Safety Program Essentials

SC&RA WebinarMarch 20, 2013

The Essentials of a Safety Program

Definition of Essential Absolutely necessary; extremely important

Game Plan

Before we dive into a bulleted list of what I or others feel are the essential parts of a safety program…

Lets return to the basics

What is Safety?

Ideas

My Favorite Definition

An Acceptable Level of Risk

Can our Definition (perception)of Safety Change?

YES

What are some factors that can cause ones definition of safety to change?

• Age• Experience• Knowledge• Altered Level of Consciousness• Schedule, (Rushing)

Practical ExampleHas the level of risk changed?

Examples

Do you need more?

That Doesn’t Apply to Me

Now, lets look at a few of what I feel are essential elements of an effective safety

program

Essential Safety Program Elements

• A Safety Program is More than a Manual • The Right People• Measureable Goals• Accountability for Results

A Company Safety Program Cannot Simply be a “Program”

The Right People

Management

Without the principle of management commitment in place the best safety staff in the world cannot accomplish even the most basic safety improvement goalsExamples = Management lowering employee standards for increased work or increasing working hours for business reasons

Safety StaffWhat roles does a good safety professional play?• HR• Risk Management• Sales• Customer Relations• Trainer• IT professional

Employees

The right people in the right role at the right time.

Program / Goals

A safety program and its goals should be…– Unique to your industry– Quantifiable in each area, (for example: communication

reporting, training, etc.)– Proactive, (Focus on leading indicators, not only lagging)

Accountability

If accountability does not exist, (positive and negative), the majority of the rest of the program is null and void

That was a review of some commonly recognized essential program elements but…

What does the safety culture in our industry actually look like?

Governmental Guidelines

OSHA, MSHA, DOT, EPA, State Agencies, etc.– What is the current regulatory culture like?

• OSHA = More fines, higher monetary value ,Items like the OSHA 10 hr. training classes are being more regulated than ever. Recordablility standards conflicting with industry practice.

• DOT = Passage of CSA placed over half the country in a deficient category overnight, warnings count the same as tickets, fault has no bearing on accident records. FMSCA has right to shut down companies they deem to be unsafe.

• MSHA = Increased enforcement, no tolerance policy for citations, (i.e. extraneous material in cabs).

• EPA= See the news headlines every day on emissions regulations, pollution standards, etc. Plants choosing to shut down instead of comply.

• Workers Comp. = still a no-fault law

Car Seat Story

Contractor Guidelines

• PQF’s before each project– What's on a PQF?• OSHA Lagging indicators for previous 3 yrs., 5yrs., etc.• Customer requests such as list all medical cases in the

past 3 years, how many near misses have you had each year for the last 3 years, submit entire safety manual, etc.

This has led to the introduction of…

Safety Networks such as ISNetworld, PICS, PEC Premier, BROWZ, Xnet, etc.

Close to a full time job for larger contractors, consultants offering to do it for customers and hundreds of employees at the networks to review thousands

of submissions daily

Submission of safety stats on monthly, quarterly, yearly basis, submission of safety programs as required by the customer, searches for nationwide citations company wide, etc. (i.e. $100 MSHA citation affecting operations in different states in a different company area)

Accurate Reporting?

Many of the nations largest refineries, chemical plants, and even commercial contractors require stringent lagging indicator numbers to even enter the facility, (in addition to security clearances, hair follicle drug tests, background checks, etc.)

• Last years average TRIR for our industry, (other specialty trade contractors) was a 4.3 , the cut-off point for many large industry customers is 1.0. These locations nationwide have thousands of contractors enter their plants every day…

• The average EMR in the US is a 1.0. Many locales now require under a .85 with most having a no-bid number of anything over a 1.0.

What is the difference in a 4.3 and a 1.0?

To maintain a 1.0 TRIR a contractor cannot have more than one recordable accident every 200,000 man-hours.

A 4.3 TRIR is the equivalent of between 4 and 5 recordable accidents in the same 200,000 man-hours.

200,000 man-hours = a crew of 97 people working 40 hrs. a week for 2 years.

Remember = 4.3 is the average!!

Accurate Reporting

• ---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Date: Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 11:17 AMSubject: recent accident To: ----------can I get a quick rundown of what Mr. ----------- was doing (what task) when he was stung. I also need his date of birth, date of hire, address, occupation and amount of time in that occupation. Also if possible, a telephone number in case I need any other info from him.

Thank you sir.

------------------Safety Supervisor---------------------- Inc.-----------------------Project

_________________,

My understanding it was a sprain only and the doctor released with no restrictions and no prescription, Safety will be sending a full report.

Thanks

On Aug ____, 2012, at 4:31 PM -------------------------- wrote:

---------------Do you have any update on the condition of the employee and whether this may become a LTA or how we are going manage through this

---------------From: -------------- Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 01:51 PMTo: --------------------- Subject: -----------------------

Please let us know the gents condition as soon as you know. ThanksRegards,---------------------------------------------- Inc.

Legal Culture

• Legal Action / Lawsuits are at a very high level against contractors and individuals of all shapes and sizes.

• Many safety departments spend most of their time engaging in liability protection instead of employee safety

Summary

“I got out at just the right time.”

Summary

We have to do what is best for our employees and companies in spite of the culture, not be in a constant reactive state because of it.