WIREE JOU JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2017
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INTERNATIONAL www.wirenet.org
M a n u fa cturi ng F o cus
SAFETY
Previews
• SMI/NESMA • CabWire • IWCS • wire South America
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WIRE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
FEATURE
SAFETY: the new (old) hot topic
If you’re wondering how safety can qualify as a “focus,” it’s a given that the concept is far from new. There are no eye-grabbing headlines—such as a record 640 kV DC underground power cable or an update on whether Industry 4.0 will take off—as safety has a unique role: it has the potential to be life changing...without you ever knowing it. This feature offers lessons learned from two experts who made presentations at Interwire 2017, and more.
Advice from a former OSHA officer who has seen it all Terry Carroll, Enviroworld Consulting, who spoke at Interwire, has been a safety and environment consultant since 1993. A former federal Department of Labor Regional Safety Manager and an OSHA Compliance Officer, he continues to consult with wire and cable companies. Below, he shares his thoughts on the field.
WJI: In terms of safety, is the wire and cable sector considered a middle-of-the-road risk? Would it be the vertically integrated plants that face greater exposure? Carroll: The wire and cable industry is such a wide sector of various organizations that do many different things and create many products and create various levels of risks. The vertically integrated companies would possibly be at a higher risk of exposure in terms of interrupting their operations and supply chains, but most companies in the wire industry have similar risks ranging from fall hazards to machine guarding. Insurance companies charge for a higher risk and a poor accident record. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) focuses on the higher risk companies, such as those with a history of serious amputations and fall exposures as well as a poor safety record. WJI: Is a larger company with more resources inherently better off than smaller companies? If not, why not? Carroll: Not really. Safety doesn’t have to be expensive. Safety doesn’t have to be special programs or take a lot of time. Day-to-day safety should blend in with any operation, no matter the size. It all boils down to the attention that is paid to safety from the top down. The attitudes and behaviors on the job and whether they are safe or unsafe will be determined primarily by top leadership setting an example. And within an organization, the biggest influence on employee behavior and attitudes is leadership from the top down, so it depends on the attention and attitude that the person at the top gives to safety.
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Unfortunately, many larger companies with plenty of money do not devote the attention and funds toward safety that they could and should. Part of this is their lack of understanding of how safety can contribute to the bottom line through improved employee morale and productivity, reduced workers Terry Carroll, Enviroworld Consulting comp costs, etc. Smaller companies have limited funds to invest in safety, but many that I have worked with over the years provide the leadership to supervisors, who communicate exactly what’s expected down to individual employees, creating a habit of safe behaviors and a positive safety culture. WJI: Are there two or three places where any manufacturer is most likely to have safety issues? Carroll: OSHA monitors accident records focused on the areas that present the highest risk of a serious injury. They have Special Emphasis programs that zero in on these risks; such as falls, amputations (machine guarding), silica exposure, lockout tagout, etc. OSHA will pinpoint the organizations that have these types of risks and conduct an inspection of those facilities as a priority over other companies that present less risks. A major issue for wire manufacturers is lack of safety training to inform all employees of safety, and how
WJI: In terms of problematic areas, are there some that do not cost a lot (low-hanging fruit) yet show commendable safety results? Also, is part of the problem that showing the “gains” of non-occurrences is a hard sell? Carroll: Yes, there are inexpensive things that can be done in safety to make a visible impact, such as posting signs and communicating safety to workers. Another area is daily safety communication and training. Some organizations have a policy that all meetings, small and large, must start out with a “safety contact.” Someone must bring up a short story about safety, a topic, or some experience they may have had. Sharing this safety tip provides a brief safety reminder to the attendees. It keeps safety in the forefront of every activity of the company and gets all employees thinking of safety. As for showing gains from such efforts, safety is hard to measure. Just because there are no accidents does not mean that a safety program is okay and working well. There may be many small incidents that could result in a large loss to the company. An organization could have numerous near-misses that are never reported.
WJI: Can a company do this on its own? Carroll: Sometimes it takes spending a little money on an outside safety consultant evaluation/assessment. Many organizations hire an outside safety consultant to come in and do a mock OSHA inspection and provide a confidential report with recommendations. Sometimes a company believes that it has an outstanding safety program but when an outside safety consultant assesses the programs they find that there are many inexpensive things that can be done to reinforce safety. WJI: Are there any studies/reports that show the money invested in safety programs pay for themselves? Carroll: Yes, I think of Alcoa Aluminum. During the 1970s and 80s, the company was experiencing a high accident rate worldwide. When Paul O’Neil took over as CEO, he started a worldwide communication system: if a serious incident/fatality happened with Alcoa, he wanted to know about it within 24 hours and what would be done to assure that it would never happen again. This was before the internet and computers. He followed up with policy enforcement. An executive who did not follow the rule and report an incident would be punished. The new program created a channel of communications from the plant floors up to corporate headquarters. It not only helped safety, but it helped all other organization communications. Today, Alcoa is highly regarded as a leader in safety. Through building this safety communication
Fatalities: rarer, especially in wire and cable, but they do happen
OSHA statistics reflect that the workplace is far safer than it used to be, but safety cannot be taken for granted. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, an estimated 14,000 people died from work place injuries in 1970, the year before OSHA was created. Since then, the death rates have dropped significantly, with 4,836 work deaths cited in 2015, 26% of which were linked to transportation. Truck driving, which accounted by far the largest number of transportation fatalities (745), may seem the most dangerous occupation, but one DoL report notes that, when assessing fatality rates based on total activity, it is actually less dangerous than sectors such as commercial fishing, tree cutting and private piloting. Wire and cable manufacturing may seem much safer— and statistically it very much is—but any site with rotating equipment, tow trucks coming and going, overhead cranes, stores of chemicals or compounds, etc., has the potential for a fatality. A quick check found multiple fatalities in U.S. wire and cable companies the last five years:
• A worker fell off a truck. • When the last securing wire on a 4,500-lb spool of wire on a fork lift was snipped, it came off like a slinky, crushing a worker. • A furnace explosion killed two workers. • A worker was caught in moving wire and subsequently pulled into rotating rolls. • A staffer was pulled into a respool machine. • A machine operator fell at work. Per informal discussions with industry veterans, there was a consensus that a horrible accident can happen in the safest of factories, and if an employee is not especially careful and has a tendency to cut corners, it is that much more likely. All of which comes back to the need for sound employee instruction and vigilant oversight of dayto-day operations.
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FEATURE
it works in their company so that all employees know what’s expected and their duties. This should be communicated to each worker on Day One, and it should be a continual education process by supervisors. Management must make sure that supervisors know their roles in maintaining safety compliance and a positive safety culture.