How would you promote a safety-first attitude in a logistics department?

The cliché “Safety First” approach is used today by many companies, but it does illustrate the basis for an effective company safety program. The first time an employee enters your facility, safety training and OSHA compliance must be at the top of the list during new hire orientation.

Safety is all about tone and actions. People can talk about safety, erect a few banners, and be done with it. Talk is one thing. Backing it up with actions and accountability is another. Creating a strong commitment to safety does not happen overnight and is not the responsibility of one person. It is imperative that the entire Logistics/ distribution center team has accountability for safety. Safety should be as common to everyday culture as pallets and cartons are to a warehouse facility.

Establishing goals and communicating the numbers is a beginning…but only a beginning. In order to reduce costs and improve safety, you need to implement and monitor a full, comprehensive safety program. Elements of the program should include OSHA training on topics such as:

Hazardous materials

Bloodborne pathogens

Power equipment

Confined space

Lockout/tagout

Personal protective equipment

Emergency evacuation plans

Failure to train and build core competencies in these critical areas can result in substantial fines by OSHA, ranging from the low thousands up to millions of dollars. No one will argue that OSHA training is glamorous or exciting, but it is necessary in order to avoid fines, reduce the risk of work-related injuries, and promote a safety attitude.

I have worked for 11 years in different supply chain positions, and the experience gained from those years reminded me with a novel by  Fyodor Dostoyevsky the author of Crime and Punishment novel; If you want rules to be applicable then you need 5 things:

Find out exactly what is the target you want to reach (Safety here).

Equip the work area with whatever needed to reach that target.

Equip and train your personnel with whatever training or personal requirements needed to reach that target.

Enforce the rule of reward and punishment which is ofcourse is additional to the ultimate reward which is safety.

Make sure that third party personnel or equipment are included within your system.

Finally, keep a record or a logsheet.

Stay safe.

Akram Odaily