Page 23 - Occupational Health & Safety, July/August 2019

■ Forecasting preventable losses. Proactive efforts eliminate or minimize incidents, resulting in estimated cost savings that exceed the price of the reactive actions. Example: investing in air filtration technology to replace or reduce the reliance on respira- tory protection.
■ Compliance requirements. By designing processes that con- sistently provide safer, more productive outcomes, companies find that going beyond compliance to running a well-organized health and safety management system is a justified investment.
■ Job satisfaction. Workers don’t respond positively to unsafe and hazardous workplaces and may not work for long under those conditions in exchange for a paycheck. Management already has a demanding list of responsibilities, and having to respond to pre- ventable on-the-job incidents only makes their job harder.
■ Public reputation. Public image influences the workforce, customers, and a business’s role as a good corporate citizen. News travels fast, which can result in a lasting impact that can affect the ability to compete effectively in the marketplace.
Well-managed lockout programs will go a long way to keep you compliant with OSHA—but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Clear, systemized safety procedures and good practices will keep your pa- tients and employees safe with fewer accidents. Moreover, they will serve to boost productivity by minimizing equipment downtime and streamlining maintenance procedures, which in turn will in- crease the overall efficiency of your facility’s operations. Prioritize lockout/tagout in your hospital, clinic, or medical facility, and you
will be taking a significant stride toward building a safer, healthier, more productive workplace.
Bill Belongea, safety services program manager at The Master Lock Company, has almost 20 years of experience in the safety industry. A graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a B.S.E. in occupational safety, he has experience in the printing, injection molding, aerospace, construction, and press industries and now uti- lizes his expertise to help facility and factory managers all over the world, including Europe, Australia, China, and Mexico. He has ex- pansive knowledge in best practice safety approaches and is currently a member of the ANSI Z244.1 Standard Committee on the Control of Hazardous Energy, as well as the ANSI Z10 Safety Management Systems Committee.
He is also a veteran of Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo in 2000 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004 as a member of the U.S. Army.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.nsc.org/in-the-newsroom/oshas-top-10-violations-for- 2018-revealed-at-national-safety-council-congress-and-expo
2. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/ 1910/1910.147
3. https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_ id=9804&p_table=STANDARDS
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