June is National Safety Month — Themed “No 1 Gets Hurt”

Observed annually in June, National Safety Month focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road, and in our homes and communities. This year the theme is “No 1 Gets Hurt” and the month is broken into four focus weeks, each designated for a particular safety issue: week one focuses on emergency preparedness; week two has the focus of wellness; week three emphasizes fall prevention, and week four concentrates on driving safety.

Like the prompt to check your smoke alarms when Daylight Savings hits, we here at ESC see National Safety Month as a great reminder to look at your safety programs to see if they need updating, revising, or compliance checks. It is also a great time to begin building and implementing a safety program if you need one.

Did You Know? ...There are Federal and State legal requirements to have an Accident Prevention Program

Having a good safety manual is at the core of your safety program. It provides the guidelines and direction for your entire safety program, as well as outlining the roles and responsibilities of employees and management in your safety program. To maintain efficacy it requires periodic review.

Another often recommended review process is to get a third party audit of your safety programs and procedures. Safety audits conducted by knowledgeable, experienced professionals will assist in reducing personnel risk and insure compliance with applicable standards and regulations. They will also help you avoid “insider blind-spots” with their neutral assessment and objective positioning. You will also benefit from their wide experience in multiple environments as they are able to share best practices that can strengthen individual programs, validate existing programs, and provide recommendations for growth or change when deemed necessary.

A well prepared and well executed safety audit can make a substantial difference in the prevention of accidents and injuries. Thoroughly completed audits with proper follow through are viewed favorably by regulatory agencies and can strengthen your company’s accident prevention plan.

Evergreen Safety Council offers customized, onsite safety inspections and audits to help you figure out if your safety program is effective in practice. Our highly trained safety consultant/trainers can perform an inspection or audit at your facility and then give you a detailed report of what was found and recommendations on improvement. (See next page).

Need help getting the whole team up-to-date? Evergreen Safety Council also offers a wide range of training classes and services that can be tailored to address your organization’s needs based on your consultation.

The four areas that this year’s National Safety Month covers are some of the most hazardous issues faced by employees. Driving is the number one killer on the job.  Wellness, falls and emergency preparedness are other important areas to consider and review in your safety program and APP.