The Structure Of A Municipal Safety Plan

A proper municipal safety plan is written, communicated, monitored and enforced. Properly administered safety plans are considered effective when they lower direct and indirect costs to the city because frequency and severity of injuries, incidents and damages are reduced.

Missouri municipalities with employees, including volunteers, are encouraged to have a written safety plan. But what does a municipal safety plan look like? How should a safety plan be structured? The purpose of this article is to discuss the structure of an effective municipal safety plan. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Call it what you want. Safety plan, safety program or safety rules. Whatever you choose to call your documented safety expectations, know that it is recommended that every safety plan be:

• Written and accessible to employees.

• Communicated through meetings and training.

• Monitored for compliance.

• Enforced through corrective action. Your municipal safety plan may consist of a personnel manual and departmental safety plans. Together, they are your city’s safety plan.

First, take advantage of your city personnel manual document to communicate all-employee safety rules that apply to all employees and volunteers of the city. For example, these all-employee safety rules could be your drug-free workplace, seat belt and injury reporting policies. These are rules that apply to all city employees and volunteers and they need to be posted, communicated, audited and enforced through corrective action when employees do not follow them.

Next, make sure the individual city departments have safety plans that address department-specific hazards –such as water and wastewater, fire, police, streets and parks and recreation. Does your city have several departments? If so, each of those departments should have a written safety plan that addresses top hazards to which that department has exposure. Top injury risks for cities are motor vehicle crashes, falls, overexertion injuries, electric shock, work zone incursions and assault. Individual department safety plans could get granular, down to the individual machine or process – like chlorine process safety management, vacuum excavator operation, confined space entry at well no. 3, or lockout-tagout for a specific water treatment plant machine.

Once each department has developed/ updated a written safety plan document, begin making sure employees review the safety plan physical document. Yes, your city’s safety plan could be made