OSH Practisioner: It is a noble job

I believed, there is not such job post where he puts his effort to ensure the workplace is safe and healthy for people to work... like OSH Practisioner. I thought that I'm not good in writing, but I believed I can contribute something in OSH. But, it purely depends on you what you can contribute to OSH... I'm trying my best to sell safety from different point of view... not really focus on management system, technical safety, OSH leadership etc... I will sell it from human point of view....

For me, awareness is very important for each of us to know that on how important is our life... We only live ONCE in this world. BUT, as a human, you can't see the importance of our life once you lost it...
- you don't know how valuable of your eyes once you can't see
- you don't know the important of your hand once it amputated
- you don't know how important is your leg once you can't walk normally etc
this is common for us as a human...

We must remember, to educate people is not an easy task... human has different types of background in terms of
1. cultures
2. education
3. religion
4. races etc
So, to make a safe & healthy workplace, it is not a "destination". It's journey, never ended journey. That's why, I believed that this type of job is a preach ("dakwah, tarbiyah") type of job. If this principle is cemented among OSH Practisioners, trust me we do this is not purely because our job nature. Because we want it, we treasure every single people's life.

Our Prophet, Muhammad SAW said "tidak sempurna iman seseorang itu jika dia tidak mencintai saudaranya sebagai mana dia mencintai dirinya sendiri".

OPS Sikap-23: Is it effective?

1. Today is the first day of Ops Sikap-23 for 12 days. This is because Chinese New Year festival will be next week and there will be a heavy traffic starting tomorrow for holiday.

2. I just wondering whether Ops Sikap can really change the Malaysian's "sikap" (attitude) while driving on the road? Last year statistics (2010) as mentioned by PDRM (Utusan, 27-Jan-2011), the total deaths are 6872!! 19 fatalities accident/day...

3. To change "sikap" (attidude), it is a long and continual process. We can't change driver's attitude during the OPS only. We must do it everyday. The enforcement bodies play an important role, discipline our drivers!! No other way... If they make an offense, issue a ticket. No compromise (whether you are VIP, somebody's friend or son), no discount, follow the rules & lead by example.

4. Improve our enforcement system, link it to JPJ database system. Use merit/demerit system, penalize the drivers (and also their employer if it involved any industries or companies).

5. Improve driving schools syllabus if necessary if the root cause of the accident is from the driver's competency.

6. Educate the kids & public about road safety. Hopefully all of us can play our role to become a behave society on road.

7. IMPROVE Public Transport System, inculcate Malaysian to use public transport (if our public transport system is efficient then!).

Time to re-energize my writing

It's time for to start blogging again... my last post was 6 months ago, and I think there are lots of ideas & observations that I can share with people who has passion in HSE.

After I gave few trainings for the past 1 month, I believe there are people in our society are not aware on the importance of HSE in their life. They know about HSE, BUT they ignore it... insya allah, I will try my best to share my ideas and observation.

Your inputs & comments are highly appreciated.

Toolbox Meeting

Toolbox meeting, normal people just wondering what this "toolbox" meeting all about? Talking about toolbox, meeting about arising matters or tasks.... for Safety & Health Practitioners, it is a common "pep talk" with the employees... my opinion, toolbox meeting should meet criteria below
a. a talk about OSH topic of course
b. an OSH topic related to the job that the worker wants to deliver
c. KISS (Keep It Simple, Short) principle applied

So, where, when, how to deliver the toolbox meeting, it depends on us then. For me, the best time is before the worker start the work. Toolbox meeting works as a friendly reminder to our beloved worker to be careful & follow all the Safety & Health DOs & DON'Ts during the work... that is all, I can say...

What about the topic? Tonnes of topic you can discuss... here are some links that you can used to select the topic...
http://www.safetytoolboxtalks.com/
http://safety-made-simple.com/toolboxsafetytopics/

Last but not least, try to be creative to make the toolbox meeting is the best & enjoyable session with your workers!! Goodluck

How to Use Safety's Magic Metre

another good article that I received from SafetyXChange...

http://www.safetyxchange.org/training-and-leadership/

How to Use Safety’s Magic Metre

June 1, 2010

Bill Dickerson

I’ve been teaching safety to young workers for 20 years, and I’d like to share with you one of the more successful tips I’ve developed: The Magic Metre.

The “Magic Metre” (or “Magic Yardstick”) is a visual image new workers can use to protect themselves from all kinds of hazards. A “Magic Metre” is the distance from your nose to your fingertips. It’s almost like a 360 degree bubble all around you, including up and down.

Eleven Ways to Apply the Magic Metre

When delivering high school safety talks and new worker orientations, here are some ways I suggest they apply the Magic Metre.

1. Noise: If you have to raise your voice above a normal talking level to be heard one Magic Metre away, you are likely exposed to over 85 Dba and require hearing protection.

2. Moving Equipment: When working around moving equipment such as chain drives, conveyors, etc., if you maintain a Magic Metre from your outstretched fingertips, you are unlikely to fall into the equipment or pinch point. The same concept works for hot pipes, electrical hazards etc.

3. Biohazards: If you maintain a Magic Metre from a fellow worker with a cough or cold you are likely beyond the “sneeze spray zone.” Maintain the same Magic Metre from blood and body fluids and products unless protected.

4. Tools: Protect yourself and others by maintaining a Magic Metre or “safety bubble” around you when using power tools, hammers, axes, etc.

5. Chemicals: From the MSDS, determine how many Magic Metres are required between you and chemicals you may be exposed to.

6. Workplace Violence: Maintain a Magic Metre between you and an angry customer or co-worker. Position yourself to minimize your exposure as a target, and protect vital areas.

7. Eye Protection: Wear your safety glasses or goggles within a Magic Metre of any process that could result in flying objects.

8. Fall Protection: A worker can be seriously hurt from a fall or poorly planned jump of even less than a Magic Metre. You require fall arrest protection if your feet are two Magic Metres above the next level.

9. Lifting and carrying: The safest zone for carrying loads is within the Magic Metre from your knees to your shoulders.

10. Call Before You Dig: Don’t dig (including hand dig) within a Magic Metre either side of a utility locate marker (hydro, gas, telephone, etc.).

11. Falling Objects: Almost anything that falls a Magic Metre onto you will hurt!

Conclusion

Feel free to use any of these suggestions in your new and young worker training. And if you think of any to add, I’d love to hear them.

Something to ponder "The Day I Became Committed to Safety"

This article is taken from Safety Xchange at "http://www.safetyxchange.org/health-safety/day-committed-safety-3?utm_source=emailmarketer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3605"

The Day I Became Committed to Safety

May 18, 2010

A SafetyXChange Member

Editor’s Note: A couple of weeks, Art Fettig described the day he became committed to safety. We invited SafetyXChange members to share their defining moments. Last week, we ran Jim’s story. Here are Bill and Steve’s.

My Defining Moment

I worked for many years in the meat packing industry. (There’s an industry with a history of “accidents are inevitable...” culture.) I spent many years working in the role of shop steward trying to make my workplace better for the workers.

A number of years ago, I was standing at my job station when I felt a steel tank full of meat nudge up against me. I thought the pallet truck operator was trying to be funny. Quickly, I was pinned up against the table with the pallet truck driving the tank into me from behind, crushing my pelvis then upper legs against the steel frame of the conveyor table. I heard screaming and couldn’t believe the sounds were actually coming from me.

When I was lying on the ground waiting for the ambulance, the pallet truck operator told me that the emergency bump switch must have shorted out. He placed the load behind me and as he pulled away the drive wheel reversed direction and he couldn’t stop it. (The emergency bump switch is a safety device that causes the pallet truck to drive away from an object by reversing the drive for several seconds should the driver run into something with the steering mechanism. This is to ensure it doesn’t pin the driver.)

Not having much of a safety background at the time, I just thought I had been unlucky. Fortunately, I hadn’t broken any bones so I was able to return to work in a few weeks. After I got back to work, the Safety Manager brought me a copy of the completed accident report, in which one of the major conclusions was that the pallet truck was poorly maintained (a systemic problem at our plant). I never would have thought of looking that far into it at the time. I just assumed they would repair it and carry on. Several other items were identified and dealt with as well.

A few years later, I became involved as an OHS committee member, then eventually went to school and became a Safety Officer. One of the classes I took required me to interview three safety professionals. And one of the questions I asked was, “what was your defining moment?” It was only as I wrote my report that I realized what mine had been!

I would encourage everyone to go back and think about your defining moment or ‘moment of truth’ as a source of motivation when things seem tough.

I’m happy to report that we made major strides in improving the health and safety program and culture at my former place of employment.

Bill Bennett

*****

How I “Got It”

I first entered the safety field on a part-time basis. As an Air Force officer, I had to take on “additional duties”. Someone asked if I was interested in being the squadron safety officer. It sounded OK to me. It was the beginning of a career that has lasted over 30 years (so far). It was rewarding work, but I didn’t really become truly committed until I had left the service.

I was working at a cement company as the safety director. An employee ran into my office and shouted that “Fred” fell out of ball mill #1. Ball mills crush cement and other materials. They are cylindrical in shape and are loaded with steel balls that do the crushing, as the mill rotates.

Periodically these mills require a “recharge.” Access panels are removed at the top and bottom of the mill. Employees enter and push the balls out of the bottom access hole. The balls would fall about 30 feet and land in a pile.

I caught several employees walking on top of the mill, climbing in, and pushing out balls with no fall protection. Needless to say, I shut down the operation immediately. I contacted the supervisor. We planned out the procedure, obtained the necessary equipment, and trained the employees how to use them.

One employee in particular (the aforementioned Fred) complained angrily, saying he had worked there for 30 years, had never used such equipment, and had never fallen. As far as he was concerned, it was a complete waste of time.

When the co-worker rushed into my office, saying Fred had fallen out of the mill, I pictured him lying on top of the pile of steel balls, 30 feet below the mill. I was sure I had a fatality on my hands. When I arrived, Fred was sitting in a chair, obviously very shaken, but alive. He just wanted to get back to work. He had worn the fall protection equipment, and it had saved his life, but he would never admit it. He was too embarrassed.

As for me, I finally “got it.” I understood how truly valuable my work was. I had actually saved someone’s life by stopping a potentially disastrous situation, planning a task, providing equipment, and training employees. In this business, we don’t often see the results of what we do. I began to wonder how many other lives I might have saved over the years.

I received no awards, no promotion, no raise, not even a “thank you” from the employee or his family, but I was truly rewarded, just knowing that he had lived.

I’ve thought about that incident over the years. It keeps me going at times when the day-to-day activities don’t seem to accomplish much. I guess I’ll never know, this side of Heaven, what I’ve accomplished, but at least now I have an idea.

Steve Hughes

SHO: Knowledgeable or Competence??

I like to highlight on this issue, & I did discuss this issue in the NRG-SHE mailing list. This is important so that SHO must aware that how important is knowledge in managing OSH & they must be competent.

Knowledgeable SHO can't really become a competent SHO BUT competent SHO should be knowledgeable. Few literature or study has been done on competency. The one that I can recall is competency consists of
1. Knowledge
2. Skills
3. Attitude

Competence SHO has a capability to apply their knowledge in the workplace. Not just that, he/she also has the capacity to share or teach their knowledge to other people. They know what they are talking & also they walk the talk... "the shift from knowing to showing (Burz, HL & Marshall, K)"

In Malaysia, currently it's a trend that there are graduates or employees interested to become SHO. This is a positive trend BUT it is also can cause negative impacts due to the "quality" of SHOs. To all SHOs, apply your knowledge at the workplace by learning & practising few critical skills such as communication, negotiation, presentation etc... Furthermore, don't think that we have a green book, that's the end of the learning journey as SHO...

"The more you know, the more you know that you don't know" - Steven R Covey

How to select an OSH consultant?

Something to share... from safetyxchange.org
(http://www.safetyxchange.org/the-safety-profession-and-your-career/safety-consultant-2?utm_source=emailmarketer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3568)

What to Look for in a Safety Consultant

February 19, 2010

Wayne Pardy, CRSP

Much of what the average safety practitioner reads each day comes not from peers but consultants. This growing cadre of safety consultants and their prevalence in the print and electronic media isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are many excellent consultants out there; but there are many less than excellent consultants, too. If you’re seeking to hire a consultant—or simply looking for the right ones to read—you need to know how to separate the good from the bad.

How Safety Consultants Work

In the interest of full disclosure, let me preface these remarks by acknowledging that I’m a safety consultant myself. So you might want to take what I say with a grain of salt. As Joaquin Setanti so aptly put it, "Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk."

Consultants come in a myriad of varieties. Some do nothing but consult. Others are part-timers who consultant in their off hours or as a means to promote other products or services. Some take up consulting to supplement their income after retirement. But all consultants have one thing in common: To earn their money they must persuade others to take and act upon their advice.

Separating Style from Substance

Consequently, self-promotion and marketing is a big part of the consulting racket. Consultants typically write books or publish articles to gain recognition that they can then parlay into paying clients. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. In fact, the writings of consultants can be one of the best tools in deciding who to use. Consultants whose writings are vacuous and devoid of substance aren’t likely to provide quality consultations. Those who make you think and ask questions, on the other hand, are the ones you want to consider.

Be on the lookout not just for empty writings but empty promises. Consultants who tout their systems as the best thing since sliced bread should raise a red flag. Nobody has all the answers all the time—especially in the dynamic realm of safety which is constantly shifting and dependent on local conditions.

Personally, if I were in a client’s shoes, I’d steer clear of consultants who pitch themselves with humor. If you want entertainment, hire a clown. Safety is serious stuff. Of course, there’s room for levity in all endeavors, including safety. But while humor can spice up the information, the consultant should be hired for expertise and excellence, not just delivery.

Safety Consultants and Objectivity

Another thing to watch out for is bias. According to Thomas C Redman, companies assume that consultants are objective, evidence-based and not part of the company’s internal power struggle. But while consultants may not have a corporate agenda, they’re not devoid of biases. On the contrary, the system and knowledge most consultants bring to the table is rooted in a theory or understanding of the world like behaviorism.

Biases in a safety consultant don’t necessarily mar the quality of the advice. The important thing is to understand the biases of the consultants you hire before you hire them and not assume that the information they’re providing is 100% objective.

The 4 Fundamental Things Safety Consultants Owe to Clients

Self-promotion and bias are acceptable in a safety consultant. But my feeling—I call it the Pardy Doctrine—is that there are certain fundamental obligations that all consultants owe to their clients:

1. Accuracy

Our work must be truthful and accurate. We must base our positions on sources that are trustworthy and accurate. We also need to let the client know when the positions we assert are just an opinion.

2. The Willingness to Admit What We Don’t Know

Nobody has the right to demand perfection from their consultant. But while honest mistakes and lack of knowledge are acceptable, what cannot be tolerated is the consultant’s failure to admit when he doesn’t know the answer or act like every bit of his advice is “research-based.” We just have to be honest about our limitations and not seek to conceal them.

We also need to be willing to admit when our assertions are contradicted by a major line of research (as is the case with Heinrich or behavioral safety and Skinnerian theories of human behavior) ) or are the product of a particular ideological bent. Acknowledgement is critical because it enables clients to make informed decisions about our work. A wise man once said, that there are two sides to every story. . . and then, somewhere in the middle, there’s the truth.

For example, read what people like Scott Geller, Thomas Krause, Terry Mathis and Aubrey Daniels have to say about behavior-based safety and associated theories. But by all means read what people like Donald J. Eckenfelder, Alfie Cohn, Thomas Smith, and Fred A Manuele have to say about them, as well.

3. Currency

We must always strive to ensure our ideas, approaches and work are up-to-date. Personally speaking, I can attest that keeping current is hard work and time consuming. But those who don’t make the investment are doomed to staleness. It’s equally hard to change our views in light of experience and new knowledge. But we must all be willing and able to accept new approaches.

4. Service

The client’s interest always comes before our own. Always.

Conclusion

I’ll leave you with two final words of advice to ensure you get the most from your consultant dollar. First, any time you contract for the services of a consultant, be very clear about your performance expectations and deliverables. Second, don’t entrust a consultant with ownership of your problem. Consultants can play a vital role in profiling the options. But at the end of the day, you’re the one who has to live with the impact of implementing the consultant’s advice. In short, the consultant doesn’t replace your own experience but empowers you to use it to help your company and its safety program most effectively.

Safety: Who cares...

latest accident happened in Terengganu.... RM4.2 million bus terminal collapsed. Some hierarchy of building incidents in Terengganu...
So, what are the strategies by the government, professional bodies & NGOs to prevent the recurrence of the accident? What are the mechanism or system that we need so that this incident become a lesson learn for us?

• RM300 million Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium - part of the roof collapsed in June

• 

• RM18 million Aquatic Centre in Batu Burok - closed in July due to leaks in the canvas roof and rusting steel supports
  

• RM123 million Sultan Mahmud airport terminal - defects found on the roof in July
  

• Masjid Kampung Batu Putih in Kemaman - the roof collapsed in October
  

• Besut Islamic Centre - roof tiles were dislodged in recent week

Why "we" DON'T Care About Safety & Health

Sometime, as OSH Professional, it's difficult to sell the importance of OSH in the workplace. To convince management, to train employees and to explain to the contractors, we need some "personal" touch... as for me, the most important approach to sell Safety is through awareness... relate Safety from "common sense" & "common practice" approach that we experience it in our daily life...

so, some of the common questions & examples that I normally used to sell safety are:
1. Have anybody experience death or at least serious injuries before?? If yes, ask them to share with you & the others (if in the meeting or training session)
2. How many of you wearing a safety belt while you driving a car today??
3. How much is your life?
4. Your family/parent needs you more than the company :)
5. Newspaper cutting showing accident happen in the society etc

Safety Training Prog (Part2/2) by Barbara Semeniuk

Something to share (http://www.safetyxchange.org/training-and-leadership/how-to-create-effective-training-sessions-part-2-of-2)

How to Create Effective Training Sessions, Part 2 of 2

November 17, 2009

Barbara Semeniuk

The first step in creating safety training sessions is to assess the existing gaps in your training program. In Part 1 last week, we looked at how to conduct a gap analysis. Let's turn now to how to use the findings of your gap analysis to craft training sessions that deliver your safety message effectively.

Customize Training to Suit Trainees' Needs

Safety training sessions must be reality-based. In other words, they must deal with the real challenges participants actually face on the job. Training should be customized to the needs and requirements of the participants and delivered in a way that allows for participation and interaction.

Before the Sessions

Effective training classes have to be directed and, before the training session develops, upfront work must be done by all parties. Participants should meet with their boss one-on-one before the training so that everyone is fully aware of potential barriers to success and gets involved in devising strategies to surmount the barriers. The goal of this process is to:

1. Identify Skill Levels: There shouldn't be a huge range of skill levels in the class. Students have to be selected so that their skill levels are appropriate for the training material or learning will not be effective. If you have an engineer at one end of the class and someone functionally illiterate at the other end, you will lose one or the other and neither will be comfortable in such an environment.

2. Set Expectations: Management, or the student's boss, should set expectations for the class and demonstrate their commitment to the process by meeting with each student prior to the learning experience and setting goals and expectations based on the course content. During this meeting, the student should be informed that he will be graded on a performance evaluation after the training class to determine if the skills have transferred. Remember: What gets measured gets done.

During the Sessions

It's important that the trainer engage the learners in a safe, fun, informative session with good adult learning techniques applied.

1. Encourage Coaching: The tell/show/do/teach cycle of learning is very powerful and participants should actively coach other members of the class. You can turn this into a fun and informative process by tossing balls to participants in groups to select the next group to lead the class in what they have discovered. Everybody participates in a fun, comfortable and safe environment.

2. Encourage Networking: Participants should network amongst themselves. It is possible that trainees may develop lasting friendships with people they meet in the class.

3. Look Forward: Once the learning session wraps up, rather than focusing on what the group now knows, instead focus on what the group needs to do from this point on. During the class session, build "to do" lists identifying what participants need to do to ensure that knowledge gained during the training sessions is not lost.

After the Sessions

After the training session:

1. Discuss Implementation of Key Concepts: There should be a debriefing by the boss. No happy sheets grading the niceness of the trainer's delivery or how happy the participants were in class. Instead, you want to discuss which key concepts from the training session will be applied immediately, within 30 days, within six months, within a year.

2. Train the Supervisor: The person's immediate supervisor can play an important role in the transfer of knowledge and should be held accountable for his/her staff. Special training sessions just for supervisors to facilitate this process may be in order as well.

3. Follow-up: Using the "to do" lists created at the end of the training session, have the management team evaluate how well these lists are executed by conducting performance reviews at clearly defined intervals. Also, ensure that performance appraisals are conducted at the intervals discussed during the debriefing.

4. Provide Refreshers: To help participants maintain their new knowledge, periodically offer quizzes, reviews or group sessions when new machines or tasks are introduced.

Conclusion

A well-designed course is a joy to teach. The session becomes an experience in which the trainer facilitates learning and the participants learn by doing. But to create effective training sessions you need to prepare: conduct a gap analysis, set clear performance expectations and help participants maintain their new knowledge during the course of their day-to-day activities. In this manner, information from the class will be disseminated, skills will be learned and barriers to success overcome!

Safety Training Prog (Part1/2) by Barbara Semeniuk

Something to share (http://www.safetyxchange.org/training-and-leadership/using-gap-analysis-to-improve-your-program-part-1-of-2)

How to Improve Your Safety Training Program, Part 1 of 2

November 4, 2009

Barbara Semeniuk

Is your safety training simply an information dump? You're not alone. Many trainers feel that the more information they present, the better the session will be. Others simply let regulations determine what they teach because these classes are an easy sell. And these same trainers hope for happy participants in a well-attended class who rate the instructor as good to excellent. They also expect these participants to demonstrate their commitment to this new knowledge by applying it on their own time under their own steam.

The reality is that to facilitate the effective transfer of knowledge from the instructor to the class, instructors need a well-designed course, using simplicity and variety. It's a process that requires a bit of planning.

Conduct a Gap Analysis Before Training Begins

The instructor and the students both participate in the learning process and they learn in the most realistic and systematic fashion. To ensure that this occurs, it's helpful to first conduct a gap analysis. Why? A gap analysis may determine that:

• Middle management is uncertain of their roles and responsibilities in a Health and Safety management system;
• Location management may not have built a strong relationship with the trainer to allow for shared safety expectations and goal-setting. Decisions are not done in a collaborative fashion;
• Workers are frustrated with the perceived level of resources allocated towards Health and Safety;
• Workers are frustrated because some of the rules don't make sense at their location or work environment.

How to Identify Gaps

Look at your safety training program and ask yourself the questions below. (Note: These questions are performance factors adapted from Rummler and Brache's research on performance factors by the Hile group.) If the answer to any of these questions is "No" or "Don't know" there is a gap in performance.

1. Does the safety program have the necessary corporate support in place? Does everyone have what they need to do what they are supposed to do?
2. Training sessions need to set clear performance expectations. Do your trainees know what they are supposed to be able to do after training and can they do it?
3. Are trainees measured on their performance and are there consequences for good and/or bad performance?

When performance gaps occur, you have a failure in the management system and a barrier to transfer of knowledge. You also have an opportunity for improvement

Conclusion

Management, trainers and participants need to be honest about any barriers to safety training and devise methods to surmount them. Next week, we'll look at some ways to achieve that.

How to become a good SHO (Part 2)

When I'm thinking on how to become a good SHO, it's not easy to quantify a "good" SHO... I'm trying my best to become a good SHO.... unfortunately I'm still searching for it...

BUT, after working more than 10 years in manufacturing & construction industries, I believe below are some of the criteria to become a good SHO..
1. Assisting & advising your management to comply with the OSH Laws
- Here, as a competent SHO, you trying your best to deliver all the OSH legal requirements that need to be complied by your organization...

2. Enforce OSH Compliance in your organization
- Walk the talk, pre-define all the OSH requirements upfront, standardization & enforce it....

3. Continual improvement of OSH in your organization
- never ended job to ensure the OSH risks are as low as possible

4. Educate employees on OSH as a value
- this is an essential step to ensure that "the safety of you is in your hand NOT in SHO"
- "Safety.... to valuable to compromise"

How to become a good SHO

SHO is interesting occupation that can challenge our capacity & capability in managing OSH at workplace... involved multidisciplinary including technical knowledge such as engineering, chemical, health, management etc making SHO as a challenging job...

so, how to become a good SHO? I received a good comment from OSH colleague in NRG-MASHO network... below is the excerpt from his email..

On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 1:28 PM, Dinesh Kumar wrote:
Dear All,

I had received a lot of CV’s; thanks and I’ll be contacting you guys if there is any available position arises. Apologize; I can’t reply your mails personally; it’s too many to reply.

I would like to share some information and let us think: How to be a successful SHO? For many people or legally, it means that you need to study the SHO course, pass the NIOSH examination, get the required experience and register with DOSH. You’ll be walking to fame earning a very high salary. Right? It’s wrong actually….

The above requirement is the basic entry passport to be a competent SHO. Of course it will improve from your present life situation but it won’t guarantee you to be a successful SHO. You need to be very much more competent than that.

I think what going to make a difference whether you are going to be successful safety manager, safety engineer, SHO or even a safety supervisor are:

Your public relation skills: You must be able to communicate efficiently, speak good language and always look presentable. Safety is often described as non profitable department. Always there will be situation where we need to convince our boss to implement or purchase some things. If your PR is not good, your boss won’t buy your idea. Really. Everybody will have the confidence when dealing with a guy whom has a good PR. When you are in a meeting, speak confidently, don’t talk nonsense and ensure that everybody understands what you are trying to convey. You must be able to speak your mind in front of people.
Its IT world out there. Computer applications must be at your finger tips, you must be able to do good reports, make presentation slides and write commanding emails all the time. A work memo is not like sending text messages; most people still lack this basic skills (I noticed a lot of mails sent to the group are really sub standard). You can use this group as your learning platform on this matter.
Leadership skills. Safety line requires a lot of it. If you can’t show that you can lead your workers, then you are in no business doing safety.
Education. It’s been a trend these days that many people start taking safety courses right after they finish their SPM. I can’t see the logic: A full time SHO course is not even a month and a full time engineering degree is at least 3 years. Can we expect to be paid the same after we graduate? The thing here is you must have a tertiary education; a recognized diploma or degree in certain field and do the safety course as a major study later on. Now days there are even a lot of degree or master program in safety as well.
Knowledge. I mean real working situation knowledge. A lot of people out there will try to bullshit to us and find their way out; so don’t be fooled by them. Hit right to their face with your knowledge. Power will come with great knowledge. I’ve seen many cases here where the SHO will be pushed to do jobs that actually not related to him; just because it’s in context with safety. Good knowledge will let you judge how you suppose to handle this kind of situation.
Be practical. I’ve seen normally SHO’s are more concern on the legal matters. They will be so worried if their place didn’t comply with certain issues. For example there is a case recently where someone’ fire extinguishers doesn’t have the bomba cert and he has been so worried about it. What’s the scare here actually? As long as the FE can be used, explain to bomba the company situation and promise them that you’ll renew the cert as soon as possible. That’s all. The bomba or DOSH not going to penalize you, instead they’ll give you much more suggestions to improve your work place.
Goals. Set your goals. What do you plan to achieve in your career?


This mail did not intend to criticize anyone here; I’m just doing my part to the community and share my knowledge.These is all based on my personal experience and maybe some of you guys won’t agree with me as well. There are a lot of successful and knowledgeable guys in this group that I had come across. Maybe they can share their knowledge as well.

SHO-3: Where I should begin?

Why I choose Safety? To tell the truth,
a. I like to mingle with people... don't know why, maybe I inherited it from my parent :).
b. Furthermore, I like to share.... something like, you advise people... teach or educate people about the knowledge that you know... sharing your knowledge & experience and
c. I think, I want to work where hopefully it will become a good deed (pahala) for me.... since this world is just a temporary world & akhirat is a permanent world....

SO, if you have same passion with me as above, I believe SHO is the job that you can consider as a career. Maybe, some people think that money $$ is people's motivator to choose a career BUT for me that's not a career... it merely a "job"

SHO-2: Where I should begin?

Continue frm my previous blog... telling you the truth, I never knew that there is a post on Safety & Health at my 1st company that I worked... after 2 years working as Process & Equipment engineer, I think this is not the job that I want... my heart is empty at that time. I just trying to convince myself, just gain knowledge & skills as much as possible when you young. I have a good team at that time.

My first "real/formal exposure" involvement in OSH when I was selected by my boss as Safety & Health Committee (SHC) member. I just wondering at that time, why me (daaaa... maybe other people is busy & I'm the only one was free or it's another boring "jobscope" for other people..heheheh)?? I just take it without thinking a lot & hopefully my boss will see my commitment to take "additional task".... then I have good reason to promote or increase my salary (in my dream at that time, & of course not sincere enough to take additional task :).

After I joined SHC, then I can see the real "macro view" of OSH management. It really open my mind & heart when OSH talking about employee's safety, company's commitment & image, customer requirements, legal requirements, training, enforcement, ERP... wooowww, & interesting part (pssstt... you have a direct meeting with CEO!!)... nobody have that opportunity right!!.... this was my 1st stepping stone involved in OSH and it really make me to think thoroughly on my future career... this happen in year 2000...

Safety & Health Officer (SHO) - 1: Where I should begin?

The main idea why I introduce this topic is because I want to share when, where, why, whom, what, how, who... I start or become SHO. I read few comments/questions in the NIOSH Forum & also in SHO mailing list on the difficulty of some new comers to involved in OSH discipline... There will be few parts in this topic & feel free to discuss this matter openly & interllectually so that this blog can bring benefits to OSH practisioners...

Let me start on "why I want to become SHO"? Fyi, I start my career as Process & Equipment Engineer. When I joined a semiconductor industry as my 1st job after I completed my study in Mechanical Engineering 11 yrs ago, I just follow my heart. At that time, I just want to work because I need to earn money.... Don't want to burden my parent of course... At the same time, I'm still not sure what's my career path... at the same time, trying to understand some Safety Standards (more on SEMI & FM standards) when preparing the equipment specs.. furthermore, I'm incharged on the equipment that used lot hazardous chemicals e.g. Acids, Caustics & Solvents!!.... that was the first time I exposed on Safety!!

How to manage HSE? (Part 4)

I have been 2 months I didn't write anything in this blog... quite tight with my work & other part time work. When I presented a paper last week in COSH2009, I highlighted another approach on how we can integrate HSE into Supply Chain Management...

The basic principle is like "cradle to grave" concept.... the most important aspect in integrating HSE into Supply Chain Management is to understand what are the activities involved in the supply chain... from there, we can see how the whole processes/activities inter-related... when the processes/activities were lay out properly & clearly, then it is easy for us to prepare the HIRADC.

Using Michael Porter Model on the concept of value chain, HIRADC can be integrated into the model. This will help SHO to understand what are the critical activities that have some impacts to the production. By understanding this value chain, SHO can focus & assist management to minimize any incidents in this critical/value chain... I will add in the model in the next post..

How to manage HSE? (Part 3)

when we want to sell OSH to top management, we must try to sell OSH using "management terminology". An eye opener for top management normally related to any activities that can
1. increase profit
2. reduce cost
... a simple word that I can summarized is "money $$$"

One way that we can do is how we can INTEGRATE OSH into the company's risk management?? Figure below is the IOSH's vision & mission to support Business Risk Management process...

(Ref: Business Risk Managment, Getting Health & Safety Firmly In the Agenda by IOSH)

This is not an easy task for a normal SHO because we need to equip ourselves with another level of knowledge.... i.e. Business Management... as you can see from the above figure, managing OSH is dynamic & it changed as the way business is managed & focus. SO, it's important to understand the company's business operation... then from here, insya allah we can sell OSH more interesting manner + "talk the same language" with the management!!

How to manage HSE? (Part 2)

when I studied MBA, it really an eye opener for me on how to manage a business (for me, at least I have some basic on it..)... when we talked about business, "customer is the king"... any businesses MUST have customer.. without customer, or indirectly we call it as a demand, there will be no business... in supply chain management, it is always "customer-driven, customer- focused (Tony Hines)". So, how we can apply this in managing HSE?

The way I look HSE from business management of view, we need to ask ourself... who's HSE customer? for me, HSE is everybody's business... for me, it should be our responsibility from top management to employee... we need to take care our own Health & Safety... Management responsible for their sub-ordinates.... Employee responsible for their own & colleague's Health & Safety...then from here, SHO/HSE Engineer/HSE Executive etc will play their role as "coordinator" in managing HSE.... so, this is tally with OSH (Safety & Health Officer) Regulations on the responsibility of SHO i.e. as an advisor to the management...

BUT, we want to link it to the "business operation".... HSE MUST be part of the business activities... from the planning, operation, human resource, marketing, financial, etc... this can be done when all the stakeholders understand the importance of HSE in business....