Safety Cross

The Safety Cross is a tool used to monitor compliance with safety regulations in the workplace. It is a form where the days of the month are arranged in the shape of a cross. Employees fill out the form, noting all identified violations and incidents. A specific cell is provided for each day. After the table is filled in, the cells are marked with specific colors: green if there were no violations, yellow if minor violations were noted, and red if a serious incident or accident occurred.

This indicator is placed in a prominent location (for example, on an HSE notice board) for everyone to see. This helps every employee and inspector monitor the safety status at the facility and respond promptly to any violations.

There are several principles that can increase the effectiveness of this tool:

• The Safety Cross should be located in every area, in a visible and easily accessible place. This allows all employees to see it and enter information about violations.
• If a violation is recorded on the Safety Cross, the HSE specialist may choose not to issue a formal notice. Conversely, if the HSE specialist discovers a violation that was not reflected on the Safety Cross, they are obliged to issue a notice. This helps motivate employees to use the tool.
• A completely green cross is not always a good indicator. It is possible that there were truly no violations in the area, but it is more likely that the tool was used as a formality. Therefore, it is important to periodically check the HSE status and make changes to the Safety Cross form.
• There is no need to maintain a three-stage control log. The Safety Cross can serve as the first stage of control, helping to quickly identify and eliminate violations.
• Collecting statistics on violations from Safety Crosses can help identify common problems and take measures to eliminate them. This can be useful for analyzing and improving the overall HSE management system.
• It is important to inform all employees and visitors about the possibility of entering information about area issues into the Safety Cross. This will help increase employee responsibility and engagement in the facility's safety process.

Using the Safety Cross allows for monitoring the HSE status at the facility, identifying potential violations, and taking measures to eliminate them. Furthermore, this tool allows employees to feel responsible for following safety rules and contributes to improving the safety culture at the enterprise.