• Management should allow safety to be a line function.

Another common element of a safety and health program is for management to allow safety to be a line function. This means giving supervisors and managers the authority they need to oversee that work is done safely. Often safety is structured as just a staff function, which means the safety manager is responsible and accountable for safety but has no real authority to carry out the duties. What the company wants to work towards in most cases is a line from top management down to carry out the safety function. That does not mean there should NOT be a safety director or manager position. Quite the contrary. But that person needs to be a resource to the company, not necessarily the performance overseer.