Guidelines for Performance Evaluations

General

• Unit safety performance evaluation has several elements:
  • the unit's accident record; how many accidents in a given period of time?
  • number of accidents increasing or decreasing?
  • number larger or smaller compared to other groups which accomplish similar tasks?
• EH&S has access to an accident recording system which will provide managers with this type of information
• Number comparisons are important as a judge of safety performance, but only reflect the more important element: fulfillment of safety responsibilities

Responsibilities

• How well a unit or supervisor accomplishes safety responsibilities better indicator of their safety effort.
• A supervisor's ability to control accidents may be limited and not completely related to their efforts in accident prevention.
• Steps taken after an accident occurs do affect the extent of the loss considerably.
• Willingness and commitment to perform tasks associated with prevrenting and controlling accident losses are more important than numbers of accidents
• Commitment to safety should be given a higher priority
• Safety performance or the fulfillment of safety responsibilities should be discussed during performance evaluations

Accountability

• Employees should only be held accountable for the fulfillment of well defined goals and responsibilities
• Rewards and praise has positive effect toward instilling proper safety attitudes and behavior
• Holding individuals accountable for the performance of their safety responsibilities important in the prevention and management of accidents
• Accountability requires that individuals understand the reason for and importance of tasks and are judged solely on what they can control
• When these elements are in place, most people will not perceive accountability as something negative and will take pride in their accomplishments

Safety Responsibilities and Duties

Deans and Directors

• Support the ideal that safety is an integral and important part of all activities
• Emphasize the importance of accident prevention and loss control
• Ensure that adequate training is provided for employees and supervisors
• Hold supervisors accountable for unit's safety record and the performance of their safety responsibilities
• Reward improvement, discipline failure
• Support efforts to return injured employees to work as soon as possible
• Encourage unsafe condition correction through the fund allocation

Supervisors

• Supervisor includes academic employees that assign work to research or lab personnel
• Provide workers with the training and equipment to do their job safely
• Proper training of new employees is especially important
• Perform frequent safety inspections of work areas
• Correct unsafe conditions if within your ability to do so; if not, forward the need for correction to your supervisor
• Investigate accidents immediately and complete accident reports and SAIF claim forms in a timely manner.
• Offer immediate and continuing concern to injured workers
• Take every reasonable step to return the worker to work as soon as possible
• Give public recognition to workers for their safety ideas and good safety records.
• Consider safety behavior as an element in each worker's performance evaluation.
• Discipline the worker who knows better and has been counseled but still endangers self and others