A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a safety manager of a building materials supplier who needs some advice.

He says that while falls from scaffolds and ladders might be the number one injury in most construction companies, in his workplace most injuries are the result of workers tripping over materials lying around the lumber yard. He tells his workers to be more careful and reminds them to keep the yard clean, but it’s not enough. It’s especially difficult when workers deliver building materials to job sites hundreds of miles away, far from his safety warnings. What can he do?

Here are a few of your suggestions:

#1 Create a Housekeeping Habit

I am the safety officer at a depot for military aircraft. We tear down and rebuild airplanes used for pilot training. Foreign objects (FO) on the ground can be a tragic accident if an aircraft engine sucks it up from the ground. A pilot could be killed or thousands of dollars of equipment could be ruined. What we do to prevent this from happening is daily FO walks. After the workers first break, everyone goes to the ramp, forms a line and starts walking across the ramp, picking up any debris they come across. After this goes on for awhile, you will notice people picking up debris on their own.

Tim Walters

#2 Investigate and Discipline Offenders

If he is a safety manager, and actually has some authority, he should discipline the workers as needed. Find out who the guilty parties are, and write them up for a safety violation. If that does not do it progress to unpaid time off. A man missing a day’s work, and a day’s pay, and having to explain to his wife the reason was he was working unsafely can cause more embarrassment to him than anything else. It also sets an example to others.

For off site deliveries, simple: Contact whoever is in charge of that site and ask him about your workers and if they performed their jobs as they were supposed to. Particularly in regards to safety.

And when a worker is hurt, once he recovers, are investigations and disciplinary action taken? Lost time due to injury, then lost time due to disciplinary action will hit the offender where it hurts………in the wallet.

Gary Swiatowy

#3 Engage the Workers and Measure Success

Telling the workers to be more careful and simply reminding them to keep the yard clean is not enough. Therefore, the safety manager could incorporate safety toolbox talks and safety meetings regarding the importance of housekeeping and have an open forum to workers to have their say. Instead of lecturing the workers, he should ask for the workers input and find out what they have to say about the poor housekeeping and recurring injuries from tripping over materials. Too often it is forgotten that the workers really are the experts at their jobs, and we as safety people are here to assist them, not do their jobs for them. Therefore, talking to the workers and getting their input may lead to a solution to the poor housekeeping. This also gives the workers ownership. If they come up with an idea that is implemented, it gives them ownership of their jobs and allows them the much-needed worker involvement that so many companies are lacking.

As well, nothing will get done unless it is measured. As well, if workers know their worksite is going to be inspected, they may be more inclined to keep it clean. The safety manager could implement a daily or weekly inspection of the jobsite to identify recurring issues with housekeeping and to identify existing and potential tripping hazards. This will also provide information for trending, so that improvements in housekeeping can be tracked, as well as any decreases in the number of injuries occurring as a result of trips. Such improvements will warrant rewards for the workers, even if just positive reinforcement comments from management.

Name Withheld

#4 Sort, Assign, Audit and Reward

I would suggest that the safety manager and the lumberyard employees conduct an inspection to determine exactly what the employees are tripping over and how and/or why those items are there in the first place. If it’s just an accumulation of “junk”, they need to dispose of it. If the items are needed, they should designate and mark a specific place for them, sort of like a 5S program. If the places are marked, everyone will know where those things go and will need to put them in their place. Every employee should be held accountable for a certain area.

Then they will have to do regular periodic audits to make sure that things are getting put away properly. The safety manager and the yard employees should conduct the audits. The employees need to take ownership of this process since it is for their own safety as well as the safety of others. I would suggest weekly audits to start and after the process is going well, they can decrease the amount of audits. Also, I would suggest that the employees get rated on their “Housekeeping Performance”, either on their merit reviews or by giving them some reward for doing an outstanding job.

We have done a 5S program here in our facility, (except we call it 6S with safety being the 6th S), and it has been a great success. Employees take pride in their areas and keep them clean by putting things away and sweeping and mopping. Even though it’s been about 5 years since we started the program, it is still working very well. When I take visitors through our facility, 90% of the time the first words I hear when we enter the manufacturing area are: “Wow, this is really clean!”.

Gerry Garrison
Safety Manager

Do you have any suggestions to add? If so, either log in and post a response to this note or send me an email at catherinej@bongarde.com.

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