Supervisor Accountability and Responsibility for Employee Safety and Health

Why Should You Attend:

Attendees will learn 'what you're up against' in today's work environment. This is often not as simple as it was a few short years ago.

'Supervisors Responsibility' covers a wide range of human interactions. Since the employer-employee relationship is the dividing line of who does what, it is incumbent on the employer to properly define and fulfill their responsibility.

The concept of 'agency' is the operative term for the function of supervisors. We will explore the role of the employers 'agents' and examine Best Practices for helping you achieve the best outcome in running the business.

We will discuss a range of direct and tangential areas of responsibility, since many supervisors and managers wear multiple 'hats. Understanding the order of prominence among these designations is highly important.

The benefits of having a well-defined process for supervisor selection, promotion, development, and incremental responsibility will be discussed. The downside of doing little or nothing with supervisory engagement will also be discussed.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Define the concept of 'Supervisor as Agent' of the Company
• OSHA – 'Employer' requirements examined as a guide to Best Practices
• The Job Offer – conditional, probationary, Temp to Perm
• Progressive Discipline and Re-directive Counseling
• Why having a formal Safety and Health Program is critically essential.
• Importance of detailed and Current Job Descriptions
• Pre-Hire Medical Screening; Drug Testing; Functional Capacity Exams
• Employee Wellness Programs
• Early Return to Work Policies
• Company Policy vs. Job Practice and Tolerance
• Temporary, Contractor and Part-Time Employees
• 'Temp to Perm' arrangements
• The Group Dynamic
• The Alpha Employee
• Leaders vs. Managers
• Internal Company communications – how to get your message out
• Supervisor development programs
• Employee development
• Employee safety practice 'malfeasance' and accountability

Who Will Benefit:

Managers, Supervisors, Directors, and Vice-Presidents in the areas of:

• Human Resources.
• Plant and Production Managers;
• Line Supervisors.
• Attorneys,
• Workers Comp Insurance Claims Adjusters,
• Insurance Agents and Brokers.
• QA/QC persons.
• Management Consultants;
• Small Mom and Pop firms.
• Working Lead Persons;
• CEO's, Company Officers and Directors.
• Regional Managers, Department heads.

From Medical device and combination product biotechnology devices

Jose Mora
Principal Consultant, Atzari Enterprises

José Mora is a Principal Consultant specializing in Manufacturing Engineering and Quality Systems. For over 30 years he has worked in the medical device and life sciences industry specializing in manufacturing, process development, tooling, and quality systems. Prior to working full time as a consulting partner for Atzari Consulting, José served as Director of Manufacturing Engineering at Boston Scientific and as Quality Systems Manager at Stryker Orthopedics, where he introduced process performance, problem solving, and quality system methodologies. During that time he prepared a white paper on the application of lean manufacturing methods to the creation and management of controlled documents and a template for strategic deployment. José led the launch of manufacturing at a start-up urology products company as Director of Manufacturing for UroSurge, Inc. at the University of Iowa's business incubator park in Coralville, IA, creating a world-class medical device manufacturing operation, with JIT, kanban systems, visual workplace and lean manufacturing practices. José worked for 10 years at Cordis Corporation, now a Cardinal Health company, where he led the successful tooling, process development and qualification of Cordis' first PTA (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty) catheter. His medical device experience includes surgical instruments, PTA & PTCA dilatation and guiding catheters, plastic surgery implants and tissue expanders, urology implants and devices for the treatment of incontinence, delivery systems for brachytherapy, orthopaedic implants and instruments, and vascular surgery grafts and textiles. During his time at Cordis, José managed the Maintenance and Facilities Department, taking that operation to a level rated as “tops” by the UK Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) during one of their intensive audits. Jose managed Manufacturing Engineering as part of the Guiding Catheter Core Team of managers, a team that took the Cordis Guiding Catheter business to lead the market, bringing it up from fourth place. By introducing world-class techniques, the Guiding Catheter design and manufacturing was completely re-engineered for robust design and tooling, under Jose's leadership. He was also instrumental and played a leadership role in the complete re-engineering of the Tooling Control System, including design drafting, the tool shop and technical support. Wherever he has worked, he has a track record of introducing world-class methodologies such as Kepner-Tregoe, Taguchi techniques, Theory of Constraints, Lean Manufacturing, Five S (Visual Workplace), process validation to Global Harmonization Task Force standards, and similar approaches.

Topic Background:

Running any business enterprise is tough enough on a good day. There are about 32.5 million small businesses in the US, which account for 99.9 percent of all US businesses (SBA, 2021).

The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines a small business as a firm that has fewer than 500 employees. This metric will be the focus of our discussion. And that's a big number.

How a business or organization approaches the treatment of its employees is a critical process. Supervisors – or anyone with direct control over the actions of employees – must clearly understand their responsibilities. They are accountable for carrying out the policies and procedures as defined by senior management.

They are the dividing line between ‘The Company’ and the employees. They are viewed as agents of the Company, and as such must represent the face of management in the eyes of employees.

This is often a complex mix of personalities and group dynamics, with the recent addition of social media and ‘influencers. The old paradigm of ‘I’m the boss, you’re the worker’ has shifted, considering external forces having nothing to do with your business processes. The ‘Gig Economy’ has created an alternate view of how employees think and perform.

The advent of a resurgent labor movement has also compounded the requirement for having supervisors on board with the company culture. They are viewed as representatives of monolithic, faceless ‘Corporate’ management.

Creating a bridge at this dividing line is part of the supervisor’s role. They should understand that whatever they say to an employee is immediately interpreted as ‘Company Policy’. There are several Do’s and Don’ts associated with crossing this bridge. We will discuss these and other bridge ‘crossing points’ in our webinar.

Engrained into the US work culture is the direct and unrelenting responsibility of ‘The Employer’ for assuring the well-being of their employees. This concept has been microscopically defined over the years in Tort Law and Professional Liability cases, at the federal and state levels.

This concept of organizational responsibility is heavily reinforced by US Government agencies, notably the Department of Labor. There are defined penalties for non-compliance- for example in the ‘Anti-Discrimination’ Whistleblower, Anti-retaliation language on the OSHA Poster.

This concept of responsibility is also embodied throughout the fabric of society. More so now than ever before thanks to social media, Influencers, digital avatars, etc. The work environment itself has changed, with tele-work and Virtual Meetings now replacing the water-cooler/Conference Room.

Most large companies devote entire departments and a few Vice Presidents to detailing the role of a ‘supervisor’. The role and responsibility of the employer has morphed over time into something akin to ‘Adult Daycare’, like it or not.

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