Safety and Health Program Development and Management

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Six significant elements make up a comprehensive safety and health program. They include the management’s commitment and leadership, assignment of responsibility, identifying and controlling hazards, provision of training and education, and record keeping and hazard scrutiny. The other important element is the provision of first aid. Provision of medical care is also deemed as important.

Commitment to management and leadership

The management needs to take charge by developing a policy statement through which goals are established and issued via a communication to all the relevant departments and individuals (US Fire Administration 19).

It also involves revising programs annually, the commitment of resources, and the strict observation of safety rules by the management. Equally, the management must fully participate in safety meetings and perform inspections, while ensuring that the rules and procedures on safety are integrated into site operations.

Assignment of responsibility

This involves establishing a safety designee and supervisors who have knowledge and accountability. The supervisors should understand their responsibilities when it comes to matters of safety and health. On the other hand, employees should strictly adhere to the safety rules established.

Identifying and controlling hazards

Periodic program on the inspection of site safety involving the supervisors should be scheduled while putting in place preventive controls. The program includes engineering controls, maintenance, as well as PPE. Stipulated action needs to be established on how to address hazards, and a safety committee also established appropriately. The management should design enforcement procedures and avail the needed technical references.

Training and education

All the supervisors should receive basic training and, where possible, specialized training should equally be offered. A comprehensive training program for the employees should be in place to ascertain effectiveness (Carter and Rausch 189).

Recordkeeping and analysis of hazard

Records on injuries and illnesses affecting employees should be maintained and the summary posted in a particular month to enable the organization to track the information accurately and take the necessary actions. Supervisors should investigate accident causes, as well as come up with proposals on the corrective actions. The evaluation of illnesses, injuries, and near misses should be conducted to determine trends and the corrective action initiated.

Medical care and first aid provision

Supplies of first aid and medical service should be availed, and the employees informed about the medical results (Foley 77). Emergency procedures should also be established, and appropriate training offered to enhance the ability of service provision.

The Process of Establishing Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are put in place after undertaking a needs assessment. This step is crucial in that it acts as a precedent to the formulation of features that make up the program. Thus, the first process in establishing goals and objectives is to list down all the possible goals. Moreover, there is a need to make a record of the objectives that are set, depending on the organization’s operations and targets.

The next process should involve the design phase. The program design is intended to help in making a blueprint for measuring expected objectives. In other words, program design forms part of the program architecture.

The program director is involved in the daily issues that include providing answers to the following questions: Who will be in charge of administering the program? What will be the organization of the program? Which is the particular location that the program will be housed? In which way will the finances be handled? Which kind of staff will be needed to execute the program satisfactorily?

Expert judgment and group participation

The establishment of goals and objectives should also involve the expert judgment process that entails arriving at decisions by relying on the expertise acquired through experience. According to Millet (166), the establishment of goals concerns making decisions and coming up with judgments which help in determining appropriate answers to problems being faced. The part that entails evaluating the different groups that share interests is known as “group consensus.”

The expert judgment, on the one hand, and the various ways through which group consensus can be achieved, involve common methods that are similar to the procedures that groups utilize or follow while making decisions. In attempting to get new ideas, the application of techniques such as ‘brainstorming and brainwriting’ will be efficient as they involve each in making direct contributions.

Equally, the ‘Norminakl Group technique’ can equally be applied to get the desired results (Millett 166). On the other hand, other different techniques may also be applied to help in exploring and clarifying issues. Both surveys and conferences are helpful in achieving the desired results.

Additionally, employing “Successive Proportional Additive Generation” technique, abbreviated as SPAN, may contribute towards attaining the right results effectively. The CPM chart is used in this process too. Moreover, PERT can act as a valuable tool in the “planning and execution” phases. Finally, it is possible to use the Gantt chart for the same purpose.

Weighting the objectives

This step is important as it measures the importance of each goal and objective as formulated from the initial stages. The process proceeds by having the group members measure or ascertain the importance of every objective formulated. The evaluation relies on the personal views that members have concerning the objectives. The evaluation of members’ views is enhanced by adopting the use of technical schemes such as “Normalized Direct Weighting,” with the results produced being more reliable.

Works Cited

Carter, Harry and Rausch Erwin. Management in the Fire Service. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2008. Print

Foley, Stephen. Resources for Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 2003. Print

Millett, Stephen. Managing the Future: A Guide to Forecasting and Strategic Planning in the 21st Century. Devon: Triarchy Press, 2011. Print

US Fire Administration. Emerging Health and Safety Issues in the Volunteer Fire Service. New York, NY: FEMA. 2008. Print

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