Improving Occupational Safety

Safety Improvement Projects: Good Practices

Viola van Guldener, MSc.

Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

3rd International Conference Working on Safety

2

Why Safety Improvement projects?

• Every week: 2 workplace related deaths in The Netherlands• Politics: more ‘tailor-made’, more safety, less detailed regulation• Technique – Organisation – Culture

• Pilot: 20 safety improvement projects– Structural improvement of safety - starting with culture– Decrease accidents by > 10 %

– Financial support (€ 100.00 per project, on average)– Monitor progress– Duration: 2-3 years– Communication of results

3

Business sector Targeted Reduction • Agriculture (6 companies) 10-15%• Industry, corrugated cardboard (11 comp.) 25%• Industry, meat (1 company) 20%• Chemical, gas storage (1 company) 40%• Agriculture (100.000 farms) 10%• Fire Brigade (1 organisation) 20%• Industry, fork-lift trucks (1 company) 50%• Industry, paper (1 large company) 100%• Waste processing (1 company) 15%• Business park, Tilburg (40 companies) 10-15%• Logistics (1 company) 15-45% • Construction, concrete (1 company) 10-15%• Business park, airport (90 companies) 10-15%• Industry, brewery (1 company) 50%

Type of projects

4

Safety Culture and Safe behaviour

• Culture = how we do the things within this company/organisation

• Three levels

– Management

– Operational management

– Work Force

A little bit of theory

5

Why change culture?

A little bit of theory (continued)

‘I resist making easy concessions on SHE in favour of production’

1 Safety Culture Maturity is a Registered Trademark of the Keil Centre Ltd, 2003.

‘I accept that injuries are unavoidable in this kind of work’

6

How to change behaviour: a challenge…….

A little bit of theory (continued)

‘I know what the change is all about’

‘I know what is expected of me’

‘I am aware of the goal of the change project’

‘I have the skills and materials to do my work’

‘I do not want to lag behind at this change’

‘I have to join’

Knowledge

Reinforcement

Desire

Ability

Act

Awareness

7

Good Practices: Examples from 20 projects

• taking pictures of working environment and discuss them• observation and feedback

• an accident rate ‘benchmark’ of business units• observation and feedback• taking care of your colleague (Woodside video)

• training and education for employees• workshops for operational management and top management• campaigns

• training tools on CD-Rom or internet• training ‘how to learn from an accident’• training operational management ‘how to address behavioural issues with my employees’

• regulation within company incl. ‘sanction policy’ and rewarding, e.g. Safety awards

visible commitment of top and operational management

+

Awareness

Knowledge

Reinforcement

Act

Desire

Ability

8

Good Practices: Examples from 20 projects

9

KLM Cargo: ‘Safety first’april 2005 – april 2008

Aim of improvement project:

• Reducing number of accidents (2003: 50 accidents)

• ‘1 accident every week is to much!’

KLM Cargo:

2500 employees

10% temporary

Good Practices: 1 project: KLM Cargo

10

• Cargo Carrier, Mailing home addresses with pictures of working environment, Communication campaign

• Awareness training employees and management

• Flyers and communication campaign• Tools for operational meetings (toolbox meetings)

• An accident bulletin board

• Training How to handle dangerous goods?• New personnel training

• Yearly incentives for ‘best department in safety’ – Sanction policy is not (yet) incorporated

Good Practices: 1 project: KLM Cargo

? Act ?

Awareness

Knowledge

Reinforcement

Act

Desire

Ability

11

Experiences from the projects

• First do the ‘technique’

• Management has to be noticeable committed

• Visualize safety (charts, pictures etc.)

• Make safety comparable between business units (benchmark, game)

• Let people think for themselves/respect

• Fit in with people’s perception of their environment; let them devise their own plans

• Communicate on the follow-up of incident reports

Attention to employees pays back

12

More information on arbeidsveiligheid.szw.nl