Managing a safety program is difficult primarily due to human nature. The old school suggests you reward behavior based on the reduction of accidents and less injuries.

1. Safety Programs. How you can get a grip and keep it!
Some years ago I was contacted by a manufacturer who had visited our booth at
an incentive trade show in Chicago. He was running a safety program which was
not providing him with the results he expected.
Although not our client, at the time, I welcomed his questions. Accidents at his
facility were continuing and he was losing money. Talking with him opened my
eyes wide to better understand why safety programs fail and what can be done
about it.
Managing a safety program is difficult primarily due to human nature. The old
school suggests you reward behavior based on the reduction of accidents and
less injuries.
In the case of my manufacturing friend, I surmised that his safety program was
producing the opposite effect he wanted because of the way it was set up. Many
employees were motivated to not report problems because there was no reward or recognition.
When it comes to safety programs, create a "safety culture" and de-individualize it.
Focusing your organization on safety has to be to be more than just an individual program. Your safety initiative
must be part and parcel of your culture. A culture that reflects behavior patterns of work and thought. Culture has
been defined as "socially transmitted".
Building an organizational environment that includes group involvement, discussion focused on safety thought and
training. Your team, your employees reinforce safe behavior with other employees and team members. Reward and
recognition programs will be effective with these components in place. The use of quizzes and simple games can also
help to engage your workforce into this culture.
As mentioned before, we are not always rational otherwise the fear of losing an arm or a finger would be a big
enough reward to ensure safety. But unfortunately it is not. Throwing money, a coffee cup with the company logo
or trinket doesn't influence unsafe behavior. But a culture of safety will.
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2. One way to enhance a safety culture is to have communication tools in place that make it possible to convey
throughout your organization the thoughts and principles you want to establish. This way you get the word out to
everyone at once.
Reporting unsafe or accident prone situations before they occur will save you tons of heartache and money. In "your
culture of safety" your team can be rewarded and recognized for their conscientiousness. Reporting unsafe
situations and fixing them will reduce risk and accidents.
I also recommend your rewards program and safety culture be ongoing. When the influence of your initiative is
being felt, all is good. However, you run the risk of some old unsafe behaviors returning once your program is
discontinued.
You run a business? You probably have safety issues. Issues that lurk in your warehouse, office, factory or other
workplace area. Drivers, machinists, engineers even office personnel can be impacted. When it comes to
productivity it pays to have a safe environment.
According to Gary Gregg executive vice president of Liberty Mutual's Commercial Markets. "There is a clear link
between workplace safety and a company's performance," Safety problems, "can have the greatest potential
negative impact on employees and employers."
Injuries and illness have accounted for almost 86 percent of the $38.7 billion in wage and medical payments as far
back as 1998.
Findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Academy of Social Insurance confirm Liberty's Safety
Index claim data as to the leading causes of job-site accidents. The total economic burden of workplace injuries and
illness has been estimated to cost between $125 billion to $155 billion.
Pile on top of that some direct costs of an unsafe working environment. A price tag that can include repairs to
damaged equipment and property, hiring and training of replacement personnel, as well as costs associated with
lower employee morale and absenteeism that is common in a work site that is considered unsafe.
With the growth in safety awareness and safety programs the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 27 percent
decrease in workplace deaths. But one death or injury is still one too many.
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© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.

3. Although credit is due to many OHSA personnel for their effort to improve workplace conditions, in this blogger's
view, OSHA's hierarchy still fails to understand how safety programs enhance safety. In his memorandum dated
March 12th 2012, directed to Regional Administrators and Whistleblower Program Managers, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of OSHA, Richard E. Fairfax expressed "concern" that companies were providing bonuses and other
positive incentives to their managers and employees for achieving specified safety goals.
His memorandum went on to say safety incentives may have the effect of causing employees to be discouraged from
reporting safety violations and actual incidents. "Employees will be intimidated from reporting accidents or injuries",
because in doing so, they may be missing out on an opportunity to “cash in” in the positive incentives the employer
is offering.
In my view? Only partically true if your company's safety program is set up the old fashioned way. The problem with
OSHA's memorandum is it cynically concludes that safety programs create a pattern that must be interpreted as a
violation of OSHA’s whistleblower statutes. So instead of educating and helping the company improve safety, the
business owner is criminialized. This mentality sets the employee against the business and the business against the
government.
Only out of touch bureaucrats in Washington could conclude that programs and incentives to increase workplace
safety, actually have the opposite effect. As ridiculous as this sounds, no one should doubt the resolve of OSHA
enforcement agents in their attempts to punish employers who experience workplace accidents, and using this type
of twisted logic to assign blame and responsibility.
For anyone following the OSHA whistleblower program over the years, it follows that any level of OSHA’s
understanding of real issues and credibility must come into question.
The OSHA program has been repeatedly and roundly criticized as ineffective, out of touch with business reality and
mismanaged by the Labor Department Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office and advocacy
groups. In response, OSHA has promised to improve and reorganize itself. Hearing this, Jeff Ruch, executive director
of the whistleblower group Public Employees for Environment Responsibility offered this comment. “It’s like
shuffling bureaucratic deck chairs on a sinking ship,”
How can companies protect themselves from OSHA, and at the same time maintain their emphasis on providing
positive incentives for achieving improvements in workplace safety?
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© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.

4. One way, is to ensure that your positive incentive programs are "culture" driven and balanced. As stated before,
your focus should not be only on events that have occurred (or not occurred) but on safe employee behaviors that
can be observed, identified and rewarded. Employees can earn rewards for consistently following prescribed safety
practices. Managers can identify the actions or behaviors that employees need to consistently perform, in order to
contribute to a safer working environment. Both peers and supervisors can acknowledge and report on the
repetitive performance of these safe behaviors.
By focusing the reward on the positive occurrence of desired actions and behaviors, the company should be able to
overcome the OSHA argument that they are discouraging the reporting of safety violations.
A points based rewards system might be used as a vehicle to reward employees for safe behaviors. Points that are
redeemable for a wide variety of gifts, travel, sporting events, experiences etc. can be awarded to participants based
on culture criteria and behaviors that you establish as your priority. Partnering your efforts with a professional
incentive company will dramatically help.
Such programs offer ease of implementation and administration and can tailored to meet your organization's
specific long term or short term goals. By focusing on a safety culture, safe behaviors can result. Instead of
discouraging the reporting of negative events, you are encouraging the reporting of positive events.
I suggest that companies wanting to incentivize safety, by only rewarding the non occurrence of accidents, need to
revisit those policies.
Implementing a culture based, safety program can have a big payoff for your business beacuse it can reduce
employee down time and lower your insurance and medical costs. Plus a safe place to work is attractive to your
workforce and new employees.
Another idea is promoting the connection between the individual's behaviors and something THEY care about.
Having a company wide communication tool will help convey your safety philosophy to everyone.
Often individuals will lose weight or quit a bad habit when it impacts their ability to enjoy life or provide for their
families.
Re-directing the focus of your safety initiative from the individual’s benefits or the company’s benefit to the benefit
of the participant’s family, friends or other people they care about will make a difference.
Safety benefits all. Its just that simple!
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Taico® :: 67 Patterson Village Ct., Bldg F :: Patterson, NY 12563 :: 845-228-GIFT (4438) :: fax: 845-228-5136 :: info@taico.com
© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.