The notion of a Zero Accident Philosophy is a specific component of the City of Fort Worth’s overall culture. The organization does not shrug off injuries as an inevitable part of employees’ jobs, because they are not. Employees are the organization’s greatest resource, and injuries and accidents are not something that should regularly occur.
Therefore, the City follows a Zero Accident Philosophy and takes steps to ensure that it permeates every level of the organization and every one of the City’s worksites. There is an important role in this program for each employee, and everyone is expected to join together to make the City of Fort Worth a successful, accident-free and healthy place to work.
Report near misses
Every employee deserves to go home in the same condition in which they arrived at the workplace. That’s why it’s so important for employees to keep an eye out for any evidence of a “near miss” – an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage, but which had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality, or damage; in other words, a miss that was nonetheless very near.
By working together and encouraging every city employee to get involved in looking for and reporting near misses, including all unsafe conditions and unsafe acts, accidents can often be prevented before they happen.
Visit our Risk Management Page to make a claim
Drug and alcohol-free workplace
Drugs and alcohol in the workplace can often result in anything from accidents and injuries, to absenteeism, to a loss of work productivity.
The City of Fort Worth has an established Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that is available to employees 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This EAP program provides assistance to employees and their families, which in turn helps the city remain a drug- and alcohol-free workplace.
Alcohol use
Two specific kinds of drinking behavior significantly contribute to the level of work-performance problems: drinking right before or during work hours (including drinking at lunch and at company functions), and heavy drinking the night before, that causes hangovers during work the next day.
And it isn’t just alcoholics who can generate problems across the work place. Research has shown that the majority of alcohol-related work performance problems are associated with non dependent drinkers who may occasionally drink too much – not exclusively alcohol dependent employees.
Prescription drugs
There is always a level of risk when using any drug, including prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Drug reactions vary from person to person. If an employee is taking a drug that they’ve never had before, they won’t always know how it will affect them. It’s important to follow a doctor’s advice when taking prescription drugs, and to discuss any side-effects and how they might impact your work.