Planning Your Safety Meeting

As the Safety Coordinator of a dental laboratory, you probably wear many hats.  The most common comment I hear from dental laboratory owners and workers who are given the responsibility as the Safety Coordinator is that they just don’t have time to conduct safety meetings and enforce safety rules.  Most of you will agree, however, that unaddressed safety hazards cannot only affect employees, but can affect the bottom line if there’s a serious injury.  So what are you going to do this year to make safety an integral part of your culture in your dental laboratory?  I hope you’ve made a New Year’s resolution this year to make time for safety.  

Here are some steps to help you plan your safety meetings.  If you are the owner, then enlist the help of some of your workers - appoint a Safety Coordinator.  If you are the Safety Coordinator, but not the owner or Lab Manager, then your first step is to get commitment from the owner or manager to implement your safety plan for the year.

Step One:  Identify hazards to determine immediate safety issues and safety issues to be dealt with immediately and/or during the year in safety meetings.

   1. Review the prior years’ injuries - perhaps 3 years - work comp records and other injury records;
   2. Determine which equipment and chemicals present safety hazards; and
   3. Ask employees to share with you their safety concerns, including “near misses.”

Step Two: Develop a game plan for addressing the issues identified in Step One.

   1. Research information to use in safety training sessions.
   2. Contact the manufacturer or supplier of the equipment and/or chemicals identified in step one and ask for information about safe use - this may include a training session by the manufacturer or supplier.
   3. Determine which issues need immediate attention and how much time will be needed to address each issue.
   4. Research OSHA’s frequency requirements for certain training.
   5. Develop a schedule and an objective for safety meetings.

Step Three:  Establish a safety meeting policy

   1. Present your recommendations to the owner and/or Lab Manager, including issues to be addressed, methods of addressing the issues, time required, and costs.
   2. Determine who will be involved in conducting the safety meetings, i.e. supervisors, managers, Safety Committee members, consultants.
   3. Determine the format of the meetings, i.e. formal, pre-announced group presentations, expert speakers, informal one-on-one or small-group discussions and demonstrations.
   4. Set a schedule for the meetings.
   5. Establish how to communication the schedule to workers.

Step Four:  Promote safety prior to and at your meetings

   1. Use Posters to enhance your meetings; develop posters that grab everyone’s attention with a picture and a message; use upbeat, positive messages never threats or scare tactics.  Place posters where employees congregate.
   2. Use Handouts during safety training sessions; provide in other languages when necessary.
   3. Place Signs close to the equipment or hazard; conduct your training at the point of the hazard.  Explain warnings and instructions.  Use pictures or symbols rather than written instructions.  Don’t use too many signs in one area; replace those that are worn out or the hazard no longer exists.
   4. Use information on Material Safety Data Sheets to promote safety of chemicals.

Now that you’ve been successful with management in establishing a schedule for safety meetings, you need to determine how safety is to be enforced.  One of my clients was visited by OSHA several years ago.  The OSHA inspector noticed that some of the workers in the production area were not wearing safety eyewear.  The Safety Coordinator’s response to the inspector as to why some were wearing them and some were not was that safety eyewear was provided but they couldn’t make them wear them.  Needless to say, this comment and lack of enforcement resulted in a fine that really couldn’t be defended.  Enforcement of your safety rules is as critical as enforcement of any other rules for your workers.  Change doesn’t happen over night, but enforcement of the rule must be handled consistently.

Next month’s article will provide you with ideas about the format of your safety meetings. 

Do you have a question for Mary Borg? E-mail jdt@nadl.org.

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