Developing a Safety Culture in Your Hazmat Shipping Department

Safety Culture

A great safety culture starts at the top and involves everyone’s cooperation and vigilance.

How does a safety culture develop within a company that has to deal with dangerous goods every day? That is a question many in the industry grapple with. Proper training is certainly an important element, but employers understand that there is a definite risk for hazmat shipping employees to become desensitized, as it were, to the particular dangers facing them every day. Some believe a safety culture simply develops organically with time. This cannot be further from the truth. A great safety culture is developed actively with the participation of all players in your company, from upper management on down to the newest employee. Here are some measures you can take to promote a safety culture in your hazmat shipping department.

Encourage Active Participation and Accountability

A great safety culture starts at the top. Upper management needs to sign on to the plan and implement all measures with great enthusiasm. With their active participation, lower level employees recognize the importance being placed on safety and model their own work behaviors appropriately. In addition, management should encourage all employees to report any safety issues and protect them from retribution or retaliation. An anonymous tips phone line works wonders in this regard. Accountability from top to bottom ensures that everyone stays honest and committed to safety in all respects.

Address All Problems as They Are Identified

When a safety problem arises, companies with a great safety culture take action immediately to correct it. Even if the problem only potentially affects safety, you should still address it promptly.

Review and Monitor Safety Performance Continuously

Safety is a priority that requires continual monitoring, assessment, and reinforcement to be effective. Monitor your employees and safety practices and evaluate them for ways in which they could be doing better. Assess your companywide safety performance by using audits. Reinforce your safety culture with periodic safety meetings that go over best practices and offer additional training for employees so they can continue learning and bring new ideas to the company.

While the work of developing a safety culture is strenuous, your company will see definite returns on your investment in the form of more productive employees, decreased workers’ compensation claims, and fewer compliance violations.

Contact Airpack Today for Your Hazardous Material Training Needs

We have been pioneers in our industry for over 30 years and can assist you with your hazardous material training.  We are able to meet any and all of your needs and our trained professional staff is here to help you with any questions you may have.

Feel free to contact us today or email us at [email protected]. Our fax number is 410-768-6603. You can also find and follow us on FacebookTwitter, and Google+, and be sure to subscribe to our blog to receive additional important postings concerning perishable packing, hazardous material shipping, and other services Airpack provides. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 9th, 2017 at 9:52 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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