Document 3BX01VGGqnLBOnBrVaGEq2D

be expected to do everything For example, it can 1 Help develop safe work habits and safe attitudes, but it cannot compensate for unsafe conditions and unsafe procedures 2 Focus attention on specific causes of acci dents, although by itself it cannot eliminate them 3 Supplement safety training, yet it cannot be considered a substitute for a good train ing program 4 Give employees a chance to participate in accident prevention activities, such as sug gesting safety improvements in job pro cedures 5 Provide a channel of communication be tween workers and management, because accident prevention is certainly a common meeting ground 6 Improve employee, customer, and public relations, because it is evidence of man agement's sincerity with regard to accident prevention (See Fig 12-1) The ultimate objective of a program to mamtarn interest m safety is to prevent ac cidents Usually, though, it is as difficult to determine the degree of success achieved by an interest-maintaining program as it is to isolate the effectiveness of an advertising cam paign separate from the entire marketing pro gram The reason is that generally companies with such programs also have sound basic safety programs working conditions are safe, employees are well trained and safety minded, and supervision is of a high cahber ' However, one prominent company that al ready had a good basic program attributed a reduction in its work injury rate to a stepped-up program to maintain interest The program was based on an idea submitted by an employee Each month candy bars were dis tributed to injury-free employees Wrapped with some of the candy bars were shps that could be traded for free pans of safety shoes Another company gave each employee who had an injury during the month a package of gum with the slogan "Something to chew on" and a friendly safety message and wishes for an injury-free future A meat-packing firm also was able to assess the value of its program to maintain interest Several safety bulletin boards were installed, and posters and safety contest reports were displayed on them These displays were credited with an impressive cut m the num ber of injuries and with a workmen's compen sation insurance refund of more than $1200 Selection of Program Activities Safety directors frequently undertake pro motional activities with no preliminary plan ning or determining of objectives Some men are prone to use, for example, films or posters for no other reason than that they happen to be available at low cost All too often, safety professionals spend a disproportionate amount of time on commit tee work, contests, or "homemade" visual aids because of their bosses' or their own per sonal interests Sometimes these activities are substituted for a sound, well rounded program based on supervisoiy responsibility Basis for the program To be effective, a program for maintaining interest m safety must be based on needs Select activities so they yield the desired results, not just because they will be popular To develop suitable activities and promo tional material, the needs of supervisors and employees must be known To determine what the employees really thought of the safety program and just how interested they were, one company inaugu rated a safety inventory plan Each year after the regular stock inventory had been taken, safety inventory cards were distributed to all employees--salaried workers as well as hourly The cards were distributed by foremen or supervisors, who asked each employee to take stock of his job and environment with regard to safety The following year's safety program was planned on the basis of the ques tionnaire returns, which ran better than 90 percent Many suggestions for improvement of the safety program were received and sub sequently put into practice Factors to be considered Company policy and experience. If a com pany ordinarily uses activities, such as corn- 265