BASIC OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

AND HEALTH
 ROLES OF SUPERVISOR

• Safety Responsibilities for Supervisors
• Conduct Orientation and Training of Employees:
• Enforce Safe Work Practices:
• Correct Unsafe Conditions:
• Prevent Lingering Unsafe or Unhealthful Workplace Conditions or Hazards:
• Investigate Workplace Accidents:
• Promote Quick Return to Work:
• You are directly responsible for the safety and health of employees and other
workers that you direct or supervise. Ensure workers under your supervision
are aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health and safety hazards
where they work.
 THE FIVE ROLES OF A SUPERVISOR

• Educator:
• You will act as an educator when employees and team members are new, when
you are new to a team, when processes or conditions change, and when
discussing performance expectations with your direct reports. Additionally, you
will most likely educate when you hold or attend meetings, write and distribute
policies, manuals, or other documents, and provide cross-training opportunities
• Sponsor:
• When acting as a sponsor, you assume your employees have the skills they
need to perform their current jobs and work to provide opportunities for them
to showcase their talents and strengths. Additionally, you are expected to
support employee career development, even if it means that the employee will
move to position outside your team.
• Coach:

You will be coaching an employee when you are explaining, encouraging,

planning, correcting, or just checking in with your employees. (Refer to Toolkit
document, “Coaching Employees, The Take 10 Check In”.) Example: You should
take ten minutes a week to check in with each of your employees. During those
ten minutes, ask the following three questions and document the result of your
conversation: • How do you think the team is doing? • How can things be
improved?
• Counsel:
• Counseling is used when an employee’s problems impact performance and is
intended to mitigate any further action, including formal disciplinary action.
The employee should solve the problem and your role is to be positive,
supportive, and encouraging in that process. (Refer to the Toolkit documents,
“Counseling Your Employees, The 2-Minute Challenge” and “Counseling Your
Employees, The Role of a Good Supervisor”.) Example: One of your classified
staff employees is habitually 15-20 minutes late and provides no explanation
for her behavior. As soon as you notice her repetitive behavior, you should
counsel her, seeking her ownership of the issue, and hopefully avoid any
further action.
• Director:

• Directing is used when performance problems continue and assumes you have
educated, coached, and counseled. During “directing” conversations, you should make
recommended alternatives and consequences clear, be calm and serious, get your
school or department HR or HRCS involved, and make sure the meeting is thoroughly
documented. Example: Unfortunately the employee mentioned in the last example
continues to be late. You should have a meeting with the employee clearly outlining
the problem, the desired result, and the consequences of not correcting the problem.
Additionally, you should document your conversation with the employee and forward
it to HR.
• THANK YOU! 
 HUMAN ELEMENTS IN SAFETY

• Understanding Human Factors in Occupational Safety
• Tasks, workload and work patterns.
• Working environment and workplace design.
• Workplace culture and communication.
• Leadership and resources.
• Policies, programs and procedures.
• Worker competency and skill.
• Employee attitude, personality and risk tolerance.
• The Human Element is the innate skills, talent, emotion, drive and culture that
only come from humans. The Human Element is what gives the
organization's Values meaning and it is the driving force that makes the
Mission valid. A corporation is equipment, inputs, specifications, criteria,
requirements and strategy.
• Safety is a state of being protected from potential harm or something that has
been designed to protect and prevent harm. An example of safety is when you
wear a seat belt. An example of safety is a safety belt.
• What Is The Definition Of Effective Safety Communication?

• Effective safety communication is vital to maintaining a safety culture. When

employees regularly communicate with each other in an open, respectful manner,
they are also more willing to give and receive feedback. Effective communication
also supports teamwork and coordination between groups. Employees learn about,
and become part of, an organization’s safety culture through communication. Lack
of clear communication from management can result in situations where managers
say one thing but do another. Employees then spend time and energy trying to
interpret the conflicting messages. In such situations, employees will generally
interpret a manager’s behavior as the more valid indicator of the organization’s
values and priorities. Persistent mismatches between formal and informal
communications can lead employees to disregard or develop a cynical view of
formal communications. This can lead to ineffective formal communications from
management and a weakened safety culture.
• Communications within work groups are timely, frequent, and accurate. Work
groups and supervisors communicate with other work groups and supervisors
during the performance of their work activities. Individuals communicate with
each other such that everyone has the information necessary to accomplish
work activities safely and effectively. Communications during shift turnovers
and pre-job briefings provide information necessary to support nuclear safety.
Work groups integrate nuclear safety messages into daily activities and
meetings.
• Leaders promptly communicate expected outcomes, potential problems,
planned contingencies, and abort criteria for important decisions. Leaders share
information on a wide range of issues with individuals and periodically verify
their understanding of the information. Leaders take steps to avoid unintended
or conflicting messages that may be conveyed by decisions. Leaders encourage
individuals to ask questions if they do not understand the basis of a
management decision. Executives and senior managers communicate the
reasons for resource allocation decisions, organizational changes, and other
decisions affecting the organization as a whole, including the safety
implications of those decisions.