Looking  for  Trouble  We  look  for  trouble,  because  if  we  don’t,  trouble  

will  come  looking  for  us.    

•  A  Comprehensive  Union-‐Management  Approach  to  Safety  and  Health  

•  Rules  Are  Not  Enough  •  Hazards,  not  Behavior  –  but  Human  Factors  are  Important.    

There  are  no  shortcuts,  no  gimmicks,  only  hard,  disciplined  work.    

The  Goal  

“Health  is  a  state  of  complete  physical,  mental  and  social  well-‐being  and  not  merely  the  absence  of  disease  or  infirmity.”  Preamble  to  the  Cons;tu;on  of  the  World  Health  Organiza;on,  1946  

Elements:  Commitment  •  The  Union:  make  safety  and  health  a  central  part  of  the  

union’s  mission;  •        establish  a  union  safety  and  health  commiRee,  some  or  all  of  whose  members  can  also  serve  on  a  union-‐management  commiRee;  •      choose  commiRee  members  dedicated  to  the  health  and  safety  of  the  workforce;    •      Provide  a  mechanism  through  which  workers  can  report  safety  and  health  problems  to  their  representaTves;  •      Work  closely  and  in  good  faith  with  management  to  idenTfy  hazards  and  eliminate  them  or,  where  that  is  not  possible,  reduce  risks;  •      Turn  to  outside  agencies  like  OSHA,  MSHA  and  the  Ministry  of  Labour  only  when  the  problem  cannot  be  resolved  internally.    

Commitment  

•  Management:  always  protect  and  seek  to  improve  the  safety  and  health  of  employees;    

•      organize  the  work  process  so  as  to  eliminate  hazards  and  reduce  risks  as  much  as  possible;  •      integrate  a  consideraTon  of  safety  and  health  into  all  organizaTonal  decisions;  •      work  in  good  faith  with  the  union  and  respect  worker  and  union  rights;  •      provide  the  necessary  human,  financial  and  organizaTonal  support,  including  providing  workers  and  union  representaTves  with  the  resources  to  fully  parTcipate;  •      comply  with  all  legal  requirements.  

Elements:  Structure  

•  Union  Safety  and  Health  CommiRee  

•  Union-‐Management  Safety  and  Health  CommiRees  

 •  Union  and  Corporate  Safety  and  Health  Departments  

Hazard  IdenTficaTon  and  Risk  Assessment  

•  Hazard  includes  traumaTc  injury,  occupaTonal  illness,  high  consequence/low  probability  events  and  work  organizaTon  hazards.    

•  Hazard  Mapping  •  Body  Mapping  •  Process  Mapping  (flow  charts)  •  What  if  scenarios  •  Risk  =  hazard  magnitude  x  probability  x  exposure  •  Risk  Assessment  is  only  for  determining  prioriTes.  •  And  hazards  must  be  addressed,  not  just  idenTfied.    

Accident  InvesTgaTon  

•  We  define  “accident”  as  an  unplanned  adverse  event.  It  may  or  may  not  cause  injury  or  illness.  It  may  be  a  near  miss,  process  upset,  or  a  systems  failure.    

•  Root-‐cause  and  logic-‐trees.  (Lots  of  yellow  post-‐its).  

Job  and  Task  Analysis  

•  Job  hazard  analysis  and  procedures  are  useful.  •  Checklists  can  be  useful  for  some  tasks  •  Jobs  are  rarely  done  by  the  book  –  there  are  glitches,  unforeseen  problems,  workarounds,  backpedaling.  

Controlling  Hazards  Reducing  Risks  

•  Hierarchy  of  Controls  

Hierarchy of Controls

1

1 ) Elimination or Substitution

2 ) Engineering Controls (Safeguarding Technology)

3 ) Warnings

4 ) Training and Procedures (Adminis trative Controls )

5 ) Personal Protective EquipmentLeast Effective

Most Effective

12

Tracks repositioned to eliminate the hazard.

Close clearance

Controlling  Hazards  Reducing  Risks  

•  Choosing  the  best  controls  and  installing  them  

Working  Safely  aka  Human  Factors  

•  Behavior  is  never  the  root-‐cause.  •  Remove  the  Impediments:  FaTgue,  ConflicTng  or  Excessive  Job  Demands,  Poor  Training,  Faulty  InstrumentaTon,  Confusing  Controls,  Inadequate  Tools.    

•  Human  Factors  Engineering:  The  safest  way  should  be  the  easiest  way.  (Or  the  unsafe  way  should  be  hard.)  

•  Fail-‐safe  Design  

Have  you  or  your  coworkers  ever  done  an  unsafe  or  unhealthy  job/task,  knowing  it  was  unsafe  or  unhealthy?  (select  only  one)  

15  

1.   Yes    2.   No  3.   Don’t  Know  

1. 2. 3.

90%

1%9%

If  yes,  why  do  you  think  the  job/task  was  done,  knowing  it  was  unsafe  or  unhealthy?    

(select  all  of  the  key  reasons  that  apply)    

16  

1.   It  was  the  common  pracKce  2.   There  were  producKon  pressures  3.   The  risk  seemed  low  4.   No  other  way  to  do  the  job/task  5.   It  was  easier/faster  6.   Procedures  were  not  clear  or  

understood  7.   Training  was  lacking  or  ineffecKve  8.   Fear  of  bad  consequences  if  task  

didn’t  get  done  9.   Other  

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

21%

15%

11%10%

3%

8%

10%

7%

14%

“Everyone, and that includes you and me, is at some time careless, complacent, overconfident, and stubborn. At times each of us becomes distracted, inattentive, bored, and fatigued. We occasionally take chances, we misunderstand, we misinterpret, and we misread. These are completely human characteristics.”

Al Chapanis, Former Professor of Human Factors Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University

“Because we are human and because all these traits are fundamental and built into each of us, the equipment, machines and systems that we construct for our use have to be made to accommodate us the way we are, and not vice versa.”

Al Chapanis, Former Professor of Human Factors Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University

Worker  Rights  •  Workers  not  only  need  the  ability  to  work  safely,  but  the  right.  

•  A  very  important  right  is  the  right  to  refuse  unsafe  work  without  the  fear  of  retaliaTon  and  that  other  workers  will  be  brought  in  to  do  an  unsafe  job.    

•  The  right  to  report  injuries,  accidents,  problems  without  fear  of  retaliaTon.  

•  The  right  to  full  informaTon.  •  There  are  individual  rights,  but  also  collecTve  rights  

EducaTon  and  Training  

•  EducaTon  is  more  than  training.  EducaTon  is  a  full  understanding  of  the  subject  –  not  just  what,  but  why.  EducaTon  prepares  you  for  unusual  circumstances  and  unforeseen  events.  EducaTon  gives  you  the  power  to  make  choices,  not  just  follow  rote  instrucTons.    

Dealing  with  Workplace  Change  

•  Analysis  in  advance  of  change.  •  CorrecTve  acTons  taken  to  ensure  that  work  remains  safe  and  healthy.  

•  If  change  cannot  be  made  safely,  it  must  not  be  made  

Emergency  Response  

•  Every  workplace  should  have  an  emergency  response  plan;  even  an  office  needs  a  plan  for  fires,  natural  disasters,  workplace  violence.  

 

Ongoing  EvaluaTon  

•  Minor  injuries  are  a  poor  predictor  of  serious  injuries  and  an  even  worse  predictor  of  fataliTes.  

•  Ability  to  report  all  injuries  and  illnesses  without  fear  of  retaliaTon  is  essenTal.  

•  Leading  indicators  

But…  

•  This  will  all  succeed  only  to  the  extent  that  the  program  enlists  the  skill  and  commitment  of  the  enTre  workforce.  Workers  are  not  the  problem.  Workers  are  the  soluTon.