Chapter 1 Understanding Safety as a Workforce Issue

A safety management program that blends management commitment with employee involvement is the key to meeting the myriad safety challenges in any organization. Joseph Gustin’s Safety Management: A Guide for Facility Managers, Second Edition addresses the complexities of safety management in detail, explaining how to systematically identify, evaluate, and prevent hazards. See what’s new in the Second Edition: Cross-comparison of old vs new OSHA standards Update on employer compliance requirements to ADA with reference to court decisions New ergonomic standards Explanation of revisions to OSHA workplace inspection/investigation procedures and recordkeeping rules New material on violence in the workplace, including checklists, case studies, and recommendations Keeping the focus on managing safety function, this second edition elucidates safety and health issues including liability and how to better carry out the tasks that ensure a safe working environment. It summarizes statistics examines key areas of safety management. Gustin delineates the rights and responsibilities of employer and employee and outlines the Whistleblower act and its impact. He also covers violence in the workplace, ADA compliance, conducting the safety audit, recordkeeping, safety inspections, and change management. The book highlights major aspects of safety and health management that are not well-covered in other texts, such as the written safety plan and a written hazard communication program safety plan. Gustin explains each element of written plan and how to adapt the sample plan to any organization. At the core of this second edition is the recognition that corporations and other organizations have a moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for everyone who enters their facilities.