Taking the initiative

For all the safety products and gizmos that can be implemented to boost safety, perhaps the best way to improve results in any workplace, is to focus on culture and attitudes – in short it’s all in the mind. Attitudes and work culture have evolved massively, particularly since the introduction of the The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Weetabix health & safety advisor Karen Wheeler says: “We are on a journey to improve safety culture. In the ‘good old days’ there used to be the attitude that ‘accidents happen’. There was no ownership of safety at operator level with all of the onus on management. We still hear the ‘accidents happen’ mentality occasionally but thankfully it is rare.”

Weetabix spoke at the SEMA Safety Conference in November, where Karen talked attendees through Weetabix’s journey. She told how Weetabix originally had one health & safety manager to look after four sites – which meant there was no time for anything but firefighting. The first proactive step Weetabix took was broadening the team by bringing in health & safety advisors. It also introduced a T-Card system and skilled up teams by sending people on the IOSH Managing Safely scheme.

“We approached the unions, USDAW and also Unite, and got their buy-in. We saw it was important to work together, instead of having an adversarial approach.” The company now has 36 union representatives, with some on every shift. Weetabix sees this very much as positive in safety terms as it boosts communication, with the reps providing support if employees don’t want to approach management.

“This is a two way street, we made commitments to each other (19 in total). We upskilled reps – putting them on IOSH Managing Safely etc, giving them the tools to be effective. In turn, we have reps leading safety inspection at the start of shifts. We also involve reps in accident investigation, and have invited reps to management forums, which was unheard of before.”

As the reps became empowered and passionate about safety, Weetabix halved the accident rate over a two year period. Behavioural safety The incident rate then hit a plateau, so Weetabix changed tack, focusing more on behavioural safety.

“This was interesting as we met some resistance here. The reps were not comfortable about people bring disciplined, so we adapted,” says Karen. “We said to reps – stop people and encourage correct behaviour. Again, this did not work as anticipated. It was viewed negatively with reps seen as ‘management moles’. “This led us to introduce a Positive Engagement scheme.”

This is a much more psychologically astute way of talking with employees. The aim is to address safety issues, but instead of doing it in an authoritative, ‘you did this wrong, you need to correct it way’ it aims to make people feel at ease, get them to look at their operation, identify the issue themselves, identify the consequences of, for example, not wearing a seatbelt on a forklift, get them to suggest a solution and wrap up agreement.

Karen explains: “It is all about constructive comments, asking for people’s opinions, and it often leads to unexpected insights. We rolled this out with our forklift drivers (who work for a logistics company) and saw the accident rate continue to fall.

“Weetabix is led on safety by the reps themselves. They analyse data and decide what to do next based on that. Accidents are now at 25% what they were seven years ago across the whole business.”

Safety champions

Advanced Supply Chain Group is a third party logistics company with extensive operations in the UK. Part of its safety campaign has been the recognition of people on the team who are leading on health & safety and championing them. One focuses on forklift training specifically. Forklifts represent the biggest risk, so the company brought in an external assessor to look at each operator, regardless of experience, to make sure they were at the level they needed to be, and re-train them if necessary. There was a culture where people didn’t want to report near misses, but the company actively encourages this.

Kathryn Lewis, operations director says: “At Advanced Supply Chain, we like to take an approach to safety which is simple, yet will drive positive change. By taking a proactive approach to safety, we better understand the needs of our business and can provide solutions that promote a safe and healthy environment for our colleagues, in which their efforts can be maximised to benefit the company.”

Ian Fairlie, facilities manager continues: “Historical data is a poor predictor of future events and is a measure of failure not success, therefore we will measure our performance in health and safety management with leading indicators – before an incident or accident occurs – that reflect our commitment but equally can be applied to, and compare with all sites.

“Our colleagues accept that we are here to help and assist them and our emphasis is to provide working solutions rather than dwell on the past. It is very refreshing when I walk through a warehouse or process area that my colleagues do not shy away or stop what they are doing until I have passed, but rather they are happy to engage with me and often suggest improvements of their own.”

Kathryn adds: “The company recognises and champions those within the business who take the lead on health and safety. This prevents a blame culture from taking hold, and cultivates a positive and effective approach to safety.”

Good intentions not enough

Often companies have good intentions regards health & safety, but not every company is great in terms of follow though.

Health & Safety Laboratory senior engineer Nina Day explains: “One company told lorry drivers to put straps on HGVs. However, drivers only literally did this. They placed the straps on the sides of the loads, not actually securing the load. This example shows the importance of not relying on dictates, you must supervise to make sure it is done.”

Nina outlined some pointers towards good practice, particularly for technical areas such as load security.

She advised:

•    Talk to equipment manufacturers.

•    Question the assumption – ‘this the way we’ve always done it’.

•    Educate / train.

•    Monitor / review.

•    Inspect equipment and repair or replace if necessary.

Nina also emphasises the importance of near-miss reporting. Nina says: “It is difficult to record because people don’t like to admit mistakes. But issues don’t come out of the blue, so it is very important. If people are saying there is a problem, look into it. Near miss reporting can be your best friend.”

Since The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act came in, it has led to a raised level of prosecution. The same thing can be anticipated with newer, tougher Sentencing Guidelines. Nina adds there could be more HSE prosecutions in workplace transport.

“I also anticipate HSE will look more broadly at company practices when an incident occurs, rather than just looking at the HGV, forklift or van driver.”