Maximizing Your IIPP
Every employer should know it is important to have an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) that complies with Cal/OSHA’s safety standards. The difference between a good IIPP and a great IIPP can mean the difference between life and death for your employees. A great IIPP sets the tone and expectations for the safety culture and behaviors in a company. If your IIPP is a dusty template in a binder and not a living, breathing guide, your employees cannot make changes to maximize its effectiveness.
When was the last time your IIPP was audited?
An annual audit insures that the IIPP reflects the status of your company’s:
- Employees
- Work tasks
- Equipment and materials in use
Are all of the following items up to date?
- The safety committee members.
- The resources and contacts.
- The responsibilities assigned to each employee.
- All company locations and operations.
- Safety documents for: communications, trainings, hazard identification, and corrective actions.
Set the tone for safety in the introduction of your IIPP document.
- Have your company leader write an introduction and the leadership team sign the first page.
- Clearly state the goals and expectations for the company’s safety program.
- Identify the ways that safe behaviors will be encouraged and unsafe choices will be evaluated and corrected.
Review the critical hazard identification, control, and correction steps that your company takes, and document them in your IIPP.
- Outline how frequently site and equipment inspections should take place. Provide step-by-step instructions on how to conduct inspections and document them. Supply inspection form examples and templates in an easily accessible and usable format.
- Identify the process for conducting job hazard analyses (JHA). Provide a template for evaluating job classifications and tasks to control and prevent hazardous exposures.
- Give easy to follow steps for accident, incident reporting, and investigation. Include forms and report templates to make the investigations useful and beneficial to prevent future incidents.
- Make hazard-reporting forms available for employees to communicate safety hazards and concerns; ensure this process has a clear chain of command to evaluate and respond to the reports and employees.
What other resources can you add to ensure that the IIPP is a living, breathing document that employees use for safety advice, actions, directions, and evaluations?
Consider developing procedures and resources for:
- Enhancing communication in regards to safety hazards, corrections, and activities.
- Developing the required safety programs for your workplace hazards.
- Adding language and elements to address hazards that do not require a separate written program.
- Providing all hazard-training needs through various methods to ensure employee retention and understanding.
- Tracking safety indicators and using metrics to measure your company’s safety process.
It is difficult to achieve safety perfection, but if the company IIPP and culture includes a dynamic method to identify and correct safety issues, steady and continuous improvement in safety performance can be achieved.
12/5/2014
The above evaluations and/or recommendations are for general guidance only and should not be relied upon for legal compliance purposes. They are based solely on the information provided to us and relate only to those conditions specifically discussed. We do not make any warranty, expressed or implied, that your workplace is safe or healthful or that it complies with all laws, regulations or standards.