De Beers Safety Standards and Critical Safety Procedures

This document outlines the safety standards and critical safety procedures necessary to ensure a safe working environment and prevent workplace accidents, based on industry best practices and regulatory compliance. It emphasizes hazard identification, risk assessment, control measures, and emergency procedures to protect employees and prevent incidents.

General Safety and Health Program

Written Program

Employers must institute and maintain an effective written safety and health program to identify, evaluate, and control workplace hazards. This program should include policies, procedures, and practices that protect employees from occupational safety and health hazards. The program should establish and communicate a clear goal for safety and health and the mechanisms for achieving it. Visible top management leadership is essential for implementing the program. [8] [8] [8] [8]

Safe Work Practices

Employers must eliminate or control all existing and potential hazards in the workplace in a timely manner. This can be achieved through engineering and work practice controls, administrative controls, and the proper use of personal protective equipment. Safe work practices must be understood by all employees and reinforced through training, positive reinforcement, and a clearly defined disciplinary system. [13] [13] [13] [13]

Compliance and Discipline

Compliance with health and safety rules should be a condition of employment. Rules must be explained to new workers, and their understanding should be ensured through briefings. Procedures for dealing with repeat rule violators must be established, with supervisors supported in correcting unsafe acts. Disciplinary action should be prompt, confidential, consistent, and recorded, with the role of discipline being education, not punishment. [9] [9] [9] [9] [9] [9]

Hazard Identification and Control

Hierarchy of Controls

The hierarchy of controls prioritizes methods for controlling hazards, starting with the most effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Elimination involves removing the hazard from the workplace, while substitution replaces hazardous materials or machines with less hazardous ones. Engineering controls involve installing guards and safeguards. Administrative controls alter the way work is done, and personal protective equipment reduces exposure. [8] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3]

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls involve physical changes to the workplace to reduce or eliminate hazards. Examples include machine guarding, ventilation, and enclosure or isolation of hazardous processes. Ventilation systems should be designed, tested, and maintained properly, with local exhaust ventilation being preferred for removing contaminants at the source. [3] [11] [11]

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls involve developing procedures and policies to minimize hazards. These include safe work procedures, training and education, job rotation, and restricting access to hazardous areas. Safe work procedures should be developed and implemented, with employees trained on these procedures and other necessary workplace training. [10] [10] [10]

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE should be used when other control methods are not sufficient or practicable. It includes items such as protective eyewear, hard hats, hearing protection, and hand protection. PPE limits exposure to hazards only if it is worn and used correctly. [7]

Hazard Identification

Workplace inspections are crucial for identifying hazards. Inspectors should look for safety hazards, health hazards, ergonomic hazards, physical hazards, and psychosocial hazards. They should use diagrams of the area, equipment inventories, and hazardous product inventories to aid in the inspection process. [12] [12] [12]

Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is used to develop safe work procedures by examining each task of a specific job to identify hazards and determine the safest way to do the job. The steps include selecting the job, breaking it down into a sequence of steps, identifying hazards, and defining preventive measures. Critical jobs, where frequent or severe incidents occur, should be analyzed first. [9] [9] [9] [9]

Accident and Incident Investigation

Reporting and Investigation

All accidents that result in injury to workers, regardless of their nature, must be immediately reported. Near miss incidents should also be reported and investigated. Investigations should identify the root cause and means of prevention to prevent recurrence. The health and safety program should specify what is to be reported, to whom, how it is reported, which incidents are investigated, and who will investigate them. [1] [2] [15] [15] [15] [15] [15]

Accident Investigation Procedure

If a fall or some other related incident occurs, such as a near miss, it will be investigated and documented as soon as possible so that the cause and means of prevention can be identified to prevent similar types of falls or incidents. The safety plan shall be reviewed to determine if additional practices, procedures, or training is needed to prevent similar types of falls or incidents from occurring. [1] [1] [1]

Corrective Actions

Corrective action is a critical part of the audit process. It includes addressing identified deficiencies, planning, follow-up, and documentation. The corrective action process begins with a management review of the audit findings to determine appropriate actions, priorities, timetables, and responsibilities. A tracking system should be used to control the corrective action process, including periodic status reports and a final implementation report. [5] [5] [5]

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Emergency Procedures

Emergency procedures are plans for dealing with emergencies such as fires, explosions, major releases of hazardous materials, violent occurrences, or natural hazards. These plans ensure rapid decisions, efficient resource allocation, and the safety of personnel during critical events. [15]

Emergency Action Plan

A written emergency action plan must be provided to workers, including the availability and testing of fire extinguishers, eyewash units, and safety showers. Fire blankets, first-aid equipment, fire alarms, and telephones should be available and accessible. Regular drills, including building evacuations and shelter-in-place procedures, should be conducted. [4] [4] [4] [4]

Chemical Spills and Accidents

Workers should contact the appropriate personnel for instructions before cleaning up a chemical spill, following all SDS and label instructions, and wearing appropriate PPE. In the event of an accident, appropriate personnel and local emergency responders should be notified immediately, providing an SDS of any chemical involved to the attending physician. An accident report should be completed and submitted within 24 hours. [4] [4] [4] [4] [4]

Training and Education

Employee Safety Training

New workers should attend safety training before beginning any activities, with additional training provided when they advance in their duties or are required to perform a new task. Training should include hands-on instruction on how to use safety equipment appropriately, and training documents should be recorded and maintained. [4] [4] [4] [4]

Safe Work Practices Training

Training and education of employees about operating procedures and other necessary workplace training, including WHMIS, are essential. Training must cover how to do the job safely, ensure workers understand the hazards and risks, and provide information on how to protect themselves and co-workers. [10] [6] [6]

Specific Safety Procedures

General Safe Work Practices

Workers should follow safety procedures for confined space entry, working at heights, electrical safety, lockout/tagout, machinery and safeguard, ladders, material handling, working with tools and equipment, working alone, extreme work temperatures, and fire safety. They should practice safe lifting techniques, know how to identify hazards, follow company safety rules and safe operating procedures, stay informed about chemical hazards and WHMIS, know how to report a hazard, and follow good housekeeping procedures. [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16]

Welding Safety

Welders should be trained in confined space entry procedures, fall protection procedures, lock-out / tag-out procedures, working safely with flammable hazardous products, compressed gases, and power tools. They should also be trained in working safely on ladders, platforms or scaffolds, manual material handling techniques, and following appropriate standards when welding boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping systems. [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [14]

Housekeeping

Good housekeeping is essential to prevent the accumulation of hazardous or toxic materials and hazardous conditions. This includes proper storage areas, proper disposal of waste, and maintaining clean, dry, and uncluttered floors. Regular maintenance of yards and parking lots is also important. [6]

Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene practices are effective in reducing exposure to hazardous materials. These include washing hands after handling material and before eating, drinking, or smoking, avoiding touching the face with contaminated hands, and prohibiting eating, drinking, or smoking in work areas. Hazardous products should not be stored in the same refrigerator as food items. [7] [7] [7] [7] [7]

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