Safe 6 Under the Hood…… Who Needs to Know?

Stay with me here…. let’s pretend Safe 6 is a car.  It’s a nicely equipped vehicle designed to get you from here to there quickly and safely.  With practical and functional controls for the driver, Safe 6 also has a whole lot under the hood that makes it terrific at what it does.

Do you need to know and understand what’s under the hood or just how to drive it?  All I’ve ever asked is whether the car will do what I want and get me where I need to go.  However, the salesman must be prepared for the customer who wants to know what’s under the hood.  It’s important he or she is ready with answers and explanations.  If we go a step further the service department has to know how it’s put together and how to keep it functional and running smoothly.

We can use the under the hood analogy with Safe 6.  Whoever develops Safe 6 Briefs for a company would be the vehicle service department; the trainer and supervisor would be the car salesmen; and the employee is the customer.   Since the supervisor may also develop the Safe 6 Brief, he or she would have the dual role of sales and service.  You get the idea, let’s discuss Safe 6 using a who needs to know what approach.

Eventually, every task should have its own Safe 6 Brief.  The Safe 6 Brief is a customized written safe work practice….. supercharged, detailed and ready to go!  The Brief provides a simple, yet complete description an employee needs to understand to safely carry out a specific task.  It may be posted in the work area or used as a training tool.  A person knowledgeable with the task should prepare the brief before it is implemented.  The Brief can be reviewed and finalized in a team safety meeting.  It could even be developed there in the first place. The positive benefits of involving employees are long lasting in building and maintaining a Safely Working Environment.

What don’t employees need to know about Safe 6 and the Safe 6 Brief?

• The detailed requirements of a Safe 6 Brief – don’t burden employees with too much information
• How to prepare a Safe 6 Brief – leave that to the person responsible

What do employees need to know about Safe 6 and the Safe 6 Brief?

• At a minimum, employees should know and understand Safe 6 as a concept

Recognize All the Dangers – Know the Task
Prepare and Organize the Workspace – Gather Everything Needed
Inspect and Check the Equipment – Eliminate the Unexpected
Control the Conditions and Eliminate Dangers – Make it Safe
Engage and Complete the Task Skillfully – The Do’s
Guard Against Mishaps – The Don’ts

• Employees must understand that Safe 6 is the rule of the workplace – One rule to rule them all!
• Then they need to know what makes Safe 6, Safe 6 – Sensible Care for Safely Working
• They need to know when and how to use Safe 6 – “Do It All the Time!”

If employees know the features of Safe 6 as described above and Safe 6 is used to frame Safely Working for all activities, it will become part of the workplace vocabulary.  The success of Safe 6 will be realized when it becomes part of the workplace conversation, not just a topic during an occasional toolbox team meeting.

We’ll lift the hood of Safe 6 soon…… promise.

(Originally published 12/27/14)