Does your safety programme measure up...? The 7 reasons to use scientific measurement in safety

Anyone reading this will have safety policies and procedures in place. But how can you be sure if these are truly effective?

In The State Of Safety 2022 , 300+ safety professionals shared that their second biggest objective (other than the obvious of "fewer people getting hurt") was "having certainty that my top risks are under control:

How can you be certain? Having an effective safety program is crucial for ensuring the well-being of employees and the success of an organisation. But how can you effectively measure the success of your safety programme? The answer lies in using scientific measurement. Scientific measurement offers several key benefits, including improved accuracy, enhanced objectivity, increased accountability, enhanced reliability, improved communication, enhanced credibility, and increased efficiency. In this article, we will explore these 7 reasons to use scientific measurement in safety programs, and how it can help you achieve your safety goals.

Using scientific measurement in safety can bring numerous advantages to an organisation, including:

1) Improved accuracy: Scientific measurement allows for the accurate and objective measurement of safety performance. This can help organizations identify trends and patterns in safety performance, and make more informed decisions about how to improve safety.

2) Enhanced objectivity: Scientific measurement can help organizations avoid subjectivity and bias when assessing safety performance. By relying on objective data and measurements, organizations can ensure that their safety efforts are based on sound, scientific principles.

3) Increased accountability: By using scientific measurement to assess safety performance, organisations can create a sense of accountability among employees and stakeholders. This can help ensure that everyone is working towards the same safety goals and that progress is being tracked and evaluated objectively.

4) Enhanced reliability: Scientific measurement provides reliable, accurate data that can be used to make informed decisions about safety performance. This can help organizations identify areas where safety improvements are needed and make more reliable predictions about future safety performance.

5) Improved communication: Scientific measurement can provide a common language and framework for discussing safety performance. By using standardized measurements and metrics, organisations can communicate about safety performance in a clear and consistent manner.

6) Enhanced credibility: By using scientific measurement to assess safety performance, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to evidence-based decision making. This can enhance their credibility with employees, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies.

7) Increased efficiency: Scientific measurement can help organisations identify and prioritize safety improvements, allowing them to allocate resources more effectively. This can lead to increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness in safety efforts.

Overall, using scientific measurement in safety can bring numerous advantages to an organisation. By providing accurate, objective, and reliable data, scientific measurement can help organizations make informed decisions about safety performance and allocate resources effectively. This can lead to improved safety performance and a more positive work environment for employees.

Bringing this approach to slip safety

Slips, trips and falls cause 40% of RIDDORs on average - and have done for more than the last decade. Of this large category, slips account for the majority. For example in manufacturing, slips cause 38% of insurance claims; trips only 3% - that's 12.7X more slips than trips.

Despite the size of this problem, most policies, procedures and risk assessments take a qualitative approach. There is very little scientific measurement to be seen.

But if there's one thing I've learned in my 10+ years working in this field, it's this:

Until you take a scientific approach to slip prevention, you'll never achieve certainty that your risk is under control

So what's the number one way to take a scientific measurement approach to slips? There are 6x causes of slips (CHIMES):

Contamination

Heel

Individual

Maintenance

Environment

Surface

As you'll see, a full 50% of the causation of slips boils down to the floor, what's on the floor, and how are we managing the floor. Therefore, a way of scientifically assessing these factors would be beneficial, wouldn't it?

Step forth the pendulum slip test:

This testing gives you 3 data-led insights:

1) the safety of the floor surface - is it safe when wet or not

2) the efficacy of your cleaning and maintenance regime

3) the amount of contamination that your floor can withstand before it becomes too slippery

With this information, you can now take steps to reduce risk and get certainty and control. Without this data, you can only ever be guessing.

Would you like to arrange a pendulum slip test of your floors? DM me on here or call 0203 355 5018 and we can arrange this for you, including 6x test locations on a site, a full report with recommendations, and a Slip Safety Certificate to give you the peace of mind your slip risks are being controlled.

#safety #insurance #RiskManagement #FacilitiesManagement #IOSH