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Employee Induction Program

Candidate Name:
Identification / Passport No:
Company Name:
Date:
Safety management for Supervisors, Foremen & Junior Managers

Introduction
In order for any organization to run efficiently and at a profit, it needs two fundamental resources:

1. Employers
2. Employees

A company exists from both of these human resources, and if you remove one of them, the company /
organization cannot exist.

There are many different levels of management within an organization or company, for example:

1. Human resource management

2. Financial management
3. Security management

This program deals specifically with safety management skills as defined in the Occupational Health &
Safety act 85/1993 and the relevant safety regulations in South African Law.

What is middle management?

Middle management is fundamentally an employee who is appointed by the employer to exercise the
employer’s authority whilst the employer is not present. It stands to reason, that the employer in most
instances, cannot be on site physically at all times, therefore he appoints a representative to oversee
employees on site.

When the employer appoints a junior manager, foreman, and supervisors etc. he must take the following
into account:

1. Is the person he is appointing assertive yet supportive?

2. Is the person knowledgeable with the task he is appointed to oversee?
3. Is the person reliable?
4. Is the person trustworthy?
5. Will the person be able to make the correct decisions?
6. Does the person need any other special task related skills or levels of literacy?

The employee who is appointed to a middle management position is often faced with problems that he may
be expected to overcome during the day-to-day performances of his duties. It is therefore important that
such an appointee should have the skills and scope of authority to make decisions in the interests of the
company. Some of these qualities can be:

1. The ability to work with a minimum level of supervision.

2. The person must be respected amongst his peers and junior employees.
3. The person must be trustworthy, reliable and supportive.
4. The person must be able to advise and guide juniors where needed.
5. The person should be a role model for junior employees.

One of the major pitfalls of middle managers is the assumption that their role is that of someone who sits
and watches whilst junior employees work, and deals with problems in a tyrannical manner.

The standard rule that we teach all employees, and which is a requirement of law, is that all problems must
be reported as soon as possible. Imagine if an employee reports a problem to his supervisor, and the
supervisor shouts and swears at the employee, or degrades him in front of other employees. The result
would be that the employee would be very hesitant to report any problems in the future.

Adopting a “rule by fear” attitude is counter productive, and will make your job as a manager / supervisor a
lot more difficult.
“ A true leader leads whilst others follow him by the faith they have in him”

As a middle manager / supervisor / foreman you represent the employer and his responsibilities. The
Occupational Health & Safety act places that responsibility on appointed managers as if they were the
employers as follows:

WHAT ARE THE EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITIES? (SECTION 8)

• Provide and maintain a safe workplace for employees and other people.

• Identify (what) hazards at the workplace, i.e. Risk assessment.

• Establish (what) precautionary measures are necessary.

• Provide information, instructions, training and supervision.

• Ensure implementation of precautionary measures (and maintained)

• Ensure compliance with health and safety rules and policies.

• Enforce the necessary control measures.

• Ensure that work is done & machines operated under general supervision of trained employee.

Responsibilities that are placed on the employer in terms of section 8 are carried by the foreman or
supervisor, therefore the supervisor / manager is looking after the interests of:

1. Employer
2. Company or organization
3. Employees
4. Client or customer in some cases

The Occupational health & safety act also places responsibility on employees as follows:

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYEES? (SECTION 14)

All employees must be informed of these duties by means of effective training.

Employer must ensure compliance of duties be enforcing discipline at the workplace.

General duties of employee

1. Take reasonable care of self and others;

2. Co-operate with employer comply with Act;

3. Carry out lawful order and obey health and safety;

4. Report unsafe conditions to employer or health and safety representative;

5. Report incident to employer/representative by en of shift; and

6. Not abuse or misuse anything provided in interest of health and safety (S15)

Fall protection & fall arrest

One of the most common causes of injuries in the workplace is falling. Most falls from any height over 10
meters result in death and are caused from acts or conditions that are created by human behavior.
It is critical that supervisors are vigilant to falling hazards, and that they are corrected or managed before an
incident occurs.

Falls can be classified as follows:

1. Falls from height

2. Falls caused by tripping hazards
3. Falling objects
4. Falling whilst using access equipment, such as ladders, scaffolds etc.

The following are fall hazards that require protection:

• Open-sided floors, platforms, and runways four feet or more in height;

• Open-sided floors, ramps, and walkways that are adjacent to or above dangerous operations must
be guarded regardless of height;
• Wall openings from where there is a drop of more than 4 feet;
• Open windows from which there is a drop of more than 4 feet, and the bottom of the window is less
than 3 feet above the floor or platform;
• Hatchways and chutes floor openings;
• Any opening more than 4 feet in elevation where a significant portion of the body is leaning over or
through to perform work.
• Skylights that are even with the roof surface, or that may otherwise serve as a
walking/working/sitting surface;
• Scaffolds over 6 feet;
 • Aerial lift devices;
• Fixed ladders over 20 feet.

Care must be taken when working near open hatches.

A competent person determines if engineering controls can eliminate or lessen the hazard of the work area
or job site. Apply fall protection in the following order of preference:

1. Process change resulting in no work at height or no fall hazard exposure;

2. Guardrails or enclosures;
3. Covers – load bearing for covering floor openings;
4. Aerial lifts;
5. Fall restraint;
6. Motion stopping system with full body harness;
7. Fall Arrest System with full body harness;
8. Safety nets.

Keep areas of the workplace in good condition, clean, orderly, and as dry as possible, including:

• All spills should be cleaned promptly. Floors in work areas must be kept free of scraps, chips, oil
spills, and other debris;
• Areas which are constantly wet should have non-slip surfaces or mats where workers may walk or
work. Where wet processes are used, good drainage must be maintained and proper footwear
should be worn;
• Every floor, working place, and passageway must be maintained free from protruding nails,
splinters, holes, and loose boards;
• Where mechanical handling equipment is used, such as lift trucks, sufficient safe clearance must be
provided for foot and vehicular traffic;
• No obstructions that could create a hazard are permitted in aisles. All permanent aisles must be
easily recognizable;
• As a general condition, a standard toe board and guardrail are required wherever people walk near
or beneath the open sides of a platform or similar structures; where things could fall from a
structure; or where things could fall from a structure into machinery below.

Do not use boxes, chairs, buckets, desks, or any other device not specifically intended for use in extending
reach.

Contact your supervisor or appropriate maintenance personnel to correct hazards related to inadequate
maintenance. These hazards may include:

• Icy sidewalks;
• Wet floors;
• Slippery conditions;
 • Torn floor coverings, or damaged pavements;
• Damaged stair treads;
• Missing or broken handrails or guardrails.

Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to minimize fall hazards where engineering controls do not
eliminate the hazard, or in conjunction with engineering controls.

Use appropriate footwear with non-slip soles and treads in good condition when working at height.

Use only full-body harnesses for fall arrest. The use of a body belt is prohibited, except for fall
restraint/prevention.

Ensure that only trained and qualified personnel are performing work at heights.

Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping is the cornerstone of any Safety Management Programme.

Proper planning and a good layout facilitate good housekeeping, and this in turn, creates greater efficiency.
Clean and clear working, stacking and storage areas can only improve production and prevent injury and loss
incidents.

Sites, factories, workshops and yards giving ongoing attention to such matters as tidiness, scrap and refuse
removal systems, demarcation of roadways, aisles, storage areas and proper storage or stacking practices
will benefit.

This is because:

1. Time is saved.
2. Material waste is reduced.
3. Damage to plant and equipment is reduced.
4. There is greater work output.
5. Movement of vehicles and plant become easy.
6. Fewer hazards are encountered.

No one likes working in a dirty, untidy or cramped situation. Regardless of the industry or operation.

This makes the task extremely difficult and unpleasant, apart from inviting the obvious problems of fire risk.
Stock control of stored material , theft etc.

On site, for instance, if the timber, bricks and other materials are correctly stacked, the task of the person
requiring such an item is considerably eased.

Time is not waste in searching under a mound of haphazardly piled material for something, which may not be
there. With good housekeeping there is less material and equipment damage.

Remember: “GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MEANS A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN IT’S
PLACE”
Mechanical Safety

Mechanical hazards are one of the biggest contributors to the cause of injuries on a building site. It causes
cuts, bruises, amputations, and fractures. It is fairly easy to discover most of the basic mechanical hazards
by regular visual inspections and the elimination thereof is fairly simple.

Machine Guarding

Most machines have moving parts, which needs to be guarded to prevent persons from coming into contact
with these moving parts and be injured. Drive belts, rotating shafts, cutters and cutting blades are some
examples.

Moving Machinery

Maintenance and adjustments should never be carried out on machinery that is running or moving and
machinery must be stopped and “locked out” before any repair or maintenance work is carried out. “Locked
out” means that any electricity, steam, air pressure or anything else that drives the machine is diconnected
or disabled so that the machine being worked upon cannot be accidentally started and so injure the person
carrying out the work.

Maintenance

Mechanical equipment must be maintained and kept in good order to ensure efficient and smooth operation.
Poorly maintained machinery will produce poor quality, place greater strain on the machine, the material and
the operator and lead to early failure. Cutting edges must be kept sharp, moving parts must be well
lubricated, air filters kept clean, loose parts with bolts and nuts and not tied with wire etc.

Inspection

The operator of any machinery must be trained to inspect the machinery that he intends using daily before
use. Inspections must include the checking of oil and water levels, air filters, drive belt tension, sharpness
of blades, chisels, controls etc, as applicable.

Hand Tools

Hand tools must be kept in good condition. Mushroomed chisels must be ground down and chisel cutting
edges kept sharp. Hammer handles must be without cracks or splinters fixed with correct wedges, where
applicable and no welded galvanized piping used as handles. Files must be provided with handles and
screwdriver handles must be tight. The bits of screwdrivers must be square and sharp. Pick handles must
be splinter free and fitted properly so that it will not slide down onto the workers hands of fly off the end.

Ladders

Ladders must be inspected by the use before use and any defects rectified immediately.
 INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Incidents occur in the presence of hazards. An incident will occur when there is an exchange of energy
with these hazards and there is no control in place to prevent an unfavourable or unexpected outcome.

Hazard Action Incident

An incident is inevitable if there are no controls in place. An incident will not always involve
personal injury. An incident may also be property damage, environmental damage or a near miss.

Near Miss - an incident which could have caused serious bodily injury or extensive damage to property, but
in the particular case did not. These are recorded so that steps can be taken to prevent a recurrence where
injury or damage may occur.

It is important to investigate all incidents because

Investigation allows for the identification of incident causes to establish preventative strategies

It provides a point of reference to establish trends in incident causes.

It encourages organisations to communicate incident information and learn from past incidents

It also shows that the organisation is taking appropriate actions to prevent recurrence of the incident

Incidents may become common law cases up to three years later. If not properly investigated at the
time of the incident, details fade and memories become confused.

Who should investigate the incidents?

This will be dependent on the seriousness of the incident and the potential or actual loss, damage or injury
involved. The investigation team may include:

Immediate supervisor
Workplace Health and Safety Representative/Officer
Person/s involved
Head of School/Element
Health and Safety Specialist and
External consultant (if applicable to the incident)

The Strategy of an investigation includes four stages

1. Gather information and establish facts

2. Isolate the essential contributory factors
3. Determine corrective actions
4. Carry out corrective actions

Gathering Information

You need to ask 6 questions:

1. Who was involved?

This includes people both directly involved (injured or eye witnesses) and those that may be able to
contribute useful information about facts surrounding the incident; eg supervisors who know what “usually”
happens, trainers of persons involved, peers etc.

2. What happened?
This includes the equipment involved, the processes undertaken, systems, and what happened before and
immediately after the incident. What “action” led to this incident? eg fall, slip, long-term exposure, hitting.
What was happening, what task was involved?

3. When did the incident occur?

When was an incident noticed? When did the person involved start work that day? How much experience
had they had in the task? It is important to identify here the date, time of day and other psychosocial issues
that may have contributed to the event.
Psychosocial issues that may impact on when and incident occurs includes
- Has the person involved just worked extended hours?
- Did the incident occur at night/ on a night shift?

4. Where did the incident occur?

Have there been previous incidents in this particular area? What was the investigation outcome for previous
incidents? Are there any physical aspects of the environment that may have contributed to the incident?

Look for both big and small differences and aspects of the environment.

5. How did the incident occur?

What was unusual about the event? How could the incident have been prevented? This may lead to the
direct cause of the incident.

6. Why did the incident occur?

Was the person involved properly trained for the process undertaken? Were there safety procedures in
place? Has a risk assessment been conducted for the task in question? Why were safety systems,
procedures, training not followed? or Were systems followed but they failed?
The “atmosphere” at the time of the incident and psychosocial issues will impact on why an incident has
occurred eg is it the last day before a holiday, is there some reason why the importance of safety
precautions may be diminished?

Communication is the key!

It is imperative that the results and recommendations of the investigation are adequately communicated, so
that the most appropriate people are involved and clearly understand requirements.

To assist with this, the investigators should conduct a post-investigation briefing or follow up report. This
should include the most appropriate people who can authorise and implement the recommendations and
corrective actions.

The investigation report may include agreed dates for completion of any recommended changes and
corrective actions. These completion dates must be realistic and agreed upon by all parties involved in the
incident. An incident investigation form can be found at the back of this section.

A copy of any investigation should be filed with the Incident Report Form for future reference.
Assessment – Supervisors, Foremen & Junior Managers

NQF Level 5
CREDITS 6

Candidate Name

Identity No.
Company
Date

Read the following questions and answer clearly.

You have 60 minutes to complete the assessment.
If you do not understand a question, please ask the lecturer for assistance.

Write down how you would manage the following unsafe acts or conditions. (Hazards)
This is a group discussion to encourage more than one possible solution.

1. Open hatchcover on site

No guard rails on coaming.

2. Loader operator arrives at

Work and you see he is
Drunk.

3. Employee reports unsecure

Access gangway.

4. Ships crane cable appears

To be damaged but it has been
Certified safe

5. A worker on site refuses

to wear dust mask due to
lung infection

6. Visitors wander on site

regularly without PPE

7. A loader machine
bumps the ships bulkhead, but
does Not cause visible damage

8. Your only certified

Machine operator books
Off sick. What will you do?
9. An employee refuses to
Work because the machine
He is operating has a leak

10. The SAMSA inspector finds

An unlicenced machine
Operator for a subcontractor

On your site

Explain how you would resolve the following scenario;

The security manager calls you to the gate to the site. On your arrival, you find an employee who appears to
be under the influence of narcotics and is abusive. When questioning him, he says that he is taking
prescription medication for stress relating to a personal issue. He further tell you he is not under the
influence of alcohol, and produces a doctors letter.

Please sign your assessment in the designated space and hand this paper back to the lecturer.

Candidate Signature:___________________________

Assessor / Lecturer Signature:____________________ Outcome:_________________