OSHAcademy Safety Training Network - Safety and Health Policies

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Safety and Health Policies

A safety and health policy is a required component of an SHMS and defines your company's commitment to the management system. It describes your company's mission, core values and beliefs about safety and health. All elements of the policy should be achievable and reflect the importance of safety and health in the daily operation of the company. The policy also informs the external public of your commitment to address safety and health concerns and strive for continual improvement in this area.

Remember, the policy does not have to be developed prior to developing the rest of your safety and health management system.

Elements. When developing your safety and health policy, consider including the following elements:

Management commitment toward safety and health and protection of employees
Commitment to continual improvement and compliance with safety and health regulations
Commitment to effective employee participation

Implementation Guidelines. Once your policy is written and is ready to implement, consider following these guidelines:

Obtain approval and signature from top management
Document policy in visible format
Communicate policy to employees and make the policy available to interested parties
Review policy periodically to ensure its relevancy

Sample Policy Statement. This policy statement meets all of the above requirements.

The CHC Company is committed to the safety and health of our employees and our community. We will strive to comply with federal, state and local occupational safety and health regulations and to continually improve our safety and health performance. We promote employee participation in these efforts and will communicate our policies, procedures and goals to all employees to ensure a safe and healthful working environment.

Remember, your safety and health policy describes your company's mission, core values and beliefs about safety and health. Below is a strategy to consider when you develop and implement a safety and health policy for your organization:

Involve top management as well as your safety committee or safety teams in the development of the safety and health policy.

Review existing policies, such as business or environmental, that have a standard template that can be utilized. Also, find out if you have corporate safety and health guiding principles that you must consider.

Develop the policy content based on the required elements described earlier as well as the language and culture of your company.

Document the policy according to your current document control system.

Communicate the policy to all employees. This may be as simple as posting the policy throughout your facility, including it in employee newsletters, and/or posting it in the lobby.

Source: www.ies.ncsu.edu/shmscourse. NC State University