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UPCOMING EVENTS
ASSP Safety Congress & Expo (Aug. 7 - 9): Booth #900
VPPPA Safety+ Symposium (Aug. 26 - 27): Booth #810
NSC Safety Congress & Expo (Sept. 16 - 18): Booth #1328
Cover Story
America’s Safest Companies of 2024
EHS Today honors 8 companies that embody the best in safety culture leadership.
BY DAVE BLANCHARD, ADRIENNE SELKO AND NICOLE STEMPAK
From Defense to Offense on Safety
Traditional safety metrics are backwardlooking, but operational KPIs—particularly overall equipment effectiveness—can give manufacturers an advance look at when safety issues are likely to arise.
BY
OLIVER
ZERANSKI, ANDY WALBERER, RAJEEV PRABHAKAR AND RICH EAGLES
Three Creative Ways
Manufacturers can Accelerate EHS and ESG Programs
An attitude of ‘think globally, act locally’ is critical to successful implementation of ESG agendas.
BY AMANDA SMITH
AI in Manufacturing Safety is No Accident
Visual AI can help prevent accidents while improving workplace safety management and increasing productivity.
BY JODIE SASSE
“Safety First, Leadership Always” at SLC 2024
ITEM: We promised that this year’s Safety Leadership Conference 2024, held August 26-28 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Denver, will be better than ever, and here’s more proof of that. Thanks to our co-location partnership with VPPPA’s Safety+ Symposium, we’re excited to announce that 6-time Olympic Gold medalist swimmer and motivational speaker Amy Van Dyken will be the luncheon speaker on Wednesday, Aug. 28!
ITEM: We have two other keynote presentations as well: Jalayna Bolden, assistant vice president, EHS, with AT&T, on “Prioritizing EHS Through Organizational Change: The Power of a Growth Mindset” and a blue-ribbon panel of America’s
Safest Companies winners on “How to Create and Sustain a World-Class Safety Culture.”
ITEM: Speaking of America’s Safest Companies, for the first time, the annual awards presentation will be combined with VPPPA’s Health & Safety Awards in a joint ceremony and reception that will showcase the best-of-the-best in workplace safety.
ITEM: Oh, and did we mention that on Aug. 28, SLC attendees will have the opportunity to take in a ballgame at Denver’s Coors Field to see the Colorado Rockies face off against the Miami Marlins? Transportation and refreshments are included (additional fee required).
EHS TODAY (USPS Permit 905-040), ISSN 1945-9599 print, ISSN 2771-7267 online is published 4 times per year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) by Endeavor Business Media, LLC. 201 N. Main St. 5th Floor., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EHS TODAY, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S. $86.25 per year; Canada/Mexico $111.25 per year; All other countries $136.25 per year. All subscriptions are payable in U.S. funds. Send subscription inquiries to EHS Today, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Customer service can be reached toll-free at 877-382-9187 or at ehstoday@omeda.com for magazine subscription assistance or questions. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2024 Endeavor Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopies, recordings, or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the publisher. Endeavor Business Media, LLC does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person or company for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident, or any other cause whatsoever. The views and opinions in the articles herein are not to be taken as official expressions of the publishers, unless so stated. The publishers do not warrant either expressly or by implication, the factual accuracy of the articles herein, nor do they so warrant any views or opinions by the authors of said articles.
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Show of Hands: Insights and Strategies to Prevent Hand Injuries
Hands are one of the most frequently injured body parts. Hand injuries can affect anyone, in any industry, at any time.
63% of respondents observed workers not wearing PPE at least occasionally Download
A new survey commissioned by SafeStart reveals which interventions are working—and which ones aren’t—when it comes to hand safety. From distraction and line of fire to culture and glove compliance, safety professionals shared their views on reducing hand injuries.
The good news: there are five major interventions that can lead to more frequent glove use, fewer distraction-related issues and a more robust hand safety program.
Download the free guide to learn what the survey revealed and to discover fresh insights into preventing hand injuries.
Simple Advice for America’s Unsafest Companies: Do Better
When workplace safety isn’t part of the corporate culture, the results can be disastrous.
Our cover story this month profiles organizations that emphasize safety excellence, and they do that by creating and sustaining a workplace culture where safety is embedded in their corporate DNA. These are the winners of EHS Today’s America’s Safest Companies award, and what they’re able to achieve is truly commendable. But there are some other companies who are, shall we say, not quite up to that level of safety achievement. And they tend to steal the spotlight from the award-winning companies due to the extravagant ways in which they demonstrate how they don’t quite “get” safety. Here are a few examples, drawn from recent news stories:
ITEM: Boeing admitted that it misled FAA air safety regulators about two 737 MAX crashes that took the lives of 346 people. Quoting The Wall Street Journal, “[This is] a stunning concession that would brand the world’s biggest aerospace company a felon.” Again quoting the WSJ, “As part of a plea to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., prosecutors have asked the company to pay a second $244 million criminal fine and spend $455 million over the next three years to improve its compliance and safety programs.” As it turns out, Boeing spent a lot of effort on retaliating against employees who complained about safety issues—effort that would’ve been much better spent on ensuring its planes were safe.
ITEM: Discount retailer Dollar General entered into a corporate-wide settlement with OSHA in which the retailer agreed it would significantly improve workplace safety at its stores. Included in the agreement is a $12 million fine, as well as marching orders from OSHA that the retailer adopts and maintains a safety and health management system; hires additional safety managers; improves stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and unsafe material storage; develops a safety and health committee; and provides EHS training to leaders and employees. If you’re wondering, “Surely a $38 billion retailer operating nearly 20,000 stores had been doing
Dave Blanchard Editor-in-Chief
those sorts of basic safety things already,” I’m afraid I can’t give you a good answer.
ITEM: The EPA announced a $241 million settlement with Marathon Oil Company, which includes a $64.5 million civil penalty, said to be the largest ever Clean Air Act stationary source penalty. The settlement involves violations at Marathon’s oil and gas production operations in North Dakota. According to the EPA, thousands of tons of pollution, including carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds, as well as greenhouse gases were released at nearly 90 Marathon facilities, contributing to respiratory illnesses and climate change. Cleaning up its act will require Marathon, among other things, to reduce the equivalent of 2.25 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next five years, and invest roughly $177 million in extensive compliance measures.
I’ve singled out these three companies not just because they’re household names, not just because they’re multi-billion dollar earners, and not just because the government decided enough-was-enough and had to step in. The simple fact is: They’ve should’ve known better, and they’ve should’ve been better. These companies are making it pretty easy for the government to justify hiring more regulators. And they’re making it harder for the safety professionals in their employ when the corporate culture is focused on everything but safety.
When we launched the America’s Safest Companies competition back in the early days of this century, it was during an era when safety leaders (such as Rick Fulwiler, long-time health & safety director at Procter & Gamble and a member of our Editorial Advisory Board) were telling the business community that the most successful companies in the world focused on three things—people, public trust and profits—and all three had to be in synch, or else there would be problems at all levels of the company. If your employees don’t trust you to protect them on the job, and if your customers and communities don’t trust you either, then good luck staying profitable if your workers quit and your customers move on. And that reality is as true today as it was at the turn of the century.
As we honor the 8 companies chosen as the Class of 2024 America’s Safest Companies, we hope that by profiling their safety cultures and emphasizing how successful they are as businesses, the idea will filter through to all business leaders that, “Hey, maybe there’s something to this safety stuff after all.”
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to dblanchard@endeavorb2b.com.
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Trauma-Awareness is a Workplace Necessity
PTSD is becoming all-too-common in the workplace, but here are some suggestions on how to help employees deal with it.
The term “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” is not one traditionally associated with the workplace. Unfortunately, some employees are experiencing “shocking, scary and even dangerous events,” which is how The National Institute of Mental Health defines PTSD.
The incidence of dangerous events at work is high. According to the Department of Justice, annually 2 million people are victims of non-fatal violence in the workplace. And even more unsettling is the fact that 1,000 workplace homicides occur each year.
In fact, an average of 13 fatal work injuries occur every day. And let’s not forget the amount of trauma that resulted from, and is still attributed to, the pandemic. The Mental Health Index says that the risk of PTSD among employees is up 121% from 2020. Considering all of these statistics provides a scope of how huge this problem is.
The accompanying health effects on workers in dealing with this issue can include increased substance abuse, fatigue and mood swings, as well as many other symptoms. And from an organizational perspective, the effect of trauma can present as frequent accidents, poor performance and interpersonal conflicts.
In response to this, what can a company do? The State of Rhode Island offers this advice to employers:
1. Education and Awareness: Employers and employees alike need to understand the prevalence and impact of trauma. Training programs can help raise awareness about trauma’s signs and symptoms, fostering empathy and reducing stigma.
2. Safety and Support: Trauma-informed workplaces prioritize physical and psychological safety for all employees. This includes implementing policies to prevent retraumatization, such as clear communication channels for reporting harassment or discrimination, and providing access to confidential support services.
3. Empowerment and Choice: Recognizing that trauma can strip individuals of their sense of control, trauma-informed workplaces empower employees by offering choices and autonomy whenever possible. Flexible work arrangements, opportunities for skill development, and participatory decision-making processes can all contribute to a sense of empowerment.
4. Cultivating Resilience: Building resilience is essential for coping with trauma and adversity. Trauma-informed workplaces
Adrienne Selko
Senior Editor
invest in programs and resources that support employees’ mental and emotional well-being, such as counseling services, mindfulness training and peer support groups.
5. Collaboration and Community: Ttrauma-informed workplaces foster a culture of collaboration and community, where employees feel connected, valued and supported by their peers and supervisors. Strong social support networks can buffer the impact of trauma and promote recovery.
Another resource is a recently released survey, “Introduction to Trauma-Informed Workplaces for HR,” from McLean and Company. “Becoming trauma-informed is a proactive approach to promoting health and preventing harm that demonstrates organizational support of well-being and safety for all individuals,” says Elysca Fernades, director of HR research
and advisory services at McLean & Company, in a statement. “Failing to intentionally be a trauma-informed organization risks the psychological safety and well-being of individuals in the organization who have survived trauma, are experiencing trauma, or may encounter trauma in the future.”
For the foreseeable future, the main causes of trauma on the job—workplace violence and fatal injuries—have not shown to be substantially diminishing, so employers need to ensure that they are dealing with this issue and providing employees with the means to address trauma. A particularly poignant comment came from Tonya Ford, a family liaison for OSHA, in a blog on the Department of Labor website: “Today, take a moment to consider those forced to survive in the aftermath of a workrelated fatality. If you know someone who’s faced the unimaginable loss of a loved one in a job-related tragedy, share your concern or just let them know you care.”
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to aselko@endeavorb2b.com.
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The ROI of Streamlined Contractor Qualifications
Factors to Consider for Enhancing Compliance, Efficiency, and Business Value
The strategic implementation of streamlined contractor qualification systems can significantly boost ROI and enhance operational
success. Here is a list of seven factors to consider when developing your qualification program:
1. The Hidden Costs of Ignoring Contractor Management
Organizations often overlook the importance of effective contractor management, leading to increased risks and potential financial losses. A proactive approach to compliance—backed by robust metrics and regular audits—transforms this function into a pivotal strategy for informed decision-making and risk mitigation. Ignoring contractor management, meanwhile, can lead to costly lawsuits, reputation damage, and lost business opportunities.
2. The Rise of the Extended Enterprise
As business ecosystems evolve, contractor and supplier relationships are transitioning from mere cost-saving measures to critical drivers of innovation and value. This shift towards an “extended enterprise” approach necessitates rigorous compliance and qualification processes to effectively manage and mitigate inherent risks, ensuring these partnerships drive business value and foster product innovation.
3. Offsetting Third-Party Risks to Drive Value
A strategic focus on compliance management helps organizations leverage third-party relationships while safeguarding against potential risks. Implementing a rigorous and holistic risk management framework ensures that all contractors adhere to uniform standards, enhancing the overall integrity of the supply chain. This not only protects against financial fraud and regulatory breaches but also supports sustainable business practices.
4. Costs of In-house Contractor Compliance Management
Managing contractor compliance internally often leads to fragmented and inefficient processes, resulting in significant operational costs. By outsourcing these responsibilities to specialized contractor risk management solutions like Avetta, companies can achieve substantial savings and operational efficiencies. This in turn frees up internal resources for other strategic initiatives.
5. The Ever-Expanding Mesh of Compliance Silos
Traditional compliance systems, characterized by paper-based processes and disparate data silos, significantly hinder visibility and risk management. Streamlining these processes through integrated solutions enables more effective enforcement and easier access to comprehensive risk assessments, ultimately reducing the risk of compliance oversights.
6. Legacy Software Applications that Aren’t Updated with Regulatory Changes
Older compliance software systems, unable to adapt to the rapidly changing regulatory landscape, pose significant risks. Modern, adaptable platforms like those offered by Avetta ensure that organizations can remain compliant and responsive to new regulations without the burden of cumbersome legacy systems. These platforms provide the agility needed to quickly adjust to new compliance challenges as they arise.
7. Toward Holistic Compliance and Governance
Embracing advanced contractor management solutions facilitates a more comprehensive and proactive approach to compliance. Organizations that invest in such systems benefit from improved transparency, reduced administrative costs, and better risk management, ultimately enhancing both safety and ROI.
Playing Field, Players and the Game: Understanding Safety Performance
It’s essential to pinpoint the factors contributing to a decline in safety performance.
By Shawn M. Galloway
Years after successfully improving safety for a mining organization, I was called back to investigate why their safety performance was declining. To illustrate the situation, I used a whiteboard to draw a curve that depicted the organization’s safety performance improving during the years we had worked together. We also highlighted all the positive actions the organization had taken to enhance safety.
However, the performance started heading in the wrong direction three years prior. Along the timeline, we listed all the changes at the location, such as changes in work procedures, significant increase in head count, decrease in operational knowledge, and changes in the client’s expectations and overall business environment. The new general manager, who had recently joined the organization, exclaimed, “Well, it’s no wonder why safety performance declined!”
Poor safety performance is often an indicator of deeper organizational issues. While these issues may become evident in safety incidents or accidents, they can also be observed in deviations from expected standards in quality, cost, schedule, delivery and other operational areas.
When safety performance takes a turn for the worse, it’s essential to pinpoint the factors contributing to the change. In my experience, three key variables are likely to have shifted: the playing field, the players and the game itself. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations across the board have witnessed changes in one—or all—of these aspects.
PLAYING FIELD
First, an organization’s playing field is not a physical location or a set of plans. Instead, it represents the metaphorical space where employees interact with one another and external stakeholders.
The playing field encompasses how decisions are made, challenges are faced and goals are pursued within the organization. It sheds light on what is important and is observed in the actions of its members. Factors such as engagement, relationships, leadership, culture and external pressures all influence how and why people work. The playing field is dynamic and ever-changing. If it is healthy and mature, it fosters healthy competition, growth and collective achievements.
On an individual level, the playing field reveals how well employees know and perform their jobs, their attitudes toward work and how they interact with others. It serves as a reflection of their engagement or disengagement. Has anything on your playing field recently changed? How might that affect safety performance?
PLAYERS
The players on the field encompass all employees, from workers to managers to leaders. For an organization to excel, these individuals need to be highly engaged. This means they should be well-trained, equipped to achieve their goals, experienced enough to handle unexpected situations, and capable of interacting well with others. They should also genuinely care about each other and have a strong sense of shared ownership.
It is crucial to regularly assess players’ skills, engagement and potential to ensure they are in the right positions and have the necessary resources to excel. Have any of your players recently changed? How might that affect safety performance?
GAME
The game is fairly straightforward; it refers to the specific objectives and strategies being pursued on the playing field, the business you are in, the products you produce and the services you provide. The game can change when production increases, customer requirements evolve and supply chain disruptions occur. These can also be coupled with investments in automation, company expansion or contraction, and new disruptive competitors. Has anything in your game changed recently? How might that affect safety performance?
CREATING SUSTAINABLE SAFETY EXCELLENCE
How well do you know your playing field, your players and your game? Leaders must deeply understand their game and have comprehensive knowledge of the field and the players. The best way to for leaders to learn this is by physically immersing themselves in the organization, observing and engaging with employees, and building relationships.
I encourage you to actively walk your field, keenly observe, and genuinely engage with your employees and internal customers. By immersing yourself in the game, you will truly understand the dynamics at play and be better equipped to monitor performance in real-time and proactively intervene prior to any deviations from expectations that could result in injuries or incidents. EHS
SHAWN M. GALLOWAY
Shawn M. Galloway is CEO of ProAct Safety; host of the podcast, “Safety Culture Excellence”; and a past keynote speaker at EHS Today’s Safety Leadership Conference.
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SLC 2024 Preview: Better Ways to Train Employees
Learning doesn’t come naturally. Neither does teaching. But if you want to train your employees to be safe, you must first learn how to train.
By Nicole Stempak
As the saying goes, something is better than nothing. That’s true—except when that something is amiss. Then, it can feel like one step forward and two steps backward.
Natalie Fox knows this all too well. Fox is a principal scientist at Roux and has been an EHS professional for more than 20 years.
Businesses must provide health and safety training as part of their obligation to create a safe workplace. However, Fox says businesses need to determine what type of training to provide, who should provide it, how often they should provide it, and many other considerations beyond checking a box. And sometimes, poor training can create a liability for companies with respect to OSHA or third-party litigation.
Fox will speak with John Ho, partner at the law firm Cozen O’Connor, about safety training best practices and mistakes to avoid at the 2024 Safety Leadership Conference. Below is a preview of what to expect from her presentation with Ho.
EHS TODAY: Your presentation is titled “The Double-Edged Sword of Employee Safety and Health Training.” Can you explain what those simultaneous (and potentially conflicting) sides are?
Fox: Everyone thinks training is a good thing, but there is a lot of bad safety training out there. Bad training can encourage employee complacency, or worse, enforce improper work practices. Employers can also provide training to check a box, rather than to ensure comprehension. This can result in potential health and safety hazards not being controlled because employees do not comprehend the hazards in their workplace.
I’ve always assumed that some training is good and more training is better. Why (or when) isn’t that the case?
Ineffective training, or worse, training that is providing employees with incorrect information, could end up with negative effects. Ineffective training can cause employees to tune out because they don’t understand the purpose of the training and find it a waste of their time. The worst training is training that teaches the wrong work practices or may make
employees think they are protected when they are actually putting themselves at risk.
People are smart. If the training is worthwhile and engaging, they will learn from it an be involved in the process.
What other mistakes, assumptions or potential pitfalls do you see companies make when it comes to training?
Companies use basic, off-the-shelf training that isn’t specific to their workforce or facility/facilities, but allows them to fulfill their compliance obligations on paper. This training doesn’t apply to employees’ day-to-day work and doesn’t give the employees the knowledge they need to recognize and minimize, or eliminate, their site-specific hazards.
What’s one thing you always recommend clients do with respect to training?
I recommend doing a combination of off-the-shelf training and site-specific training. For companies that have a learning management system or some other computer-based training system, I tell them to also include in-person training so employees can provide feedback and ask questions.
After the training, companies need to go out in the field and see if the training is effective. I like the systems approach: See if the training is effective and get feedback from employees as they are performing tasks, then update the training if necessary.
What’s one thing you don’t recommend clients do with respect to training?
They should not rely only on basic, computer-based training. As a caveat, I totally understand why employers do it. It is cost effective. Typically, it is a learning management system that tracks training completion, which makes documenting the training very convenient from a compliance perspective. That is why I usually suggest doing a mix of computer-based, classroom and on-the-job training.
What are some ways training can be a liability? Do you have any examples you can share?
Yes, if the training is incorrect or not site-specific, that is a huge liability; it puts the employees at risk of doing something wrong that could result in an incident. I recently had a site where employees were provided with basic fall protection training and then provided on-the-job training by their supervisor.
Everyone was using different fall protection equipment and different methods to access equipment. Each supervisor had a different method that they trained on because they had not been provided with documented, classroom training on how the process should be done. The result was that no one used their personal fall protection equipment correctly.
What are some training best practices? Can you share some examples?
Companies should use a trainer who is familiar with the site and the processes. Even if you are using a third party, they should understand the facility and the hazards associated with employees’ tasks and develop the training around that. Also, during classroom and on-the-job training, the trainer needs to engage the audience/their trainee using open-ended questions to encourage participation. At almost every classroom training I provide, I learn about work practices that have a high potential for an incident that the facility was unaware of.
Additionally, the effectiveness of the training needs to be assessed. You can’t train new employees for one week and expect them to remember everything. Supervisors, and fellow employees, should continue to check-in with employees to ensure they understood the training and are applying the proper work practices every day.
What’s one free or low-cost thing safety professionals can do to improve their safety training?
Talk to employees and get their feedback on the training. Find out what they liked about it and what they didn’t. People aren’t typically shy, so if you ask their opinion, they will give it. This allows you to make future training sessions more effective and get the employees engaged in the process.
What’s one thing you hope attendees take away from your session at the Safety Leadership Conference?
That, although it may cost more money and take more time on the front end, effective training will pay you back threefold on your time and effort. Employees who receive effective training not only understand different hazards at their facility and how to control them, but hopefully will feel empowered to share that knowledge with their co-workers.
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SLC 2024 Preview: The Magic Formula for Safety Culture Training
Learn how a global medical technology company is taking a local approach to training and engaging employees in safety culture.
By Nicole Stempak
When companies roll out global corporate initiatives, they can sometimes face pushback at the local level.
That’s what makes Baxter’s safety culture training program so unique—and so successful.
Kristen Heitman, MSc, senior manager of EHS&S training and development, will share how Baxter’s revitalized safety culture program is helping the company reach more employees and make the workplace safer. Heitman will speak at the 2024 Safety Leadership Conference. Below is a preview of Heitman’s presentation.
EHS TODAY: Can you tell me more about Baxter’s safety culture program? What is it focused on?
Heitman: Start When Certain (SWC) is Baxter’s safety culture movement. Initially launched as a stop work authority program, it has evolved into a safety culture training program that focuses on culture and how our safety DNA impacts our behaviors through safety critical conversations, safety gembas, recognition, hazard identification and reporting.
This message cascades down to frontline employees through monthly SWC messages and discussions on these leading indicators of safety. The training program balances knowledge transfer, practical application and engagement activities. SWC will continuously improve, with sites delivering new training sessions, programs and experiences that support safety culture growth.
Why did Baxter start this program? What were the goals?
Baxter had historic iterations of safety culture programs, and SWC was initiated in 2022 as a revitalization. It became obvious through incident analysis and leadership feedback that tackling our toughest safety challenges was going to require strategically addressing our safety culture. SWC was developed to address Baxter’s highest hazard and frequency safety risks through the lens of leading indicators and safety.
The goal of the training program was to integrate key safety topics into a cohesive and effective program scalable to local needs and aligned to a global direction. We knew we had to build a program that blended technical skills and applications with the interpersonal and intrapersonal connection to safety that really drives change.
Why did you focus on tactile safety skills in both technical and professional applications?
We planned this training with a holistic viewpoint. It needed
to deliver knowledge around technical topics while also developing personal skills and competencies to support safety. For example, with our focus on safety gembas we train learners on how to use the electronic gemba system as well as how to approach safety critical conversations that may emerge.
It can’t just be one or the other.
What achievement are you most proud of?
I am proudest of the fact that we are building accountability and ownership into the program at all levels of the organization. A lot of EHS programs get formulated from the top down. SWC opens up 360-degree communication using our already embedded organizational systems and processes to discuss leading indicators of safety, from the leadership level to frontline employees.
Sometimes EHS messaging can be a one-way street. As leaders, we are always giving direction and providing feedback, which can sometimes make it seem like safety is just our job. By intentionally inviting others to participate and lead the conversation on safety, our biggest population of experts has a chance to expedite culture growth and change.
Your program is focused on leading indicators. How are you monitoring, measuring and quantifying those?
SWC focuses on hazard identification, safety gembas and safety recognition. Baxter already has very successful systems for tracking other areas of performance, so we tapped into those. Most of our locations already monitor leading indicators of safety, so it was mainly a matter of adjusting or adding an additional component. If there is a gap, we rely on best
practices from other sites. Hazard ID rates, safety gemba completions and employee recognition are then systematically reviewed as a part of the larger process.
From a global level, we measure success as adoption of our training objectives through a post-training survey, track hazard ID reporting trends across SWC sites and assess outputs against our safety climate scores as we plan for improvements.
Why was it important for Baxter to create a global program that could be adjusted locally?
We knew that to succeed in establishing a global vision for safety culture, we had to provide a lot of different pathways to get there. Because Baxter is a broad, distributed organization, there are many unique features and strengths among our sites. By anchoring our vision to a few guiding principles, we have been able to work with each site to customize the training program to meet them where they’re at, which has helped develop a sense of ownership and partnership.
How is Baxter incorporating data into its larger efforts?
Baxter is using safety climate data to inform our safety strategies and programs as we grow and evolve. We have a lot of safety metrics around events and incidents that are already incorporated into planning. Safety climate data provides another perspective on our strengths and opportunities as an organization. It can be
used as a road map, both locally and globally, to drive decisionmaking around safety initiatives and programs.
What is something safety professionals can start doing today to improve their safety culture?
There is so much you can do! The secret is to have a wellthought-out idea and a reliable process for making it happen consistently. Some of my favorite small actions are:
» start an EHS tip of the week and assign volunteers to lead a discussion;
» partner with employees and supervisors to review risk assessments;
» start a peer-to-peer safety recognition program that involves doing the right thing;
» ask for feedback on safety changes and projects from effected employees;
» host a wellness event, such as an exercise challenge; and
» nominate safety champions to partner with new employees for safety onboarding.
What’s one thing you hope attendees take away from your session at the Safety Leadership Conference?
Safety culture training doesn’t need to be complicated. You can build a program that is unique to your organization and drives safety performance by following a straightforward formula and plan.
America’s Safest Companies of 2024
EHS Today honors 8 companies that embody the best in safety culture leadership.
By Dave Blanchard, Adrienne Selko and Nicole Stempak
What do a multi-billion dollar consumer packaged goods manufacturer, an industrial roofing company, a specialist in nuclear waste disposal, and a woman-owned civil industrial construction company have in common? This year, plenty. They’re all winners of EHS Today’s annual America’s Safest Companies competition. Despite their differences—in size, geographic location, industry sectors—they all excel in workplace safety. They’re not just good at safety; they’re among the best of the best.
The America’s Safest Companies award has a basic mission: To identify and celebrate companies that go above and beyond in the pursuit of safety excellence, and then to share their stories with the entire safety community.
When applying for consideration as one of America’s Safest Companies, organizations must demonstrate excellence in several areas: support from leadership and management for EHS efforts; employee involvement in the EHS process; innovative solutions to safety challenges; injury and illness
rates lower than the average for their industries; comprehensive training programs; evidence that prevention of incidents is the cornerstone of the safety process; good communication about the value of safety; and a way to substantiate the benefits of the safety process.
The awards will be presented during a special ceremony at EHS Today’s Safety Leadership Conference 2024, in Denver, Colorado, August 26-28. Go to www.safetyleadershipconference. com for all the details and to register.
The 2024 Class of America’s Safest Companies are: Arcadis U.S., AtkinsRéalis US Nuclear, Brieser Construction, Burns & McDonnell, The Clorox Company, D. C. Taylor Co., United Engineers and Constructors, and Victaulic Company.
The America’s Safest Companies awards program was founded by EHS Today in 2002. To date, more than 250 companies have been recognized, with some companies having won the award more than once. We hope that these safety profiles will inspire you to consider applying for the award in 2025.
Arcadis U.S. Inc.
Engineering Highland Ranch, CO
5,778 employees | 136 sites | 49 EHS professionals
At engineering company Arcadis U.S., technology is a valued safety partner. And to ensure a successful relationship, the company uses a trending technique for its health and safety goals. A core company goal is that employees demonstrate health and safety stewardship daily. To hit this goal, they have adopted the concept of gamification, which has been making inroads in safety.
This approach requires employees to obtain 150 points annually by recording health and safety stewardship activities in an H&S App. Activities that earn points include using stop-work authority, mentoring short-service employees, leading an annual emergency action refresher (e.g., fire drill), and authoring a health and safety plan.
“The simplicity of the H&S App and the expectation that Arcadis leaders complete at least one H&S stewardship activity each quarter has heightened their visibility as safety leaders contributing to the decrease in severe injuries,” explains Kathy McConnell, H&S senior specialist at Arcadis. Technology is also present in other safety initiatives,
AtkinsRéalis US Nuclear
Engineering, Waste Management, Construction
Oak Ridge, TN
450 employees |8 sites | 24 EHS professionals
Good catch” at engineering and construction firm
AtkinsRéalis means different things.
A traditional safety program, called Good Catch/ Near Miss, began in 2020. “In 2021 we focused on communication, which led to a better understanding about recognizing and resolving potential issues,” explains Nicole Seabaugh, safety specialist.
“By 2023 people started to embrace the culture of inclusivity and the value of their input.” In 2023, the company received 115 submissions, and every suggestion submitted has been addressed with many suggestions leading to a positive change within the workplace, she notes.
However, “good catch” is also a phrase used as praise to a dog, and that usage is equally applicable since the company has two dog-like quadruped robots named Max and Rock-E. The robotic technology, called SPOT, was developed by Boston Dynamics. The dogs can sense the environment, carry out computations to make decisions and perform a variety of safety scenarios, including:
including transportation. The Arcadis U.S. Fleet Vehicle Telematics Program, for instance, is a method of monitoring an asset (e.g., car, truck, heavy equipment, boat) by using GPS and onboard diagnostics to record movements on a computerized map. Initiated in 2019, it has proven to improve driver safety by promoting positive driving behaviors, notes McConnell. The app also has a user-friendly method to report events. “This system can reduce future risks by determining controls to safely execute our jobs,” McConnell says.
Other safety technology programs include: 4-Sight: This program houses behaviorbased safety tools including templates for job safety analysis, task improvement processes, near-miss and investigation tools.
FieldNow: The program is a comprehensive approach toward data collection, management and visualization, enabling faster, safer and simpler management of our client’s complete portfolio, McConnell explains.
Arcadis Crisis Check-in & Response Tool: If a major incident (e.g., natural disaster, terrorist attack) occurs near an Arcadis office or in a location where an Arcadis employee is traveling for business, potentially affected employees may be contacted through this system (via email, text and automated phone call). Employees are asked to respond, as appropriate, to these messages and let the health and safety department know they are okay.—AS
• Performing tasks in hazardous environments such as those containing low-level radiation, uncharacterized radioactive sources, chemical hazards or buildings and structures with unknown structural integrity.
• Performing routine and non-routine repetitive tasks such as performing “rounds”; observing equipment conditions and instrument readings, freeing up personnel for more high
• Potential emergency response within facilities prior to worker entry, such as determining the extent of potential radioactive contamination spread or airborne chemical releases.
• Performing simple tasks (using a robotic arm feature) in hazardous areas.
Other safety technology in use at AtkinsRéalis includes the use of augmented reality (AR) headsets, featuring an inertial measurement unit which includes an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, four “environment understanding” sensors, an in-depth camera, and a photographic video camera. Virtual reality (VR) technology is being used to conduct remote workplace walkdowns and employee orientations. This makes it possible to have more “eyes” on the work being performed and to enhance the pre-hire selection process to determine whether employees can perform work under various conditions (e.g., working at heights, or in confined spaces).—AS
Brieser Construction Construction
Channahon, IL
200 employees | 1 site | 4 EHS professionals
The safety philosophy at Brieser Construction, a construction firm located just outside of the Chicago area, is to empower employees by providing them with the proper training, tools and equipment to do the right thing.
“We hire character, not skill sets,” explains Kevin Colwell, the company’s director of safety. “We can teach skills, but cannot change a person’s core values. Because working safely is our core value, we strive to align personnel we hire with that value set.”
Brieser is not a typical construction company. For one thing, it is a womanowned entity, and as such inclusion of every race, gender and ethnicity is of paramount importance. The company also heavily emphasizes psychological safety in the workplace.
environments as petrochemical and energy, the company has invested heavily in various training modules. According to Colwell, when you factor in training required by clients as well as Brieser’s own training requirements, there are over 225 modules.
“The majority of our workforce go through no less than 20 Brieser-specified training sessions prior to starting work,” he points out, “and for those with tenure, most have 5075 individual trainings under their belts.”
“Safety is much more than rules,” Colwell notes. “The rules give us the employees’ hands and feet—we also want their hearts and minds. We make it about the people who work here. Rules are easy. Getting to know how people interact with those rules is key to our success.”
Character, then, is definitely important at Brieser, but so too is training. Being involved in such intense workplace
Burns & McDonnell
Engineering, Construction, Architecture
Kansas City, MO
11,450 employees | 430 sites | 128 EHS professionals
Subtly is not how this company operates.
“There is no chance to miss the memo,” explains Mary Young, marketing and PR manager for Burns & McDonnell, a construction, architecture and engineering firm. “A team member encounters a safety message a minimum of five times in an average workday.”
The consistency of safety messages is the result of a culture that engrains safety in every action taken. “Safety relies on daily mitigation and constant awareness, so our people train for tens of thousands of hours every year,” says Young.
The platform upon which the company’s safety culture rests is the ability to build relationships. “An at-risk observation is not a confrontation to avoid but an opportunity to engage and demonstrate how we care for and value one another,” she points out. “The transparency we embrace creates a culture where coaching and being coached is welcomed. Our personal stand for a live safer mindset requires courage and trust.”
Formal corporate toolbox talks takes place weekly at each of the company’s project sites. And discussions and safety learning related to the previous day occur every morning. Brieser has also begun the rollout of an online learning management system to introduce the concept of micro-learning.
“Success at the end of the day typically starts with the plan that was created at the beginning of the day,” Colwell says.
“Although we have a strong process for our pretask discussions, we have noted that there is a need for improvement based on jobsite walks by the safety department, management, and most importantly, feedback from the field.”
“Having a dynamic discussion everyday improves each employee’s experience and creates a bond between employee and organization that will become imperceptible as time progresses.” —DB
Group (ERG). The new group, ADAPT (which stands for Abled and Disabled Allies Partnering Together), was created to provide a safe and empowering community for individuals living with or affected by disabilities and those who support them.
ADAPT adds to the company’s other ERGs: &PROUD, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Black Professionals Network, LATINX, Network of Women, New Blue and Veterans Empowered to Serve. One-third of the company’s workforce—5,000—are engaged in at least one
As these groups continue to evolve, so too does the company’s safety culture.
“We are at a moment of extreme opportunity at Burns & McDonnell, and that is a moment for us to redefine our safety culture,” says Young. We have a high level of caring and comfort for each other. We have the ingredients to take a strongly performing organization and make it
This caring philosophy is clearly demonstrated in the company’s most recent addition to its Employee Resource
And as most companies know safety starts at the top. “If we look at what threads run through organizations doing [safety] the best, all roads lead to leadership,” explains Young. “The group that will be asked to change the most are the leaders, really leading safety and supporting the organization’s workforce in a new and different way, one with empowerment and engagement.” —AS
The Clorox Company
Consumer packaged goods
Oakland, CA
5,724 employees | 33 sites | 27 EHS professionals
Five years ago, The Clorox Company, best known for its bleach and cleaning products as well as other consumer products, launched what it called its IGNITE strategy—a set of goals emphasizing the company’s strong commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG). Since then, Clorox has won national recognition for its various sustainability and environmental programs, including the 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When it came to workplace safety, though, Clorox found that some of the protocols it had put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic were still being sustained after the pandemic had ended. While the processes put into place during the pandemic had been successful in protecting the workforce, by late 2022 those same protocols were resulting in an overall decline in group engagement activities.
enterprise-wide competition was designed to celebrate and spotlight activities that promoted a work environment consistent with corporate safety values.
The tasks involved in the competition were daily, routine functions that are expected from all locations, adds Michael Rouse, supply chain associate with Clorox, such as conducting toolbox talks, security penetration tests, safety stand-downs, forklift inspections, and tier meetings. “The desired goal of this process is to encourage daily inspections, tasks and meetings to promote and enhance the safety culture at Clorox.”
To re-engage the organization in behaviors needed to sustain a strong safety culture and engagement, they created a company-wide contest—The Clorox Cup. This
D. C. Taylor Co.
Industrial Roofing Cedar Rapids, IA
180 employees | 4 sites | 2 EHS professionals
Employees of industrial roofing company D. C. Taylor Co. have an easy way to remember what they should be focusing on every day: It’s an acronym created from the company’s initials, DCTCO:
Deliberate: movements, lifting, carrying, steps, clear path, do not rush.
Critical: decisions, actions, stop work, avoid frustration.
Teamwork: lifting, carrying, watch out for each other, buddy system.
Communicate: daily, safety is absolute priority, use correct PPE, hazards identified, avoid injury.
Organized: work site, housekeeping, tools, and materials ready.
“This acronym addresses unintentional injuries, and that we are all human and can make mistakes,” explains Kirk Dighton, the company’s safety manager. “We remind each other daily that we need to keep our eye on the ball and be aware of common errors such as slips, trips and falls on walking-working surfaces,” which are particularly important considerations for employees working at heights.
Part of the company’s IGNITE strategy includes IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Allyship), a program that is integrated into Clorox’s corporate IGNITE strategy. “IDEA helps our employees be the best versions of themselves, professionally and personally,” Rouse says. “Our IDEA efforts are focused on three areas: building thriving teams, fostering inclusion and allyship, and winning with multicultural consumers. Through these focus areas we create more inclusive brands, drive a culture of inclusion through our employee resource groups (ERGs) and mentorship programs, build thriving and diverse teams, and conduct ongoing learning and education opportunities.” The EHS team, he points out, is involved in these efforts by promoting the IDEA program and ERGs at the manufacturing plants. —DB
D. C. Taylor prides itself on working with a customer base that places safety as the primary value/priority when evaluating and hiring contractors. “Our culture mirrors that value where we place people above profit every day of our lives,” Dighton says. “We have been asked to shortcut and ‘cheapen’ our product, but as a company, we refuse to do so. The safety of our employees is an absolute priority.” The company has what Dighton describes as “an aggressive fall protection program” where supervisors and managers are all trained at the Competent Person Personal Fall Arrest Systems level with bi-annual recertifications. “All crew members are trained upon hire at the Authorized Person Personal Fall Arrest Systems level with bi-annual recertifications. All members regardless of title are trained in fall rescue and it is rehearsed at least quarterly on rooftops or in simulations to ensure quick and efficient
Dighton acknowledges that there will sometimes be unforeseen circumstances that require a STOP WORK to address those conditions and ensure the safety of everyone on the crew. “Every person, regardless of position or status, has the authority to call for STOP WORK if they feel uncomfortable in any situation. Work will only resume when everyone is satisfied that working conditions are safe.” —DB
United Engineers and Constructors
Mount Laurel, NJ
Construction and Engineering
500 Employees | 10 Sites | 6 EHS Professionals
United Engineers and Constructors has 500 employees, and every single one has completed OSHA’s 10-hour Construction Safety Course; 100 employees have also taken the 30-hour safety course.
It’s just one example of how seriously the nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable energy contractor takes safety.
Another example? The company holds twice-daily toolbox safety meetings (in the morning and at noon) with all crews at a project site. All foremen and crew also complete a daily activity hazard analysis.
“United has a mature culture of safety excellence that permeates every aspect of the organization,” says John M. Isham, CIH, CSP, STS, and senior EHS director. “The dynamic and temporary nature of construction projects requires a high level of senior leadership involvement and a daily visible demonstration of commitment to the safety process to achieve the world-class results that United has been able to consistently deliver.”
Safety starts at the top, and leadership has demonstrated a commitment to safety. Leaders are required to be at project sites and actively engaged in site safety assessments and safety recognition events with craft employees. They are also immediately notified by United’s reporting system when any event occurs at a project site, including a near miss or injury.
United expects jobsites to always maintain compliance with regulations and any additional safety practices.
To ensure these requirements are met, projects with more than 25 craft employees are required to have a safety professional on-site. The same is true of subcontractors, which are required to submit resumes of their safety support for review prior to starting work.
United also requires daily operator checks and weekly equipment inspections.
Each month, United sends a suite of over 40 leading indicators for all worksites to implement. Sites that score below 90% must submit an improvement plan.
Each year, United establishes goals to improve safety at every level. As part of this effort, all employees are required to include a safety goal as part of their personal development plan, which is used to determine promotions and salary increases.
United has recorded over 400 projects and has achieved over 1 million hours without a DART injury.
Victaulic Company
Primary Metals
Easton, PA
3,036 Employees | 21 Sites | 16 EHS Professionals
There’s always a chance that safety programs can become complacent, even award-winning safety programs.
That’s not the case with Victaulic.
The ductile-iron pipe manufacturer was named one of America’s Safest Companies in 2015. That same year, Victaulic Forks was also named a VPP Star Certified activity.
Since then, Victaulic has spent over $10 million on technology to eliminate workplace hazards and automate many of the manual processes that contributed to employee injuries. Victaulic doubled the number of full-time salaried safety professionals. The company also covers the cost of training for all employes who wish to become emergency responders.
“The ROI in these investments is not only financially measurable, but the signal being sent to the employees on these investments is priceless,” says William D’Amico, global director of safety and health.
“United is a choice employer through our unions and staff positions due to our commitment to safety, engagement of all employees and the care of everyone’s well-being,” Isham says. —NS
employees how to do their job safely. Employees participate in weekly safety inspections as part of Victaulic’s hazard identification and elimination program. The company conducts annual safety assessments to ensure all facilities comply with its policies as well as OSHA regulations.
Victaulic’s TRIR is well below the industry average, and the company has seen an 87% reduction in recordable injuries thanks to investments in technology and its bespoke Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) program.
Victaulic believes that all injuries are preventable. As a result, the company devotes considerable resources toward the identification and elimination of hazards and training
Employees participate in monthly safety committee meetings and are actively involved in Victaulic’s emergency response teams. Employees also give feedback on all safety program changes. In fact, employee feedback is required prior to introducing new PPE or program changes that have a direct impact on safety.
As an example, the company is currently working with a protective personal equipment manufacturer to prototype safety gloves for foundry employees that provide both thermal and impact resistant properties while maintaining a high degree of dexterity.
“Our employees are our most important asset; therefore, protecting them is a natural part of how we go about our business,” D’Amico says. “It’s not as much making the business case for safety as it’s the way Victaulic does business and values workplace safety.” —NS
From Defense to Offense on Safety
Traditional safety metrics are backward-looking, but operational KPIs—particularly overall equipment effectiveness—can give manufacturers an advance look at when safety issues are likely to arise.
By Oliver Zeranski, Andy Walberer, Rajeev Prabhakar and Rich Eagles
Leaders recognize that the reliance on lagging safety metrics is insufficient. Traditional indicators such as total recordable injury rate (TRIR), days away restricted or transferred (DART), and long-term injury frequency rate (LTIFR) are accurate measures of the long-term success of a safety program, but they provide little advance insight into future outcomes.
There has long been a push to identify leading metrics that can indicate the status of a safety program and the likelihood that risk tolerance is rising and injuries are imminent. We believe that operational indicators, especially overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), can serve this function, giving leaders a forward-looking view of when safety issues could emerge.
The long-term goal of zero workplace injuries or illnesses feels more elusive than ever.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, injury rates have declined significantly over the long term, but progress has slowed in recent years.
Moreover, fatality rates have plateaued for more than a decade and recently shown an uncomfortable increase. Several factors could exacerbate the situation. An ever-shrinking workforce is being pushed to increase productivity.
More than 10,000 baby boomers retire each day, leading to a critical loss of institutional knowledge. New technology, the aftereffects of the pandemic, and new ways of working are all changing the risk profile across all industries.
However, a significant number of organizations still rely solely on lagging safety indicators, such as the rate of injuries per 200,000 hours. From leadership meetings to line-shift briefings, teams continue to ask, “Was there an injury today?” That approach is simply insufficient and does not accurately reflect the safety risk affecting an organization. It is akin to driving while looking only at the rear-view mirror.
THE FALSE CHOICE BETWEEN SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY
Safety professionals continually wrestle with the perception that safety and operational performance are at odds with
each other. Taglines such as “safety is the top priority” are contrasted with the constancy of operational metrics reviewed at every daily shift briefing. Employees regularly respond to safety assessments sharing their perception that safety is important only when productivity is not.
This is a false choice.
Safe operations and high productivity are aligned, and safety leaders should consider adding an operational metric as a key safety leading indicator to help bridge this gap.
The Campbell Institute, part of the National Safety Council, published a comprehensive guide of leading metrics in 2019, including methods to implement them. These leading indicators were organized into a variety of categories ranging from hazard identification to safety culture. The guide identifies a number of leading metrics that are relatively easy to produce and can accurately assess the health of the safety system.
Of those, the most operationally aligned leading indicator is machine integrity, which suggests using factors such as minutes of equipment downtime and number of unexpected equipment failures as low-complexity opportunities. We posit that using overall equipment effectiveness, an operational
metric used to assess the effectiveness of manufacturing productivity, is a meaningful upgrade in this area.
OEE brings alignment and provides an early indication of changes in organizational risk. It is a product of three factors: equipment availability, equipment performance and quality. Although these factors fundamentally assess operations, they have deep ties to safety as well.
Looking at each element helps to shed light on the direct connection between safety and operations.
1.EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY
Availability is an indicator of equipment uptime. Not only was machine integrity identified as a crucial leading metric by the Campbell Institute, but mechanical integrity and quality assurance (MIQA) is a vital part of process safety management programs as defined in OSHA 1910.119, in part because equipment failures are much more likely to lead to serious injuries or fatalities.
Furthermore, maintenance is perhaps the highest-risk activity in manufacturing. Equipment must be shut down through standardized processes, and technicians must navigate the process of de-energizing equipment and implementing lock/tag/try procedures. Technicians must often perform their work in high-risk environments, including confined spaces, hot work or exposure to normally well-guarded machinery.
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Furthermore, if downtime is unplanned—that is, due to a breakdown rather than scheduled maintenance—organizations face added risk in the form of distraction, rushing, and stress, all of which can lead to cognitive decline and poor decision-making.
Though planned downtime for maintenance is somewhat better than unplanned downtime, all maintenance activity carries inherently higher risk profiles. Therefore, any meaningful decline in the asset availability factor of OEE can be a critical signal of increased risk for safety managers and operations leaders alike.
2.EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE
The second factor of OEE is equipment performance, which measures the productivity of a piece of equipment versus its planned productivity. Productivity declines often suggest some form of abnormal operating condition, which inherently implies an increased risk profile. Productivity declines could also suggest a potential cultural issue of increased risk tolerance concurrent with or subsequent to the productivity decline.
When equipment availability is high but productivity is low, foremen, supervisors, managers and leaders may put added pressure on employees to produce. In doing so, they send a message—explicitly or implicitly—that safety can be sacrificed in favor of operational output. This rhetoric can undermine a safety mindset and spur operators to push the boundaries of normal equipment operation to make up the difference.
3.QUALITY
The final component of OEE is quality. Goods that fail quality inspections have many potential causes and are not necessarily related to operator action. However, quality issues often result in added pressure to identify root causes and deliver higher productivity to compensate for the loss and meet customer demands. Consistent with the elevated risk profile of low productivity, it may result in a sense of urgency that increases risk or sends conflicting messages about leadership commitment to safety.
Few long-term studies have looked at the relationship between OEE and safety, though intuitively it makes sense. Ron Moore, an author on productivity and waste reduction, did find a correlation, which he published in an article in Lifecycle Engineering. His research included plotting OEE with injury rate and found a strongly inverse correlation. Moore recommends linking reliability to safety as a means to prove that safety commitment is more than just words.
PUTTING SAFETY AND OPERATIONS ON THE SAME PAGE
Given the connection between OEE and safety—not to mention the potential long-term benefits of better aligning operations objectives with safety programs—the path forward is clear.
Use OEE and its components as critical indicators of increased operational risk. OEE is measured continuously and therefore can be talked about daily. Viewing OEE as solely an operational metric misses a crucial opportunity to reinforce
a culture of safety and undervalues a valid and easy-to-adapt indicator of potential incidents in the workplace. Review OEE in the safety portion of every shift transition and address the increased risk factors that are inherent in equipment downtime, productivity loss or quality issues.
Engage operations as part of the risk management strategy. Metrics drive action, and safety leaders should engage with other stakeholders to maintain high OEE as a risk mitigation activity. Work to improve operational reliability and ensure that your safety activities help identify risks that affect uptime, impact productivity or lead to quality issues.
Integrate safety and operational reviews. Observations, audits and inspections occur as part of the regular course of safety programs. They also occur as part of operational reviews. Duplicating these processes is both time-consuming and ineffective, as it isolates vital information. Integrating these elements underscores the dual reinforcing concept of safe operations.
Create a culture of safe operations. Injuries often occur when employees deviate from procedures through wellintended attempts to improve productivity, such as reaching into a piece of equipment to remove a jam rather than deenergizing and performing lock-out/tag-out procedures or stepping off a powered industrial truck, or forklift, before it has come to a complete stop.
Train supervisors, managers and operations leaders to speak to safety as a motivator for safe operations, thereby establishing the foundation for a culture of safety. The right culture emphasizes behaviors and communication built on the premise that a safety mindset leads to higher OEE, and vice versa.
If we truly believe that all injuries are preventable, then we must look beyond traditional safety metrics and incorporate leading indicators, such as OEE. A decline in any contributing metric of OEE sends a signal that an injury is forthcoming. Safety professionals who heed that signal will take a meaningful step in building a safer workplace. EHS
Oliver Zeranski is a partner with Kearney and Americas lead for the firm’s chemicals, energy and process industries practice.
Andy Walberer is a partner with Kearney and global lead of the firm’s chemicals practice.
Rajeev Prabhakar, PhD, is a senior partner with Kearney and a member of the firm’s chemicals, energy and industrials practice.
Rich Eagles was a principal with Kearney for the firm’s energy and process industries practice. As of press time, Eagles has left Kearney.
Occupational Monitoring For Workplace Safety.
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Long Battery Life, Rugged Design
Remote Monitoring Through App
Sound Level Meters
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Intrinsically Safe Models Available
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Multiple ‘Simulated’ Dosimeters
BRIDGING THE GAP
FIVE SESSION TRACKS FOCUSED ON ALL
ASPECTS OF SAFETY LEADERSHIP
Safety experts will convene to share best safety practices with each other to achieve a world-class workplace safety program. The five 2024 conference session tracks are: Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, The ROI of Safety, Safety Technology, and Training & Engagement.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
Jalayna Bolden, Assistant Vice President of EHS, AT&T, on how to prioritize EHS through organizational change.
A special blue-ribbon panel of America’s Safest Companies winners on how to create and sustain a world-class safety culture.
Amy Van Dyken, 6-time Olympic Gold medalist swimmer, on resilience and never letting anyone tell you that you can't do something.
AWARDS CEREMONY & RECEPTION
AUGUST 26-28, 2024
GAYLORD ROCKIES RESORT
SAFETYLEADERSHIPCONFERENCE.COM
For the first time, the annual presentation of EHS Today’s America’s Safest Companies Awards will be combined with VPPPA’s Health & Safety Awards in a joint ceremony that will showcase the very “best of the best” in workplace health and safety. Following the awards presentation, a reception will allow attendees to network with the winners as they celebrate safety excellence.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME
Join us on Wednesday, August 28, as attendees will have the opportunity to take in a ballgame at Denver's Coors Field for an unforgettable event as the Colorado Rockies face off against the Miami Marlins. Transportation and refreshments are included. (Additional fee required.)
Jalayna Bolden
Amy Van Dyken
Three Creative Ways Manufacturers can Accelerate EHS and ESG Programs
An attitude of ‘think
globally,
act
locally’
is critical to successful implementation of ESG agendas.
By Amanda Smith
For professionals operating in the manufacturing industry, today’s globally connected environment translates to unique challenges when it comes to building and implementing effective environment, health and safety (EHS) programs. Specialists in this sector know firsthand that monitoring and reporting on progress is becoming even more difficult given the complexity of regulatory compliance, geographically dispersed operations and increasingly intricate supply chains. All of these factors introduce potential hurdles that can disrupt the success of an EHS program and related environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, even for the most well-resourced and well-intentioned organizations.
As demands for greater social justice and environmental accountability grow from customers, investors and employees alike, EHS and ESG professionals in particular are recognizing the importance of adopting digital solutions to manage and report on programs. Organizations seeking to manage their EHS performance effectively are moving toward
comprehensive digital solutions to address transparency and accountability more efficiently. The effective integration of these tools gives manufacturers an opportunity to more quickly identify emerging problems and proactively manage them.
Think of it as creating a single, all-encompassing source of information that is no longer restricted to paper processes—a hub that facilitates transparency, insights, enhanced compliance and ultimately improves performance.
Using digital EHS systems, companies can work toward achieving net-zero emissions and other prominent ESG goals in response to rising public and internal demands for more sustainable operations. However, even when a company has fully digitized its monitoring and reporting efforts, it isn’t always easy to know how to apply specific tactics that will encourage individual accountability in support of achieving larger organizational EHS and ESG goals.
Here are three creative ways that mid-sized and large-sized manufacturers can integrate ESG into EHS initiatives and accelerate the adoption of those efforts across an organization.
1. UTILIZE TOOLS THAT A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS CAN USE AND UNDERSTAND.
There is no doubt that centralizing data for ESG measurement and EHS programs offers a better singlesource of truth and, in doing so, could catalyze changes more efficiently. While EHS professionals may be wellversed in data-rich, complex analytic tools, getting a company’s frontline workers and extended teams into the workflow can prove to be complicated. Results from digitalfirst tools are largely based on how well all parties utilize a given solution.
So, the key to optimizing a system like this for an organization is to ensure it can be easily used and understood by a wide range of stakeholders. This will lead to greater adoption, enable cleaner data input, and offer often unexpected opportunities to dissect EHS and ESG data in one place. Systems that can offer accurate, comprehensive, current, and clear information and insights to stakeholders outside of EHS have exponential value when it comes to measurement, management and even marketing.
Finance teams can use the same tools to evaluate suppliers and establish better business strategies and budgets with supporting data in mind. Human resource teams can use these same tools to assess the impact of health and wellness programs and guide the development of future programs. Communications and marketing teams can explore the data to identify opportunities for organizational promotion. Board members and key investors can see progress in real-time. Some organizations with accessible tools even give direct system access to external auditors, which eases and speeds certification and compliance evaluations.
2. MEASURE AND MANAGE OUTCOMES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
Empower local teams by providing a range of ESG organizational goals and encourage local facilities that may already be active on specific EHS fronts to focus on areas where they are optimally positioned to succeed.
While multi-site manufacturers may set company-wide ESG goals, individual facilities that already monitor compliance around environmental, safety or other traditional EHS metrics are well-suited to contribute that existing data to programs that are more cross-functional ESG-EHS areas of focus. For example, a facility that has historically tracked wastewater for environmental compliance reasons is ideally suited to contribute that data and to encourage employee-level behavioral “wins” to ESG programs focused on water conservation.
Also, by letting regional teams identify a few key areas to focus on, companies can leverage untapped opportunities for progress. For example, a global manufacturing company set facilities up for success by offering a baseline environmental management system audit and then providing a continuous improvement manager at each location for unique local improvements on specific projects, which could then tie to the larger company-wide ESG metrics. By measuring progress using real-time digital tools, a local facility
could prove that their small changes contributed to large organization-wide goals.
Using this approach, the global manufacturer in this example identified regional opportunities to focus on recycling and waste reduction. The combined local efforts translated to multiple facilities contributing to company programs that kept over 5,500 metric tons of waste from entering landfills across a single year.
In addition to facilitating meaningful contributions to enterprise-wide goals, this approach also empowers teams at all levels of the organization—from the field to the boardroom— and communicates a sense of individual responsibility and accountability through a grassroots approach.
3. USE GAMIFICATION TO ACTIVATE EMPLOYEES AS ESG ‘CONTESTANTS.’
The larger and more distributed your operations are, the more critical it is to engage employees directly in ESG programs in ways that allow them to act as the organization’s keen eyes and ears across facilities. ESG educational “go-see” programs can introduce employees to sustainability “scavenger hunts” and can translate to ongoing searches for opportunities to conserve energy, reduce waste and save water, among other things.
Indeed, in 2022, one global manufacturer conducted 135 employee-driven sustainability scavenger hunts at locations around the world and encouraged employees to engage in a gamified version of its programs. The organization’s employees were able to identify new opportunities as well as document and report on changes to waste output which, based on data collected in their centralized digital solution, supported the conservation of 8.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 16 million liters of water, and kept 10,044 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Activating teams at the local level in a game-like way can be especially effective for global organizations, and this kind of initiative ultimately checks two key ESG boxes simultaneously. First, it helps identify opportunities for organizational improvement. Second, it strengthens employee loyalty by giving them a greater role in shaping company ESG priorities and reinforcing for them the company’s commitment to responsible operations and corporate sustainability.
By using strategies like those described here, manufacturers are proving that “think globally, act locally” is critical to successful implementation of ESG agendas. While a majority of manufacturers are actively navigating the EHS regulatory landscape, many are still getting their footing when it comes to implementing programs in the world of ESG. From energy conservation and waste mitigation to professional development and employee well-being, companies that have systems in place to measure progress can begin to think creatively and find new ways to make real progress toward sustainability in its many forms. EHS
Amanda Smith is vice president of solutions marketing & enablement at Cority, a provider of global enterprise EHS software.
AI in Manufacturing Safety is No Accident
Visual AI can help prevent accidents while improving workplace safety management and increasing productivity.
By Jodie Sasse
Aworkplace incident can turn a manufacturing facility upside down in a moment. The processes and protocols for an injury—or, worse, a fatality—are necessary and complex.
The scene must be secured and managed to attend to the injured party or victim. A rash of paperwork needs to be completed and filed. A return-to-work program must be established for the injured party, or concerned parties informed of a fatality. The incident must be reviewed, and an investigation conducted. A final report is then prepared and filed, and necessary protocol changes must be considered and decreed.
Then there’s the financial aspect. Employees must be replaced and trained, and the employer may be held responsible for damages to the employee or surviving family members.
Workplace safety is not a new initiative for manufacturers, but there are new technologies that make it easier and more effective. Visual/computer artificial intelligence (AI) can proactively manage hazardous near-misses and revolutionize reporting.
Traditionally, there were two approaches to maintaining safety in the workplace:
1. controlling the environment or 2. controlling the worker.
Both are flawed in that they each require the impossibility of near-total control. Industrialization of manufacturing in both light and heavy industries was followed by categories of unforeseen hazards, including machinery accidents; exposure to harmful substances; slips, trips and falls; and noise pollution.
Workplace safety initiatives depend on equipment, machines, and tools being used as intended; personal protective equipment (PPE) being worn when appropriate; OSHA requirements being followed; and checklists being built and followed. On the employer side, managers must implement early reporting and comprehensive training programs, facilities need regular inspections, and a safety culture must be established.
Despite applying a range of safety best practices to protect employees, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 373,300 total recordable cases (TRC) of nonfatal injuries and illnesses and 341 fatal work injuries in 2020 in the manufacturing sector.
The AFL-CIO released a report in April 2023 titled “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 2022.” It outlined some startling statistics, including:
» Every day, 340 workers died from hazardous workplaces.
» More than 4,700 workers were killed on the job.
» An estimated 120,000 workers died from occupational diseases.
» The fatality rate in the workplace was 3.4 per 100,000 workers.
» The cost of job injuries and illnesses is enormous— estimated at $176 billion to $352 billion a year—and this with widespread underreporting of incidences.
MANUALLY MANAGING SAFETY
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the bill that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for American workers.
OSHA outlines recommendations for manually identifying potential exposure to hazards, but it’s far more complex than seeing a physical safety hazard. Gases and vapors can be invisible, have no odor, and display no immediate noticeable harmful health effects. There are chemical hazards; physical hazards such as noise, radiation and heat; biological hazards; and ergonomic risk factors, such as heavy lifting, repetitive motions and vibration. All must be taken into consideration.
OSHA helps create safe work environments by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education and compliance assistance. However, only 1,719 OSHA inspectors (755 federal and 964 state) are available to assess the 10.4 million workplaces under the agency’s jurisdiction.
Although OSHA recommends proactive practices for managing workplace safety, issues are traditionally addressed only after an injury, illness or fatality incident has occurred; a new standard or regulation is published; or an inspection uncovers a concern that needs to be addressed.
Those who take proactive measures often have a dedicated safety manager who carries out safety risk assessments
prior to the beginning of a new project. That individual or department reviews all work procedures to ensure they meet industry safety standards; oversees the installation of equipment and external contractors; conducts inhouse training; and stays up to date on health, safety and environmental regulations. They are also responsible for preparing and filing accident or safety breach reports, tracking incident metrics, and applying findings.
With the entire well-being of a facility and its employees in the hands of an individual or department, the role of a safety manager is challenging and often emotionally charged. Without accountability or consequences, failure is guaranteed.
Employers that realize investments in proactive safety management decrease the likelihood of having to take reactive action are turning to technology to help proactively prevent workplace incidents.
AI CHALLENGES TRADITIONAL WORKPLACE SAFETY
Computer vision has enormous utility in risk management and safety compliance for the manufacturing industry. It generates insights and understanding from images and videos created by digital camera systems. Advanced computer vision and visual AI technologies can proactively identify and prevent unsafe acts, near misses, and unsafe conditions to create a system of improvement across an entire operating environment.
For instance, consider an end-to-end computer vision platform with visual AI technology compatible with multiple camera types (i.e., CCTV, PTZ, mobile devices and drones) that can autonomously understand and react to complex scenes and multi-frame activities. Such a platform would include a low-code/no-code interface for designing, building and deploying computer vision solutions at scale and would be configurable for an integrated notification alerts and automated triggers that support web, mobile app, email, SMS and on-site alarms.
Visual AI can transition from reacting to situations to proactively preventing them through safety strategies. In addition to preventing future accidents, it can enhance reporting accuracy, help improve workplace safety management, increase productivity and help companies comply with safety standards.
There are so many types and components in the manufacturing industry that it stands to reason that there are many paths to production and associated risks.
AI is a transformative technology that has reshaped the very fabric of workplace safety in manufacturing. AI-powered cameras are a first-line offense for detecting unsafe conditions and alerting site managers. Its innovative applications and intelligent monitoring are setting a new standard in safety protocols that is reducing accidents and saving lives. EHS
Jodie Sasse is VP of industrial AI solutions with SparkCognition, a provider of B2B artificial intelligence (AI) software solutions. Prior to joining SparkCognition, she held various roles at Twilio, Equals 3 AI, IBM and IBM Watson.
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Simple Problems, Complicated Solutions
In order to develop successful strategies, we must first fully understand the constraints of our existing situations.
When we see a problem, we want to stop and immediately fix it. This is easy enough if the fix takes 30 seconds, such as putting something away or adjusting something askew. But what do you do if you’re contending with a big, scary or difficult problem?
I’m facing one such problem, and it has grown more complicated the more I try to solve it.
I have a 1940s colonial home. In the summer, the second floor is hot, even with the air conditioning blasting and ceiling fans running. I recognize there is always going to be a temperature shift between the first and second floor, but hot air from the attic is adding to the discomfort.
So, I wanted to insulate our attic. That’s when I discovered my first unexpected obstacle: My home has a lot more active knob-and-tube (K&T) wiring under our attic floor than our home inspector indicated. As in, all our house minus the addition the previous owners built.
I have spent months learning about different insulation materials, insulation approaches, K&T, attic airflow, heat transfer and attic venting. I have reviewed literature from government agencies and preservation nonprofits in the U.S. and Europe. I have watched endless videos on YouTube.
Still, I haven’t yet found a viable solution with a risk level I’m comfortable pursuing. Because, despite one company’s reassurances, I’m not going to insulate around K&T and create a potential electrical hazard in my home. There are plenty of things I can consider that may help, but there is no silver bullet or easy fix.
In spare moments, I find myself asking what makes the most sense for me and my home. What will help me reach my desired results? Can I create a satisfactory workaround? Will this option pose a safety hazard? What are the possible unintended consequences? Will I feel like I have gotten a return on my investment? What option can I afford?
These are not easy, or even fun, questions to consider, but they are 100% necessary to guide my next steps, whatever they may be.
In the meantime, I’m seeking comfort and wisdom from the 2024 crop of America’s Safest Companies. Some of their
Nicole Stempak Managing Editor
efforts started as a mandate to reduce workplace injuries while others started as a desire to improve the workplace culture.
Regardless of their motivations, these companies started with an end goal in mind, then strategized how to create the desired outcome.
These are companies that saw gaps in knowledge and, after not finding a ready solution, decided to create it themselves. These are companies that saw a culture they didn’t want reinforced, so they developed a program or competition to incentivize alternative behaviors. These are companies that saw potential hazards and found a way to engineer or train them out. These are companies that saw the right investments in technology, equipment and training could result in improved safety metrics and morale.
In short, these are companies that have decided to tackle their problems. They started where they were, with what they had, earned buy-in and kept going.
We will always have problems to tackle, whether at work or in our personal lives. They can become bigger or smaller over time. They can become more complex or more confusing the deeper you walk into the labyrinth. That’s why it’s so imperative to develop a process that can evolve with you on your journey.
Workplaces need to create a psychologically safe environment, so people feel comfortable sharing their problems and feedback. Workplaces need to be open to new ideas, because sometimes an offhand suggestion is downright brilliant. Workplaces need to collectively develop a path forward, so that any setbacks can be overcome. Workplaces need to remain steadfast, because problems don’t go away unless the root causes are addressed.
As for me and my attic, I need to remember that my house was not designed with today’s knowledge of heat transfer or desire for energy efficiency. My ultimate approach may be one I MacGyver myself—and might just include a window AC unit and multiple trips to Home Depot.
Send an e-mail with your thoughts to nstempak@endeavorb2b.com.
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