For any organization to properly manage their safety management system, monitoring and measurements must be frequently taken of its safety performance and compliance to provide data for corrective action. To document the process for monitoring and measuring the employee injury prevention performance on a regular basis consider qualitative as well as quantitative measures. These measures address both proactive as well as reactive criteria that have a significant impact on the prevention of employee injuries.
The procedure should describe how to document the calibration and maintenance of any equipment used to assess occupational health and safety conditions in support of the safety management system and retain calibration records. In addition, the procedure must identify key parameters of the organization’s operations that can have a significant impact towards workers’ safety and health. These parameters relate to the monitor performance towards the objectives and targets, and to monitor conformance to the legal and other requirements and other safety management system requirements.
MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT
To effectively manage this element, first identify those personnel responsible for monitoring and measuring this information and notify them of their responsibilities. The individuals assigned this responsibility should be stakeholders of the monitoring and equipment; trained on the proper use, maintenance, storage of such equipment.
Secondly, identify all the specific occupational health and safety monitoring and measurement equipment requiring calibration, the optimum calibration settings, and the corresponding calibration frequency. Also maintain a list of specific occupational health and safety monitoring and measurement equipment requiring maintenance, along with a description of and schedule for the necessary maintenance.
Thirdly, calibrate and maintain occupational health and safety monitoring equipment at a frequency consistent with the manufacturers’ recommendations, or at least every 12 months if those recommendations are unknown.
Lastly, maintain calibration and maintenance records for occupational health and safety monitoring and measurement equipment. This can be done by creating a “Summary of Monitoring and Measurement” log as shown below;
| Characteristics to Be Measured | Monitoring Equipment | ||||||||
| Significant Aspect | Performance Activity | Operational Controls | Frequency | Responsible Party | Records Location | Monitoring Equipment | Calibration Process | Preventive Maintenance | Records Location |
| WWTP | Abnormal – H2S Release | Standard Operating Procedure for H2S | Daily | WWTP Technician | WWTP File Cabinet | H2S Monitor | Automatic | Monthly PM | WWTP File Cabinet |
*NOTEDo not forget to identify performance indicators as an abnormal or normal activity. Doing so illustrates the type of activity, frequency and severity of the activity to help risk assess and prioritize the organizations resources.
Another example of how to create a log for managing monitoring equipment used to assess occupational health and safety conditions is shown below:
| Equipment Type | Make | Model | Serial Number | Calibration Frequency | Responsible Party | 90 Day PM # | 52 Week PM # | Last Annual |
| 4 gas monitor | BW | GAMAX 3-4 | L404-4228 | 90 days/Annually | Safety Manager | 16628 | 16629 | 8/31/2015 |
In conclusion, this procedure and its activities help determine if the parameters of equipment are validated to effectively provide adequate data to protect worker safety and health. Without an effective management of this element an organization is placing workers in a potential hazardous environment. Monitor and measure frequently, consistently and continuously to ensure worker safety and health is not jeopardized.