The 30-Inch View

Continued Need for Compliance Audits?

In a recent blog post on the National Association of EHS Managers (NAEM) site (http://greentie.naem.org/2009/05/26/ehs-auditing-in-trying-times/) Frank Brandauer posed several view points about EHS audits and the future of the function.  One viewpoint struck home with me; “With the rise of EHS Management Systems and related System Audits, the actual need for Compliance Audits has been reduced”.  It is our experience that Safety/Environmental Management Systems and the subsequent audits/reviews strengthen and sustain compliance.  We’ve seen the results in both safety and ergonomics management systems.

Checking on progress toward improvement goals, and compliance to regulations, is a critical activity for any successful business.  William Claude Dukenfield* stated it simply, “There comes a time in the affairs of men when we must grab the bull by the tail and face the situation.”  Managing EHS is dynamic, changing daily with business issues, orders, technology and staffing changes.  To be successful in EHS one must “face the situation” frequently and objectively.    (*also known as W.C. Fields)

As industries and agencies move toward more similar or global standards, auditing for compliance to applicable requirements become one integrated step in the overall process/system for managing EHS. The System ensures compliance at each step rather than driving is by a single event (compliance audit).  Organizations that align their ergonomics improvement process with the EHS Management System or continuous improvement process are successful.  Successful is defined as effective, efficient, sustainable over time, and compliant.

So Frank, in response to the question you posed; “Given the maturity of many audit programs and the current economic and regulatory situation, is it time for a change?”.  The answer is yes.  Organizations that manage EHS/ergonomics as system proactively ensure compliance, but more importantly they anticipate and manage risk.

Contributed by Walt Rostykus  CPE, CIH, CSP

Using social networking sites to share ergo knowledge

The world continues to buzz about the power of social networking sites, blogs, online forums and other internet-based groups that promote communities of shared knowledge, ideas and opinions.  Would it surprise you to know that there is a Facebook™ group called "Ergonomists of the World"?  Created a few years ago, this group has more than 300 members and is comprised of Health, Safety, Human Factors and Ergonomics Professionals and Researchers from around the world. 

Also, the ever growing LinkedIn online community has excellent groups of Ergonomics, H&S, and Human Factors Professionals. If you are on LinkedIn, we suggest you check out the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society group.  You may find several Humantechers there as participants and contributors! 

In keeping with the theme of promoting communities of shared knowledge, we encourage everyone to take advantage of these resources - start by checking out these two groups. If you know of any other such groups, please feel free to share them.

Contributed by Kevin Perdeaux

Two More Ways to Become Recession-Proof

Alex Pollack recommended three actions that EHS Managers should take in his blog entitled "Becoming Recession Proof". He provides good guidance for EHS professionals and managers on survival in their current position during the recession. Not only do I agree with Alex, here are two more actions you can take:

• Use the language of business leaders
• Demonstrate your value  

Use the Language of Business Leaders

If you want to be heard and understood, communicate using the language, terms, and measures of your organization's leaders. If they are discussing cycle time reduction, reduction of waste, employee retention, ROI, and/or time to market, then align your programs and messages with these issues. Top leaders in companies care about, but don't really understand things like injury/illness rate, cost of non-compliance, names of regulations, or TLVs. However, astute EHS professionals know that when these technical issues and details can be presented in terms top management can understand, they are effective, understood, and essential. Listen to the topics and terms discussed at management meetings, read and think about the company metrics and initiatives, then align your technical program to support them using the common language. 

Ergonomic improvements reduce waste, improve cycle time, increase employee satisfaction, and oh... they also decreases the chance of injuries. Learn to speak like a business leader, not as a technical expert. This is easier than educating a plant manager on the details and requirements of a technical EHS issue.

Demonstrate Value

Gone are the days when EHS professionals were measured on compliance and injury/illness rate. As EHS programs have evolved, matured, and reduced losses in the workplace, we must demonstrate the value of our presence and contribution to the bottom-line of the organization. Value, in business, is typically measured in money. Specifically, if the results of your EHS program lead to savings or a monetary contribution greater than the cost of the program, you've added value. Return on Investment, or ROI, is business speak for calculating the value ($) of your program. This could be the value of the overall EHS program, the IH sampling program, ergonomic improvements, or emergency prevention and preparedness. Injury/illness rates are a poor reflection of value and savings. Cycle time savings, reduction in errors and scrap, reduction in new project lead time, and employee retention can all be translated into monetary values to demonstrate ROI. The trick is demonstrating the cause and effect of EHS contributions and calculating a realistic return.

When you can demonstrate how, and how much, your EHS contribution has enhanced the bottom line of an organization, then you are demonstrating value, leading to a higher level of respect and recognition throughout the organization.

Ergonomists cannot ignore Safety - even on TV!

You know, as an ergonomics consultant, I'm often in manufacturing environments where I'm exposed to safety hazards. Although I'm not a Certified Safety Professional, I work very closely with safety and have become acutely aware of what constitutes a hazard.

Last night's episode of House opened in a manufacturing environment, with an employee working right next to a stamping press.

Two things struck me:

1. The characters were wearing ear plugs - although they were dangling uselessly around their necks.

2. When the protagonist collapsed, she fell onto the conveyor feeding the press. No photo-eye stopped the machine from crushing the character's hardhat (although luckily not the character).

I'm sure that this week will bring a variety of angry posts on numerous safety blogs. Ten years ago I am not sure if I would have noticed this, rather I would be focused on the plot. Now that I have developed the capability to recognize risk in the work environoment, I am unable to turn the darn thing off - even when I try to enjoy one of my favorite shows.

It is driving my wife nuts.

EU Recognizes Importance of Ergonomics and Safety

Recently I was on the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work website and there was a post titled European Week aims at cutting workplace accidents and diseases, and it made me think of the differences between the approach of the EU to ergonomics and safety versus the US approach. What drew me to this article was the statement from the Director of EU-OSHA:

"Every three-and-a-half minutes somebody in the EU dies from work-related causes and every four-and-a-half seconds an EU worker is involved in an accident that forces them to stay at home for at least three working days. This is unacceptable! We need a change, and this change starts with assessing workplace risks. We have to make employers, workers, safety representatives and policy makers aware that proper risk assessment is the key to good workplace safety and health management."

Last year, I spent 20 weeks in Europe rolling out a corporate ergonomics process and it allowed me to see first hand cultural differences between sites. The attitude of a lot of the companies I've worked with in Europe is "let's plan early and do it right the first time". If they say that Ergonomics and Safety are their number one priority, it is. In the US, I see a lot of advertisements at facilities boasting the importance of safety and ergonomics and how it is the number one priority, but in practice, it is only number one until something more important comes along. In the blog post Leverage Internal Resources for Safety & Ergonomics Communication, Cindy touches on advertising within a facility. This is very important, but national advertising can also be very effective and gives support to companies. Such was the goal with European Week for Safety and Health at Work.

We recently posted A Prescription for Carpal Tunnel Vision: Thoughts on an Ergonomic Standard which was a response to the recent news of an ergonomics regulation potentially coming into effect with the change in the US Presidency. Although labor unions tend to support ergonomics regulations to reduce workplace injuries, businesses in the US often feel that supporting ergonomics will be too costly. They do not want to invest the time or energy into something that may not show an immediate return on investment. They do not understand the long term value of ergonomics. This is in part due to the approach that companies take with their ergonomics process. As many companies do with their Lean Manufacturing initiatives, ergonomic principles are applied in a non-systemic way. By not seeing the whole picture and understanding all of the aspects that need to be considered, they end up unsuccessful. Successful companies understand that if you invest resources, time, and money early, it will save much more in the long run in terms of injuries, rework, and productivity. Being proactive and systematic in your approach is the key.

The European Union recognizes that being proactive means looking at risk and not injuries. Risk reduction starts with assessments. In order to fix a problem or reduce risk, you first need to understand it. Only after you have identified risk can you move towards implementing countermeasures to reduce that risk. All of this data needs to be tracked so that you can ensure that your countermeasures are making a significant difference. When done well, this is a process that will yield a startling ROI in both the short-term and long-term.

 

Leverage Internal Resources for Safety & Ergonomics Communication

In a recent blog post from Blog 4 Safety (How do you communicate safety issues to your employees?), the use of posters to communicate safety issues was emphasized, along with techniques on selecting posters. I found the title of this topic to be a little misleading due to the lack of information presented.

Where we have found success in communication is incorporating safety messages into existing initiatives or meetings, such as reserving space on employee boards that are dedicated to ergonomics or reserving the first 15 minutes at an all-employees meeting to discuss new ergonomic improvements or safety initiatives.

Showing off the efforts of a continuous improvement team along a metrics board can help grab the attention of all levels of the organization. Always remember that aesthetics comes into play, so use lots of pictures and visuals. Consider the location of your messages as well, remembering where employees will be spending most of their time during breaks. Several companies I've worked with have incorporated media systems into their cafeterias, which have always been a favorite for displaying ergonomic projects. Convenience in the selected locations is also key.  For example, positioning safety observation comment boxes directly at employee ID swipe in/out areas makes it easier to attain input and acts as a daily reminder that employee feedback is valuable. Leveraging daily pre-shift meetings to notify employees about new safety procedures and ergonomic equipment can also help with extending the message to a large population.

So, although posters can help to communicate safety and ergonomics, keep in mind the internal methods that can also be utilized and never forget that there is no better alternative than face-to-face conversations.

Safety Professionals and Respect - Part 2 - Homer Simpson

A recent post at the OSHA Underground blog relates that Safety Engineers feel that they get little respect, and we agree that the frustration many professionals feel is real and a burden to success, not only in construction, as was indicated, but in all industries.

In our last post on this topic, we suggested that a safety professional's inability to equate safety initiatives with business value led to these efforts not being valued by their colleagues. A focus on ROI is potentially the antidote.

In this post, we'd like to address the second major cause of this frustration. In this case, the problem is not with the safety professional, but with their employers.

Anyone can be labeled a "safety professional", but not everyone can BE a "safety professional". Remember the Simpson's episode when Homer was made the Safety Officer because he caused most of the accidents at the nuclear power plant? Many well meaning employers (guided or not by HR) will title and enable people as the "safety professional" without fully understanding the profession, qualifications, or implications. This is not limited to just safety. I know of one global microchip manufacturer who titled their maintenance technicians "engineers" giving a false sense of security and knowing to those individuals, the rest of the plant, and the outside world.

Most HR executives I've talked with do not know what makes a person a qualified safety professional. Nor are they aware of the valid certifications that help identify qualified professionals. Would you select your personal health care physician because they were called Doctor or would you insist that they were board certified? BCSP, ABIH, and BCPE are a few of the organizations that provide board certification for safety, industrial hygiene, and ergonomic professionals.

Many organizations and businesses offer "certifications" in safety and ergonomics, and they are correct; if you complete their courses, they will provide you with a certificate (i.e. piece of paper) indicating you completed the class. However, "board certified" is another thing. It indicates the bearer has the academic background and work experience, has completed an examination demonstrating their competency, and maintains that level of competency through ongoing professional development and work experience. Looking for certification by a recognized board is a quick and reliable way to screen for qualified candidates for a safety/environmental/ergonomics professional role.

As safety and ergonomic professionals, we need to continue to inform and educate business leaders, hiring managers, and staffing personnel of what a true professional is. This is the only way to get ahead of the Homer Simpson perception that some hold of our profession.

Safety Professionals and Respect - Part 1 - ROI

A recent post at the OSHA Underground blog relates that Safety Engineers feel that they get little respect, and we agree that the frustration many professionals feel is real and a burden to success, not only in construction, as was indicated, but in all industries.

OSHA Underground alluded to two of the major causes; one created by safety people themselves and the other by their employers. In this post, let's discuss the first:

"Efforts are not valued" - Many employers do not value the contribution and results achieved by their safety staff because no value is determined. Safety professionals have a tendency to fall back on the archaic measurement of injury and illness rate, and injury cost as their measure of success. This is a lagging measure of consequences. It is a traditional measure that allows one to focus on cost avoidance. As a result, most safety people demonstrate their value by subjectively projecting cost savings through injury avoidance, not actual measurement of their contribution.

In business and in life, value is measured in one way; MONEY. Safety professionals need to expand their ability and use of objective measures that demonstrate Return on Invesment (ROI). Simply put, what is the monetary return to the bottom line of a business from that investment in the safety program. This means breaking away from traditional safety measures that have been handed down for the past century and finding new ways of measuring contribution. Most importantly, the measures should be familair, common, and of interest to management. For example, the contribution of safety towards decreasing cycle time (production), increased employee retention, and improvements to quality.

When safety professionals begin to measure and demonstrate the value they offer (MONEY) then business leaders will value the efforts of programs and individuals.

Is Wellness = Ergonomics?

Recently I was asked by one of our clients, "what is your feeling on making stretching and fitness programs part of our safety strategy?"

This is always a difficult question to answer. You don't want to insult anyone, call their baby ugly, or appear to be the consultant who's every answer turns into a scope of work that he can help with. But, in this case, the facts are clear:

1. Stretching does not protect tendons, the primary soft tissue in many, if not most, WMSDs. Stretching can improve flexibility by affecting muscle length, which is presumed to be of some benefit to individuals with tight muscles (but detrimental to those with lengthened muscles).
2. Stretching exercises do not fit the definition for either engineering controls (modifications to the job to reduce risk) or administrative controls (modifications to management policies to reduce risk exposure), the accepted methods for controlling WMSD hazards.
3. Numerous studies of scientific research, published in peer reviewed journals, have demonstrated that stretching exercises do not reduce workplace injuries or discomfort. These include (among others):
   • "Stretching at work for injury prevention: issues, evidence, and recommendations" (Hess, J. and Hecker, S.), Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Vol. 18 (5) 2003
   • "Effects of flexibility and stretching on injury risk in army recruits" (Pope R., et al.), Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 1988
   • "Can in-plant exercise control musculoskelatal symptoms?" (Silverstein, B., et al.), Journal of Occupational Medicine, December, 1988
4. Researchers have expressed concern that stretching may be harmful for some people experiencing WMSD symptoms. The article "A Review of physical exercises recommended for VDT operators" (Lee, K., et al.), Applied Ergonomics Vol 23(6), 1992, identified that 90% of common office ergonomics stretching exercises (127 were included in the study) could aggravate pre-existing conditions. 100% of the exercises for the elbow/lower arm and lower back/hip were found to create a potential harm to the user. This was true as well for 93% for the shoulder, 82% for the knee/lower leg, and 72% for the neck.

It really comes down to what I view is a responsibiltiy of a business - to provide workplaces that are safe.  This can only be achieved through the design and engineering of the product, process, equipment, and tools. Understanding how to identify, prioritize and design ergonomic risk out of the workplace is certainly a central tactic to achieiving significant and sustainable improvements in injury rates and costs, with the added benefit of reducing barriers to quality and productivity at the workstation level.

There is no doubt that a healthier workforce contributes to a more positive workplace as there are numerous (and obvious) physical, mental and social benefits. Companies who support wellness programs are wise, BUT, making a wellness program your central strategy for dealing with injury is akin to being an ice cream shop that only sells toppings.

Welcome back...time for results

It's the Tuesday after Labor Day, traditionally marking the end of the summer in the US. Kids are heading back to school and for many of us, its time to get back to business. With Q4 right around the corner, its also time to start thinking about results; where will we end up in 2008, and how do we improve in 2009. With this thought in mind, I'd like to share a recent story from our e-newsletter:

BEMIS Uses RAPID ™ Team Events to Reduce Injuries

Established in 1858 and headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, Bemis Company, Inc. is a global supplier of flexible packaging and presssure sensitive label materials. Twelve companies operate 56 locations in 10 countries under the Bemis banner with combined net sales over $3.6 billion. Nearly two-thirds of Bemis' packaging is used in the food industry, with the balance used in markets including medical, pharmaceutical, chemical and agribusiness.

The company began a pilot ergonomics initiative in its Paper Packaging Division in 2006, extending the program to include all U.S. operations later in the year. According to Safety Director, Paul Kubicek, "the majority of our injuries are due to strains and sprains, and strengthening our ergonomics programs goes right to the heart of making work and life better for our employees."

Bemis has taken a two-pronged approach with its ergonomics initiative, including training for engineers and ergonomics team members and RAPID (Risk and Performance Improvement Deployment) Team Events for employees. "I'd have to say that although both components have been effective, the immediate results from the RAPID Team Events have made the biggest impact at Bemis," says Kubicek. He notes multiple reasons for this. "RAPID Team Events empower employees to be part of a positive change on the shop floor, and the improvements these events generate are immediate and highly visible. These types of continuous improvement evnets are the catalysts that shape and energize our ergonomics teams toward an ongoing ergoomic risk reduction process."

Ergonomic improvement efforts are an important part of a multi-faceted safety improvement program underway at Bemis. The progress the company has made is evident in its total recordable injury rate (TRIR). In the Paper Packaging Division, TRIR improved by 14% from 2005 to 2006 and by an additional 50% from 2006 to 2007. Improvements continue in 2008. Throughout the company's U.S. operations, total TRIR has improved by 45% from 2005 to 2008 (YTD through June).

The Bemis ergonomics initiative has gone global in 2008, with its South American operations getting involved in May. The company also has plans to merge ergonomic training into its global 5S team training. When asked for his key advice, Kubicek says, "ergonomics is something that everyone can relate to, so involve everyone! An improvement initiative that all employees can grasp and see the benefits of generates its own support."