Let’s talk safety programs – specifically how they are developed and what needs to be done to improve them. You might be surprised to learn, as I was, that many smaller companies “appropriate” the plans of one or more of their vendors or friends as their own. After all, why go through the trouble and expense to reinvent the wheel? Let’s examine that idea a little closer and put it in a more familiar context.

Suppose you wanted to build a new home for your business – a warehouse and/or manufacturing space complete with offices. Perhaps you were particularly struck by a building you recently visited, or one owned by a colleague. Maybe that colleague even offered to give you their plans to use as your own. Would you do it? I doubt it. First, you would want a facility that reflected your business and would put your own personal stamp on it. Perhaps the building codes in your area would not permit that specific building from being built in your area. But the bigger question becomes, would someone else’s system meet your needs? Probably not.

So why would you want to copy and paste a safety program that was designed for another company and appropriate it as your own? You wouldn’t. Simply, OSHA requires that a company’s safety program reflect the hazards that company faces and that each company has the responsibility to protect its workers from harm. (Read the General Duty Clause if you need to see why). Of course, every safety program should have similar headings, but that’s where the comparison ends.

In subsequent posts, I will address the areas that I think are common to a world class safety program. But remember – your safety program has to reflect what you actually do! Keep you eyes on this space for more info to come.