Lessons from lumber losses

By Lenelle Duecker Anderson & Anderson Insurance Brokers Glendale. Ca.

skip the rest of this article. But if you lock the doors and set the alarm to make it tough for thieves, these points will have value for you:

(l) 9O-957o of all claims are behavior based. The rest are uncontrollable. When we really look at causes, they can be traced to:

No training, inadequate training, or no refresher courses.

No formal safety policy and/or no compliance required.

. Inattention, fatigue, a beliefthat if you do a job long enough without an accident you' re invincible.

. A management belief that safe practice slows down production. (Let's hope the next time you fly, the airline crew doesn't agree with you!)

(2) Companies that have effective safety programs report a positive impact on efficiency, productivity, morale and teamwork. Why? Common sense, respect. attention to detail, pride in one's job and company, and a sense of accountability to the whole will yield the results management wants. If you pigeon-hole safety, you'll get poor results.

(3) Everyone must prioritize safety, from the owner on down. Guide by visible examples (fill in potholes, repair loose wires, check the brakes), then set up a safety committee with guts. Make it high profile. No one wants to serve on the latrine brigade. Garbage in, garbage out.

(4) Thoroughly discuss causes of all your claims, including your past ones and those in the newspaper. Get your people to recognize the real causes ("lazy," "no training," "poor communication," "arrogant," "worried about home problems") by having them tell you what they are. That makes a buyin. Then, solicit ways to prevent this from happening at "our company." If your people don't take pride in working at your firm, whose fault is that?

Your line people can solve a lot of problems if they're asked for their opinion. rewarded for participation, and see the results. We've seen this happen in all workforces---old, young, male, female, high skill, low skill, all English/non-English speaking, night shift, union, etc.

Is it easy? Can you do itjust once? Are all your accidents over? No. But the future, more and more, will be controlled by firms who demand the best from their employees and treat them the best.

Train - What sports team doesn't? Why should business be less professional?

Open Up Communicstion - The ceo of 3M did not invent the Post-It.

Listen - Respect is a two way street; if your employees don't feel respected, how can you get top results?

Your competitors are doing these things, and that's where smart business is going.