s organization reflects a worker’s motivation to perform and an
understanding of the consequences of their behavior. When a worker takes a pledge or signs a
petition, they are in essence making a promise to their employer that they will act in the manner
consistent with organizational expectations. To stay true to that commitment, workers will then
behave in that way.

“Commitment develops from recognizing the positive consequences gained and the negative
consequences avoided when applying one’s skills,” Geller explains. “When workers perform
tasks for certain and positive consequences, they avoid impulsive behavior and work toward long
term-goals.” 

Geller notes that it is important for the presenter of a commitment strategy to realize the
influence of personal choice and make statements that allow workers to believe the commitment
is not coerced and is their decision. Furthermore, it helps to make the commitment in public.

“A behavior-based commitment is most effective (or influential) when it is public, effortful and
perceived as voluntary or not coerced,” he says. “Thus, it is more beneficial to have employees
make a public rather than private commitment to perform a certain safe behavior.”

4. Choice
As noted, personal choice is a key component in facilitating a culture where employees look out
for each other and act in the best interest of safety. Employers should do everything they can to
facilitate self-accountability and self-motivation. 

“In this context, choice (or autonomy) is the condition or quality of being self-governing or
having personal control, a person-state or mind-set related to one’s propensity to actively care for
the safety, health and well-being of others,” says Geller. “Autonomous behavior is self-initiated,
self-endorsed and authentic. It reflects one’s true value and intentions.”

5. Competence
Everyone wants to feel competent in the work they do. When workers perceive that they can
perform their tasks and fulfill their responsibilities, they are more motivated to do the right thing
in terms of safety, even when no one is watching. 

Geller explains that behavior that increases feelings of competence is self-directed and does not
need extrinsic motivation to keep it going. Therefore, it is important for workers to devote
themselves to tasks they see as worthwhile, and for management to allow them to teach those
skills to others, thereby strengthening the employees’ feeling of competence, commitment and
success.  When workers feel competent in their abilities, their self-motivation is more likely to
continue. 

6. Community 
Along with the steps outlined, creating a sense of community among the workforce is crucial to
developing a culture where workers are concerned for each other’s safety and will take steps to
ensure that incidents don’t occur. When workers feel connected to their colleagues and that they
are a part of something greater than themselves, it can help break down barriers.

“Community is an actively caring for people mind-set for humankind in general,” says Geller.
“An interconnectedness that transcends political differences and prejudices, and profoundly
respects and appreciates diversity.” 

7. Compassion
Being compassionate to the well-being of your coworkers requires you to see things from their
point of view. When we see things from someone else’s perspective, we understand where they
are coming from and can collaborate toward a positive solution.

Geller explains that sincere understanding and appreciation of someone else’s circumstances can
lead to optimal behavior in terms of employees actively caring for people. Furthermore, when
individuals at all levels of the organization show more empathy and compassion in
conversations, it has a greater impact on improving attitude and behavior, he notes. 

“Whether the topic is empathic listening, empathic leadership or empathic performance

appraisals and corrective action, the focus is on the other person’s needs, feelings or
perceptions,” Geller explains. “Starting with this viewpoint makes every other management
strategy more effective.”
1234567890-=
2)))Organising for safety
Introduction
Establishing responsibilities and relationships within the workplace is a very important part of
securing safe working practices, and promoting a culture of safety.
To secure and maintain a safe workplace, employers need to ensure that everyone from senior
management to individual employees is aware of their responsibilities for safety, and acts
accordingly.

Guidance
 The 4 Cs
 Contractors and subcontractors
 Visiting Drivers
 Shared Premises
The Four Cs
To help create a positive safety culture, remember 'the 4 Cs':

 Control
 Communication
 Co-operation
 Competence
Control
There are three key aspects to establishing control over safety in the workplace.

1. Take Overall Responsibility

Employers need to take responsibility for safety, and demonstrate their commitment. For
example:

 By holding regular (weekly, monthly) safety meetings with employees or

their safety representatives.
 By making regular and noticeable tours of the workplace, including
inspections of vehicles, roadways and infrastructure.
 By ensuring that formal or informal discussions about work with employees
always include references to safety.
 An accident reporting system is essential to enable employers to meet their
legal obligations to report some accidents.
 A clear and simple procedure for reporting faults and hazards can
help prevent serious accidents.
 It is also valuable in monitoring how effective your safety
measures are, and ensuring that all accidents are reported to
managers.
 It is important that managers do not use the accident reporting
system to apportion blame as this may discourage employees
from using it.
2. Allocate Specific Responsibilities
A clear allocation of responsibilities is needed so that all everyone understands their health and
safety responsibilities. There are various ways of achieving this, for example by:

 Including safety responsibilities in an employee's job description, and in

contracts with contractors.
 Including safety issues and responsibilities in the induction of new
employees, or when you get a new supplier etc.
 Displaying safety notices or bulletins
3. Enforce Compliance
Management needs to ensure that everyone at work is held accountable for his or her actions
(primarily through supervision), and that there is some form of penalty if they fail to comply.

 Supervision is an essential part of monitoring safety at work.

 The level of supervision should reflect the how serious the risks
are, and how competent employees are to avoid them.
 Even where risks are low, some supervision will always be
needed.
 The employer, manager, etc., will usually need to have a clear penalty
system, in case anyone does not comply.
 For employees there is usually a disciplinary procedure with the
possibility, ultimately, of dismissal.
 For contractors there may be financial penalties and/or
terminating their contract.
 Allowing specific people to operate certain vehicles, or to undertake
vehicle-related activities such as maintenance, can help employers or
managers control risks.
Communication
Good communication within an organisation helps secure and maintain a safe workplace.

It is important to have strong lines of communication, so that everyone is clear about their
responsibilities, and so that any changes spread quickly across the whole organisation.

Information that needs to be communicated includes:

 The organisation's safety policy, and what it means in practical terms.

 The allocation of safety responsibilities.
 How people should work safely.
 Where people can get more information.
 Feedback to employees on how well they have complied with safety policy.
Everyone in the workplace, including contractors, should be encouraged to take an active interest
in safety issues. Everyone should be given the chance to express views or concerns.
Where there are trade union appointed safety representatives, employers have specific duties to
consult with them, and to set up a Health and Safety committee if two or more safety
representatives request one.

Co-operation
Employees have a legal duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of
others who may be affected by what they do at work.

Employees also have a legal duty to co-operate with their employers, to enable them to comply
with their health and safety responsibilities.

A Health & Safety Committee can be an effective way of enlisting the formal participation and
co-operation of everyone in the workplace in carrying out their Health & Safety responsibilities.

Competence
Employers need to be sure that all everyone is capable of doing their work in a proper way (ie
one that ensures their own safety and that of other people).

In a large organisation, senior management need to be satisfied that subordinate managers and
supervisors are capable of organising a safe workplace. They need to be able to:

 Establish control over risks.

 Communicate effectively to maintain a flow of information about safety, in
both directions.
 Obtain co-operation from those for whom they are responsible.
 Allocate and organise activity in a safe way.
Employers need to ensure wherever possible that people are working in a safe and responsible
way.

This is likely to include checking any licences, certificates and knowledge, capabilities, and
general fitness for tasks they need to do (for example, are they completely sober and in control?).

Those in charge will need to be capable and willing to communicate safety advice and
constructive feedback to employees etc., on their safety performance.

There are two principal ways of ensuring competence for a job:

 At recruitment and placement, have effective checks to ensure that

everyone (including managers) has the relevant knowledge, experience etc.,
to be capable of doing their jobs safely, or can get these the doing the job or
through training. Where necessary, the procedures may require:
 Medical examinations;
 Aptitude and ability tests; and/or
 Recognised qualifications or training certificates to be held by
employees.
  Provide information, instruction and training to maintain or improve
employees' competence, particularly where changes in staff, equipment or
procedures are planned. This should take into account the abilities and
experience of the employee.
Proper management and supervision is needed to ensure that the competence of employees,
contractors, etc., is maintained and developed.

Contractors and subcontractors

[Back to top]

Where contractors or sub-contractors are employed, the site operator or principal employer
should make sure that their activities fit in with the overall work scheme, without increasing risks
unduly.

The person responsible for the site will need to provide the contractor with appropriate Health &
Safety information in relation to the work to be carried out, so that the work can be done safely.

 For example information about:

 The workplace
 The routes to be used
 The vehicles and equipment on site
 Specific hazards
 Other people on site, including other contractors, visiting drivers,
etc.
The person responsible for the site should check the suitability of the contractor and, through the
contractor, any sub-contractor, in terms of Health & Safety standards. Check for example:

 That the contractor selects and trains employees to the required standards
and that they are suitably competent.
 That, on previous contracts, the contractor has complied worked safely.
Where possible, check the contractor's accident and ill-health record.
 That any vehicles used by the contractor in the workplace are suitable for
the job and are properly maintained throughout the contract.
 Some employers inspect contractors' vehicles before allowing
them to operate on site, others insist on a mechanic's inspection
report covering essential safety components.
 It may also be necessary to carry out spot checks to ensure that
vehicles remain safe until the work is finished.
 The contractor will also need to be made fully aware of the penalties of
unsafe working.
 It may be necessary to ensure that compliance with good Health
& Safety practice, and with any specific site regulations, is
included as a contract requirement. This may also help clarify the
 penalties for a breach of safe working practice (ie making unsafe
working a breach of contract).
 It is important to maintain a system of supervision of the
contractor's work.
 Informal licensing can be a useful way of controlling how contractors and
sub-contractors work.
 For example, licences to operate on site are issued for specified
periods. They are only renewed if contractors have behaved
properly.
 When a contractor takes on a sub-contractor, the contractor can clearly use
similar checks and supervision to exercise control over their actions. The
site operator will usually need evidence that adequate controls over sub-
contractors are in place.
 Despite these precautions, contractors should be in no doubt that they are
responsible for their own employees.
Visiting drivers
Some of the checks and procedures outlined above for contractors will also apply to visiting
drivers.

It is important to make sure that visiting drivers are aware of the layout of the workplace, the
route they need to take, and relevant procedures for safe working, for example about parking and
unloading.

 Take account of the fact that delivery drivers may visit the site rarely, and
may only be on site for a short time.
 Drivers should not have to go anywhere that could be dangerous to move to
or from their vehicles, or places they need to go (for example if they need
access to lavatory and washing facilities).
The employer at a workplace should liaise and co-operate with the employers of visiting drivers,
to co-ordinate the measures that need to be taken for everyone to comply with their Health &
Safety responsibilities. For example:

 To provide safe access to a vehicle for loading or unloading.

 To provide suitable equipment, for example for drivers delivering at retail
outlets to unload safely.
 To ensure that vehicles and the ground they have to use are suitable for safe
working.
Shared premises
[Back to top]

The law requires any employers (including self-employed people) sharing a workplace to co-
operate, co-ordinate and share information to help ensure a safe workplace.
Everyone needs to satisfy themselves that they complying with their legal duties.

Normally the site operator, or a main employer, controls the worksite, and in such cases will take
need to take responsibility for co-ordinating Health & Safety measures:

 Primarily through discussion, and by obtaining information from the

smaller employers.
 By seeking their agreement to site-wide arrangements, whether new or
established.
 All other employers have a responsibility to co-operate.
Where there is no employer in overall control, individual employers and self-employed people
will need to find a way of agreeing joint arrangements, for example by appointing a Health &
Safety Supervisor or Co-ordinator, or establishing a Health & Safety Committee.

 Appointing a Health & Safety Supervisor or Co-ordinator is likely to be the

most effective way of:
 Ensuring co-operation and co-ordination
 Exchanging information efficiently, to enable all employers to
comply with their Health & Safety duties.
 However joint arrangements are made, everyone on the site should support
and comply with any resulting procedures or regulations. Clear penalties
for failing to do so should be established as soon as possible, and should be
enforced in some way.
1234567890-=
3)))The 4 C's - Competence, Control, Co-operation and Communication are a useful
aid to getting organised.
Competence
Train yourself and your staff so that everyone has the knowledge, skills and
experience to work in a safe and healthy manner.
Arrange for access to sound advice and help, so that you understand what the law
requires and how to comply with it. See Appendices 2 and 3.
Control
Think of all your managers, supervisors and employees. Decide who is responsible for
each safety duty, make sure that there are no gaps and that everyone knows their own
responsibilities. Lead by example and ensure that everyone is aware of the
consequences of their actions.
Co-operation
Have regular meetings with employees at all levels to discuss safety issues. Listen to
what staff have to say, their opinions are invaluable as they have first hand knowledge
of the risks involved with their work. Create an environment where staff feel able to
discuss problems. Don't forget to include any home workers.
Ensure that a safety representative is appointed so that there is a recognised link
between employees and management. It is a legal requirement to consult employees
on matters of Health and Safety and the employer must assist them in their role by
allowing them to inspect the workplace and providing them with information
necessary to carry out their role. The Safety Representatives and Safety Committee
Regulations and The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations
give further guidance on the role of Safety Reps.
Communication
Provide information, e.g. posters, notices, training packages to employees and visitors.
Ensure that feedback is given to employees to encourage maintenance of high Health
and Safety standards.

4)The Four Cs
To help create a positive safety culture, remember 'the 4 Cs':

 Control
 Communication
 Co-operation
 Competence
Control
There are three key aspects to establishing control over safety in the workplace.

1. Take Overall Responsibility

Employers need to take responsibility for safety, and demonstrate their commitment. For
example:

 By holding regular (weekly, monthly) safety meetings with employees or

their safety representatives.
 By making regular and noticeable tours of the workplace, including
inspections of vehicles, roadways and infrastructure.
 By ensuring that formal or informal discussions about work with employees
always include references to safety.
 An accident reporting system is essential to enable employers to meet their
legal obligations to report some accidents.
 A clear and simple procedure for reporting faults and hazards can
help prevent serious accidents.
 It is also valuable in monitoring how effective your safety
measures are, and ensuring that all accidents are reported to
managers.
 It is important that managers do not use the accident reporting
system to apportion blame as this may discourage employees
from using it.
2. Allocate Specific Responsibilities
A clear allocation of responsibilities is needed so that all everyone understands their health and
safety responsibilities. There are various ways of achieving this, for example by:

 Including safety responsibilities in an employee's job description, and in

contracts with contractors.
 Including safety issues and responsibilities in the induction of new
employees, or when you get a new supplier etc.
 Displaying safety notices or bulletins
3. Enforce Compliance
Management needs to ensure that everyone at work is held accountable for his or her actions
(primarily through supervision), and that there is some form of penalty if they fail to comply.

 Supervision is an essential part of monitoring safety at work.

 The level of supervision should reflect the how serious the risks
are, and how competent employees are to avoid them.
 Even where risks are low, some supervision will always be
needed.
 The employer, manager, etc., will usually need to have a clear penalty
system, in case anyone does not comply.
 For employees there is usually a disciplinary procedure with the
possibility, ultimately, of dismissal.
 For contractors there may be financial penalties and/or
terminating their contract.
 Allowing specific people to operate certain vehicles, or to undertake
vehicle-related activities such as maintenance, can help employers or
managers control risks.
Communication
Good communication within an organisation helps secure and maintain a safe workplace.

It is important to have strong lines of communication, so that everyone is clear about their
responsibilities, and so that any changes spread quickly across the whole organisation.

Information that needs to be communicated includes:

 The organisation's safety policy, and what it means in practical terms.

 The allocation of safety responsibilities.
 How people should work safely.
 Where people can get more information.
 Feedback to employees on how well they have complied with safety policy.
Everyone in the workplace, including contractors, should be encouraged to take an active interest
in safety issues. Everyone should be given the chance to express views or concerns.
Where there are trade union appointed safety representatives, employers have specific duties to
consult with them, and to set up a Health and Safety committee if two or more safety
representatives request one.

Co-operation
Employees have a legal duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of
others who may be affected by what they do at work.

Employees also have a legal duty to co-operate with their employers, to enable them to comply
with their health and safety responsibilities.

A Health & Safety Committee can be an effective way of enlisting the formal participation and
co-operation of everyone in the workplace in carrying out their Health & Safety responsibilities.

Competence
Employers need to be sure that all everyone is capable of doing their work in a proper way (ie
one that ensures their own safety and that of other people).

In a large organisation, senior management need to be satisfied that subordinate managers and
supervisors are capable of organising a safe workplace. They need to be able to:

 Establish control over risks.

 Communicate effectively to maintain a flow of information about safety, in
both directions.
 Obtain co-operation from those for whom they are responsible.
 Allocate and organise activity in a safe way.
Employers need to ensure wherever possible that people are working in a safe and responsible
way.

This is likely to include checking any licences, certificates and knowledge, capabilities, and
general fitness for tasks they need to do (for example, are they completely sober and in control?).

Those in charge will need to be capable and willing to communicate safety advice and
constructive feedback to employees etc., on their safety performance.

There are two principal ways of ensuring competence for a job:

 At recruitment and placement, have effective checks to ensure that

everyone (including managers) has the relevant knowledge, experience etc.,
to be capable of doing their jobs safely, or can get these the doing the job or
through training. Where necessary, the procedures may require:
 Medical examinations;
 Aptitude and ability tests; and/or
 Recognised qualifications or training certificates to be held by
employees.
  Provide information, instruction and training to maintain or improve
employees' competence, particularly where changes in staff, equipment or
procedures are planned. This should take into account the abilities and
experience of the employee.
Proper management and supervision is needed to ensure that the competence of employees,
contractors, etc., is maintained and developed.

5) 5C is a technique for organizing your workplace environment into a safe, efficient,

ergonomic working space with clear visual management. 5C was developed from the Japanese
tool 5S and is basically the same principle by a different name. 
 Competence: recruitment, training and advisory support
 Control: allocating responsibilities, securing commitment, instruction and
supervision
 Co-operation: between individuals and groups
 Communication: spoken, written and visible