The Role of Safety Managers in Maintenance Management

Safety is at the core of maintenance management. When we talk about safety management, it means that all actions taken on or in the environment where people live, work, or do their business must take safety issues into account. The first and most important step is to know and understand the various hazards that are present around your workplace. By doing this, you will make good decisions. However, if you only understand the hazards and dangers but don’t take action, you could end up with poor safety culture in your organization. The objective of this article is to make you understand the role and importance of safety managers in safety management or maintenance and to explain the things that you need to implement in your organization.

What do employers require?

We are currently facing a shift in workplace culture and an increased awareness of industrial hygiene and health and safety. Many employers are now requiring managers and supervisors to take the lead in the implementation and administration of industrial hygiene and health and safety programs, policies, and procedures. To do this, managers and supervisors must have the knowledge and skills required to perform such HSE-related tasks. Additionally, they must have the authority to take an appropriate level of action when they see or hear something that needs to be acted upon. To do this, they need to work with employees, managers, supervisors, and their supervisors to understand how to work with these individuals to ensure a safe workplace.

Measures to avoid hazards in the workplace:

We are all aware of the hazards that can be present in the workplace environment, but it is important to understand that every workplace can be unsafe. It is impossible to prepare an organisation for all hazards. However, it is possible to prepare a workplace to be away from those hazards that are most common. Employers should assess their workplace based on risk and hazard assessment and take measures to reduce these hazards. These measures may include: providing training for supervisors and workers in areas of risk, providing equipment in areas of risk, implementing controls to reduce risks, using appropriate personal protective equipment when necessary; and keeping hazard information available.

Most accidents are preventable:

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), ‘Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses occurred at a rate of 3.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers among private industry employers in 2008. Most accidents are preventable, and many may be averted by simply making small changes. However, accidents are a fact of life for every business, and they will always be a concern of yours and your workers.

A safety manager can prevent many workplace accidents and injuries by having a plan in place to prevent and reduce hazards in the workplace.

Safety managers must be involved in the planning and implementation of any safety programme and must consider the needs of the people who work in the facility. This involves educating managers and supervisors on how to identify and reduce hazards through safety workshops or encouraging them to attend safety coaching classes such as NEBOSH courses.

It is critical to understand your level of responsibility when it comes to offering aid and assistance to employees and supervisors. This varies from employer to employer and may be delegated by the employer to the safety manager or by the safety manager to a department manager. It is also important to understand the organization’s policies and procedures regarding safety and the role you may be required to take on in the implementation of safety in the workplace.

As a safety manager, it is important to be involved in the establishment of company policies and procedures. It is important to understand how much authority you have to provide assistance and help to employees and supervisors and what can and cannot be delegated. Most safety managers are the primary point of contact for workers and supervisors when it comes to safety implementation, as well as the primary educator on safety and health issues. They also need to be aware of how to prevent accidents by providing equipment and having the right practices in place to ensure safety.

The safety manager’s role must extend beyond what the company has in place. Managers and supervisors are important in this role. They are the first and last contact a worker has with the company and the primary conduit between the employee and the company. In addition, they provide the necessary communication between the company and the employees. Therefore, managers and supervisors need to be educated on how to implement safety programs and should be informed of any hazards present in the workplace. They also need to understand what is required from them in the implementation of safety and health in the workplace. Managers need to be encouraged to discuss any safety or health issues they see that may need intervention and to provide assistance and advice to employees.

Safety does not have to be sacrificed to get good results:

It has always been the maintenance manager’s responsibility to ensure that work is performed safely and according to a set of best practice guidelines. While the maintenance manager is responsible for overseeing these processes, they need to understand that safety is not the department’s responsibility. Safety is a shared responsibility between the maintenance manager and the safety manager.

A good maintenance manager knows and trusts the workers and has a clear understanding of their personal responsibility in any circumstance. Their first duty is to make sure that the jobs that have been assigned are done safely. If they see an unsafe work practice, they will stop the job until the safety problem is resolved. They are not permitted to move around unless the situation is addressed and it is safe to do so. However, they also have a responsibility to ensure that the job is done in a timely manner. This can be extremely difficult at times for safety managers when they have to concentrate on tasks/projects being completed on time without causing employees to be injured or affected.

Importance of clear communication:

When there is a safety concern on the work site, safety managers need to take immediate action. If there is a safety incident, they need to resolve it quickly and ensure that workers are protected. When safety needs to be communicated, safety managers need to be very clear in communicating the importance of safety.

Safety Managers’ responsibilities:                    

The primary responsibility of safety managers is to supervise all safety matters. While every maintenance manager should have a basic understanding of safety issues, most don’t have an in-depth understanding of safety and what is expected of them. Safety managers must know about every facet of safety and ensure that their maintenance teams understand their role and responsibility in this area. They also need to oversee safety at training events.

Safety managers need to stay abreast of the ever-changing world of safety. This includes the latest equipment and technology, health and safety information, legislation and standards, and news about safety-related issues. Keeping abreast of these issues, learning how to handle them, and determining the best ways to handle them is the responsibility of safety managers.

It is the responsibility of safety managers to ensure that their maintenance teams understand safety requirements. This will protect the workers from potential injury. Safety training programs will provide workers with the tools they need to perform their job safely.

Safety managers must be able to effectively communicate information to workers, supervisors, other managers, and others outside of the company. Good communication skills, as well as strong organizational skills are essential to being a good safety manager. This means that a safety manager must be able to effectively communicate with the employees to prevent workplace accidents. Safety managers must be able to explain what safety and health issues are present in the workplace. They should also be able to effectively communicate this information to managers, supervisors, and employees in the workplace.

A manager can play an active role in the safety of his or her organization by providing employees with information about safety and health hazards. Managers should also provide safety training for staff, encourage employees to report unsafe conditions and take corrective action when necessary, ensure that there are adequate safety procedures at work sites, and maintain a safe environment for employees.

In addition, there are other strategies that a safety manager could implement, such as reducing exposure to risks, increasing knowledge about safety-related policies, improving organizational behavior and culture and creating a positive attitude toward safety issues, which can lead to better employee morale and productivity. These efforts include: 1) providing a safety manual (with its related policies and procedures); 2) providing safety training programs; 3) promoting safety awareness among staff through regular and periodic meetings; 4) monitoring safety compliance; 5) developing new strategies to control safety-related problems; 6) ensuring that all required regulations and standards have been implemented; 7) involving the union and bargaining unit representatives on safety matters; 8) encouraging workers’ participation in management decision making regarding safety and 9) ensuring that all personnel and plant records are kept up to date and accessible for review by company officials.