When new employees come on board, you'll need to help them understand your firm's approach to OSHA compliance. Be sure to review company-specific rules. For instance, how to report a hazard and how to report injuries. Above all, make your company’s safety expectations clear. One manufacturer reported that their safety program is tied into an incentive known to the employees as "Safety Bingo." Through this incentive plan, each division shares in a pot that grows as safety is maintained. At the end of the time period, those employees split the money given to the safest division.

As you begin your training process, don't begin your presentation with, "I know this is boring, but we have to go through it." Instead, convey excitement about your message. Be professional and show how seriously you take safety. Don't just read your safety manual — sell it. Likewise, don’t be a safety cop or manager, but think of yourself as a safety sales manager. The product you are selling is that your employees get to come home safe every day.

An important part of safety training involves hazardous communications including Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Ensure that your employees understand their right to know the MSDS book and container labeling. These items must be part of your safety-training program. Identify what chemicals you have, and make sure your employees know where to find the MSDS book.

After conducting initial training, further safety instruction should continue as necessary throughout an employee's tenure. Any time an employee incurs an injury, even as minor as a cut on a finger, put the employee back in training — without exception. Every single employee needs to go through it.

Safety Inspections — Two Options
When it comes to safety inspections, a company can approach such scrutiny either as if the safety police were taking control of crime and punishment or as a learning opportunity to educate employees and reinforce your training. Choose the latter mindset, as it helps build the culture of safety. When you use inspections as an opportunity to educate and reinforce, your firm and its employees will experience empowerment.