conditions  for  military  and  civilian  personnel and to reduce mishaps. A mishap is an event or a series of events that lead to injuries, occupa- tional illnesses, death, or material damage or loss. Safety  and  occupational  health  concepts  and procedures should be made part of every person’s professional approach to a job—from top manage- ment  through  the  first-line  supervisor  to  the worker. You, as a petty officer second class, may be that first-line supervisor. ROLE OF THE SUPERVISOR The safety-minded supervisor is the key to a successful mishap prevention program. First-line supervisors should know the most about their areas of responsibility. Supervisors normally have daily contact and are familiar with the personnel, equipment, and materials involved. They should know the standard practices and circumstances in the work area as well as the hazards involved. They have a personal and professional interest in identifying factors that cause mishaps. Super- visors should take immediate action to prevent a mishap from occurring or recurring. They can usually communicate effectively with their people because they speak their language and understand them better than anyone else. Supervisors should make mishap prevention a part of the job. They should motivate their people to develop and use safe work habits and to  believe  in  mishap  prevention.  Supervisors should insist on safe practices at all times, recognize hazardous methods and procedures, and take  corrective  (mishap  preventive)  measures immediately. Experience has shown that a lack of knowledge or skill is the single biggest cause of mishaps. Teaching a person the RIGHT way to do a job includes teaching the person the SAFE way. That is why on-the-job training and super- vision are important parts of safety programs. TRAINING AND EDUCATION A  comprehensive  training  and  education program is essential to mishap prevention. Safety training develops people’s skills in using mishap prevention methods and in applying safe practices in all activities. Safety education develops people’s awareness of the importance of mishap prevention and their ability to recognize and correct potential mishap conditions and practices. Thorough, high- quality training and education is needed to achieve the Navy’s safety program objectives. One of the most effective methods of safety training is to have trainees do a job repeatedly, following set procedures. When trainees repeatedly follow correct and safe procedures to do a job, safe practices become a part of their daily routine. Such practices develop and reenforce good safety habits and allow the instructor to correct unsafe habits on the spot. Testing and periodic retesting of the operator and the maintainer should be conducted  to  ensure  they  remember  set  pro- cedures. This provides feedback and validation of instruction and allows detection and correction of unsafe habits. As a result of changing technology, new developments and equipment are constantly being introduced into the work environment. In spite of conscientious mishap prevention, new develop- ments and equipment present new hazards. Our environment, the mistakes of others, and our own carelessness also present hazards. Because the potential for hazards is so great, hazard awareness training is necessary. Supervisors and managers should use formal and  on-the-job  training  to  teach  hazard awareness.   They should also share personal experiences to develop hazard awareness in their personnel. Safety-related magazines, pamphlets, posters, films, closed-circuit television (CCTV), and other training aids should be used as an integral part of the training program. Magazines and periodicals relating to safety and mishap prevention are available from the Naval Safety Center. These publications should be ordered by each naval activity and routed to all hands. Published articles are excellent training aids for mishap prevention presentations and training sessions. Posters are designed to promote awareness of a specific hazardous action or event and, through this awareness,    reduce the possibility of a particular mishap. They are effective in increasing mishap prevention awareness on a short-term basis. However, if left displayed too long, they can quickly become a part of the background and fail to generate the desired interest. Posters should be located where the greatest number of personnel will see them. Also when possible, they should be located in the vicinity of the potential hazard or action denoted by the poster. Pages taken from publications such as Fathom make good safety posters. Films and CCTV are highly effective training aids. They must be carefully selected to emphasize the particular phase of mishap prevention being promoted. Showing films at random, with little 6-2