To share some of my personal experiences with safety management before starting a safety business, I cut costs by roughly a quarter million dollars during the two years I was at my first safety management position in a manufacturing facility. That was not hypothetical savings like “I might have eliminated citations”, but rather, projects that led to tangible cost-reductions and efficiency gains. I started my career as a CNC Machinist and Maintenance Tech and could not stand “bean counters” who did not understand the processes they managed. As a safety manager, I led many ?continuous improvement and efficiency projects and teams that leveraged my experience fixing machines and making parts. I organized a tour of leading lean manufacturers in our area so our management team could learn from them. Managers who had only worked in one facility for their career were amazed that safety and efficiency solved almost every daily problem they faced. If bean counters wanted to count beans, I was happy to give them more beans to count to stay out of my hair while I made my employer safer and more efficient. As your consultant, I don’t want to count beans. I don’t want to give you beans to count. I want to help you operate a safer and more efficient business.
- Safety does not mean unnecessary procedures. As a matter of fact, you need to eliminate as many unnecessary steps as possible. If a procedure, such as lockout or confined space, has steps and roles that do not directly improve safety or the process, they are impediments. While there are certainly complex confined spaces that need to be longer, a 4-page permit where a 1-page permit would do, just means workers are less likely to understand and follow it, and supervisors are more likely to let it slide. A simple and solid procedure, is a procedure that will protect workers.
- Inefficiency drives safety, quality, and production issues. If you are moving inventory more times than necessary, it is more exposure for employees to a hazard and a likely injury, and more opportunity to damage products, without a benefit. This is one of the most important lessons we’ve learned from the lean manufacturing journey.
- Many risks show up in multiple ways. Where there is smoke, there is fire. I have multiple clients who had their compressed air system too high when we started working together. The electricity to generate compressed air is often one of the highest energy uses in an industrial business. A system that is set high poses risks to hoses and components bursting under pressure and injuring someone. Tools run at higher speeds and the workers need to carefully throttle them down, requiring concentration and skill. Otherwise that tool can escape their control, causing injury and/or damaged product. Every 2 psi costs 1% more in electricity costs. A factory run on 150 psi rather than 100 psi, can expect to pay 25% more for the electricity to generate that compressed air. Rather than trying to convince management that high psi can cause injuries, I’d rather just show them the money. Even better, I show them how to get rebate dollars to fix air leaks and get more efficient equipment.
- Safety problems should not be difficult to solve, but you may need to change perspectives. In one example, I did an inspection and spoke to the department supervisor about a fire extinguisher that was regularly blocked. The safety department had been bothering him for years about the same issue with no resolution and he was clearly frustrated. I asked, “can we move the extinguisher to the other side of the garage door?”. There was no good reason it couldn’t, so we did it, and the problem was solved. ?Over a decade in his role, nobody suggested this until the new safety guy asked, “how can I make this easier for YOU?” rather than “how should YOU comply with me?”. The ?fix solved every problem, and it didn’t disrupt his efficiency.
- Unsafe or unnecessary steps means you will have downtime. In industry, downtime means loss of revenue. If an employee gets injured, you have to shuffle workers around while somebody’s tasks will not get completed. Equipment gets broken and needs to be repaired. Workers and supervisors get gun-shy, and start to second-guess themselves for fear of getting injured or disciplined for wrecking equipment. By removing or rethinking those steps, I’ve driven productivity increase by double digits in percentage of output.
Safety shouldn’t be another bean to count. Safety should be a pillar that helps your business succeed through a more productive and efficient system. Don’t be safe because “OSHA”. There are a hundred better arguments to make for safety. Many can be counted in ways other than beans…$$$.
If you want to count beans and work off checklists, call my competitors. If you want results and a partnership that improves your business, contact Provenio! Call me at (507) 369-6050, email me at [email protected]!
