Electrical Safety: Safety Management and Organizational Structure (part 2)

<< cont. from part 1

EMPLOYEE ELECTRICAL SAFETY TEAMS

Reason

Electrical safety programs that are developed and/or administered without employee input will be ineffective. Employees know their jobs better than anyone. They understand those procedures with which they are comfortable and those that seem wrong. An electrical safety program that is developed without complete employee involvement has very little chance of success.

Method

Employee safety teams provide the best method for ensuring employee participation in a safety program. Such teams should be composed of a minimum of three employees chosen by their peers. The team should have regularly scheduled meetings on a monthly basis- more often if required by accidents or emergency conditions. The meetings should be held on company time.

Employee safety teams should be intimately involved with the entire safety program from initial design to ongoing results evaluations. They should be officially sanctioned by management and should have direct access to executive management. A limited, but useful, travel budget should be made available to the team to allow them to attend seminars and visit other facilities to study other safety programs. Although the specific responsibilities of such a team may vary from one company to another, the following may be used as guidelines.

Safety Program Development. Because of their familiarity with their jobs, employees are in a unique position to evaluate safety needs. What appears to be a perfectly safe procedure to a layperson may be obviously unsafe to a skilled, qualified worker. Furthermore, employees will often talk to their peers more freely than to supervisors or management. An employee safety team will be able to identify problems and solutions that outsiders might miss. Because of this, the safety team should be directly involved with the safety program development and/or modification described earlier in this section.

Safety Meetings. Employees should control all or at least part of their safety meetings.

Briefings, permits, certifications, audits, and other activities required by legislation or regulations should be scheduled by management and safety personnel; however, other safety related presentations should be generated by employees and administrated through the employee safety team.

Accident Investigation. The team should be involved in the investigation of accidents.

The best way to ensure this involvement is to have the employee safety team appoint a member to serve on the accident investigation team. Accident investigation is a very demanding science and should not be performed by those unfamiliar with the information presented in Section 4.

Employee Training. The safety team should be allowed to review and recommend employee safety-related training. Employees who have been to outside safety training courses should be interviewed by the safety team. The team should then issue an annual recommendation for additional or modified training. This report should be considered a primary source of information when training budgets and schedules are produced.

SAFETY MEETINGS

The venerable safety meeting is one of the most universal of all safety vehicles. This one brief period combines training, program review, new concept presentation, and hazard notification all in one. The specific design and implementation of a safety meeting is necessarily dependent on the organizational arrangement of the company. The following items highlight some of the key imperatives in the structure of a safety meeting.

Who Attends

Safety meetings should be attended by all personnel affected by the safety topics that will be discussed. Those who should attend electrical safety meetings include the electricians, electrical technicians, electronics technicians, electrical supervisors, electrical department management, safety personnel with electrical responsibility, and anyone else who may be exposed to any of the electrical hazards.

Safety meetings should be chaired by employees, preferably members of the employee safety team. Remember that the company's attitude toward proper safety can make an enormous difference in employee attitudes.

What Material Should be Covered

The safety meeting should have a standard, but flexible, schedule. Table 7 shows the type of schedule that should be included. Flexibility is the key word. One of the most frequent complaints about safety meetings is that they always contain the same old messages, are presented the same old way, and use the same old films or videos. The program should be flexible and new. Employees should be consulted as to topics that they feel may be relevant.

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Table 7 Typical Safety Meeting Schedule

• Welcome and Review of Topics to Be Covered

• Accident Report

Summary of Accidents

Analysis and Lessons Learned

Procedure/Policy Modifications if Any

• Training Schedules and/or Safety Awards

• Meeting Topic Presentation

• Employee Safety Suggestions

• Questions/Answers

• Announcement of Next Meeting and Adjournment

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Avoid using the safety meeting time for non-safety-related information. General company announcements should be made at general employee meetings, not at safety meetings.

Also remember that employees who are injured at home cannot report to work. Safety meetings should also address home safety issues. Topics such as safe use of appliances, house wiring safety, home lightning protection, and first aid can be useful to employees both on and off the job.

When Meetings Should be Held

To accommodate work schedules, many companies hold their safety meetings at the beginning of the work day. Others may wait until the end of the day. Try moving the time of the meetings around. When the results of the meeting are evaluated, as described later, the most appropriate time will be that in which the greatest amount of information is imparted. For real variety, some companies have found that continuously moving the meeting times is effective. Some companies even hold meetings at night and invite spouses to attend. This approach allows the whole family to become involved in safety and allows the employer to present home safety topics more effectively.

Safety meetings should be canceled only when absolutely no other option is available.

Major operational emergencies such as fires and major outages are the only acceptable reasons for canceling a safety meeting.

Where Meetings Should be Held

Variety should also be exploited when choosing meeting locations. Most meetings will be held at the work site for economic reasons; however, some meeting topics might call for different locations. For example, a demonstration of the proper use of hot sticks might best be held at a substation area, while tool safety training might be most effective if presented in the shop. Remember that when demonstrations are given, even more extreme safety pre cautions should be taken.

Evening safety meetings can be held at private banquet rooms or restaurants with meeting facilities. The meeting can be integrated with a social occasion that will allow management personnel, safety personnel, employees, and families to discuss problems and share solutions on a more informal basis. When such meetings are held, they should remain serious, with safety as the premier topic.

How Long Meetings Should Be

Meetings held at the workplace should be kept to a maximum of one hour unless some special topic or presentation requires more time. Remember that a safety meeting is a training presentation. Adult training sessions are best kept to short segments. Thus, if a meeting requires more than the one-hour time period, be certain that breaks are given every 45 minutes or so. Evening meetings may be somewhat longer if a dinner or other social event is integrated with the meeting.

Evaluation of Safety Meetings

Like all parts of a safety program, meetings should be constantly evaluated. Employee questionnaires and quizzes should be used to evaluate the quality of the meetings and the amount of information retained. These evaluations can be done on an anonymous basis so that employees feel free to share negative as well as positive comments. When tests or questionnaires identify problem areas, the meeting structure should be modified to correct the problem.

Follow-through. The safety program will not work if the company is not truly committed. When safety suggestions are made, the company should follow through and report back to the employee in writing. The employee safety committee should monitor suggestions and intervene if the company is not following through properly.

OUTAGE REPORTS

Safety hazards and electrical outages are frequently related to each other. Knowledge of the details that surround an electrical outage can be invaluable in pinpointing safety hazards.

Outage reports can be used to:

1. target potential or existing safety hazards.

2. justify maintenance or additions to a power system to increase reliability.

3. gather data for designing better power systems or additions to other plants or facilities.

Outage reports should include the following:

• Time and length of outage

• Cause of outage if known

• results of outage (costs, injuries, etc.)

• Suggestions to prevent such an outage in the future

SAFETY AUDITS

Description

Depending on the intended extent, audits vary from short, simple inspections of specific problems or areas to large, companywide reviews that explore every facet of a safety pro gram. Whatever their size or complexity, a safety audit is performed to review and assess the ongoing safety elements of a business. Audits are designed to identify the weaknesses and strengths of a safety program.

Process. A comprehensive audit starts with a review of upper-management safety awareness and attitudes and continues through the entire organization. During the procedure, every facet of the safety program is reviewed, cataloged, critiqued, and-if necessary- modified.

Attitudes. The attitudes of company personnel can make or break the effectiveness of a safety audit. Many employees tend to take safety audits very personally. A properly run safety audit should not be performed as an inquisition. Honest errors should be noted and corrected without hostile indictments or defensive recriminations. All personnel should be aware that a safety audit is only one tool used to make the workplace safer for everyone.

Audits versus Inspections. Some references differentiate between an audit and an inspection. In such references, audits are portrayed as major, comprehensive efforts that include all facets of the safety program. Inspections, on the other hand, are smaller, more concise efforts that may assess only one small area or procedure.

While there may be some psychological advantage in separating the two terms, remember that both are intended to identify, and subsequently eliminate, existing or potential safety hazards.

Purposes

The single most important purpose of a safety audit is to identify and eliminate safety hazards. There are, however, additional side benefits and purposes that are realized, including the following:

1. employee morale is improved as safety problems are eliminated.

2. Audits provide a dynamic record of safety performance.

3. A positive cycle of safety improvement is created. That is, departments that get good scores tend to work harder to maintain their high scores. Departments that do not do as well tend to work harder to improve for the next audit.

4. Managers at all levels are made aware of many safety problems and procedures that they might not otherwise discover. For example, an audit that includes analysis of OSHA compliance may make managers aware of OSHA rules that were previously unknown.

5. When performed as a "family" procedure, a safety audit can actually enhance employer employee relations. Employees respect management teams that truly put employee safety first.

Procedure

The safety audit should review and evaluate each element of the safety procedure. Site inspection trips, personnel interviews, task observation, and documentation review are among the methods that may be used. Each portion of the company that is reviewed will have its own specific concerns. Note that the items presented in the following sections are intended for example only. Specific facilities may require more or different audit criteria.

Facilities. Checkpoints for the electrical physical plant include the following:

1. Is the electric equipment kept clean?

2. Are safety exits clearly marked and unblocked by wire reels, ladders, and other such equipment?

3. Are relay flags and other such indicators kept reset?

4. Is explosion-proof equipment properly maintained and sealed?

5. Are all electrical grounds in place and secure?

Employees. Properly trained, alert employees are at the heart of any safety program. An individual employee is always the person most responsible for his or her own personal safety. The following points are typical of the types of checks that should be made to audit the safety awareness of individual employees:

1. Are employees adequately trained?

2. Are employees familiar with their safety handbook?

3. Do employees know where all electrical safety equipment is located?

4. Can employees successfully perform safety-related procedures such as safety grounding and voltage measurement?

5. Are personnel familiar with the electrical safety one-line diagram?

6. Are employees familiar with the safety techniques that are unique to the various voltage levels to which they will be exposed? Management. Good safety practice starts at the top. If management includes itself in the audit process, employees will accept that they too must be reviewed. Management involvement is more than just window dressing, however. Other management audit points include the following:

1. Does the facility have a formal, written safety policy?

2. Are safety rules enforced uniformly?

3. Is there an employee safety committee to which management defers when technical and day-to-day decisions must be made?

4. Does management promote both on-the-job and off-the-job safety?

5. Does management provide, at company expense, CPR and other such training?

Safety Equipment. Various rules and regulations require the use of approved electrical safety equipment. The following points are typical of safety equipment checks during an audit:

1. Is safety equipment readily available for all personnel?

2. Have all rubber goods been tested within the required period?

3. Are meters and instruments mechanically sound and electrically operable?

4. Are test equipment fuses properly sized?

5. Are safety interlocks operational and not bypassed?

6. Are safety signs, tags, warning tapes, and other such warning devices readily available to all employees?

Safety Procedures. Energy control and other such safety procedures must be properly developed and implemented. A few of the key points for procedures include the following:

1. Are written switching orders required for planned outages?

2. Is a written copy of the lockout-tagout procedure available to all personnel?

3. Are all employees trained in electrical safety grounding?

4. Are safety procedures followed for each and every operation or are they bypassed in the interest of production?

Documentation. Safety electrical one-line diagrams and other such documents are too frequently ignored and allowed to fall behind or remain inaccurate.

The following key points should be checked for safety-related documentation:

1. Are the electrical portions of the company safety handbook up to date and consistent with currently accepted safety practice?

2. Are copies of all safety standards and practices readily available to all personnel?

3. Is the safety electrical one-line diagram up to date, accurate, and legible?

4. Are accident reporting forms, test sheets, procedures, and other such operational aids readily available?

The Audit Team

Audit teams should be composed of safety personnel, management personnel, and employees. Because of their familiarity with safety auditing techniques, safety personnel should usually be the team leaders. The audit and assessment tasks should be shared equally by all team members.

The number of team members will, of course, depend on the size of the facility or facilities being audited. A minimum of three members is recommended even for very small facilities. This will allow representations for safety, management, and employees.

Some companies use the employee safety team to spearhead safety audits. The safety team assigns audit personnel, reviews audit results, and continues to follow up on changes.

[coming soon] FIG. 2 Facilities audit form. (a) Outdoor substations; (b) indoor substation/electrical room; (c) miscellaneous outdoor equipment; (d) power transformers; (e) metal- clad switchgear; ( f ) motor control centers; (g) battery stations; (h) panelboards.

[coming soon] FIG. 3 Safety equipment audit form. (a) Page 1; (b) page 2; (c) page 3.

[coming soon] FIG. 4 Safety procedures audit form. Electrical Safety Audit Form Safety Policies & Procedures

[coming soon] FIG. 5 Documentation audit form. Electrical Safety Audit Form Documentation

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Electrical Safety program

The answers that you provide on this form are critical to the successful implementation and maintenance of a Zero incidents Safety Program. Please provide your reaction to each statement by checking the appropriate box. You may be asked for an interview to further expand on your answers.

Employee questionnaire-page -- Company/location:

This interview form is anonymous. Please feel free to answer honestly.

1. I am not able to perform my job safely because I have not been provided with the right safety equipment.

2. It is not appropriate to point out my coworkers' at- risk behavior.

3. Many of the safety procedures we are supposed to follow are unnecessary

4. I follow the correct safety procedures and use the appropriate equipment

5. Management at my company supports a company-sponsored electrical safety training program.

6. Management at my company supports the electrical safety program.

7. I would not hesitate to report one of my coworkers who was exhibiting at- risk behavior.

8. I am provided with all the necessary safety procedures to allow me to form my job safely.

9. My supervisor encourages productivity at the expense of safety.

10. My company says it supports the electrical safety program, but in reality discourages anything that detracts from production.

11. My supervisor supports the electrical safety program.

12. My coworkers do not follow the correct safety procedures.

13. I enjoy my job.

14. I know what to do in an electrical emergency.

15. My team has adequate skills to perform its job safely and efficiently.

16. My company does not provide adequate skills training.

FIG. 6 employee audit questionnaire. (a) Page 1; (b) page 2; (c) page 3; (d ) page 4.

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1. Our electrical employees are not able to perform their job safely because they have not been provided with the right safety equipment.

2. It is not appropriate for an employee to point out coworkers' at- risk behavior.

3. Many of the safety procedures we are supposed to follow are unnecessary

4. Our employees follow the correct safety procedures and use the appropriate equipment.

5. I support a company-sponsored electrical safety training program.

6. I support the electrical safety program.

7. I would not hesitate to counsel an employee who was exhibiting at- risk behavior.

8. The company provides all the necessary safety procedures to allow our workers to perform their jobs safely.

9. Our supervisors have encouraged productivity at the expense of safety.

10. Our company says it supports the electrical safety program, but in reality it discourages anything that detracts from production.

11. All supervisors support the electrical safety program.

12. Our employees know what to do in an electrical emergency.

13. Our electrical team has adequate skills to perform its job safely and efficiently.

14. Our company does not provide adequate skills training.

15. I am skeptical about the ultimate value of our electrical safety program.

16. The concept of "zero incidents" is unrealistic.

17. On occasion, electrical safety must be compromised for production.

18. The concept of "zero incidents" is fine in theory but not achievable at a reasonable cost.

19. I am aware of incidents where safety has been compromised for production.

20. I am committed to correcting, in a timely manner, deficiencies that are identified by this audit.

21. All of my employees have adequate electrical safety and skills training.

22. I endorse a "zero incidents" electrical safety program.

23. Electrical safety should never be compromised for production.

24. All of my employees have adequate electrical personal protective equipment.

FIG. 7 Management audit questionnaire. (a) Page 1; (b) page 2. (Courtesy Cadick Corporation.)

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Audit Tools

The principal tool of the safety audit is the audit form (Figs. 2 to 7). A form of this type should be developed for every area involved in the audit. In addition to such forms, audit team members should be supplied with copies of safety procedures, standards, and other such documents. Team members can thus evaluate whether the procedures and standards are being followed. Note that the management and employee questionnaires can be used for statistical analysis.

Follow-up emergency or life-threatening problems should be corrected immediately. Problems that are left uncorrected continue to put employees and equipment at risk. Moreover, major audits that find problems that are not corrected send very negative signals to employees.

Follow-up to correct a problem should occur within a very short time after the results of the audit. Major safety problems should be corrected immediately. Action on less serious problems should begin within one month of the audit.

When audit results call for additional employee training, major system modification, or other such long-term expenditures, management should develop the plan within one month.

No one expects major expenditures to be performed on a short-term basis; however, safety considerations must be met in a timely and effective manner. The audit report should be written as soon as the audit is complete. The timetable for the correction of observed problems should be based on three criteria as follows:

1. How serious is the problem? If an accident caused by this problem would result in very severe injuries or high levels of damage, the problem should be corrected immediately.

This criterion is the most important of the three, and it should outweigh any other considerations.

2. What is the likelihood that an accident will occur as a result of the problem noted in the audit? If there is little possibility of an accident, correction of the problem may be relegated to a lower status.

3. How much will it cost to fix the problem?

Internal versus External Audits

Although companies usually employ their own personnel in the performance of a safety audit, sometimes an external firm may be used. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Three principal reasons may call for the use of an external consultant in the performance of a safety audit:

1. Consultants perform such audits on a routine basis and, therefore, tend to be more efficient than inexperienced employees.

2. Consultants tend to be dispassionate and therefore more objective in their analysis.

3. In-house personnel may not be available because of work schedules.

Of course, the use of consultants has some disadvantages as well, such as the following:

1. Consultants lack familiarity with their clients' in-house systems and conditions.

2. Employees may not speak as freely with an outsider as they do with their own coworkers.