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3700
Appendix T1 Safety
Observation Procedure |
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1.0
Purpose
By defining the process used in
making Safety
Observations(SO), this procedure implements the SO
Program described in ES&H
Manual Chapter 3700 Safety Observation Program.
2.0
Scope
Since the Jefferson Lab SO
Program, an integral part of the lab’s Integrated
Safety Management System (ISMS), is a lab-wide program, this procedure
applies to all laboratory organizations.
Because
effective use of the SO Program requires training, this procedure is not to be
used by managers until they have received Safety Management Leadership training
available from the Environmental, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q)
Division.
3.0
Responsibilities
NOTE: Management
Authority may be delegated at the discretion of the responsible manager
3.1
All Levels of Management
· Receive
and maintain SO Training (SAF100KD Safety Observation
Procedure).
·
Conduct, Planning, Perform, Follow-up, and Document
SOs, and Review Data in accordance with training.
·
Use
SO data reviews as part of the continuous improvement process.
3.2
Deputy Director – ESH&Q:
·
Provide
SO Training when requested.
4.0
Process Steps
4.1
Planning
4.1.1
The plan includes:
·
When,
where and for how long the SO Session
will be (typically 30 to 60 minute per session)
·
What
operations will be observed
·
Will
the observation be done alone or with others
4.1.2
Schedule the Sessions
SOs are conducted on the following frequencies:
|
Supervisors/Team
Leaders |
1
Observation/Week (1
Hr/Week, 1-2 Areas) |
|
Managers |
1 Observation/Week (1 Hr/Week, 1-2 Areas) |
|
Associate
Directors (AD) & Department Heads |
2
Observation/Month (2
Hr/Month, 1-2 Areas) |
|
Directorate |
1
Observation/Month (1
Hr/Month, 1-2 Areas) |
If
this schedule is followed, commitments to Department of Energy (DOE) will be
met. Although managers on vacation or
other travel are not expected to “catch up” when they return, they are expected
to plan ahead and conduct observations prior to their absence to maintain the
required frequencies. In addition, SO
“burnout” is a concern, especially in small work groups where employees may be
engaged too often (more than one time per week). Managers may find that conversations are
becoming repetitious and frustrating – a sign of burn out. Management should review these situations and
bring them to the attention of the AD-ESH&Q to make appropriate adjustments
to the required frequencies.
The
time of day and week should be varied and generally unannounced. Coverage of organizations should be complete
and reasonably uniform.
4.1.3
Types of sessions
·
Solo and Joint - SOs carried out by a single
manager or with a peer in his organization.
·
Tiered[1] - Involves
two or, at most, three managers from various levels within an organizational
unit.
·
Cross1 - involve two or, at most, three
managers from different organizations.
4.2
Perform SO
4.2.1
Observe people and observations
in the workplace
·
Loosely
guided by the SO plan observe for a short time (no more than a few minutes).
·
Formulate
a question or comment.
4.2.2
Dedicate time to SO
Focusing solely on conducting the
SO requires concentration, but it improves the quality of the observations, and
sends a message to all employees that this is an important activity.
4.2.3
Notes
It is
not necessary to take notes in the “field,” but it is OK to do so. However,
recognize that note taking during a conversation with an employee may make that
employee nervous. Explain to the
employee that
·
Notes
are not attributable to the worker.
·
Workers
are not identified when the observation is recorded within the
database.
·
What
you are using is a “Safety
Observation Form” that is designed to assist you in the observation and is
not a permanent record.
4.2.4
Focus on Behavior and Actions
Focus
on the safety behavior and actions of
employees rather than on unsafe
conditions. Unsafe acts
are almost always behind unsafe conditions.
While elimination of unsafe acts is the key to improved safety
performance, it is not always easy to determine what the underlying unsafe acts
are from observation of unsafe conditions, and caution is required to avoid
drawing unjustified conclusions.
It
is usually simple to correct an unsafe condition, but doing so leaves the
underlying causes in place. These can
re-generate unsafe conditions and expose workers to potential injury.
4.2.5
Talk with Employee
This conversation is
the core of the SO Program.
·
To
avoid creating a potential for injury engage the observed worker without
startling, distracting or surprising him/her.
·
Discuss
safe and unsafe behavior.
·
In
the case of unsafe behavior the goal is a constructive dialog that results in
worker recognition of the need to modify behavior.
·
The
goal is persuasion and agreement rather than enforcement.
In rare cases it may
be necessary to terminate the SO process:
·
If
a worker is observed in a repeated, flagrant, or willful violation of clear
safety rules and procedures, management must use the Stop-Work Process as
described in ESH Manual
Chapter 3330 Appendix T2 Stop Work for Safety Procedure to initiate a Stop-Work
Order.
·
For
situations involving hazards of less magnitude the suspend work
process (also described in ESH Manual Chapter 3330
Appendix T1 Suspend Work for Safety Procedure) is the appropriate response.
·
It
may be incumbent on manager to take disciplinary action. This is outside the scope of the SO
process. The Human Resource Department
should be consulted for more information.
4.3
Follow-up
There are many cases in which safety issues identified in SO Sessions are resolved on the spot, and no further action is indicated. In many other cases, the follow-up/actions
remain with the worker. As the SO
process focuses primarily on safety
behavior, this is appropriate. However,
there will also be many issues requiring correction of unsafe acts, improved tools and procedures, or
additional training, which will require action and follow-up by
management. In any case, unless
follow-up action actually occurs, some of the power of the SO process will be lost. Consequently, the “Safety
Observation Reports” web application contains a feature that
notifies ESH&Q staff of issues that need follow-up. These issues are then forwarded to the
appropriate Division Safety Officer and safety
warden to track follow-up actions in a timely way.
4.4
Document SO Session
The principal benefit of a SO comes from the direct, face-to-face
communication about safety issues between a manager and worker. But to get the full benefits of the program,
it is necessary to document the SO and collect, aggregate and analyze the
data. This facilitates an understanding
of safety behavior patterns in the organization and allows broader
conclusions than are possible from individual observations.
The SO data represent the
laboratory’s best set of leading safety performance indicators.
Use the process steps outlined
within ES&H Manual
Chapter 3700 Appendix T2 Safety Observation Report Procedure to document SO
data.
4.5
Review Data
4.5.1
Short-term
Managers at all
levels review and discuss the data from the SO with their staffs at least
monthly. This ensures that staff members are familiar with the nature and the
severity of the unsafe acts and behaviors in their organization. This permits appropriate management and staff
response to trends and problems, and demonstrates management’s commitment to
the SO program.
4.5.2 Long-term
SO data are collected and
presented in ways that enable management to review and analyze findings to gain
deeper understanding of the safety issues and safety behavior patterns in their
organizations. These analysis tools are
available at:
https://www1.jlab.org/mis/apps/ehs/safety_observations/reports.cfm
5.0
References
ES&H Manual Chapter 3700
Safety Observation Program
ES&H Manual Chapter
3700 Appendix T2 Safety Observation Report Procedure
6.0
Revision Summary
Reviewed
– 09/29/11 – Reviewed
by Technical Point-of-Contact, no substantive changes required.
Revision
0 – 11/19/08 – This
is new content
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ISSUING
AUTHORITY |
TECHNICAL POINT-OF-CONTACT |
APPROVAL
DATE |
EXPIRATION
DATE |
REV. |
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ESH&Q Division |
11/19/08 |
09/29/16 |
0 |
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