The Postmaster General and chief executive officer is responsible for establishing and maintaining an effective, comprehensive national occupational safety and health program that fully complies with the OSH Act.
The chief operating officer and executive vice president ensures that area management implements and maintains effective area safety and health programs by, among other activities, monitoring Area Executive Safety and Health Committee activities during quarterly business reviews.
Officers of the Postal Service are delegated the authority and responsibility to ensure safe and healthful working conditions and practices within their functional areas and to ensure compliance with OSHA standards and regulations.
The vice president of Employee Resource Management is delegated the authority and responsibility to administer and evaluate the national safety and health program.
Vice presidents of Area Operations are responsible for providing effective safety and health programs in their areas and for ensuring compliance with OSHA standards and regulations.
Area Human Resources managers are responsible for monitoring area safety and health programs and performance in compliance with national policy and direction.
District managers are responsible for implementing the occupational safety and health programs within their jurisdiction. Additionally, they must develop a district accident reduction plan (ARP) using the Safety Toolkit to achieve the corporate objectives of reducing injury, illness, and motor vehicle accidents. Refer to the Safety Resources Web site and the Safety Toolkit for additional information on developing, implementing, and monitoring ARPs.
Installation heads and managers are responsible for:
- Employee safety and health;
- Implementation of the occupational safety and health program;
- Compliance with OSHA standards and regulations, including maintenance of the accident reports, OSHA Log, and Summary of Injuries and Illnesses through the Employee Health and Safety (EHS) system; and
- Developing, implementing, and monitoring facility ARPs using the Safety Toolkit to achieve the corporate objectives of reducing injuries, illnesses, and motor vehicle accidents. Refer to the Safety Resources site and the Safety Toolkit for additional information on developing, implementing, and monitoring ARPs.
Installation heads are encouraged to attend annual safety and health training.
Middle-level managers are responsible for the safety and health program within their operations. This includes responsibility for:
- Administering OSHA-mandated written programs;
- Conducting accident prevention activities;
- Training employees; and
- Evaluating the safety performance of supervisors.
- Coordinating activities, including correction of safety deficiencies, with other operational managers.
Middle-level managers are encouraged to attend annual safety and health training.
Supervisors are responsible for:
- Identifying and correcting physical hazards;
- Investigating and reporting accidents;
- Administering OSHA-mandated written programs;
- Conducting accident prevention activities;
- Training employees;
- Developing job safety analyses; and
- Enforcing safe work practices.
Supervisors are encouraged to attend annual safety and health training.
Supervisors will observe employees’ work practices to ensure that they are working safely and document their observations on:
- PS Form 4588, Observation of Work Practices — Delivery Services, or
- PS Form 4589, Observation of Work Practices — General, whichever is appropriate.
When used correctly, these forms can:
- Help the supervisor and the employee to identify and eliminate work practices that could lead to accidents and injuries.
- Give the supervisor an opportunity to recognize and reinforce safe work practices.
For each fiscal year, managers at every level in every function must have in their performance plans safety and health objectives tied to corporate safety indicators and their facility–specific ARPs. Annually, Headquarters will issue management policy and procedures for ARPs tailored to address national safety indicators and priorities.
