SAFETY, A COMMITMENT
Steve McGuire
Hampton Lumber, Cowlitz Division
Randle, Washington
Safety is a com m itm ent; a way of life at work and at hom e. In the workplace and at hom e,
the com m itm ent begins with each of us. W e m ust of course have the support and
com m itm ent from those who direct our daily work. Likewise, we m ust lead by exam ple,
at work and at hom e. All of us have som ething we like to do that takes us away from
routine, daily tasks. W e m ust preserve our “quality of life” if we wish to participate in those
things we like to do.
A com m itm ent, as defined in m ost dictionaries, is an obligation, a prom ise and dedication.
The obligation to work safely is based in expectations we have for ourselves. It is hum an
nature to try and avoid any situation involving pain, yet m any tim es we take short cuts that
increase the likelihood we will becom e injured. The reasons we take short cuts are varied
but include pressure to perform , recognition and one that can be addictive, for the
adrenalin rush. The prom ise we m ake ourselves is that we are not going to be injured or
hurt because we do not like pain. Particularly when we are younger, we have the feeling
we are invincible. However, keeping this prom ise becom es extrem ely difficult when we
lose our focus on the tasks at hand. Focus is m ost often lost when we are doing fam iliar
tasks and becom e com placent, letting our m inds “wander” or disengage. W hen our m inds
are disengaged, even repetitive, m undane tasks can becom e hazardous. Finally, we
m ust have the dedication to utilize thought processes that place our quality of life as the
first priority. Such dedication will evolve into a lifestyle which will in turn becom e a
foundation for establishing a culture where safe work practices and safe living habits just
“happen”.
In 2003, the supervisory, m anagem ent and safety com m ittee team s m ade a com m itm ent
at Ham pton Lum ber Mills Cowlitz Division. W e com m itted to im proving our safety
perform ance. W e m ade that com m itm ent because we believe it is our m oral and legal
obligation to assure we provide a safe work environm ent for all our team m ates. Providing
a safe work environm ent pertains to the physical condition of our m anufacturing
operations as well as assuring all team m ates are supported in safe work practices. W e
believe we have m ade significant progress in our quest to assist our team m ates to
preserve their quality of life. At the end of the calendar year 2002 we had an accident
incident rate of 10.88 in the Cowlitz Division. At the end of the calendar year 2005 we had
an accident incident rate of 4.76. Many factors have contributed to our ongoing success
to im prove our safety perform ance.
The initial effort for im provem ent involved, at that tim e, our Cowlitz Division Operations
Manager, plant supervisors, safety com m ittee m em bers and m yself, in the capacity as
Division HR/Safety Manager. That initial effort began by addressing not only recordable
accidents, but also any non-recordable injury, any near m iss and any property dam age.
A team consisting of m yself, the Division Operations Manager, the departm ent supervisor
and the departm ent safety com m ittee representative would m eet with each individual
involved in any of the aforem entioned scenarios. Nearly all those involved in incidents
were apprehensive at first regarding the m eetings because the m eetings occurred during
operating hours in a highly visible location. The obvious thought process was an
individual was probably going to receive som e kind of disciplinary action as a result of
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having an accident or incident. However, the purpose of these m eetings was som ething
all together different. The purpose of these m eetings was to convey, to the individual
involved in an incident, no disciplinary action would be involved in this m eeting and the
m otive of those present was to try and identify the controllable item s/actions that could
have prevented the incident from occurring.
In the first year of this effort, the
aforem entioned individuals addressed over 600 separate incidents. This com m itm ent
was successful because all involved believed in the process. To this day, this process
continues, although the m akeup of review team s varies from tim e to tim e.
Through the foregoing process, safety com m ittee m em bers have been em powered to
establish and com m unicate safe work behaviors. Our philosophy states ownership for a
safe work environm ent is a personal responsibility. Com m ittee m em bers have accepted
that responsibility. The com m ittee m em bers conduct m onthly safety training within their
respective departm ents. They have been instrum ental in the developm ent of annual
safety plans. They have accepted the responsibility to visit with team m em bers through
the course of the work day to identify areas of concern and opportunities for im provem ent
and som e have provided docum entation, used as training guides, that convey safe work
practices in a variety of entry level, production and m aintenance positions. All m em bers
of the safety com m ittee, as well as all team m em bers, have received training that better
enables each to successfully confront unsafe behaviors in a constructive, professional
m anner. Each team m em ber is allowed and encouraged to approach any other team
m em ber observed engaged in an unsafe work practice to coach and further train that
individual. Each individual has their own style regarding how they approach a team m ate,
but in every instance, constructive feedback is stressed as a necessity.
Just as im portant as identifying opportunities for im provem ent in safety perform ance, it
is im portant to recognize im provem ent, in individuals, departm ents and facilities. W e do
take the tim e to celebrate achieving safety goals, as individuals, departm ents and entire
facilities in a num ber of ways. A sim ple thank you for following safe work practices, from
a constituent, supervisor or m anager is also em phasized. W e try very hard to place m ore
em phasis on safe work practices, through positive reinforcem ent, than we do through a
disciplinary process. However, we do not hesitate to use negative reinforcem ent when
such is needed. Before using negative reinforcem ent, we review the assets we have
provided an individual so we m ay be assured we have set that person up for success, not
failure. If the answer is “yes”, we have set an individual up for success and that individual
elects to ignore or decline that input, then and only then do we refer to negative
reinforcem ent.
You m ight ask how all of the foregoing applies to drying lum ber. The answer to such is
quite sim ple. To be able to dry lum ber effectively, a hum an m ust be involved at som e
point in the drying process. To achieve efficiency in lum ber drying, it m akes sense to
have that task accom plished by the individual trained in that discipline rather than a
substitute filling in for the trained individual. W hen a trained individual is assigned a
particular task, the risk of injury or loss of quality of life is greatly reduced, as long as that
person m aintains their focus on the tasks at hand. By far, our experience has been an
increased exposure to injury, for our team m em bers, when an individual is involved in
perform ing non-routine tasks.
The foregoing provides som e insight regarding “A Com m itm ent” for safety perform ance
im provem ent in the Cowlitz Division. W e continually seek opportunities for im provem ent
in our processes with an em phasis we will preserve quality of life. It is also im portant to
note we have not sacrificed perform ance in the other two areas of im portance in any
m anufacturing operation, quality and production. The com m itm ent to im proved safety
perform ance has created a pattern that transcends the other two areas of im portance, so
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m uch so that while we have im proved our safety perform ance, we have continued to
establish new production records on alm ost a m onthly basis while m aintaining custom er
directed quality.
Safety perform ance has becom e a com m itm ent because all involved understand the
obligations and prom ises we have m ade in regard to working safely. Our dedication
continues on a daily basis in the Cowlitz Division. W e all understand the com m itm ent, for
our com pany, our fam ilies and ourselves so that each of us can enjoy our own quality of
life.
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