Put safety in the hands of workers
Make expectation to report clear
A new associate at BASF Corporation's catalysts site in Seneca, SC saw an employee handling a sharp object without gloves. "He spoke up, and told the employee that they needed gloves. He stopped and put them on," says Wayne Enderle, vice president of manufacturing and site environmental, health & safety services.
As part of the Safety Training Observation Program (STOP), developed by Dupont and adopted by BASF, employees are expected to watch out for the safety of others.
"If employees observe an unsafe behavior, they are expected to address the problem, and eventually fill out a STOP card to document the issue," he says.
Although the occupational health professional needs to know and enforce Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, says Enderle, "it is critical that they transfer that knowledge and ownership to the employees performing the work. Ultimately, they are the ones that can truly make a difference."
Do focused inspections
Enderle has had "great success" with spot checks and focused inspections. These have identified issues related to walking surfaces, machine guarding, and the potential for thermal burns.
"All too often, inspections can become housekeeping audits," he says. "Developing specific audit protocols helps keep the team on track. It is also critical to make sure the findings are followed up on, and don't just end up on a 'To Do' list, and are never addressed."
In particular, the potential for thermal burn is an issue that should never go undetected. For example, if insulation systems are not maintained, this could lead to potentially hazardous heat exposure. In addition, combustible dusts could pose a threat, as a minor accumulation could be a problem when disturbed or dispersed.
"Day to day, it's easy to identify Lockout/Tagout issues. But what about the specific details around scaffold construction or machine guarding?" he says. "Many times it's the things that we don't deal with on a daily basis that have the potential to be a larger issue. To prevent any incidents, pay 100% attention to all possible issues."
Produce a training video
BASF has a current 2020 goal to reduce its lost-time injury rate per million working hours by 80% worldwide compared with 2002. To achieve this and other ambitious goals, a variety of initiatives have been implemented. These include "Journey to EHS Excellence" and the "Safety Champion" program.
The Value-Based Safety Team at BASF's Lima, OH facility is made up of operators and front line employees at the site. The team meets monthly in order to review observations, analyze the data, and decide which issues need to be addressed.
"The team decided that the site needed more training, and examples of how to improve safety observations," he says. "Their solution was to write and produce a video."
This was done completely by the team, with no management involvement. "The video addressed how to avoid using the observation system as a 'gotch-ya,'" says Enderle. It also taught employees how to interact positively with colleagues while performing an observation, and the importance pointing out unsafe behaviors of colleagues.
"A member of the team had the equipment and skills to put it together. The team used their own members to do the acting," he says. "The site has gone longer than it ever has without a recordable injury. They are setting a new performance record every day."
A new associate at BASF Corporation's catalysts site in Seneca, SC saw an employee handling a sharp object without gloves. "He spoke up, and told the employee that they needed gloves. He stopped and put them on," says Wayne Enderle, vice president of manufacturing and site environmental, health & safety services.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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