objective of this committee is to propose changes in the battalion's safety policy to eliminate unsafe working conditions or prevent unsafe acts. It is your contact for recommending changes in safety matters. In particular, the equipment committee reviews all vehicle mishap reports, determines the cause of each mishap, and recommends corrective action. As a crew leader, you can expect to serve as a member. Each committee forwards reports and recom- mendations to the safety supervisors' committee.

SAFETY DUTIES

As a crew leader, you will report to the safety supervisor, who directs the safety program of a project. The safety supervisor is inherently responsible for all personnel assigned to that shop or project. Some of the duties include indoctrinating new crewmembers, compiling mishap statistics for the project, reviewing mishap reports submitted to the safety office, and comparing safety performances of all crews.

The crew leader is responsible for carrying out safe working practices. This is done under the direction of the safety supervisor or others in positions of authority (project chief, project officer, or safety officer). You, as the crew leader, ensure that each crewmember is thoroughly familiar with these working practices, has a general understanding of pertinent safety regulations, and makes proper use of protective clothing and safety equipment. Furthermore, you should be ready at all times to correct every unsafe working practice you observe, and report it immediately to the safety supervisor or the person in charge. When an unsafe condition exists, any crew or shop member can stop work until the condition is corrected.

In case of a mishap, make sure injured personnel get proper medical care as quickly as possible. Investigate each mishap involving crewmembers to determine its cause. Remove or permanently correct defective tools, materials, and machines. Do the same for environmental conditions contributing to a mishap. Afterward, submit required reports.

SAFETY TRAINING

New methods and procedures for safely maintaining and operating equipment are always coming out. You must keep up to date on the latest techniques in maintenance and operation safety and pass them on to your crewmembers. One method of keeping your crewmembers informed is by holding stand-up safety meetings before the day's work starts. As crew leader, you are responsible for conducting each meeting and passing on material from the safety supervisor, Information (such as the type of safety equipment to use, where to obtain it, and how to use it) is often the result of safety suggestions received by the safety supervisors' committee. Encourage your crew to submit ideas or suggestions. Don't limit yourself to just the safety lecture in the morning. Discuss minor safety infractions when they occur or at appropriate break times during the day. As the crew leader, you must impress safe working habits upon your crewmembers through proper instructions, constant drills, and continuous supervision.

You may hold group discussions on specific mishaps to guard against or that may happen on the job. Be sure to give plenty of thought to what you are going to say beforehand. Make the discussion interesting and urge the crew to participate. The final result should be a group conclusion as to how the specific mishap can be prevented.

Your stand-up safety meetings also give you the chance to discuss prestart checks, and the operation or maintenance of automotive vehicles assigned to a project. Vehicles are used for transporting crewmembers as well as cargo. It is important to emphasize how the prestart checks are to be made and how to care for the vehicles.

You can use a stand-up safety meeting to solve safety problems arising from a new procedure. An example might be starting a particular piece of equipment just being introduced. In this case, show the safe starting procedure for the equipment. Then, have your crewmembers practice the procedure.

Because of the variety of vehicles that may be assigned to a project, there is too much information and too man y operating procedures for one person to remember. You need to know where to look for these facts and procedures. For specific information on prestart checks, operation, and maintenance of each vehicle assigned, refer to the manufacturer's operator/maintenance manuals. In addition, personnel from Alfa Company (equipment experts) will instruct all personnel in the proper start-up procedures for new equipment.

In addition to stand-up safety meetings, conduct day-to-day instruction and on-the-job training. Although it is beyond the scope of this chapter to describe teaching methods, a few words on your