Employee opinions about workplace dynamics are often leading indicators of actual safety performance. In fact, new research by Towers Perrin-ISR illuminates consistent aspects of employee culture that are most important in reducing safety outcomes on the job. According to the findings, there are four common areas of organizational culture that have a significant impact on safety outcomes:

This series will explore some of the lessons learned from the latest and most significant case studies, then highlight some of the most recent Towers Perrin-ISR safety benchmark data, and examine some of the unique opportunities that exist for companies to improve safety outcomes by focusing organizational priorities and acting upon employee opinions.

The Towers Perrin-ISR Research

Using recent case studies and compiling a series of personal, occupational and process safety benchmarks, Towers Perrin-ISR demonstrates that work environments with above-average employee scores (i.e., favorable opinions) on cultural issues of supervision, empowerment, teamwork and workload also had fewer safety outcomes, such as total recordable incident rates and days away from work.

CASE STUDY 1: OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Recognized Sites

In the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), organizations agree to meet a set of health and safety requirements that are much more stringent than OSHA regulations. Sites accepted into VPP gain a degree of exemption from random OSHA inspections as well as special recognition for their outstanding commitment to safety. To be accepted into VPP, the site must demonstrate an organization-wide commitment to health and safety. VPP sites thus represent a kind of safety elite.

According to Department of Labor statistics, companies that participate in the VPP average 54% fewer injuries and illnesses and 60% to 80% lower lost-workday rates than other companies in their industries. As a result, the VPP Participants' Association estimates that these sites have saved more than $1 billion since 1982.

Towers Perrin-ISR studied 16 unique sites across seven companies that have received official recognition from OSHA's VPP program, totaling 3,159 employees. A number of factors separate these work cultures from others that have not received a VPP designation.

Specifically, employees working in sites recognized for safety excellence were more favorable than other manufacturing employees when asked if their area was a safe place to work (+8), the physical working conditions were satisfactory (+5), the company provided adequate safety training (+19), and employees received sufficient training to improve their skills (+7).

Differences were also found in employee empowerment, teamwork, supervision, and customer focus. Employees working at VPP recognized sites are significantly more favorable than employees working in other non-recognized sites when responding to questions on each of these topics.

CASE STUDY 2: A North American Automotive Glass Replacement Company

In a second example of research performed by Towers Perrin-ISR, a North American glass manufacturer serving the automotive market was interested in understanding the relationship between data collected in its annual employee opinion survey and documented rates of work-related injuries. To investigate, Towers Perrin-ISR used employee opinion data collected from approximately 1,200 employees at 53 locations across North America. It then compared the data against the documented injury rates from those same locations one year later.

The Towers Perrin-ISR analysis revealed a number of cultural factors that significantly correlated with documented rates of work-related injuries. Specifically, locations where employees were significantly more favorable about leadership (+7), teamwork (+7), customer focus (+4), quality (+4), job satisfaction (+7), supervision (+3), operating efficiency (+4), empowerment (+4) and innovation (+4) were also locations with less frequent work-related injuries.

As a result of the research, this organization is now in a position to develop detailed action plans designed to increase specific areas known to be significantly related to the occurrence of work-related injury.

Conclusion

Next week, we'll continue our analysis by looking at another case study involving a global petrochemical company.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

Canadian troops assault Vimy Ridge

April 9, 1917

Frontal assaults against fortified positions were almost always suicidal affairs in World War I. Wave after wave would climb over the trenches and charge headlong into "no man's land" only to be cut down by artillery, machine gun fire and poisonous gas. Verdun. The Somme. Paschendale. Ypres. The list of pointless sacrifice goes on and on.

One of the very few successful ground assaults of the First World War occurred on this date 91 years ago. The attack was part of the British spring offensive of 1917. At 5:30 A.M., four Canadian infantry divisions advanced up a ridge located 8 kilometers to the northeast of the strategic town of Arras in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France. The ridge was held by roughly 8,000 Germans from the 1st Bavarian Army Corps and a reserve division. The defenders were outnumbered but they held the high ground.

The Canadians were supported by a creeping barrage, the same tactic the British had tried during the disastrous Battle of the Somme months earlier. And, like the British at the Somme, the Canadians suffered appalling casualties. But unlike the British, the Canadian advance made significant progress. Within two hours, three of the four Canadian divisions had seized their objectives.

It would take another three days, but on April 12, the Canadians had secured control of the entire ridge. The cost: 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded. German casualties were unknown; but 4,000 were taken prisoner.

The Vimy Ridge monument

The Battle of Vimy Ridge is considered a defining moment in Canadian history. The significance of the event isn't simply the victory. The reason Vimy Ridge has so much meaning to Canadians is that it represents the first time in the nation's history that a corps-sized* formation fought as a unit. Moreover, all of the country's provinces were represented in the Canadian order of battle. Consequently, many Canadians regard Vimy Ridge as the point at which Canada became a nation.

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* For those of you unfamiliar with military terminology, a corps is a group of divisions and represents the third largest formation-after army group and army. The unit hierarchy, at least in the U.S. military:

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