When OSHA conducts an accident investigation they may cite the employer for a "lack of supervision". They are generally saying that one or more persons who represent the employer are not adequately overseeing work being accomplished.

It's extremely important that a supervisor provide adequate oversight so he or she may uncover hazardous conditions (materials, tools, equipment, environment) and unsafe work practices before they injure or kill a worker. Unsafe work practices, the cause of most accidents, can be effectively controlled only if the supervisor or other person in charge is out on the production floor, watching work processes.

If the supervisor is stuck back in the office all-day-every-day, how can he or she detect hazards? When the supervisor does uncover an unsafe work hazard, he or she can make sure it is eliminated, or exposure to the hazard is minimized.

If you find it impossible to oversee work on a regular basis, what step(s) can you take to make sure unsafe conditions and practices are discovered in a timely manner? Make sure you delegate that authority to one of your employees. If a two-person work crew is sent out on a project, make sure one of them is a lead-person with safety oversight responsibilities.

OK, you are providing adequate oversight...what steps do you take when you uncover hazardous conditions or unsafe work practices? It's important that you do the right thing quickly to effectively eliminate or reduce exposure to a hazard. The approach you take when pointing out unsafe work procedures with your employees will, to a large extent, determine your success. For example, read the following scenario and answer the questions below.

Bob is working on a large mixing machine which should have been properly locked out before beginning the maintenance. During your daily walkthrough inspection, you notice he is working hard inside the mixing unit, and you notice the mixer is not locked out. Bob could be seriously injured at any time. You approach Bob, and consider what you are going to say to him.

Additional information to help with this exercise.

Leaders understand the power sincere recognition has in creating a successful relationship with their employees. Employees should be recognized for safety whenever their performance meets or exceeds expectations.

But what are the safety behaviors you want to recognize?

Three general OSHA-mandated activities or behaviors employees should be recognized for are:

• Complying with company safety rules.
• Reporting hazards in the workplace.
• Reporting injuries immediately.

• Making safety suggestions
• Involvement in the safety committee and other activities.

Each of these behaviors marks an employee as a professional. Complying with safety rules indicates a worker values safety, and that they have the personal discipline to follow important company policies. Reporting hazards in the workplace may save lives and substantially reduce accident costs. Reporting injuries, no matter how minor, as soon as possible is highly professional because it minimizes the negative impact on both the worker and the employer. A win-win situation. You'll learn more about the effective application of consequences in Module 7.

Believe it or not, in America today, some companies do not recognize any of the above appropriate safety behaviors. They recognize employees for a common inappropriate behavior that, unfortunately, may be repeated frequently, and results long term in increased workers compensation premiums. What is that behavior?

The problem with this situation is that, yes, you do reduce the number of OSHA 300 log entries, but each recorded injury is usually more severe. And, the severity of injury has more impact on workers compensation premiums than the number of OSHA 101, First Report Of Injury Reports submitted. Consequently, you may have fewer reported injuries but higher workers compensation costs. So, in your effort to reduce costs through a reactive incentive program strategy...you actually increase costs.

Inappropriate safety behaviors may occur at any level of the organization. An example of an inappropriate supervisor level safety behavior would be allowing employees to use unsafe practices in order to meet production goals. Or, supervisors may simply ignore company safety rules. These very inappropriate behaviors send very clear messages to employees that safety is not as important as production. These behaviors are more likely to occur when the supervisor is working under pressure to produce or else in a fear-driven culture that creates a conflict between production and safety. Ore, the supervisor may not believe safety is part of the job... he or she might think, "That's the job of the safety director." Messages sent in such a culture are:

• If you work fast, your job is secure.
• If you work safe, your job may be in jeopardy.

Improving supervision is both an science and an art. You can learn all the technical aspects of supervision (the science), but only experience, with all it's successes and failures, will improve your skills to that of a true artist. Jump here for a few tips on improving supervision.

That's a very important question. Does a controlling leadership style, born from a lack of trust in employees work in the safety arena? Not usually. It is based on incorrect assumptions about human nature. Some of these assumptions include:

• Management makes decisions, drives the process, and organizes people and production only for economic gain.
• Workers must modify their behavior to fit the needs of the organization. They must be directed, controlled, even coerced in this effort.
• Management must be actively involved to prevent passive, resistant, counterproductive employee behavior. Employees must be persuaded, rewarded, punished, controlled so prevent them from being indolent, slothful, and just plain lazy. Because employees lack ambition, dislike responsibility, and prefer to be led, management's task is to prod employees along.
• Management is "getting things done through other people."

• Management and employees make decisions and drive the production process for economic gain.
• Workers are not passive and lazy by nature, but have become so due to experience and socialization in organizations. When motivated they are capable of self-directed work behavior and decision making.
• Employees seek safety, job security, responsibility, and recognition. They want to develop a high degree of pride in the work they accomplish. Management's challenge is to provide employees with the means to recognize their potential, and work at the highest possible level.
• Management is "organizing the workplace to best provide employees with the resources they need to be safe and achieve their own goals and objectives supporting organizational success."

So there we have it...adequate supervision means proactively designing a workplace culture that prevents injuries and illnesses. It's the combination of effective management and sound leadership. Because safety is critical to both the welfare of the employee and the company, only a tough caring leadership style, effectively adopted by management, will benefit the company safety and health culture in the long term.