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NationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth

ImprovedSafetyToolsforSmallEnterprisesthroughLeanStartup

GarrettBurnettandGinoFazioNIOSHOfficeofCommunication,ResearchtoPracticeUnderstandingSmallEnterprisesOctober24-27,2017

Riskfactors:SizeandIndustry

Small businesses Construction

Attributesof“smallness”§ Isolationfromotherorganizations§ Fewdedicatedsafetyresources§ Lackofasafetyculture§ Ownersplayoutsizedroleinthesurvivalofthecompany§ Unawareofworkplacerisks

Constraintsofagovernmentagency§ Majoroutputispublicationsandarticles§ Issueswithsharingresourcescreatedbyothers§ Nodirectconnectiontoindividualsmallbusinesses§ Fundingismainlyallocatedtoresearch

Oursafetytool§ Identificationofworkplacehazards§ Descriptionsofnegativeoutcomesrelatedtohazards§ Recommendationsforavoidingthehazards

– Solutionsselectedforsimplicityandcost

Digitaldistribution§ Lesscostlytoreproduce§ Easiertoshare§ Easiertoallowcustomization§ Embracesproliferationofmobile

Assumptions§ Thatsmallconstructionbusinessescareaboutsafety.§ Thattheywantatool.§ Thattheuniverseofourresearchcoversenoughtobevaluable.§ Thatdigitalistherightmedium.§ Thataproblem/solutionstructureisappropriate.

VirtualSafetyConsultant– Projectoutline§ InventoryallNIOSHconstructionmaterial.§ Organizeitbyjobtasks.§ Rewriteitinplainlanguage.§ Postthesenewlymademodulesontheweb.§ Reusethewebcontentinanapp.

Leanstart-upvs

Designthinkingvs

Agile

Leanstart-up,designthinking,agilemethodologiesThreebusinessconceptsthathaveseveralthingsincommon:

– Thecustomer– Challengeassumptions– Minimumviableproduct(MVP)– Encouragefailingfast– Iterative

Leanstart-up§ Moveaminimumviableproduct(MVP)§ Build-measure-learnfeedbackloop

ThepivotA“structuredcoursecorrectiondesignedtotestanewfundamentalhypothesisabouttheproduct,strategy,andenginegrowth.”

-TheLeanStartupbyEricRies

Designthinking§ Earlyprototypingapproach§ Defineaprioritizedminimumsetoffeatures

Designthinking§ Learn§ Understand§ Build(prototype)§ Test§ Iterate

Agile§ Respondsquicklytochange§ Embracesiterativedevelopment§ Doesn’ttrytoforecastthefuture

Agilemanifesto§ Peopleoverprocessesandtools§ Prototypesoverdocumentation§ Respondingtochangeoverfollowingaplan§ Customercollaborationoverrigidcontracts

Minimumviableproduct(MVP)§ Aversionofthetoolwithjustenoughfeaturestosatisfyourcustomers§ Topicslimitedto

1. Painting2. Framing3. Insulation4. Excavation5. Electrical

Contenttypes§ How-toinstructions§ Hazardidentification§ Regulations§ Incidentreports

Whattheyliked§ Toolandsupplychecklistsforplanning§ Instructionalvideosfromprosonhowtodoatasksafely§ Real-lifeincidentreports(interactivewasbetter)

Ourhypothesis§ Wecancreateatoolthatsmallconstructionbusinessownerswilluseto

dotheirjobsbetter,butalsomoresafely.

Assumptions§ Smallconstructionbusinessowners/managersseekoutinformationon

howtodotheirworkbetter/moreefficiently.§ Safetyisalowerpriorityforsmallconstructionbusiness

owners/managers.§ Smallconstructionbusinessownersarenotsafetyexperts.

Workinprogress…§ Finishingaroundofdesignthinking§ Nextup:moreiterativedevelopmentandanMVPproductlaunch

Theimpactoflean/agile/designthinking§ Challengedourassumptions§ Explorediterativeapproaches§ Focusedoncustomerinput§ Changedouroutcome

Contactus

§ GinoFazio§ NIOSH§ Communication/research

topractice§ ggfazio@cdc.gov

§ GarrettBurnett§ NIOSH§ Communication/research

topractice§ gburnett@cdc.gov

Formoreinformation,contactCDC1-800-CDC-INFO(232-4636)TTY:1-888-232-6348www.cdc.gov

ThefindingsandconclusionsinthisreportarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialpositionoftheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.