HRM textbook

CHAPTER 16 EMPLOYEE SAFETY AND HEALTH 533
in place unsafe and antiquated equipment. To the Board and to some others who
studied BP s safety practices, Deepwater was another example of how encouraging
safe employee behavior must start at the top, and how top managements strategy
can trump even earnest efforts to improve employee safety behaviors. 12
Safety is not just a case of legality or humanitarianism. One study concluded that
safety activities paid for themselves by a ratio of 10 to 1, just in direct savings of
workers compensation expenses over 4 years. 13
1 Explain the supervisor s role
in safety.
The Supervisor s Role in Safety
After inspecting a work site where workers were installing pipes in a 4-foot trench,
an OSHA inspector cited an employer for violating the rule requiring employers
to have a stairway, ladder, ramp, or other safe means of egress in deep trench
excavations. 14 In the event the trench caved in, workers needed a quick way out.
As in most such cases, the employer had the primary responsibility for safety,
and the local supervisor was responsible for the day-to-day inspections. In this case
the supervisor did not properly inspect for safety. The trench collapsed, injuring
several employees.
The moral is that safety inspections should always be part of the supervisor s
daily routine. For example, a daily walk-through of your workplace whether you
are working in outdoor construction, indoor manufacturing, or any place that poses
safety challenges is an essential part of your work. 15 What to look for depends on
the situation. However, in general you can use a checklist of unsafe conditions such as
the one in Figure 16-5 (page 541) to spot problems.
2 Explain the basic facts about
safety law and OSHA.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY LAW
Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to assure so far as
possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working
conditions and to preserve our human resources. 16 The only employers it doesn t
cover are self-employed persons, farms in which only immediate members of the
employer s family work, and some workplaces already protected by other federal
agencies or under other statutes. The act covers federal agencies, but usually not state
and local governments.
The act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
within the Department of Labor. OSHAs basic purpose is to administer the act and to
set and enforce the safety and health standards that apply to almost all workers in the
United States. The Department of Labor enforces the standards, and OSHA has
inspectors working out of branch offices to ensure compliance.
OSHA Standards and Record Keeping
OSHA operates under the general standard clause that each employer:
. . . shall furnish to each of his [or her] employees employment and a place of
employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely
to cause death or serious physical harm to his [or her] employees.
Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970
The law passed by Congress in 1970 to
assure so far as possible every working man
and woman in the nation safe and healthful
working conditions and to preserve our
human resources.
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
The agency created within the Department
of Labor to set safety and health standards
for almost all workers in the United States.