By Bill Sims, Jr.
www.safetyincentives.com

Why Zero Injuries is NOT your Goal…

DES PLAINES, IL (January 9, 2012) – Realizing the importance of safety in the workplace, India’s growing community of occupational safety professionals today announce the planned launch of the India Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) to occur in March, 2012. With close to 70 occupational safety, health and environmental (SH&E) professionals currently a part of the proposed new chapter in India, and many more expressing interest, ASSE’s India Chapter organizers expect the number of new members to grow quickly as news of its formation continues to spread. “The formation of the India Chapter advances our goal to increase awareness of safety around the world,” stated ASSE president Terrie S. Norris. “It allows us to engage more people in our efforts to reduce the loss of life and property, and sustain the environment. While tools, traditions and regulations may differ, our desire to promote and advance safety is the same in any language.” Intended as a way to bring together India’s growing population of SH&E professionals, and hundreds of students currently enrolled in the country’s SH&E university programs, ASSE’s India Chapter will provide members of the safety community with opportunities to network, share best practices, develop professional knowledge and skills and advance the profession while protecting people, property and the environment. “Affiliation and networking within ASSE, the oldest safety organization will be mutually beneficial for all of its members around the world,” explained Jitendra (Jitu) Patel, CPEA, emeritus member of ASSE, and recipient of the 2011 Society Fellow, the highest honor granted by ASSE, and one of the active leaders and founders of its India Chapter. Over the years the business market in India has been a destination for commercial endeavors and investments, and it has experienced high technological and economic growth. According to the Indian government, the country’s economy is expected to grow at approximately 7.5 to 8.5 percent in 2012. With this growth comes greater SH&E need in the country’s many expanding industries including; oil and gas, automobile manufacturing and maintenance, electricity, nuclear energy, construction, information technology, agriculture and traffic safety. Among India’s greatest occupational safety challenges is convincing corporate management about the value of a safe workplace, and that safety translates into profitability. “Management needs to introduce a greater culture of safety into business,” said Patel. “We must convince management of how valuable safety is and of its key role in their success.” The announcement of ASSE’s India Chapter further expands the Society’s mission to lead the charge of advancing the profession and enhancing safety around the world. Those in the SH&E profession who initially join ASSE’s India Chapter will also have the unique distinction of being a ‘Founding Member,’ assisting in the launch of this important organization.

By Bill Sims Jr.

It was about 2:30 p.m. and I had just finished a speaking assignment for the Tarheel Safety Chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are a lively group of safety professionals who asked me to come and speak about behavior change, which I did. While there I learned a lot about some changes coming down the pipeline from OSHA, from my new BFF, Bob, with OSHA (more on that later).

After the meeting, I packed up my computer and projector and put them in the trunk of my car, sliding into the front seat. As I’ve done a million times before, I put the key in the switch and turned it to the right, convinced in my mind that I was about to hear that good old V8 rumble to life, one of my top ten favorite PICs in life.

Given the potential for under-reporting and the other negative effects associated with payment schemes based on outcome measures and the lack of evidence of value from them, we recommend that such schemes should not be used in the industry.” This conclusion stated in the Digging Deeper Report regarding mine safety for the New South Wales (NSW) Mine Safety Advisory Council (MSAC), in Australia, at first glance may indicate that safety incentive programs have received a bad grade, but not so! On the contrary, the extensively researched report, that examined all sectors of the NSW mining industry, recommends the primary components of a behavior-based safety incentive process: worker participation in setting goals, management involvement, and recognition of safe behaviors that lead to safe results.

Monday, November 9, 2009

I'm confused . . .

Recently I was greatly honored to be asked to do a keynote speech at the Behavioral Safety Now (BSN) conference (www.behavioralsafetynow.com).

I wanted to add some factual evidence to your story about the positive reinforcement that went on in the company you spoke about where the man reached into a moving machine over a safety sign that said do not reach into moving equipment and his arm was caught and his manager called him dumb--yet his negative behavior was being supported through productivity goals.

This exact thing happened at my last job and was one of the reasons I quit. I worked for a manufacturer and was hired because of my safety background, was appointed as the safety meeting leader and was in charge of work comp and other HR and payroll. I did make a small difference in the way the safety meetings were designed, but that was about it. I changed the format a little as a first step.

 

We had two reportable accidents in the year I was there. The one that pertains here is where a male supervisor who had been with the company probably over 10 years stuck his hand into a moving machine to add a piece of tape to a board that was being routed, his little finger was nearly cut off--he had surgery and was expected to return to work. My take on this was that he had done this many, many times although there is a sign on the machine that states not to do that...I think he was comfortable in sticking his hand in the machine, but this last time he was caught. Production was important and productivity curves were posted in the lunchroom every week, people were also being laid off due to the recession and common scenario, when the company struggles accidents increase, our company was text book on what you teach.

This accident was troubling, I would not wish that on anyone, but the most troubling aspect of this accident was that when the man was released to come back to work without restrictions, light duty was not offered, he was off for probably 12-14 weeks, I was told, as I did payroll, that he was going to be suspended for three days without pay for not following the safety rules because he was a supervisor and was paid a higher salary and knew better than to stick his hand in a moving machine. So, not only did he almost loose a finger, he was going to be further punished by the company for not following safety rules, when in fact as you say, management was allowing him to operate his equipment this way due to emphasis on productivity. I could not believe my ears when I heard he was going to be penalized without pay. You may use this story if you want to, I am no longer affiliated with that company.

Needless to say, this is one reason I chose to pursue different employment, I knew that company would never understand positive reinforcement, so I was impressed with what you said in your presentation that certain behaviors are reinforced when we actually do not want them to be.

Thank you,

(Name withheld upon request)
Workers' Compensation
& Safety Specialist

Aubrey Daniels wites:

"Employee engagement is one of the latest topics to make headlines in today’s strained economy.  Just last week, CNNMoney.com (Less Pay. More Hours. Unhappy Workers.) reported that many American workers have admitted to doing the bare minimum to keep from getting fired.   Unfortunately morale isn’t the only thing affected by just getting by; productivity also declines.  To further the point, in a survey by the Workforce Institute at Kronos, 40% of those surveyed report that productivity has been negatively impacted and of those, another two-thirds admit that employees are less motivated then before."

 

Bill is mentioned in a recent time magazine article on It's seven weeks into the new year. Do you know where your resolution is? If you're like millions of Americans, you probably vowed to lose weight, quit smoking and drink less in 2009. You kicked off January with a commitment to long-term well-being--until you came face-to-face with a cheeseburger. You spent a bundle on a shiny new gym pass. Turns out, it wasn't reason enough for you to actually use the gym.

Read More at the Time Magazine Wellness Blog

Continued . . .

While the philosophy behind such programs seemed sound (giving rewards to employees for results), there were a number of criticisms levelled at such programs by some safety consultants, some union leaders and even OSHA. First and foremost on the list of concerns was the idea that such programs could create pressure on employees not to report accidents, injuries, near misses or other incidents so as to keep the "record" intact. While one might expect that coworkers would lead this pressure (and they frequently did), there were even some documented cases of supervisors and managers pressuring employees not to report accidents. These cases tended to be in situations where rewards that were designated for teams or whole departments were on the line.

By Bill Sims Jr.

"We don't need to reward safe performance. We give people a paycheck and they deserve nothing more for working safely."

If it is true that no deserves a bonus in return for doing what is expected of them, then why are almost all Fortune 500 chief executive officers given year end bonuses based on company performance? Why is it fair to reward them for good performance while ignoring the contributions made by the thousands of hourly people below them?

"Rewards do not effect the attitudes that underlie unsafe behavior. They merely cause employees not to report injury."

Actually, many incentive programs now reward employees for reporting injuries. Employees are recognized and rewarded for reporting and correcting unsafe acts and conditions before injuries can occur. Other popular incentive only offer incentives for taking pro-active safety steps, such as attending safety meetings, passing safety inspections, and other things.