Three and a half years ago, when I joined the bus company, Canadian Blue Bird, I stepped into a mess. The company had a miserable safety record and a dysfunctional safety culture. But we were able to achieve major improvements in a relatively short period of time. I would like to outline a few of the key components of the program we implemented to turn the situation around.

A Company in Need of Change

Let me start by presenting a snapshot of the previous situation at Blue Bird. It's not a pretty picture. The company's safety record was less than stellar. Blue Bird's high Repetitive Strain Injuries and lost time accidents resulted in its being placed on the 1000 Critical Employers List by the Ontario Ministry of Labor. This is a rather inauspicious list. We had also reached a maximum surcharge position with the W.S.I.B. (Editor's Note: The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is the agency that administers workers' compensation in Ontario.)

There were some memorable incidents back then. For example, we experienced a critical injury (by definition) when a team member was knocked unconscious by a safety device. Another memorable incident involved a fire that started on a bus in the plant at the glue station during the assembly process. People in the office described it as "a bit of a fire"; the people in the bus described it as a "conflagration." (Isn't it amazing how perceptions of danger differ depending on proximity?)

Efforts were made to improve the situation, but they were disjointed, fragmented and lacking in focus. Morale and culture were so bad that when I arrived members of the company's Joint Health and Safety Committee were getting set to resign en masse.

Monitoring and Charting Safety Performance

We recognized right away that one of the first things we had to do was to promote safety awareness, accountability and ongoing development. So we decided to apply our Safety, Environmental and 5's Audits and monitored scoring system to literally every square foot of real estate of our facilities, including yard and office space. We assigned an individual to be responsible for the safety of each area.

Our strategy was to constantly challenge those responsible for safety in their areas. For example, we established a system involving a daily random drawing to determine an area to audit. Over time, each area would undergo an audit. We "keep score." The posting and promotion of audit results has been instrumental in cultivating a sense of pride and ownership. It's also created good natured and constructive rivalry among area leaders and departments striving to achieve the best audit scores.

On the flip side, the scoring process has also led directly to the identification and elimination of hazards. That's because leaders of areas with low monthly scores receive a visit from our General Manager. Together, the General Manager and responsible individual review the situation and seek improvement.

The device we use to measure all of this is a comprehensive Safety Scorecard. The Scorecard ensures plant-wide visibility for safety efforts. Safety results are also a component in individual performance reviews.

Safety Training and Auditing Efforts

We understood that you cannot expect people to perform better without giving them the proper tools. So we started to provide an extensive, logical and progressive training program to all team members (from G.M. to hourly team members). We keep safety in the forefront of everyone's thoughts through weekly safety talks and daily topical Tool Box talks.

I've already mentioned the integration of the Safety 5's and environmental auditing programs. This has been a best practice that has reaped great benefits. Our auditors, comprised of hourly and salaried team members, look at the big picture and focus not simply on individual programs but on the interrelationships and overlaps between and among the various programs.

Culture Change and Involvement

Cultural changes began with the assessment and implementation of 109 Due Diligence items which helped to demonstrate the seriousness of Blue Bird's commitment to safety. Another key part of the program is to promote wider involvement in safety efforts. Thankfully, the members of the Joint Health and Safety Committee didn't go through with their plan to resign en masse. They stayed focused and committed to the cause. Today, the Committee has a strong presence and is working very effectively.

We've also implemented a Joint Health and Safety Team (JHST) with rotating members representing the management team and team leaders from the floor who participate at the monthly meetings. Every person at our facility is now a member of the JHST.

Achieving Success

All of these efforts have paid off. We have currently gone 24 months without a lost time accident. As of March 27, 2007, that translates into 565 work days (787,726.16 man hours) without a LTA. Our WSIB Rate has dropped from 3.0 to 0.07. We've also experienced a 60% drop in Recordable Incidents (outside Medical Aid provided).

By completing and addressing all plant Hazard Analysis and performing Physical Demands Analysis, we have received Secondary Injury Enhancement Fund rebates ranging from 50% to 90%, by demonstrating non-contributory cause and effects. This has resulted in significant cost avoidance.

Our efforts have also been recognized by groups outside the company. Last March, the Ontario Ministry of Labour took us off its List of 1000 Critical Employers. A month later, we received the IAPA's (Editor's Note: The Industrial Accident Prevention Association is Canada's leading trade organization for safety professionals) Level 3 Award. We were only the 6th company in Ontario to receive, and the second ever to apply for, Level 3 without having achieved the preceding two levels. We also received the Award for a Half Million Man-Hours Worked without a lost time accident. Last June, SafetyXChange selected us as one of its five finalists for Saxcies awards in two categories: Safety Program of the Year and Safety Hero of the Year.

And the accolades keep on coming. Blue Bird has been confirmed for the first ever IAPA Presidents Award (to be bestowed at the IAPA annual conference in Toronto next month). Our current proactive safety program was one of the key factors in our being named one of Industry Week's Top 25 Manufacturing Plants for 2005. We have also been featured as a tour site for the recent AME Regional Conference in Kitchener, as well as with Innovation Insights highlighting our Lean Journey and our fabulous results in the area of health and safety.

Conclusion

Awards are all well and good; lower workers' compensation premiums and economic benefits are a huge benefit to the company. But the achievement that gives us the greatest sense of satisfaction and pride is the knowledge that our team members are going home to their families at the end of each working day alive, in one piece and healthy, and that we now have a sustained culture focused on health and safety.

A final note: I would like to invite the members of SafetyXChange to contact me if they'd like further information about our programs. We have hosted several CME and AME tours and actively share our safety programs and results with any and all who are interested and would like to benefit from our experiences.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR SAFETY SUCCESSES

Have you got a safety success story you want to share with the members of SafetyXChange? Please send it to us at glennd@bongarde.com, or catherinej@bongarde.com, and we'll publish it in an upcoming SafetyXChange newsletter.

Glenn Demby
Editor-in-Chief
SafetyXChange

BY THE NUMBERS
Farm Safety

Some grim facts about death on the farm

By Glenn Demby

Canada and the U.S. have designated one week per year as National Farm Safety Week. (National Farm Safety Week in Canada ended on March 16). It's not hard to understand why. Agriculture remains one of the most hazardous injuries in North America and around the world. Consider the following statistics:

• 2.25 million The number of full-time U.S. workers employed in agriculture. That number rises to 4.5 million if you count unpaid farm workers and family members age 14 and older.
• 132 The number of U.S. farmers crushed to death in tractor rollovers each year.
• 100 The number of children killed in agricultural accidents each year.
• 100,000 The number of children injured in agricultural accidents each year.
• 500 The number of U.S. agricultural workers who suffer disabling injuries each day. Of these, 5% result in permanent impairment.

Agricultural workers are also about 4 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries than are workers in general industry.

Source: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/agfc.html

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