Occupational Safety as a Way of Life
Much has been written and spoken about what needs to be done about occupational safety. What needs to be emphasized is that the issue of occupational safety should become a reflex. When people exhibit the right attitudes and behaviors with an internal motivation, both violations and accidents will be significantly reduced.
Legal regulations and monitoring have led to serious progress in occupational safety. However, the loosening of control clearly shows that occupational safety has not yet become a reflex. I remembered a definition I read about courtesy: A truly courteous person is one who covers his or her mouth when yawning, even when alone. Based on this definition, I believe that if we can make occupational safety a reflex, people will continue to follow the necessary rules even in places where there is no supervision. In order for a concept to become a reflex, education starting at a young age, healthy supervision and effective reward and punishment practices are necessary.
In order for occupational health and safety to become a lifestyle, there is a need for a comprehensive training plan using all elements. At a young age, individuals should be exposed to accurate information, either explicitly or indirectly, when exchanging information from different sources such as family, environment, school and media. The message of a father who uses personal protective equipment for minor home repairs is clear. The opposite practice will be the first seed of the misconception that if no one sees it, there is no need for precautions. Occupational health and safety should be included in the curriculum in primary and high schools, and especially in vocational high schools, and people should be guided before they start their working life. In programs such as television programs, series, clips, movies, cartoons, especially those that appeal to individuals of educational age, the heroes’ attention to occupational health and rules should be designed as a part of education. In any case, many concepts such as a policeman wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle, an actor wearing a seat belt while sitting on a sofa, a TV series house with a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, etc. should be carefully handled and individuals should be set the right example. Especially in child education, the eye comes before the ear; showing things instead of telling them will yield more effective results.
The higher the contribution of education in this process, the higher the contribution of inspection. Currently, inspections are carried out by occupational safety experts or occupational health experts. The progress made in audits, especially in high-hazard areas, is satisfactory. However, the fact that inspections are carried out by personnel attached to the employer makes possible cover-up attempts. Examples where the employer and the inspector are independent, as in major works such as subway constructions, yield much more successful results. While these inspections are carried out effectively in large projects, the lack of inspections in projects in the neighborhoods and projects carried out with a hands-off approach causes serious problems to continue. After a work accident involving injury or death, the relevant workplace is inspected and those involved are punished. However, if what is meant by occupational safety is prevention, this approach must be changed urgently. Of course, state resources may not make such an effective inspection possible. As a suggestion, the concept of a voluntary occupational health inspectorate could be considered. Just like in traffic enforcement, a community of citizens reporting irregularities to the relevant authorities could be a first step towards effective inspection. In this practice, citizens are not expected to enter construction sites and conduct inspections on their own. The aim of this practice should be to turn natural observations made while walking on the road, sitting at home, etc. in natural life into reports. For example, an observation from your window is sufficient to report with a photo that a person going up to the scaffolding for exterior cladding is not wearing a seat belt. We have many similar observations in our daily lives: workers doing roadwork with incomplete markings, craftsmen not using PPE, vehicles traveling with loads that are not in accordance with the transport limits, carpenters working with tools without protective equipment, and many other violations can be reported without any special effort. For this purpose, fast and practical ways such as an e-mail address or Whatsapp number should be preferred rather than a call center.
Another necessary step for occupational safety to become a life argument is related to punishment. Directing the punishment to the person who committed the violation in the first place is perceived as the most effective punishment method. Of course, the employer, official, etc. who condone the violation should also receive their share of the punishment. Currently, the personnel with the title of occupational safety specialist plays a key role in punishment. The fact that these people are punished rather than the employer in post-accident punishments reduces the deterrence of the penalties. The penalties to be imposed after an accident should of course be evaluated in a separate category, but the penalties to be imposed in case of violations should be created with a different fiction. The deterrence of financial penalties is only effective for those who cannot afford the penalty. Even for this group, if there is a mood of not paying the fine anyway, the fine ceases to be a deterrent for this person. Instead, punishments should be based on what is valuable for each person. Even though it is not a punishment, directing them to participate in retraining should definitely be a part of the penalties. Apart from this, getting a video or text explaining why they committed the violation and emphasizing why they will not repeat it again in this video or text can give effective results. When people write something down, they are more careful about obeying that rule. It is also effective to show videos of real or fictional accidents caused by people who commit similar negligence. Making a person unable to use a document issued for working life, such as a driver’s license, for a certain period of time can be a further punishment. If a record is kept on this issue, it may be another step to record this incident in his/her record.
A neglected aspect in this regard is rewarding. You cannot achieve all success with punishment. Rewarding should also be designed and used as an element of training. Regulations are also needed for incentive premiums for zero accidents, financial or incentive rewards for individuals, etc. For example, a bonus to be given to a contractor and its employees who finish a construction site with zero work accidents can create a serious motivation.
Serious progress can be achieved in occupational safety through effective training, effective supervision and an effective penalization system. It should not be forgotten that our main goal is to prevent accidents. It is not only the employee who causes accidents. Elements such as the selection of the right machines, the correct placement of the machines, regular maintenance should be carefully evaluated. When an elevator malfunctions and falls, the helmet you are wearing will not protect you. The right steps should also be taken regarding non-human elements. In particular, a mechanism should be established where employees can report violations. There is a need for an organization where the identity of the whistleblower can be concealed and which acts only to prevent accidents. Just like volunteer inspectors, workers should be made a part of the occupational safety process. In general, such mechanisms created in our country can be opportunities for people to disrupt one another’s work. The structure that will be formed should not turn into a structure that stops work and makes the industry inoperable, it should remain only and only as an activity to ensure safety. A more solution-oriented approach would be to refer the issue to the employer or the official at the construction site, to define the time and conditions for the solution, and finally to question whether the necessary correction has been made and to move to the next stage if no steps are taken.
An accident that happens to an individual negatively affects many different people in society. When a person becomes disabled or dies, not only that person is affected. Someone’s child, someone’s spouse, someone’s father, someone’s father, someone’s brother, someone’s neighbor, etc. With a network of interaction, many people are more or less negatively affected by this event and a social wound is formed. Every measure to be taken will heal the wounds or prevent new ones. But it should not be forgotten that the most important measure to be taken is to create a society that has made occupational health and safety rules a life reflex.