Workplace Safety: What Practices Do Work?

Facts Apr 12, 2024

Construction sector shows positive results regarding workplace safety. The State Labour Inspectorate statistics reveals that in 2023 there were around 20% less accidents recorded at the workplace in Lithuania. Labour inspectors also note that employer’s attitude is changing – the responsible companies are increasingly applying new and modern practices to help the employees better understand the requirements of workplace safety and company’s processes towards ensuring it.

Focus on Employee Engagement

According to Vaida Intė, Head of Occupational Health and Safety at RNDV, accidents at work can be prevented by ensuring the right internal culture and clear procedures, for example, by recording the potential incidents (Near Miss). This practice is an addition to the existing requirements to investigate the workplace incidents that have already happened. Employee engagement and knowledge are very important for this practice to be effective. For this reason, RNDV fosters an internal culture of openness, employee engagement, and conducts various regular trainings. Another successful practice to prevent incidents at the workplace, as V. Intė states, is Last Minute Risk Analysis. It is a routine technical check-up in a form of specific security questions which must be carefully answered by employees before starting or continuing the work.

Special Practices in Manufacturing Sector

Ugnius Dapkūnas, Head of Sustainability at Philip Morris Lithuania, believes safety in the workplace must become a priority for everyone. “That is why we follow the behavioral principle Safety is Everywhere and involve both managers and employees in the development of work safety”, he states.

In order to create an open and engaging internal culture, Philip Morris Lithuania carries out Risk Hunting initiatives, and Stop-Think-Act informational sessions, which are aimed at developing a culture with no rush at the workplace. Reinforcement of exemplary behavior through various colleague awards and a development program of safety champions are another effective safety incentive examples. According to U. Dapkūnas, it is equally important to continuously monitor behaviors and give feedback. For this reason, the organization has implemented a behavior monitoring system at a workplace which allows reporting unsafe behavior and take necessary actions towards it.

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