© copyright 2005 associated general contractors valley district safety alliance ohsa 10hr...

© Copyright 2005 Associated General Contractors Valley District Safety Alliance© Copyright 2005 Associated General Contractors Valley District Safety AllianceOHSA 10hr Construction OHSA 10hr Construction IndustryIndustry

The Case for Culture Change

Presented byThe Valley District Safety Alliance


GoalsGoals

Importance of a positive safety culture.

Ethical and financial benefits of a positive safety culture.

Safety culture analysis.

Moving forward.


"When anyone asks me how I can best describe my experience in nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course there have been winter gales, and storms and fog and the like. But in all my experience, I have never been in any accident ... or any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea. I never saw a wreck and never have been wrecked nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort."

(Quote by: Edward John Smith, 1907, Captain of the RMS Titanic)


Captain Edward James SmithCaptain Edward James Smith(1850-1912)(1850-1912)

•Captain Smith was regarded as a Captain Smith was regarded as a “safe captain” with three incidents “safe captain” with three incidents of note in his career:of note in his career:

•The Germanic capsized under The Germanic capsized under the weight of ice accumulation the weight of ice accumulation on her rigging and on her rigging and superstructure. He was in superstructure. He was in command. command.

•September 1911, the Olympic* September 1911, the Olympic* collided with the HMS Hawke. collided with the HMS Hawke. He was in command.He was in command.

•In New York due to the great In New York due to the great thrust of her propulsion system thrust of her propulsion system the Olympic* damaged a the Olympic* damaged a tugboat. He was in command.tugboat. He was in command.

*The Olympic was the sister ship of the R.M.S. *The Olympic was the sister ship of the R.M.S. Titanic.Titanic.


Captain Smith’s “uneventful” career Captain Smith’s “uneventful” career came to an end April 15, 1912 with came to an end April 15, 1912 with his death as well as the deaths of his death as well as the deaths of

approximately 1500 crew and approximately 1500 crew and passengers.passengers.


What are some of the things What are some of the things that we can learn from Captain that we can learn from Captain

Smith?Smith? Not having a serious incident does not

necessarily mean that you are safe. Being incident free can lead to a false sense

of security. Concentrating on productivity over safety

can lead to an incident. Failure to address safety observations can

lead to an incident. Improper planning can lead to an incident.


RealitReality of y of the the

safety safety culturcultur

ee


Safety Policy:Safety Policy:

Incidents are preventable!Incidents are preventable!

Norms:Norms:

Safety is important, but I’m Safety is important, but I’m behind schedule.behind schedule.

Unwritten Rules:Unwritten Rules:

If I have to cut corners to get If I have to cut corners to get the job done on time that’s the job done on time that’s ok.ok.Assumptions:Assumptions:

It’s more important to get It’s more important to get the job done quickly than to the job done quickly than to spend extra time on safety.spend extra time on safety.

History:History:

We’ve always done it this We’ve always done it this way.way.


Perception is realityPerception is reality

What are the perceptions of your safety culture?Uninformed Culture “Accidents are

unavoidable”

Evasion Culture “Just trying to keep out of trouble”

Compliance Culture “Clean record is most important”

Safety Culture “Safety is a way of life”


PerceptionsPerceptionsPositivePositive vs.vs. NegativeNegative Caring Leadership Trust Ownership Values Commitment Involvement Responsiveness Dignity Education Respect

Lack of concern No accountability Mistrust Double Standards No management visibility Slow follow-up No involvement Not keeping commitments Numbers over people Blame-fixing Make deadlines not safety


What is a safety culture?What is a safety culture?

Safety permeates every aspect of daily life at work and at home as well.

How we plan, think, and act.

Ironically the term “Safety Culture” first appeared on a Ironically the term “Safety Culture” first appeared on a report about the report about the Chernobyl nuclear disasterChernobyl nuclear disaster..


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Not convinced yet?


Think safety is too expensive?Think safety is too expensive? I have to pay to train my people!

I have to pay someone to develop programs!!

I have to buy all these gloves and stuff!!!

I have to pay someone to just stand there while my folks work!!!!

But *#%& %$ we hardly ever even have accidents!!!!!


Accidents or Incidents?Accidents or Incidents?

Merriam Webster Dictionary

Accident:

Main Entry: ac·ci·dent Pronunciation: 'ak-s&-d&nt, -"dent; 'aks-d&ntFunction: noun

1 a : an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance

b : lack of intention or necessity

2 a : an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance

b : an unexpected and medically important bodily event especially when injurious

c : an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought

Those who say that accidents cannot be prevented are 100% correct!

That’s because what we experience at work are not accidents!

Something has to cause the incident, that item is the Root Cause. The root cause as well as the

direct and indirect causes can be foreseen, expected and controlled. Carelessness can be

observed and corrected, Ignorance is eliminated through proper education.


Costs of incidentsCosts of incidents

Ethical - The moral consequences.

Financial – The money aspects.

Legal – Legal accountability.


EthicalEthical A total of 4.4 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported in

private industry workplaces during 2003, resulting in a rate of 5.0 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor.

5575 fatalities in 2003 according to the Fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure, All United States, 2003

How many families were effected? Mothers/Fathers

Wives/Husbands

Children/Grandchildren

Etc.


Collateral DamageCollateral Damage Approximately half of Americans are married.

That leaves approximately 2.2 million spouses directly affected by occupational injuries annually.

With an average of 1.83 children we can estimate approximately 4 million children directly affected by occupational injuries annually.

Add all this up and it get pretty frightening…

» Workers + Spouses + Children = an estimated 10.6 million people affected annually by occupational injuries alone.

» Those are stereotypical families, this does not factor in fiancé's, girlfriends, boyfriends, employers, etc.

Based on statistical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Based on statistical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau.Bureau.


FinancialFinancial Costs associated with an accident

Is it just medical fees & the injured employees salary?

Obvious costs: Medical fees, property damage, salary, etc.Obvious costs: Medical fees, property damage, salary, etc.

Legal feesLegal fees

Productivity LossProductivity Loss

Cost of InvestigationCost of Investigation

NoNoLoss of business due to a negative reputationLoss of business due to a negative reputation

Insurance hikesInsurance hikes

OtherOther

ConservativConservative Estimates e Estimates

say to say to multiply the multiply the

obvious obvious costs by a costs by a factor of 4 factor of 4 to get an to get an

estimate of estimate of the actual the actual

costcost

This effects This effects the owners, the owners, employees, employees, customers, customers,

etc!!!etc!!!


FinancialFinancialAccording to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety

Index costs to employers nationwide average about $1 billion a week!

The top 10 causes of workplace injures in 2001 were:

INJURY CAUSE COST % TOTAL COST

Overexertion $12.5B 27.3%

Falls on Same Level $5.7B 12.6%

Bodily Reaction $4.7B 10.2%

Falls To Lower Level $4.1B 9.0%

Struck by Object $3.9B 8.6%

Repetitive Motion $6.3B 6.3%

Highway Incident $2.3B 5.1%

Struck Against Object $1.9B 4.1%

Caught in, Compressed by $1.7B 3.7%

Assaults & Violent Acts $0.4B 1.0%


LegalLegal

Criminal Prosecutions

Civil Awards


May 2, 2005May 2, 2005

With Little Fanfare, a New Effort to Prosecute With Little Fanfare, a New Effort to Prosecute Employers That Flout Safety LawsEmployers That Flout Safety LawsBy DAVID BARSTOW and LOWELL BERGMANBy DAVID BARSTOW and LOWELL BERGMAN “For decades, the most egregious workplace safety violations have routinely escaped

prosecution, even when they led directly to deaths or grievous injuries. Safety inspectors hardly ever called in the Justice Department. Congress repeatedly declined to toughen criminal laws for workplace deaths. Employers with extensive records of safety violations often paid insignificant fines and continued to ignore basic safety rules.

Inside the Bush administration, though, a novel effort to end this pattern of leniency has begun to take root.

With little fanfare and some adept bureaucratic maneuvering, a partnership between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a select group of Justice Department prosecutors has been forged to identify and single out for prosecution the nation’s most flagrant workplace safety violators.

The initiative does not entail new legislation or regulation. Instead, it seeks to marshal a spectrum of existing laws that carry considerably stiffer penalties than those governing workplace safety alone. They include environmental laws, criminal statutes more commonly used in racketeering and white-collar crime cases and even some provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a corporate reform law.

The result, those involved say, should be to increase significantly the number of prosecutions brought against dangerous employers, particularly in cases involving death or injury.”

To read the full story visit: http://www.asse.org/May2NYTimes.htmTo read the full story visit: http://www.asse.org/May2NYTimes.htm


SummarySummary Take steps to prevent incidents before they happen. If something does happen, investigate immediately! Remember that investigations are not a

witch hunt, out to find someone to blame so they can be fired, your employees must also understand this.

Don’t look at how my safety department is spending money, instead look at how your safety folks are saving money by preventing incidents.

Use positive reinforcement with employees, supervisors, management, clients, and anyone else who acts in a safe manner.

Take time to properly train your workers. Realize that good morale is directly linked to the safety of the workforce, good morale boosts

productivity. Educate the workers so that they understand the difference between accidents and incidents

so that they may understand how to prevent them from occurring. Management needs to care, the supervisors need to care and the employees need to care, not

because they are forced to act like they care, but because they actually do. Find their hot buttons, pushing the right buttons can open their eyes and they can then understand why safety is personally vital to them.

Do all of the compliance stuff… but understand that it takes more than having a good written program to develop a positive safety culture.


Q & A

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