Contract Worker Safety Essay: Building Effective Safety Teams

Safety officers are responsible for ensuring a safe working environment for their workers. The current job market generally has three types of workers: full-time, temporary, and contract workers. The different types of employees, while serving different purposes in the organizations, also bring about several challenges, especially concerning safety (Yiu et al., 2019). Therefore, supervisors must focus on hazard identification and awareness to help reduce dangerous accidents at the job site. This paper will explore the different types of workers, their unique safety challenges, and why supervisors are essential in ensuring a conducive and safe working environment for workers.

The safety team will comprise the executive manager, finance personnel, operations manager, human resource member, maintenance supervisor, and safety officer. The individuals will be added to the safety leadership because they have the authority to make and execute decisions (Buniya et al., 2021). Contract workers are individuals hired by an organization to perform a task for a predetermined period but are not employees. These workers are usually not expected to receive long-term employment or benefits. Temporary workers are employees of an organization or sourced from a temporary agency engaged on a non-permanent basis. Such employees are usually hired to cover a certain task period, such as maternity cover or seasonal work. Full-time employees are employed permanently or on a fixed-term contract and usually work for an average of 28 hours each week. In this employment category, an employee’s actual working hours are agreed upon between the employer and the worker and are set by a registered agreement or award. According to Yiu et al. (2019), employee buy-in is when an employee is enthusiastic about their employment while agreeing with an organization’s mission and goals. Employee buy-in is important because it helps in increasing productivity, motivation, and engagement. Employees are more likely to participate in growing and investing in an organization’s success when they have bought into the company. This results in better performance and positive outcomes for the organization.

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Unique challenges are associated with the contract and temporary work at a job site. These employees can take up more time to learn the organization’s operations and may lack the loyalty associated with regular employees; buy-ins. Workers lacking basic skills at a job site pose a potential safety risk as their mistakes equate to more accidents, exposure, and death. This is true, especially in construction sites where lacking basic skills is a major occupational hazard (Buniya et al., 2021). Organizations tend to spend more training these employees. For instance, unskilled and untrained seasonal workers in a warehouse are exposed to more significant risks due to a lack of familiarity and experience.

Supervisors are directly responsible for the health and safety of the workers that they supervise. Their responsibility entails conducting orientation and training of workers, enforcing safe work practices, correcting unsafe conditions, preventing lingering unhealthful or unsafe workplace hazards or conditions, investigating workplace accidents, and promoting a quick return to work (Yiu et al., 2019). Safety professionals play an essential role in managing contractors’ safety programs. Safety professionals review and approve safety programs proposed by the contractors ensuring that the contract, a written safety program, meets all requirements of OSHA and is appropriately implemented. The safety officers also explore safety programs to ensure no violations of OSHA while also evaluating health and safety requirements for the task to be performed.

Hazard identification and awareness are vital in anticipating incidents at the job site. Hazard identification refers to a part of the process employed in evaluating particular situations, items, or things that may lead to harm in the workplace. Hazard identification is usually conducted to establish and record possible hazards that are likely to occur in the workplace (Buniya et al., 2021). It is recommended that personnel conducting the process comprise people familiar and unfamiliar with the site, allowing an experienced and fresh set of eyes to conduct an inspection. Hazard awareness refers to proactive and repetitive learning behavior on dangerous occurrences on the job site and how to react to them adequately. The process entails hazard communication, personal, proactive equipment, worker involvement, and emergency response. Hazard awareness is vital as it allows workers to heighten their awareness of all the hazards, helping maintain safe and healthy environments.

There are communication challenges when in a multicultural work setting. The language barrier is a top communication barrier that can lead to safety issues. When they do not share a language, they may be unable to pass their message across, which may be necessary during an incident at work. Workers may also be unable to communicate due to differences in direct and indirect communication. Acknowledgment of cultural values since some people may react differently to hazards based on a culture that may differ from other cultures. For instance, some cultures may react by expressing their emotions, while others may reserve them. There may be safety issues due to conflict with expectations and decision-making since people from different backgrounds have their own way of agreeing to important decisions.

Safety officers are responsible for ensuring a safe working environment for their workers. They must ensure the workplace is free of recognized hazards that can lead to severe injuries or death. They must present appropriate safeguards and safety devices while employing safe techniques and methods (Yiu et al., 2019). They are required to make reasonable efforts to protect the safety and life of employees. The ethical challenges when managing contractors include sharing confidential medical records, victim blaming or reducing exposure, and inappropriate discrimination against women, minorities, and disabled workers.

References

Buniya, M. K., Othman, I., Sunindijo, R. Y., Kineber, A. F., Mussi, E., & Ahmad, H. (2021). Barriers to safety program implementation in the construction industry. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(1), 65-72.

Yiu, N. S., Chan, D. W., Shan, M., & Sze, N. N. (2019). Implementation of safety management system in managing construction projects: Benefits and obstacles. Safety science, 117, 23-32.