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MANAGING BEST
Your views can make a difference
Speak up for safety" is a hot phrase. More than a million hits will come up if you run a search for the phrase on the Internet. But what does it mean and how do we put it into action?
Some examples:
* This past March the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) and officials from Medicare launched the program "Speak Up: Help Prevent Medical Errors in Your Care." The program encourages patients to question the care they will be given, and to seek another caregiver if they do not get good answers. The American Medical Association supports the Speak Up program.
* The heading for the American Society of Safety Engineers' new membership application is "Speak Up for Safety: Join ASSE Today."
* The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health employs the "speak up" concept in pamphlets targeted for working teens. NIOSH wants teens to know they can speak up to employers about their workplace rights.
* Safety management programs such as OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program requires employees to freely speak up not only for their own safety but for others as well. Injury and illness rates at VPP work sites are often 50 percent or more below industry average.
Gaining momentum
Speaking up is gaining momentum in the U.S. today for three main reasons. One, people feel they can remark without fear of punishment. Two, people feel that their input will make a difference. And three, speaking up is easy to do with modern information technologies such as the Internet.
The Internet clearly permits people to speak...