Why an overly detailed safety plan can be a liability

What are your thoughts on this approach?

Why an overly detailed safety plan can be a liability

A massive rulebook that most workers won’t read can leave a contractor vulnerable to fines and lawsuits, according to panelists at AGC’s safety conference.

 
It seems we are on a merry-go-round of safety these days! I long for the days of fundamental safety:

 

  1. Identify Hazards
  2. Analyze those hazards using a recognized methodology
  3. Assess the risks those hazards pose and quantify them for perspective, and
  4. control those risks using the hierarchy of controls
BTW, I found this approach to be misguided and horribly flawed. Safety is about the workers who do the dirty and dangerous work – not about minimizing compliance risk from regulatory authorities. Pinch me… is it really 2023?
 
For the vast majority of safety plans, their problem is not too much detail, it is the lack of explanation of why certain activities need to be done a certain way. Too often, these plans are nothing more than a regurgitation of the OSHA standard (the absolute minimum). The plans do not explain why OSHA requires certain activities; only that they do and we must obey it. The WHY and HOW are missing pieces!
 
 
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