Preventing Injury Recurrence
Our current economic environment over the last few years has had
an effect on workplace safety. In some cases, employees responsible
for safety have lost their positions and/or funds previously
available for training, etc have been cut. In some cases, employee
morale is affected and stress levels rise.
What does this mean? It means increase in more serious injuries at
the workplace, which ultimately cost the company more money.
Here are some 2009 statistics from BLS (Bureau of Labor S
tatistics) - www.bls.gov:
- 3.6 nonfatal work injury rate per 100 equivalent full-time
workers in private industry (3.3 million cases)
- Slightly more than one-half of the 3.3 million private industry
were of a more serious nature that involved days away from
work, job transfer or restriction (DART cases – 1.8 cases per
100 workers)
- Total recordable case injury and illness rate was highest among
mid-size private industry companies (50-249 workers) and
lowest among small companies (less than 11 workers)
- 12.1 fatal work injury rate for employees age 65 years and
older in 2009 (US Census Bureau reports, by 2030, 19.7% of
the population will be 65 years or older)
- Top four fatal incidents (1992-2009) include highway, homicides,
falls, struck by object
- 4551 fatal work injuries in 2009 (93% men and 7% women)
How do employers prevent these statistics?
An employer's disability management process must have the foundation
of a solid safety and health program. This foundation helps
maintain a healthy and productive workforce and significantly
lowers risk by preventing injuries and illnesses. OSHA states four
major areas for voluntary safety and health management guidelines
- 1910 OSHA General Industry Regulations
- Management commitment and employee involvement -
management views safety and health as a fundamental value
and employees are demonstrate commitment for themselves
and co-workers
- Worksite analysis – ongoing identification of worksite risks/
hazards so that they can be prevented (i.e. job task analyses,
inspections, etc)
- Hazard prevention and controls – controls are put in place to
eliminate or reduce risk (engineering, workstation design and
work practices)
- Safety and health training – provision of training on specific
work practices, new work processes and accident/near miss
scenarios
The employer's incident analysis process includes all four of these
components. The purpose of incident analysis is to determine true
root cause to prevent a similar occurrence.
A good incident analysis process includes:
1. Analyze all types of incidents
Include injuries, illnesses, near misses and property damage.
Keep in mind that incidents that are not injuries are a great
opportunities to prevent future and potentially more serious
injuries and illnesses.
2. Gather as much data as possible as soon as possible
Taking pictures of the event, obtaining work orders, witness
statements and any other pertinent information is critical when
evaluating the incident. By gathering data quickly, it saves time
and frustration from trying to obtain it later.
3. Apply short-term action(s)
This may include setting up barricades, shutting the machine/
equipment down, lockout tagout, etc. The short-term action is
not necessarily going to be the long-term corrective action,
but it may prevent further adverse events.
4. Form a team of subject matter experts to support the analysis
The team ideally includes the affected employee, supervisor/
team leader, co-workers, witnesses, safety representative and/or
maintenance as appropriate. The employee knows their job the
best and can be extremely helpful in identifying ways to prevent
future incidents – they can be part of the solution.
5. Apply appropriate root cause analysis tools with the team
Based on the complexity of the program, you may apply any
of the following: Round table discussion; Five Why's; Fishbone,
etc. Use the knowledge and experience of your team to
contribute possible causes of the incident. Avoid using “operator
error” or “lack of training” as true root causes.
6. Identify corrective action(s) to prevent incident recurrence
List actions to prevent the incident from happening again.
This may include engineering the hazard out (changing tools,
ergonomics, modification of equipment, etc); setting different
administrative controls (shorten duration of time, work rotation,
etc); or PPE (last option!). If training is a step in the solution,
ensure that all affect and new employees are also trained and
documented. If the employee needs counseling, ensure that this
also documented.
7. Confirm that the corrective action(s) were effective
Validate that the actions took actually corrected the problem.
Monitor long term effects and implement further action(s) as
necessary.
8. Address similar processes and/or personnel
Review other work areas and tasks to ensure that similar
corrective actions are applied.
9. Recognize the team's efforts
Recognizing the team's efforts in participating in the analysis
will help raise overall safety conscious behavior and a willingness
to participate in future analyses.
Doing an effective incident analysis process will also help you
identify trends and identify areas to target your resources.
The goal is to maintain a safe and healthy workforce!