Safety Compliance Enforcement
A system should be in place to ensure that employees comply with safe and healthy work practices. This may include the use of incentives, training or retraining, and disciplinary action.
Required Activities:
- To encourage safe behavior on the job, first line supervisors should acknowledge their employees for performing work safely. This provides positive affirmation and encourages cooperation with the program.
- Any employees making an exceptional contribution to the Safety Program should be recognized with a brief letter (with a copy to the employee's personnel file).
- If a supervisor observes an employee performing in an unsafe manner, he/she should determine the reason. If disciplinary action is required, the procedure identified in item # 4 below should be used. If a lack of knowledge is involved, appropriate training should be provided.
- When an employee is uncooperative and deliberately does not support the Program or does not follow safe work practices, disciplinary action in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement should be exercised.
- It is the responsibility of every supervisor to ensure that all of his/her employees receive a personal copy of the General Safe Work Practices and Department Specific Safe Work Practices (if department specific practices exist for the department).
Reporting of Accidents
Accident Investigations - Required Activities
All employees should know and understand that they are to report all work-related injuries or illnesses to their supervisor immediately at the time the injury or illness takes place. In addition, the supervisor needs to send the employee to the Benefits Analyst of the Human Resources Department, to fill out the appropriate forms. If an employee is unable to do so, the supervisor needs to contact the Benefits Analyst (831) 479-6182 and report the injury/illness and the appropriate paperwork can then be mailed to the employee.
As soon as possible (or after first aid treatment has been administered), the manager/supervisor should conduct a comprehensive investigation of the accident by reviewing the work site, examining tools or equipment involved, and interviewing the involved employee and witness. The focus of the investigation should be to identify unsafe conditions or work practices that may have caused the injury or illness. Inspection forms are provided in the document section of this manual.
Whenever practical and necessary, corrective action should be identified. Corrective action can and should include training, retraining, physical alterations of the work place, and in some cases disciplinary action. A copy of the Accident Investigation Form should be forwarded to the Human Resources department to the attention of the
Benefit Analyst, with the first report of injury within twenty-four hours of the accident. The Benefit Analyst should forward a copy of the report to the Program Coordinator, or designee.The Program Coordinator will log the Accident Investigation Report so that a follow-up can be made to ensure the corrective action was taken.
The Supervisor's Accident Investigation Form for Cabrillo Community College District can be found in Appendix A of the Injury & Illness Prevention Program.
Reporting of Unsafe Conditions
Required Activities
- All employees, especially managers and supervisors, have the duty to observe, identify, and report unsafe conditions as part of their responsibilities. Waiting until the semi-annual inspection takes place is only inviting accidents.
- Taking care to identify and correct unsafe work practices and conditions is an important activity within this program and must be taken seriously. No employee will be disciplined or discriminated against for reporting an unsafe condition.
- When an unsafe condition is reported, the supervisor or manager should prepare a written statement of the condition and either correct it immediately or produce a work request for the Facilities Planning and Plant Operations Department. Correction or replacement of unsafe equipment conditions is the responsibility of the department to which the equipment belongs. Copies of the work request for repairing unsafe conditions and/or equipment should be forwarded to the Program Coordinator, or designee.
- Semi-annual, Safety Inspection Reports will be completed by someone within the department. The process is discussed and responsibilities are outlined in the "Employee Training" section of the manual.
- Copies of all work request and other actions designed to repair or eliminate work hazards will be sent to the Program Coordinator, or designee. The Program Coordinator, or designee, will track open items to ensure they are completed within a reasonable time frame. Expenses of repairs may be the responsibility of the department requesting the repairs.
- Thorough documentation on particular issues must be maintained for future reference. This documentation should include the corrective action to be taken or the decision not to take any action. Documentation should be retained for three years.