Accident Prevention

Program (APP)
An overview of what’s required and
how to develop one

January 2020
Accident Prevention Program (APP)

Purpose:
To assist you in developing and implementing
a written Accident prevention program
that is tailored to the needs and
potential hazards associated
with your workplace.

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 What Will Be Covered

 Why have an accident prevention program?

 Rule requirements for accident prevention program
 Elements of a written program
 How to implement an effective program
 Where to get help

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Why have an Accident Prevention Program?

• It will help to prevent

employee injuries on the job.

• It will help you find hazards

before they cause accidents.

• It will help you deal with

By “accidents” we mean events where employees are killed, maimed, injured, or become
accidents
ill from exposure if they
to toxic do occur.
chemicals or microorganisms (TB, Hepatitis, HIV, Hantavirus
etc).
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Why have an Accident Prevention Program?
It helps control Industrial Insurance costs

Low # of Claims Average # of claims High # of Claims

Your premium rate depends on number of claims filed. An accident prevention program
can help you to control hazards that cause accidents and claims.
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Why have an Accident Prevention Program?
It’s required by L & I - DOSH Rules
(Division of Occupational Safety & Health)

Safety & Health Core Rules

WAC 296-800-140
Safety Standards for Construction
WAC 296-155-110
Other standards
agriculture, logging, etc.
APP rules are nearly identical for all types of businesses. In most cases, if you are
visited by a DOSH inspector, he or she will look for your APP. If the inspector finds
serious hazards and no APP or major deficiencies in the APP, you could receive a citation
with monetary penalty.
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What is an Accident Prevention Program?
A plan of action to:
– Involve workers and management in workplace
safety and health,
– Identify and control safety hazards,
– Handle emergencies,
– Give new employees job safety orientation,
– Provide for personal protective equipment as
needed.

A plan for safety must be more than posting a sign that says “Be Careful. In an
emergency call 911.” It will help you to identify hazards before they cause accidents and
help you deal with accidents if and when they occur.

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 What is Required for All Employers?
• Must be outlined in writing.
• Must be tailored to the worksite.
• Must include employee safety orientation
and training.
• Must include safety committee or safety
meetings.
• You must develop, supervise and enforce
a safety training program You must
make sure your APP is effective in
practice.
Link to Core Rule APP requirements
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 APP Requirements For Construction
 Supervise and enforce an
effective program

 Outlined in writing

 Employee safety orientation

 Weekly leader/crew safety

meetings

 Weekly walk-around safety

inspections

Link to Construction APP requirements

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 APP Requirements for Agriculture
• Outlined in writing
• Tailored to the needs and
hazards of your operation
• Employee safety orientation
• Monthly walk-around safety
inspections with employee
representative
• Monthly foreman-crew safety
meetings
Link to Agriculture APP requirements
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 A written APP can be an outline
 Simple and direct is O.K.
 Must cover all the regular and predictable hazards
of the worksite
 Include employee input to identify new hazards
not in outline
 Some employers will need a more complex APP
depending on hazards
 It can’t be just a paper program
The written program must cover all the typical, predictable and evident hazards of the
worksite. However, a written APP that is too long or complicated tends not be read. As
long as there is method to report new or unforeseen hazards, it is not necessary to go
into great detail about every possible hazard one could imagine.

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 APP should be a “living plan”

If it is not a “living plan” that is actually used,

then it will just be:
• a document gathering dust on a shelf,
• something you did to please L&I,
• of no real value to your company.

If you’re going to spend time and energy developing this plan, it might as well be a tool
that will add value to your company, will help you to provide a safe and productive
workplace, and keep your industrial insurance premiums to a minimum.

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 APP Must be Tailored to the Worksite

 It can’t be a non-specific generic program

 It must address the actual worksite hazards
and conditions
 It must include the work of all employees

By “generic” we mean one that does not address the actual worksite hazards
and conditions. Some trade associations produce generic programs that
includes the most common hazards of a particular industry. These are usually
acceptable, but you must also cover the unique hazards of your worksite.

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 Employee Safety Orientation

The orientation must cover:

•A description of total safety program

•On-the-job instructions on how to do job

tasks safely

•How to report accidents

•Location of first aid facilities

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 Employee Safety Orientation (con’t.)

Also include in orientation:

•How to report safety hazards

•Use and care of personal protective equipment

•What to do in emergencies

•How to identify hazardous chemicals and what

to do if exposed to them.

Link to sample chemical hazard communication program

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 Safety Committees
 At least as many elected employees as
management-selected members
 Elected chairperson
 Committee determines meeting schedules
 Keep meeting minutes and attendance
 Cover specific topics

Safety Committees are required if you have 11 or more employees at the worksite. The
number of employee-elected members of the safety committee must be equal to or more
than the number of employer-selected members

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 Safety Meetings

 Allowed if 10 or less employees

 Meet monthly
 At least one management representative
 Document attendance
 Cover specific topics

Safety meetings are an allowable substitute for a safety committee if you have 10 or less
employees. They are also allowed if you have 10 or less employees on different shifts or
there are 10 or less employees at widely separate work locations. You would need to
have safety meetings at each shift or each work location.

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 Construction Crew /
Leader Safety Meeting requirements
Hold worksite meetings:

At start of job

Every week
As needed when change in
conditions or hazards

Document topics and attendance

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 Agriculture Safety Meetings
 Foreman-crew safety meetings must be held
at least monthly or whenever there are
significant changes in job assignments.
 Short-term operations that last less than one
month do not require foreman-crew safety
meetings.
 Copies of foreman-crew meeting must be kept
at location and retained for one year.

Even though safety meetings are not required for agriculture operations that last less than
a month, a safety orientation is still required at the beginning of the operation. For
example, in cherry harvesting, pickers should still have a safety orientation on how to
safely use a ladder.

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 When is an APP “Effective in Practice”?
When It Works!!

• It is more than just words, platitudes or slogans.

• All regular and predictable hazards are addressed.

• Serious or frequent injuries are not occurring.

The goal of an APP is to prevent injuries. Frequent injuries would be a sign that not all
hazards are addressed or your safety rules are not being enforced. Minor or infrequent
non-serious injuries do not mean your APP is ineffective. An occasional missed hazard
(one saw guard out of several saws is missing in a cabinet shop for example) also does
not necessarily mean your APP is ineffective.

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 Some ways to make an APP
“Effective in Practice”
• Determine what injuries and near-misses have occurred
and why
• Do a hazard evaluation or survey of the workplace
• Establish safety goals – management commitment
• Train employees on job hazards (required)
• Effectively and consistently enforce safety rules
• Provide needed protective equipment and make sure it is
used (required)

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 Injury Determination
 Review claims and injury records
Review your OSHA 300 Log if you have kept one. See if there are
several people having the same type of accident (indicates that a
process or procedures may need changing) or if one person is having
several accidents doing different jobs (indicates that this person
probably needs retraining).

 Interview employees for unreported injuries

Talk to employees:
Do they think they have a safe place to work; Do they have ideas about how to improve
safety; Do they know how, when and to whom to report an accident; Do they know of any
accident that have NOT been reported.

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 Near Misses
Investigate near-misses since they are potential accidents

Accidents or injuries are the “tip of the iceberg” of

hazards

Accidents
Hazards
Don’t just investigate accidents. Near misses should be reported and
investigated. They were in a sense, “aborted accidents”. Criteria for
investigating an incident or near miss: What is reasonably the worst injury the
worker would have suffered had an actual accident happened? If it would have
resulted in a serious injury, then the incident or near miss should be
investigated with the same thoroughness as an actual accident investigation.
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 Safety Hazard Evaluation
Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)

Job Steps Hazard Protection

Pick up stock Sharp edges & Gloves
splinters
Cut stock with Blade edges and Blade guard and
power saw flying chips safety glasses

Link to JHA information

A JHA is a method of identifying and evaluating hazards associated with a job or particular task. This
is an example of a job safety analysis of a carpenter shop. Each task is listed with it’s particular
hazard and protection for that hazard. This method can be used to determine your company’s need
for personal protective equipment. Also called Job Safety Analysis (JHA)

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 Workplace Safety Evaluation
Worksite Safety Checklist

Tailored to your workplace Used by foreman or safety supervisor

A periodic safety evaluation is recommended, especially if conditions change frequently,

such as in construction. Often representatives of the safety committee will do this. This
checklist should be developed to check for the hazards that are likely to be found on your
site. It can be used for periodic walk-around safety surveys to make sure all safety
measures are in place.

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 Hazard Identification
Conduct Accident Investigations
Do with a team: supervisors, employees, outside
experts
•Examine:
• Persons Link to more information on how to
• Equipment do an accident investigation
• Environment
•Look for fact, not fault
•Prepare a written report
•Investigate
Do follow-up
as soon as possible. Take pictures, draw diagrams and interview all who
witnessed the accident. Try to find what can be changes to prevent the accident from
happening again. Write a formal report (can be covered at the next safety meeting). Make
sure that suggested changes are made.

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 A successful APP needs
Management Commitment
Sample statements:
– “We care about your safety…”
– “We will provide a safe work place…”
– “Nothing is important enough to do unsafely.”
– “Supervisors and employees are expected to
work safely and bring up safety issues…”

Management safety statements are not required, but are recommended. Management
support is vital for success of program else neither supervisors nor employees will take it
seriously. A specific written statement, is not required, however.

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 Resources needed to support an APP

Time Safety Equipment Incentives

In addition to leading by example, management should give employees resources and
incentives. Recognize that an effective program implies a commitment of:
- support of safety as a regular budget item,
- time for inspections, training, safety committee, maintenance,
- equipment such as guards, PPE, training materials, promotions,
- safety recognition and incentive programs that reward safety efforts.

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 The Role of Line Manager/Foreman
For a successful APP you need line manager
commitment.
Suggested ways to do that:

• Spell out their safety duties

• Give them explicit safety authority
• Hold them accountable for safety
To have a program that is “effective in practice”, management ( the owner, general
manager, supervisor, foreman and crew boss) must practice safety as well as the
employees. If management doesn’t wear PPE where the employee are required to, the
employees are less likely to wear the required PPE when management is not present.
Employees must be make to feel comfortable making safety corrections without getting
“permission” from someone else.
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The Role of Line Managers/Foremen

They should:
 Be personal examples
 Identify hazards
 Monitor workers
 Participate directly in problem-solving

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 Employee Input
Employee hazard reports

 Get input from safety committee

 Consider using an employee report form
 Do a follow-up

Link to sample employee report form

You can use a report form, a suggestion box, or get input from safety committee or
verbally during safety meetings. Make available and encourage the use of form for
employees to report hazards they see. Management should have procedures to address
issues identified and notify individuals or safety committee what actions were taken.
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 Training Programs
• Management also needs training to understand the hazards and safety
requirements as much if not more than the line employees.
• Initial orientation is very important. New employees are quite vulnerable to
accident unless you train them on:
• what to watch out for, and
• what to do when something goes wrong.
• Employees may be expected to start the job with the skills necessary to do the
job but it is the employer’s responsibility to insure that the employee knows the
safety rules related to the job.
• Don’t rely on the previous employer having done the training or that the new
employee says they have experience. You don’t know the quality of training
they received or if any bad habits have developed.

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 Training Programs
Need to cover the following:
•Who?
• Management
• Employees
•What?
• Basic orientation
• Specific machines, processes, skills
•When?
• Before doing the work
• When duties work change
• When deficiencies are noted
•Documentation
• Instructor’s outline
• Attendance records

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 Specific Training Programs
Depending on specific hazards in your
workplace, other training maybe required.
For example:
• Hazard communication (chemical use)
• PPE (if required use)
• Forklifts
• Confined space work
• Fall protection in construction

Link to DOSH online training programs Identifying Your Training Needs

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Safety Rules are an Important Part of APP
There are two types:
• General company safety rules such as:

• “Wear steel-toed shoes on the job”

• “No horseplay”
• “Do not operate machinery without
guards in place.”
• Specific job related safety rules such as:

• Grinder safety rules

• Roofing fall protection rules

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 Safety Disciplinary Policy

• In writing
• Employees are informed or trained on policy
• Applies to everyone – including management
• Fair and progressive enforcement

“Where’s his fall protection?”

A disciplinary policy is not required, but highly recommended. The policy should be in writing and
employees should be informed/trained before it can be used against them.
Policy should be imposed on management as well as employees. Records of policy application
should be kept for documentation that the policy is being enforced.
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 Personal Protective Equipment
What hazards exist that require use of PPE?

 Determine need –who, when, what

 Ensure it provides adequate protection
 Train employees on use
 Provide, maintain and replace as needed.

Link to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Guide hazard assessment checklist

A PPE hazard assessment is required by DOSH Rules on PPE. You can determine what PPE is
needed from doing a hazard assessment. Injury reports may also provide additional information –
there may be a pattern of injuries that can be prevented with the use of appropriate PPE..
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 Additional Information
More information on APP is available:
Accident Prevention Program (APP)

For additional assistance, you can call one of our consultants.

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