Some Remarkable Safety Results
For the past six years, Caterpillar has made a concentrated effort to improve safety. As of September 2008, the companywide Recordable Injury Frequency had improved steadily to 1.18, and the Lost Time Case Frequency improved, also progressively each year, to 0.35.
“A large part of our improvement in safety is linked to two Strategic Improvement Projects (SIPs) and the rollout of Vision Zero,” says Brian Boyd, Caterpillar safety manager. “These initiatives provided the framework to assist our facilities in meeting aggressive enterprise safety targets.”
Caterpillar owns and operates 400 facilities across the enterprise, all of which support the safety initiatives. Approximately 100,000 employees work for the company worldwide, and all are encouraged to participate in the initiatives.
Following is a brief description of each initiative:
- Caterpillar SIPinitiative established clear roles and responsibilities for employees at all levels within the corporation, as well as consistent enterprise safety metrics and targets.
- The Caterpillar Vision Zeroprocess provided the framework to drive consistent safety processes across the enterprise. The Vision Zero program standardized several safety initiatives, including leadership accountability, employee learning, safety communications, safety evaluation and continuous improvement, leadership safety walks, and employee recognition processes.
- The Ergonomic SIPestablished common processes for facilities to identify and quantify ergonomic and safety risks through the use of standard evaluation tools. The enterprise established metrics for identifying and eliminating any tasks that have a high level of risk as identified through the evaluation process.
In addition to those three enterprise initiatives, facilities regularly share best practices and implement local initiatives, which contribute to our enterprise safety improvement.
Grading & Excavation Contractor asked Bryan Boyd several questions about the company’s safety initiatives and programs.
Q: What is Caterpillar’s safety orientation program for new employees?
A: Vision Zero, along with the corporate Health & Safety Protection Program, outlines employee training elements and expectations. However, individual facilities determined the appropriate content for proper orientation to their operations. Caterpillar has established enterprise safety curricula based on job role.
Q: Are new employees tested about their knowledge of Caterpillar’s safe work practices? Please explain.
A: Many of our facilities have developed job-specific safe work practices, which are reviewed and communicated to employees on a regular basis. Testing of employee knowledge varies from facility to facility.
Q: Does Caterpillar operate any sort of incentive programs for safety?
A: Yes. Corporate Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) has multiple Enterprise Safety Recognition programs that are used to recognize individual and facility efforts to protect the health and safety of Caterpillar employees, contractors, and visitors. One of the enterprise recognition programs is the Caterpillar Hero’s Award, which is designed to recognize employees and affiliates who courageously intervene to save life or limb on Caterpillar premises or while on company business. Many of our facilities also use various incentive programs locally to encourage safety improvements.
Q: In construction, one central element of safety is the job hazard analysis—the hazards of each task are analyzed, along with the practices to mitigate the dangers. Is there any parallel to that in Caterpillar’s factory safety practices?
A: Caterpillar facilities use Safety Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) tools to identify and quantify ergonomic and safety hazards associated with the individual tasks and jobs within our facilities. The enterprise ergonomic initiatives require facilities to identify and eliminate all high-risk job elements as determined through the use of the FMEA tool. The tool is used to quantify risk and assist in the identification of process improvement controls, all from a safety, ergonomic, and health perspective.
Q: Do factory managers hold regular safety meetings for employees?
A: Vision Zero outlines the importance of facility leadership interaction with employees on a regular basis regarding safety. Facilities determine the types and frequency of the interaction, which can consists of daily safety talks with area employees; facility team meetings with a facility manager; department heads’ and supervisors’ daily safety meetings; and all employee meetings held on a quarterly basis. Most facility leaders also take regular “Safety Walks,” which involve dialoging with individual employees about safety.
We’re Not Safe Enough Yet!
In late November, OSHA cited Atlas Excavating Inc. in West Lafayette, IN, with two alleged willful violations for failing to follow federal workplace safety standards at a trenching operation in Danville, IL. Proposed penalties total $130,200.
OSHA opened an inspection in May 2009 at excavation job sites in Danville after receiving information that employees were working in excavations as deep as 8 feet without cave-in protection. As a result of the inspection, OSHA has issued two willful violations to the company for failing to protect workers from cave-in hazards and one serious violation for failing to provide workers in a trench a means of exit.
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Atlas Excavating has been inspected in Indiana by OSHA seven times since 2000 with numerous serious violations issued. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
“It has long been known that cave-in fatalities are entirely preventable,” says OSHA Area Director Nick Walters in Peoria, Ill. “Any employer involved in trenching and excavation can protect its workers by following OSHA’s clear regulations. Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of workers and their families.”
Author's Bio: Daniel C. Brown is the owner of TechniComm, a communications business based in Des Plaines, IL.
January-February 2010
Some Remarkable Safety Results
Photo: Caterpillar<br>
Caterpillar owns and operates 400 facilities across the enterprise, all of which support the initiatives.
For the past six years, Caterpillar has made a concentrated effort to improve safety. As of September 2008, the companywide Recordable Injury Frequency had improved steadily to 1.18, and the Lost Time Case Frequency improved, also progressively each year, to 0.35.
“A large part of our improvement in safety is linked to two Strategic Improvement Projects (SIPs) and the rollout of Vision Zero,” says Brian Boyd, Caterpillar safety manager. “These initiatives provided the framework to assist our facilities in meeting aggressive enterprise safety targets.”
Caterpillar owns and operates 400 facilities across the enterprise, all of which support the safety initiatives. Approximately 100,000 employees work for the company worldwide, and all are encouraged to participate in the initiatives.
Following is a brief description of each initiative:
- Caterpillar SIPinitiative established clear roles and responsibilities for employees at all levels within the corporation, as well as consistent enterprise safety metrics and targets.
- The Caterpillar Vision Zeroprocess provided the framework to drive consistent safety processes across the enterprise. The Vision Zero program standardized several safety initiatives, including leadership accountability, employee learning, safety communications, safety evaluation and continuous improvement, leadership safety walks, and employee recognition processes.
- The Ergonomic SIPestablished common processes for facilities to identify and quantify ergonomic and safety risks through the use of standard evaluation tools. The enterprise established metrics for identifying and eliminating any tasks that have a high level of risk as identified through the evaluation process.
In addition to those three enterprise initiatives, facilities regularly share best practices and implement local initiatives, which contribute to our enterprise safety improvement.
Grading & Excavation Contractor asked Bryan Boyd several questions about the company’s safety initiatives and programs.
Q: What is Caterpillar’s safety orientation program for new employees?
A: Vision Zero, along with the corporate Health & Safety Protection Program, outlines employee training elements and expectations. However, individual facilities determined the appropriate content for proper orientation to their operations. Caterpillar has established enterprise safety curricula based on job role.
Q: Are new employees tested about their knowledge of Caterpillar’s safe work practices? Please explain.
A: Many of our facilities have developed job-specific safe work practices, which are reviewed and communicated to employees on a regular basis. Testing of employee knowledge varies from facility to facility.
Q: Does Caterpillar operate any sort of incentive programs for safety?
A: Yes. Corporate Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) has multiple Enterprise Safety Recognition programs that are used to recognize individual and facility efforts to protect the health and safety of Caterpillar employees, contractors, and visitors. One of the enterprise recognition programs is the Caterpillar Hero’s Award, which is designed to recognize employees and affiliates who courageously intervene to save life or limb on Caterpillar premises or while on company business. Many of our facilities also use various incentive programs locally to encourage safety improvements.
Q: In construction, one central element of safety is the job hazard analysis—the hazards of each task are analyzed, along with the practices to mitigate the dangers. Is there any parallel to that in Caterpillar’s factory safety practices?
A: Caterpillar facilities use Safety Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) tools to identify and quantify ergonomic and safety hazards associated with the individual tasks and jobs within our facilities. The enterprise ergonomic initiatives require facilities to identify and eliminate all high-risk job elements as determined through the use of the FMEA tool. The tool is used to quantify risk and assist in the identification of process improvement controls, all from a safety, ergonomic, and health perspective.
Q: Do factory managers hold regular safety meetings for employees?
A: Vision Zero outlines the importance of facility leadership interaction with employees on a regular basis regarding safety. Facilities determine the types and frequency of the interaction, which can consists of daily safety talks with area employees; facility team meetings with a facility manager; department heads’ and supervisors’ daily safety meetings; and all employee meetings held on a quarterly basis. Most facility leaders also take regular “Safety Walks,” which involve dialoging with individual employees about safety.
We’re Not Safe Enough Yet!
In late November, OSHA cited Atlas Excavating Inc. in West Lafayette, IN, with two alleged willful violations for failing to follow federal workplace safety standards at a trenching operation in Danville, IL. Proposed penalties total $130,200.
OSHA opened an inspection in May 2009 at excavation job sites in Danville after receiving information that employees were working in excavations as deep as 8 feet without cave-in protection. As a result of the inspection, OSHA has issued two willful violations to the company for failing to protect workers from cave-in hazards and one serious violation for failing to provide workers in a trench a means of exit.
Atlas Excavating has been inspected in Indiana by OSHA seven times since 2000 with numerous serious violations issued. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
“It has long been known that cave-in fatalities are entirely preventable,” says OSHA Area Director Nick Walters in Peoria, Ill. “Any employer involved in trenching and excavation can protect its workers by following OSHA’s clear regulations. Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of workers and their families.”