Discipline in Support of Safety

ROLE OF DISCIPLINARY SYSTEMS IN THE WORKPLACE

a) The disciplinary system of company name in support of safety does not exist to punish employees. Its purpose is to help control the work environment so that workers are protected and accidents are prevented. The disciplinary system helps ensure workplace safety and health by letting the company’s employees know what is expected of them. It provides workers with opportunities to correct their behavior before an accident happens.

b) The disciplinary system is one of the keys to successfully implementing the company’s safety and health program. It ensures that the company’s rules and safe working practices are taken seriously by employees and are actually followed. It lets employees know how the company expects them to operate in relation to the goals of the company’s safety and health program. And it lays out the actions the company will take if individuals do not meet the company’s expectations. The employees’ supervisor and all members of management are responsible for the enforcement of this disciplinary program.

c) A disciplinary system cannot work in a vacuum. Before the company can hold employees accountable for their actions, the company first has established its safety and health policy and disciplinary rules.

1. POLICY STATEMENT FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY

a) Employees need to know the company’s position on safety and health and what the company expects of them. They need a clear understanding of the rules and the consequences of breaking those rules. This is true in all areas of work, but it is especially important for worker safety and health.

b) As part of the policy statement, and in the employee safety handbook, the company has a written statement setting forth the company’s disciplinary policy.

c) The company Safety Coordinator, company managers and supervisors will always be on the lookout for safety violations and will conscientiously and vigorously enforce the company’s commitment to safety. On a company job site, the Site Supervisor has specific responsibility for enforcing company safety rules, policies and safe work procedures.

2. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION AND TRAINING

a) It is important that employees understand the system and have a reference to turn to if they have any questions. Therefore, in addition to issuing a written statement of the company’s disciplinary policy, the company has drawn up a list of what it considers major violations of company policy and less serious violations. This list specifies the disciplinary actions that will be taken for first, second, or repeated offenses. The company will use the 5 Step Disciplinary System listed in Appendix B to correct minor “General Offenses.”

b) Disciplinary violations that are grounds for immediate suspension and penalties up to and including termination of employment specifically include:

i) Fighting, provoking or engaging in an act of violence against another person on company property;

ii) Failure to follow written or verbal safe work procedures, company safety rules or authorized posted safety instructions;

iii) Willful damage to property;

iv) Failure to wear personal protective equipment (eye protection, hearing protection, safety helmets, etc.);

v) Not using safety harnesses and lanyards when fall protection is required;

vi) Removing and/or making inoperative safety guards on tools and equipment;

vii) Tampering with machine safeguards or removing machine tags or locks;

viii) Removing barriers and/or guardrails and not replacing them;

ix) Failure to follow recognized industry practices;

x) Failure to follow rules regarding the use of company equipment or materials;

xi) Major traffic violations while using a company vehicle;

xii) Engaging in dangerous horseplay;

xiii) Failure to notify the company of a hazardous situation;

xiv) Theft;

xv) Violation of company policies regarding alcohol, non-prescription and illegal drugs; and

xvi) Other major violations of company rules or policies.

c) Company supervisors, managers and personnel who have specific responsibilities for implementation and management of safety are expected to know, understand, support, implement and enforce the company’s policies, procedures, posted instructions and work practices relating to safety.

In the event that the company determines through direct observations, inspections, reviews of documentation and training or by other objective means that a supervisor, manager or authorized person has not performed his or her safety responsibilities, this shall be considered a disciplinary violation, punishable in the same way that misbehaviors explained in 3 b) are punishable.

3. TRAINING

a) Training can reduce the need for disciplinary action. The company shall instruct employees in the importance of workplace safety and health, the need to develop safety habits, the company’s operations, safe work practices, and the hazards they control, and the standards of behavior that the company expects.

b) The company’s employees must understand the disciplinary system and the consequences of any deliberate, unacceptable behavior.

4. SUPERVISION

a) Supervision includes both training and corrective action.

b) Ongoing monitoring of the company’s employees' work and safety habits gives the company’s supervisors the opportunity to correct any problems before serious situations develop. In most cases, effective supervision means correcting a problem before issuing any punishment.

c) Where the relationship between employees and their supervisors is open and interactive, problems are discussed and solutions are mutually agreed upon. This type of relationship fosters a work environment where the need for disciplinary action is reduced. When such action is needed, the parties are more likely to perceive it as corrective action rather than punitive.

5. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

a) Employees are encouraged to help informally in the enforcement of rules and practices. The intent here is not to turn employees into spies and informers, but to encourage them to be their "brother's keeper" and to watch out for the safety and health of their colleagues.

b) Many employers successfully have encouraged an atmosphere -- a company "culture" – where employees readily speak up when they see an easily corrected problem, for example, a coworker who needs reminding to put on safety goggles.

c) Unless the safety violation is so serious that it requires immediate suspension and review for termination, the company’s employees deserve the opportunity to correct their own behavior problems.

d) An effective disciplinary system is a 2-way process. Once a problem is spotted, discuss it with the employee, who should be given at least 1 or 2 opportunities to change the behavior or correct the problem.

e) Only after these discussions (and possibly some retraining) should disciplinary action be taken.


6. APPROPRIATE CONTROL MEASURES

a) Disciplinary actions need to be proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and the frequency of its occurrence. It is certainly inappropriate to fire someone for occasional tardiness. It is equally inappropriate to issue only oral warnings to an employee who repeatedly removes a machine guard. Appendix B provides an example of disciplinary actions in a five-step disciplinary system.

b) Disciplinary procedures should not be instituted without explanation. The company will provide feedback to the employee on what behavior is unacceptable, why the corrective action is necessary, and how the employee can prevent future violations and disciplinary action.

c) In addition, supervisors should take time to recognize an employee who improves or corrects his/her behavior.

7. CONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT

a) Workers must realize that safe work practices are a requirement of employment and that unsafe practices will not be tolerated. It is necessary, therefore, that the employer has a disciplinary system that is implemented fairly and consistently.

b) If the company’s disciplinary system is to work well and be accepted by the company’s workforce, the system applies equally to everyone. This includes subjecting managers and supervisors to similar rules and similar or even more stringent disciplinary procedures.

c) For minor violations, supervisors shall meet with the employee to discuss the infraction and inform the employee of the rule or procedure that was violated AND describe the corrective action needed to remedy the situation.

8. DOCUMENTATION

a) One key to ensuring fairness and consistency in a disciplinary system is keeping good records.
It is in the best interest of both the company and the employee to have written rules and disciplinary procedures.

b) It is just as important to document instances of good or poor safety and health behavior, including discussions with the employee, and to place relevant information in the employee's personnel file.

c) The Safety Hazard Citation format below shall be used to document infractions.

d) Documentation serves a variety of purposes. It helps the company to track the development of a problem, corrective actions, and the impact of measures taken. It provides information so the company can keep employees informed of problems that need correction.

e) When the company is evaluating the managerial and supervisory skills of a supervisor, it provides a useful record of how they handled problems.

f) If warnings, retraining, and other corrective actions fail to achieve the desired effect, and if the company decides to discharge an employee, then documentation becomes even more critical. Conversely, the company will conduct an annual clearing of the personnel files of employees whose good overall safety records are marred by minor warnings.

g) Minor safety violations will be documented in a manner comparable to the example below, and a copy of the form will become part of the employee’s personnel record.  Three citations can be grounds for termination.

Safety Hazard Citation	Date:
Name of Violator
Location of Violation
Type of Violation
Signature of Employee Cited
A copy of this Citation will be placed in the employee’s Employment File. Three Citations can be grounds for termination.

9. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

a) Each supervisor should provide frequent reinforcement of work practices training.

b) Informal observation serves not only to gauge training effectiveness, but also to reinforce the desired behavior.

c) Supervisors should also provide special recognition for the use of safe work practices. For examples, supervisors may hand out "Thank you for working safely" cards that can be redeemed for a free cup of coffee or soft drink when they observe a positive safety behavior.

d) When a supervisor periodically observes individual workers at their tasks, he or she should give oral and/or written feedback on what was done safely.

e) OSHA recommends award systems that recognize positive activities rather than absence of injuries. Supervisors and safety managers should be aware that award programs with prizes for hours worked without injury may have the unintended consequence of putting heavy peer pressure on workers NOT to report injuries.

APPENDIX A

Tracking of Individual

Safety Disciplinary Actions

Employee ________________________________________________________________

TRACKING	First Offense Date & Response	Second Offense Date & Response	Repeated Violation Date & Response
Unsafe Work Habits
Refusal to Follow Safety Instructions

APPENDIX B

Five-Step Discipline System

First violation: Instruction/discussion concerning violation, proper procedures, and
                                the hazards they control; notation for the supervisor's file.

Second violation: Re-instruction with notation in the employee's personnel file.

Third violation: Written warning describing the violation and actions that will be
                                 taken if it recurs.

Fourth violation: Final warning; may include suspension.

Fifth violation: Discharge.

It is company philosophy that all employees be trained in proper safety procedures and employees are expected to follow and adhere to all aspects of company Safety Program. The close observance of all Federal, local and client rules and regulations will be monitored at all times.

If there is an infraction of these rules and regulations the following disciplinary action will be taken:


Minor Infraction Definition: Any infraction of government, corporate or client rules that does not have the immediate potential of causing serious damage or injury.
       1st offense – verbal warning from supervisor or management
       2nd offense – written notice with notice placed on file
       3rd offense – written notice + time off without pay 4th offense – termination of  employment                            


Major Infraction Definition: Any infraction of government, corporate or client rules that does have the potential to cause immediate serious damage or injury.
        1st offense – time off without pay; or termination
        2nd offense – termination of employment.