Safety as a ValueBeyond Compliance

• Inspection Era (1911-1950’s)

• The Safety Management Era (1950’s-60’s)

• The OSHA Era (1970 – 80’s)

• The Accountability Era (1980’s-90’s)

• The Human Era (Today)

Era definitions by Peterson “Safety Management, A Human Approach”

The History of Safety

1911 – The US Congress Passed the first workers compensations laws.

1931 – The first comprehensive loss prevention book was written.

1970 – Occupational Safety and Health Act

What is and continues to be the driver?

OSHA SAFETY PERSONIFIED

If we don’t have rules, then what do we have??

1.We still have rules, they just can’t be our entire focus, nor even the majority.

2.Remember you can be 100% compliant with OSHA and still have injuries, while you can be very much out of compliance and go injury free… so what gives??

You’re gonna have to show me where it says that.

Compliance does not = Safety

OSHA Could not cite the company for allowing a spanish speaking worker to work with something he did not understand or with a crew that would not and/or could not explain the process to him.

• OSHA Investigation

• Compliance found

• No Citations Issued

• Injured Worker

• Life Changing Event

Rules Are Not Perfect!

There was not a single OSHA standard that stated this employee should not have straddled the beam right beside a load being set. The load swung loose and dragged the employee across an I-Beam…

• OSHA Investigation• No Citations Issued • Common Work Practice• Nothing Ever Happened• Injured Worker• Life Changing Event

Why isn’t compliance enough?

• Murphy's law if anything can go wrong, it will.

• "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way."

How do you fill in the holes that compliance leaves?

• Plan your work.

• Train your employees

• Communicate at all times

• Safe work, because it is the right thing to do.

• Safe work as a habit.

• Safety cannot be a priority…

Safety as a Priority

Definition

priority (plural priorities)1) An item's relative importance.2) Having precedence; of superior rank.

• How most organizations operate • Different people prioritize in different order • Highly Subjective• What is a Priority for you, may not be for me

Safety as a PriorityMaybe we can all agree…Maybe Not?

• OSHA Compliance is a Priority– To Who?

• Getting to Work on Time is a Priority– For some yes, for others no.

• Quality work is a Priority– Is it to Everyone?

Safety as a PriorityCan we agree on these?

• Having a good image is a Priority– To who? Image to Who?

• Looking Professional is a Priority– How important is that to you?

• Providing a Safe Work Place is a Priority– How safe is safe?

Safety as a PriorityCan we agree on these?

• Production is a Priority– To who?

• Profit is a Priority– How important is that to the worker?

• Customer Satisfaction is a Priority– To Who?

Why Safety Can Not Be A Priority

• Priorities are subjective– Not the same for everyone

• Priorities change constantly and quickly

• Conflicts arise out of Priorities– Those with power and influence say what is

priority and when.

Safety as a Value

Definition

Value (plural values)values, Sociology. the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy.

• Values are Beliefs• Values can be shared• Values don’t typically change quickly

Value vs. Priority

• Priorities change, values do not.• Each morning you get up for work, you

have a routine. – You brush their teeth, take a shower, watch

the news, kiss the kids, walk the dog, drink coffee, etc.

• But what if you were LATE?– All of the routine issues are put to the side,

getting to work becomes the PRIORITY.

Value vs. Priority

• So when you are late, what is not skipped, no matter what?

• Your Pants.• Your pants are a value, not a priority.

There is no way on earth you are walking out that door without something covering your bottom.

Value

Cost of Loss

• Human Loss– Life Changing Events

• Money– Direct Costs– Indirect Costs

Life Changing Events

• Our purpose as supervisors, managers, and even safety professionals is to prevent life changing events.

• What is a life changing event?– An event that changes your life and the way

that you live, even in a small way.

Life Changing Events

• Lets use a few examples:– Loss of a finger – Herniated Spinal Disk– Loss of Limb– Major Injury

Direct Cost vs. Indirect Cost

• Direct Costs – Insured, Medical Bills and Lost Wages.

• Indirect Costs – Averages up to four times the cost of medical bills and lost wages. This includes retraining, investigations, loss of productivity, increased insurance premiums, etc.

Cost Impact

• A worker is injured. The injury costs approximately 10,000 dollars in medical bills and lost wages.

• Using the indirect calculation, this injury can cost 50,000 dollars.

• In order to make this loss up, there must be 50,000 dollars in profit.

• A good profit margin (10%) means that approximately 500,000 dollars in revenue must be earned to recoup for this loss.

600 Near Misses = 10 First Aids

Fatality

10 LTA

5 Recordable Injuries = 1 LTA

10 First Aids = 1 Recordable

Where do we focus to prevent injuries?

Near Miss

• Near Misses can be:– A slip that does not result in a fall.– A ladder that falls when no one is around.– A wrench that slips and does not strike

anyone.– A car that almost hits your employee when

working on the side of the road.– Any unsafe act is a near miss!

Focus on Frequency

• If a tool is dropped, you have little control over what happens next.– Will it hit a person?– What part of the person?– How hard will it hit?

• You do have control over whether or not the tool drops and finding ways to prevent it.

Reduce the number of near misses and you will reduce the number of everything else!

Discussion

• What are some near misses you can directly monitor and control?

• How would you do so?

Give Me a Break!