I was going through the latest issue of EHS Today magazine and I came across an article called “What do Workers Really Think About Safety” written by Bobby Pirtle.  It talked about how even though companies may think they have a good plan of attack for preventing workplace accidents and keeping their employees safe, it may not be working because employees are not on track with the plan.  The article suggested that in order to get them on track employers should issue a survey of safety to gauge a few things:

• How do employees perceive safety?
• Do employees believe the workplace safety plan is working?
• Should the workplace safety procedures that are in place be updated or revised?

Safety Perception Surveys (a survey that shows how a person feels about their safety environment) are a great way to get to the root of a major safety problem or just to make sure your safety plan is working correctly.  There are many types of surveys that can be given but I think the best are yes or no surveys; it is the easiest way to get the most honest answers from employees.  Questions can vary from specific jobs tasks to the facilities that they perform their jobs in, or from the non slip stairs they use to come and go every day to how comfortable they feel communicating with their superiors and coworkers.  There is no end to questions that you could use to get the answers you are searching for in terms of workplace safety.  If it has anything to do with employee health and well-being it can pertain to the safety survey.

After you have given everyone in the company the workplace safety survey and results are in, they should be shared with everyone so they now know what areas need improvement and know that their opinions were valued.

Bobby Pirtle suggested that the surveys be done once a year as this will provide updated data for fine tuning your safety program and enhancing your overall safety culture.

I think that a survey should be part of everyone’s safety plan, the best way to protect our employees is to know how and what they think.

Pirtle, Bobby “What do Your Workers Really Think about Safety?”  EHS Today May 2009: 22-25

Filed under: Workplace Safety by Beth Faraci