Yesterday, we introduced you to Marvin Windows’ safety program. Today, we talk about another company that is forging a successful safety and health effort with a variety of effective strategies.
Indiana-based Bremen Castings, Inc. is known worldwide for iron machined castings and operates its own machine shop and foundry. The company, which employs 300, was names one of the “2012 Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Private Companies.”
Back in 2010, Bremen Castings separated the safety and environmental functions, which had formerly been managed by one individual. A safety manager was hired with a strong manufacturing background.
One of the changes the new safety manager made was to strengthen existing safety committees. “She interviewed possible members and identified people who really had a passion for this,” says company president JB Brown.
Another change the new safety director made was to improve near miss reporting. Today, near miss and hazard reporting are efficiently done online. Reports are e-mailed to everyone in the company, including the president.
From there, the safety manager starts the correction action process, with 95 percent of reported problems solved by the next day.
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Although the volume of e-mails was a bit overwhelming in the beginning, the number of reports has leveled off over time. What’s remained is willingness across the company to identify risk and implement change.
“The process has improved our awareness and accountability tremendously,” says Brown. “In the past, you had guys who kept their heads down, went to work, and didn’t care much about their co-workers. Today, people are speaking up, and we have the highest level of employee engagement.”
Other Elements
Other elements that contribute to a culture of safety include:
- Regular toolbox talks
- Addressing safety issues in the quarterly employee newsletter
- Use of e-mail and a digital message board to communicate safety news to all employees
Furthermore, every morning at 8 a.m., a production meeting starts with safety. The discussion might include a recent near miss or accident or the status of a current “safety streak” (currently more than 600 days without an accident).
The company has also introduced more automation. Robotic arms are used to grind the “flash,” which is the extra metal that remains on a casting after it is produced. Robots are also used to lift and place the castings into boxes. As a result, Bremen Castings has seen a dramatic drop in eye and back injuries.
“I don’t knock on wood,” says Brown, “because it’s not luck. If processes aren’t up to date, people can get hurt.”
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Ready-Made Checklists
BLR’s 2013 edition of Safety Audit Checklists provides safety and health checklists on more than 50 essential workplace topics, including checklists for assessing and planning training needs (yesterday’s Advisor) and checklists for PPE hazard assessment an training requirements.
Each Safety Audit Checklists section contains:
- A review of applicable OSHA standards
- Safety management tips
- Training requirements
- At least one comprehensive safety checklist
Many sections also contain a compliance checklist, which highlights key provisions of OSHA standard. All checklists can be copied and circulated to supervisors and posted for employees.
All told, this best-selling program provides you with more than 300 separate safety checklists keyed to three main criteria:
- OSHA compliance checklists, built right from the government standards in such key areas as HazCom, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, and many more.
- “Plaintiff attorney” checklists, built around those non-OSHA issues that often attract lawsuits.
- Safety management checklists that monitor the administrative procedures you need to have for topics such as OSHA 300 Log maintenance, training program scheduling and recording, and OSHA-required employee notifications.
Make as many copies as you need for all your supervisors and managers, and distribute. What’s more, the entire program is updated annually. And the cost averages only about $1 per checklist.
If this method of ensuring a safer, more OSHA-compliant workplace interests you, we’ll be happy to make Safety Audit Checklists available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.
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