It’s “Safe + Sound” Workplace Safety Week
Every August, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency, leads “Safe + Sound Week,” a national event to recognize the successes of workplace safety and health programs and offer information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.
In recognition of “Safe + Sound Week,” which is August 15-21 this year, NYCHA’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) would like to remind staff about the Make It Safe program, which empowers you to stop work if an activity or condition is believed to be unsafe. Work will not start again until all issues related to the safety concern are taken care of and agreed to by all affected employees. Make It Safe protects all NYCHA staff who exercise their right to stop work from any retaliation.
If, however, the employee or the location’s Safety Associate and the supervisor cannot agree on a solution (whether short or long term), EHS must be contacted; an Employee Safety Oversight Specialist will respond by phone, virtually, or in person within four hours to help resolve the concern.
The Make It Safe Program:
Stopping a task:
If you need to stop a task under the Make It Safe program, please tell your supervisor (or have your location Safety Associate advise your supervisor).
Resolving the concern:
The Safety Associate will work with the employee who stopped the task, supervisors, and appropriate subject matter experts to come up with a solution agreeable to all parties.
Communicating the resolution:
The resolution of the safety issue is communicated to all affected employees. Work resumes when all issues are resolved.
Ensuring compliance:
Make It Safe events must be communicated to EHS within 24 hours so that the incident can be reviewed and analyzed.
If you want to stop a task anonymously, you can contact your worksite’s Safety Associate, your union safety representative, or EHS (at ehs@nycha.nyc.gov).
Effective safety and health programs tap into workers’ collective experience, knowledge, and insight to find solutions to workplace safety and health challenges. At the core of every effective safety and health program is a systematic process for identifying and controlling (i.e., finding and fixing) workplace hazards. Finding and fixing hazards using a proactive approach, before they cause injury or illness, is far more effective.
EHS encourages all staff to read NYCHA procedures (available on Connect) and be proactive in making our workplace safe for residents, staff, and the public.
For more resources, please visit:
Make It Safe Standard Procedure
Safe + Sound Week | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)
US Dept of Labor launches Safe + Sound Week 2022 – HOIST Magazine
