Effective safety Communication is the key to
organizational success in achieving a healthy, safe and productive workplace.
It is necessary to ensure roles and responsibilities are understood; to warn
about hazards; to avoid unsafe practices;
to develop emergency response and particularly to learn about the concerns,
issues and hazards that workers come across.
In
spite of continuous efforts to reduce the number of work-related accidents, every year
thousands of workers die and millions of workers suffer occupational injuries
and illnesses at their workplaces. It has been recognized that workplace with
open communication and frequent interactions between employees and supervisors
are important organizational elements, which distinguish companies with low
accident rates from those with high accident rates. Organizations with open
communication system shows that they are willing to accept feedback and
questions from anyone, respond to the issues raised by workers so that the
workplace can be made safer for everyone.
On-the-job
communication helps employees to know what’s going on all around them and also
let others know and understand the hazards, risks and the related safety
information.
Training
The
important step in on-the-job communication is training.
Employers must organize trainings effectively communicating all necessary
information so that workers are equipped with the knowledge required to
accurately and safely perform the tasks assigned. Organizations should ensure
trainings are effectively conducted by keeping lines of communication open
among workers throughout the organizations, including how safety data and
information is shared between workers and management which provides a better
means to identify risks and develops an approach to implement methods to
prevent injuries and illness.
During
training, workers must be made aware of all possible risks and hazards involved
in the task and how to communicate and report it to the management as
Communicating problems can be difficult for many employees, especially if they
are caused by their mistake.
Ensure effective communication of safety and health
information to prevent employee injuries and illness.
Effective
safety communication can be ensured by the following methods:
1. Interactive - It
is two-way, when we speak about safety and listen to worker’s concerns and
suggestions as well.
2. Informative- When
the information is shared to the employees telling them what they need to know
to work safely under all conditions.
3. Positive - This
method focuses on the exchange of ideas and information to improve workplace
safety and prevent accidents and illness.
4. Productive – This
method allows us to interact successfully with employees and spread safety
message to everyone.
Look out for communication barriers.
Unfortunately,
numerous barriers can break down the communication. For example:
–If
too much information is being communicated at a time, it would be difficult for
workers to absorb all the information at a time.
–If
information presented lacks clarity, it will be confusing or unclear, what a
worker actually understands might be quite different from what you intended to
say.
–If
expectations and results are not clearly defined, you may not be satisfied with
the results. It is important to know and express what would you expect as a
result of your safety communication.
–If
you communicate a safety message without listening to the response of employees,
then communication is incomplete. Remember, you have to speak and listen in
response for communication to be successful.
–If
you don’t consider workers’ concerns and priorities into account, they might
not listen to whatever you try to communicate.
Upward
communication from workers to managers facilitating the
exchange of information among workers is essential for organizational learning,
improvement and safe operations. Some common barriers to upward communication
include fear and guilt that the communication will be filtered as it goes up.
These communication barriers are not addressed; it can have a negative impact
on information exchange, organizational learning, and ultimately safe
performance. To facilitate effective upward communication, it is necessary that
the managers need to create a supportive, encouraging environment accepting
both positive and negative feedback, so workers would always feel free to speak
up.
Never forget that effective safety communication always
begins with a clear message.
The
message is the safety information or content you want to transfer and
communicate to the workers
–Think
before you speak on what you want to say. Be as clear as possible about each
point you want to cover.
–Organize
your message and content into a logical sequence for communication.
–Keep
your communications simple. Small information at a time, simply and clearly
stated, is more likely to be understood.
–The
message should as precise as possible. Use simple language and examples to
explain what you mean so that won’t be any misinterpretations.
Why it is important to use a variety of methods to
communicate health and safety information in the workplace.
There are certain reasons such as:
- The people respond differently
to different methods and this variety prevents over-familiarization with
only just one method and helps to explore many.
- Variety of methods are needed
for effective communication to overcome language
barriers and the incapability of some workers to read;
- Different methods of
communication can motivate, stimulate interest and gain involvement and
feedback;
- Different types of information
require different methods of communication, for example, emergency signs,
reading list or a hand book.
- In some cases organizational
policy may require certain information to be in a
specified format;
Why It Matters…
Organizations
with ineffective safety communication can have serious negative consequences,
including:
–Accidents,
incidents and illness
–Lost
time injuries
–Reduced
and delayed productivity
–
Chance of risk-taking by employees
–Inability
to comply with norms and regulations
–Increased
workers’ compensation and medical insurance costs
–Damage
to materials, equipment, or plant facility (for example, fire caused by
carelessness or lack of knowledge in the work place)
–Risks
to community and environment (for example, due to the release or improper
disposal of toxic chemicals)
Effective safety communication is an integral part of achieving an accident free workplace. Safety culture / Safety performance can be improved by providing sound guidelines to improve safety related communication. By providing all means of receiving safety feedback can make the workplace safer. Communications that maintain a focus on safety essentials are meant to protect the workers, the public and the environment.
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