Be Aware Safety Tips
Leading and Lagging Indicators: Safety Performance Measurements That Inspire Culture By Laura Helmrich-Rhodes, CSP, Ed.D.
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re you measuring safety, health and environmental performance by your OSHA or workers’ compensation experiences? In other words, are only lagging indicators being used to assess your environment health and safety (EHS) program? To determine if you are meeting/exceeding your goals, other metrics need to be considered, along with creating a formalized process for continuous improvement. Let’s first look at what constitutes a safety management system, then begin to identify meaningful metrics that assure a return on investment, and ones that can move the company’s safety culture in a positive direction.
Safety Management Systems Companies operating in a federal OSHA plan in this industrial sector are not mandated to have a safety management system in place. Some state OSHA plans and certain types of business sectors do have obligations for formalized safety management. For example, California Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP or I2P2) is a state regulation. OSHA did attempt to make formalizing safety programs required; however, those criteria are now called “OSHA Safety and Health Program Guidelines.” The concept of an SMS is simple; a systems approach to manage overall risk, achieve total worker health and measure corporate social responsibility. During the Reagan/Bush administration, OSHA began to recognize exemplary performance by large organizations by creating the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Large organizations were recognized for implementing formal safety efforts using the “Guidelines,”
Celebrating hours/days/years without lost time accidents is no longer acceptable practice; however, rewarding positive behaviors that typically reduce accidents is highly encouraged. For example, improved department audit scores for housekeeping, or percent usage of protective equipment over six months would be worth celebrating. and it freed them from random OSHA inspections. It created a formalized partnership between big companies and OSHA. It also created an opportunity for data sets and measuring if these efforts really work. The National Safety Council reported in their 2014 “Journey of Excellence” that implementing an SMS reduces injuries 15 to 35 percent and has an estimated ROI of $3-$6 invested. The OSHA Guideline framework includes the following elements: • Management Leadership • Worker Participation • Hazard ID & Assessment • Hazard Prevention & Control • Education & Training • Program Evaluation & Improvement • Coordination & Communication on Multi-Employer Worksites According to OSHA, the use of this framework can improve product, process
and service quality, improve workplace morale, improve recruitment and retention, and provide a more favorable image and reputation among customers, suppliers and the community. Since the introduction of this framework, other formalized systems have evolved and are parallel with the evolution of the quality initiatives we have all experienced since the days of Edwards Deming. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z10, which began to be formed in 1999 and last updated in 2019, includes provisions for internal safety audits and management review. This consensus standard group worked with the American Society of Safety Professionals to outline a more comprehensive safety management system than what OSHA outlined in the guidelines. Since the publication of ANSI Z10, a more global business perspective has emerged. Your company may already be ISO 9001 and perhaps ISO 14001 compliant.
Laura Helmrich-Rhodes, CSP, Ed.D., is an independent regulations compliance consultant to the Spring Manufacturers Institute (SMI). A former member of PA/OSHA Consultation, she is an associate professor in the Safety Sciences Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes on topics such as OSHA standards, safety communications, workers’ compensation and human relations. Rhodes is available for safety advice and information. Contact SMI at 630-495-8588 or laurahrhodes@gmail.com.
SPRINGS / Summer 2021 / 15
