Picture this. We're at an oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario. It's January. Workers are preparing to enter a confined space. Faces are tense. And for good reason. For those of you not familiar with the concept, a confined space is an enclosure not normally designed or intended for human occupancy. Working in a confined space is often dangerous. Among other things, it involves the risk of exposure to flammable or harmful atmospheres, oxygen depletion or enrichment, and entrapment. So from the moment those refinery workers enter the confined space, everybody is on high alert and prepared to handle any emergency at a moment's notice. Three hours tick off the clock. But at last, the job is complete. The workers emerge from the space alive and in one piece. The relief is palpable.

Let's fast forward seven months and move west about 2,000 miles. We're in Fort McMurray, Alberta. It's a hot August day. Michael Gauthier, age 64, is performing work inside a boiler, another confined space. The harness-clad Gauthier suffers some kind of mishap. He struggles desperately to drag himself to safety. But he's overcome by excessive heat and is soon dangling helplessly by his harness. A co-worker inside the boiler watches in horror. But he, too, is suffering from heat exhaustion and can't offer any help. It takes rescuers two hours to arrive on the scene and pull the men out of the boiler. Michael Gauthier dies in the hospital four days later. The suspected cause of death: suspension trauma. The incident is blamed on lack of planning and poor preparation for confined space work.

Two Incidents, One Moral

These are both true stories. And, while they involve similar work operations, they had drastically different outcomes. Why?

In the Sarnia episode, workers and supervisors came together and studied the legal, site-specific and industry best practices pertaining to the particular job. They consulted their health and safety policy, reviewed pertinent documentation and coordinated with the appropriate authorities. In short, the Sarnia workers were well prepared. As a result, the operation was safe and successful.

Sadly, those involved in the Fort McMurray incident weren't as prepared to face the dangers of confined space work. The result clearly exposes what can happen when the parties involved don't engage in proper planning and preparation.

Ultimately, then, what happened in Sarnia and Fort McMurray dramatizes not just the dangers of working in confined spaces but a larger point: the importance of having effective health and safety policies and procedures.

Why Just Having Policies and Procedures Isn't Enough

I stress the word "effective." That's because most employers have written health and safety policies and procedures in place. In Canada, the Occupational Health and Safety Acts of the various provinces require employers to establish and maintain a written policy to protect the health and safety of workers. Similar requirements are contained in U.S. and state OSHA laws.

Like most employers, you probably comply with this requirement. But just how effective are your health and safety policies in achieving their objectives? This is a key question because it has become clear that many workers do not effectively avail themselves of the policies meant to protect them. Why not?

Just ask Michael R, a construction supervisor. Michael R is one of many workers who understands the importance of safety on the job and diligently tries to follow safety guidelines set out in his company's health and safety policy. But he has a hard time doing so. "The sheer size of the policy manual frightens me," he says. "And by the time I find what I am looking for, the guys are usually well into the job."

What Makes a Safety Policy Effective

According to Webster's dictionary, "policy" is a projected program consisting of desired objectives and means to achieve them. "Procedures" are the means by which policy objectives are achieved. Hence a health and safety policy is a system (an action plan) set up to provide the tools necessary to ensure implementation of an employer's commitment to workers' health and safety.

To be effective, a health and safety policy must:

• Comply with regulatory requirements;
• Be written in such a way as to persuade workers of the sincerity of the employer's commitment to safety;
• Be consistent with the operation and objectives of the workplace; and
• Most importantly, be communicated in a format that makes it easy for workers to understand, fulfill their roles and responsibilities and proactively participate in the health and safety process.

Conclusion

Creating a policy that incorporates complex legal requirements, appropriate safety terminology and employers' expectations while still being user-friendly is and always has been a major challenge for employers. So it's no wonder that so many policies accumulate dust. Next week, in Part 2 of this series, we'll look at how to create the kind of policy that workers will actually refer to.

BY THE NUMBERS

Totaling the costs of Hurricane Katrina

The Costs of Hurricane Katrina

By Glenn Demby

The 2006 hurricane season is almost over and, mercifully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as predicted. Maybe Mother Nature decided that we deserved a break after the pounding she delivered to us last year. And speaking of last year, we’re just now getting a handle on the full extent of the costs of Hurricane Katrina. Consider the following figures:

1,323
The estimated death toll from Katrina (as of December 2005).

147,000
The number of structures Katrina destroyed or severely damaged as a result of flooding.

Less than 50
The percentage of Katrina flood victims who had flood insurance.

100
The number of offshore oil and gas platforms Katrina destroyed or severely damaged (Hurricane Rita destroyed or damaged 83 more).

$40 to $60 billion
The estimated economic losses caused by Katrina that were covered by insurance. (To give you some perspective, insured losses from the September 11 terrorist attacks were $34 billion.)

$70 to $90 billion
The estimated economic losses caused by Katrina that were not covered by insurance.

Source: Garcia-Swartz and Layne-Farrar, “The Katrina Experience,” Barbon Discussion Paper No. 06-05, Nov. 2006,

THE 10 COSTLIEST HURRICANES IN US HISTORY

* Figures reflect adjusted insured losses in 2005 dollars

Source: Towers Perrin, “Hurricane Katrina: Analysis of the Impact on the Insurance Industry,” p. 9.

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