National Shipbuilding Research Program. Basic Elements of Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Shipyard Employment

At the core of an organization sl business is the creed that it has an obligation to ensure and its employees have a right to expect that if its employees report to work with all of their body parts working, they will go home the same way at the end of their workday. That fact should be clearly and unambiguously understood by all members of the organization. Given that the causes of accidents fall into two basic categories - unsafe conditions and unsafe acts - it is generally held that management is responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace and safe and healthful working conditions and that employees are responsible for acting in a safe and healthful manner. Beyond those considerations, it is generally acknowledged that management has the responsibility to ensure that employees are aware that certain acts are unsafe and are aware of ways to avoid them. It fulfills that responsibility by providing formal and informal training, both on the job and in the classroom, it ensures fiat both first and second line supervisors are similarly aware and it holds those supervisors accountable for their own occupational safety and health performance and the safety and health performance of the employees under their supervision.