The very first element listed in OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.119 Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals is "employee participation." I believe it is one of the most important and overlooked aspects of the PSM standard.
The rules requiring employees to participate in the PSM program can be found in 1910.119(c) and require companies to address three areas. To comply, your program must include a written plan, consult employees on how to best develop the other PSM elements and provide employees with access to information generated under the PSM standard.
The nonmandatory requirements associated with 1910.119 Appendix C recommend establishing an employee safety and health committee to help with the development of the program as well as to implement and maintain it. Consider creating a culture of engaging employees rather than mandating participation. The difference is immense and a stark contrast between employees investing in the company versus simply taking action because it's another job duty.
Creating an engaged workforce is a commitment and an investment from the company and its management team; however, it yields a high return. According to Quantum Workplace, here are a few research-backed benefits: 70-percent fewer safety incidents, 41-percent lower employee absenteeism, improved employee loyalty, 40-percent fewer quality defects, engaged employees are 17-percent more productive than their peers, and 21-percent higher profitability. It is easy to see how using an employee participation mandate to engage the workforce will positively impact your site.
This raises the question: How do you improve employee engagement? I'm going to focus on five specific things you can do to immediately start creating momentum.
- Focus on the workers' experience. Although making giant leaps toward changing the company's culture and improving your employees' overall work experience will take time, create small wins using the PSM program. Make process safety committee meetings more engaging by starting meetings with good news and success stories presented by meeting attendees, keep the meetings focused, rotate facilitators to keep it from devolving into a grind, and find ways to keep it fresh.
- Manage employee stress. People in high-stress environments are less likely to focus on the task at hand. When this happens, the potential for accidents significantly increases. Actively solicit feedback on how to reduce frustration, and pay close attention to employees who are visibly frustrated.
- Improve transparency. Openness between managers and employees helps improve morale, boost performance and decrease work-related stress. At a minimum, process safety information and performance indicators should be widely distributed throughout the site. If there is substandard performance relating to your PSM program, consider turning it into a focused improvement campaign.
- Develop a culture of recognition. Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool that can transform an organization and a simple technique to quickly implement in your PSM program to improve employee engagement. Work with unit supervisors, managers and other site leaders to actively look for PSM-related successes, and take a few minutes to recognize them for it. This can be in the form of an impromptu "pat on the back" in your daily team meeting or even at a more formal event. The important thing is to focus on what people are doing right and coaching areas that need improvement.
- Find the weak spot. A cultural assessment is an effective and often underutilized tool to determine the effectiveness of the safety culture. It can provide excellent insight into whether employees are participating because they have to or if they are fully engaged in the overall success of the PSM program. Consider using this tool to obtain an objective analysis of opportunities for improvement.
Improving employee engagement will not only significantly improve your PSM program, but pay dividends in the site performance. With all the benefits associated with an engaged workforce, it may be time for you to revisit how employees are participating in your PSM program.
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