Editor's Note: This is a continuation of an excerpt from Wayne Pardy's new book, which we think will be called, Safety Management Systems... The New Generation of Safety Improvement Tools. We've edited the excerpt for the SafetyXChange format. We'll tell you more about the book and where to buy it once it's published.

It's important to integrate multiple performance-based measures into your safety performance assessment system. If you want to start changing the existing safety culture of your organization towards what I call an achievement-based safety culture, the following example helps define what to look for, and how to go about implementing a performance-based safety system (including behavior-based observations and sampling, perception surveys, strategic planning and action plans, safety audits and safety performance measurement systems).

The Safety Measures to Include

Regardless of the measurement technique your organization employs, you need to make sure it is meaningful, accurate, and can be used to improve specific safety performance areas or general safety culture. Performance management measure options should include:

1. Objective measures, such as a sound or dust levels or temperature readings;

2. Subjective measures, such as opinions about the quality of housekeeping or maintenance, or the adequacy of how "safe" a particular work application may be being carried out, in the absence of no work method standard;

3. Quantitative measures, such as an audit score, or an alternative measurement score that uses a standard set of numbers, or scale of numbers. These measures need to be accurate for an assessment of performance over time; and

4. Qualitative measures, such as a description of a condition or situation like the effectiveness of management meetings or a training course with a rating scale.

Measurement Examples

Examples of measurements include:

• Systematic inspections of the workplace using a standardized checklist checking various conditions against established standards;
• Safety tours and observations of the workplace, work practices or physical conditions;
• Audits or other similar assessments of your safety system;
• Observation techniques of conditions or practices (which can include various equipment standards or personal practices or compliance to work methods, rules or standards);
• Degree of risk management improvement;
• Whether safety improvement targets have been met; and
• Number of safety improvement suggestions made by staff.

Conclusion

Next week, I will discuss the role of the safety program in the context of the overall system and describe the importance of measurement in ensuring effective safety and system operation.

$AFETY & THE BOTTOM LINE

The Business Case for a Healthy Indoor Environment

By Glenn Demby

In honor of International Building Safety Week and in anticipation of the heat of summer, here's a quick summary of some studies that demonstrate a link between comfort and quality of the work environment - at least for indoor workplaces - and productivity. The gains are accrued as a result of eliminating respiratory diseases and other ailments:

$6 to $14 billion: Estimated annual productivity gains of American businesses as a result of reducing respiratory infections.

$1 to $4 billion: Estimated annual productivity gains of American businesses as a result of reducing allergies and asthma.

$10 to $30 billion: Estimated annual productivity gains of American businesses as a result of reducing symptoms of sick building syndrome.

$20 to $160 billion: Estimated annual productivity gains of American businesses as a result of productivity gains not related to health.

Source: Cited in Annual Review of Energy & the Environment, Vol. 25: 537-566; Nov. 2000.

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