MANAGING CHANGE - 16.01.2006

An unexpected loss

A loss to the business

One of your supervisors handed in his notice unexpectedly and hasn’t yet been replaced. Their departure may have a dramatic affect on your ability to control the “sharp end” of your operations, which is where most hazards are found and where following rules and procedures is most important. You know this supervisor had a key role in monitoring workplace activities and dealing with problems, especially safety-related ones. So what are your options?

Your options

You have three main options in the short-term, but none are ideal. You may leave the position unfilled, and rely on the team to manage itself, perhaps with managers fulfilling some of the supervisory role. The success of this depends largely on the level of supervision team members are used to and whether they have the necessary knowledge and right attitude to supervise themselves. You could arrange for your other supervisors to cover the vacancy by either working extra hours or extending their areas of responsibility. This will inevitably place additional demands on the supervisors. A third option is to temporarily promote a member of the team to the position. However, although they have job knowledge, they will not have supervisory skills and may not have the necessary status to maintain control.

Tip. Whatever solution you choose, monitor the situation closely to make sure it’s working and take remedial action if required. Not allocating sufficient resources or providing adequate supervision could put you on the wrong end of enforcement action, especially if there is an accident as a result.

Choosing a solution

Given the potential safety consequences of the situation, you need to consider the risks of each option. The first thing to do is review your existing risk assessments and identify where supervision has been identified as a critical control measure. Secondly, identify any specific safety responsibilities or roles in your safety management system for supervisors. Finally, it is important to consider what the departing supervisor did that affected safety, some of which may be above and beyond the formal requirements of your system. For example:

• did the supervisor oversee contractors and other visitors?

• what administrative tasks did the supervisor perform (e.g. risk assessments, procedure writing)?

• did the supervisor have an emergency role (e.g. first aider, incident controller)?

By answering the above questions, you can then evaluate which of the available options carries the least risk. If you can identify that there isn’t a great need to replace them, don’t. Look at all of your options first and don’t rush into things, as this may be an opportunity to strengthen resources in another area that may have greater benefits.

Tip. Make sure you revise any risk assessments which could be affected by the change in personnel. For example, if they were responsible for permit issuing and are named as such, it could mean your systems wouldn’t be used, increasing the chance of something going wrong.