SAFETY MANAGEMENT EVALUATION
for
BC Hydro
Burnaby, BC
Canada
February - March 2000
Confidential
This report is solely for the use of the officers and employees of BC Hydro and its affiliates. The report and
its contents are not to be made available in any way to other persons, except as necessary for the
implementation of the recommendations in this report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE...................................................................................................................
ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BC Hydro Policy and Regulatory Requirements.....................................................
1
Identification of Risks Not Managed......................................................................
1
Effectiveness of the Safety Management System....................................................
2
Five Safety Management Elements ........................................................................
2
Summary of Recommendations .............................................................................
3
Conclusions ..........................................................................................................
4
FINDINGS AND DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS ...........................................
5
Background and Discussion..................................................................................
5
Detailed Recommendations ...................................................................................
9
APPENDICES
I.
BC Hydro’s Five Elements and Fifty Indicators of Safety Management
II.
Results of Assessment vs. BC Hydro’s Fifty Indicators
III.
DuPont’s Twelve Essential Elements of Safety Management
DuPont Safety Resources ? i
PREFACE
In order to better understand the effectiveness of the company’s safety management systems,
the Board of Directors of BC Hydro directed management to conduct a system-wide audit with
the ultimate goal of improving occupational safety and health performance and broadening
employee awareness of safety concerns.
DuPont Safety Resources (DSR) represents a nearly 200-year-old company with a long
tradition of safety. DSR itself, with 30 years’ experience helping nearly 1,500 clients in many
industries (including many utilities) improve their own safety performance, was engaged to
perform this service.
The attached report details the results of the assessment conducted by three senior DuPont
consultants during February and March 2000. Each individual consultant informally reviewed a
summary of his findings with the local leader at the conclusion of the work in his/her area of
responsibility. In addition, DuPont Safety Resources conducted formal exit reviews for upper
and middle managers at BC Hydro and for the corporate Safety and Health team. At these
meetings on March 1, preliminary findings were discussed and feedback obtained that was used
in structuring this final report.
DuPont Safety Resources worked closely with the Corporate Safety and Health group in
designing the final methodology for the assessment. The assessment process included a diverse
group of locations, functions, and organizational levels. The goal was to maximize the probability
that the conclusions were based on input and findings from a representative sample of BC
Hydro employees and management.
In summary, the assessment included:
n Interviews, review of materials, and observation of work by three consultants
(over 25 man days)
n Interviews with approximately 200 individuals
Various levels in the following functions were included:
n Corporate executives
n Power Supply
n Operators, mechanics, electricians, engineering
n Transmission and Distribution
n Electricians, power line technicians (PLTs), protection and control, flagmen,
mechanics, contractors, substations, control centers
n Customer Service
DuPont Safety Resources ? ii
n Meter readers, disconnects, collectors, office staff
n OSH committee chairpersons
n COSHs
n Corporate Safety and Health group
Some of the locations we visited:
n The Edmonds, Dunsmuir, and Howe St. corporate & customer services offices
n North Vancouver Operations Center
n John Hart Dam and North Vancouver Island
n Burrard Thermal Generating Station
n Revelstoke Dam, Southern Interior
n Vernon
n Kamloops
n Nanaimo
It was our honor and pleasure to provide this service for BC Hydro, and we look forward to
working with you again in the future.
DuPont Safety Resources
Len Jannaman
Project Manager/Consultant
Harry D. Graham
Lead Auditor
Senior Consultant
Keith Gardiner
Senior Consultant
DuPont Safety Resources ? iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SAFETY MANAGEMENT EVALUATION
for
BC Hydro
Burnaby, BC
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The DuPont safety evaluation of BC Hydro had three directives, to:
1. Determine if BC Hydro policy and regulatory requirements are being met
2. Identify any risks not effectively managed
3. Review the effectiveness of the BC Hydro safety management system
The results of the evaluation are summarized below, with more emphasis on the third directive,
which essentially determines the effectiveness of the first two.
BC Hydro Policy and Regulatory Requirements
BC Hydro’s safety policy is sound. The company has a comprehensive, thorough safety
management system, which is known and followed, and contains a self-auditing feature.
BC Hydro is responsive to the Workers’ Compensation Board’s (WCB) regulations. The
company has generally been current with WCB’s requirements until the latest revisions. An
intensive effort is underway to incorporate the revisions and accelerate compliance. BC Hydro
anticipates no difficulty complying with the new regulations.
Identification of Risks
Recognized risks, especially those dealing with the hazards of electricity, are well managed. The
only major areas of concern deal with personnel matters. Management know these concerns
and are evaluating how to address them. Specifically these concerns are:
n The practice of assigning new power line technicians (PLTs), to the shifter
position where they work alone, facing unplanned and varied problems.
n Dealing with workers who have demonstrated repeated patterns of unsafe
behavior
n The shortage of experienced workers, a problem soon to be exacerbated by
upcoming retirements
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BC Hydro
Effectiveness of the Safety Management System
As mentioned above, the structure of the BC Hydro safety management system is excellent. The
safety record is within industry ranges. BC Hydro’s Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) rate is
approximately 1.7. Though that has deteriorated by about 30% over the last four years, it is still
comparable to, or slightly better than the average of other Canadian utilities as reported by the
Canadian Electrical Association (CEA) and much better than the WCB average for all of British
Columbia. The current performance is at about the same level it was twelve years ago.
Therefore, this report is not meant as a condemnation of BC Hydro’s performance, but as a
roadmap for a step change improvement that would establish BC Hydro as the safest utility in
North America.
Again, most elements of BC Hydro’s current system are sound: processes and systems are
excellent, personnel are competent, and there is an abundance of safety resource personnel.
Adequate attention is paid to compliance with policies, and everyone is aware of the extreme
hazards faced in the workplace. The question that must be asked then, in the face of all these
favorable elements of the safety management plan, is “Why isn’t safety better?”
Part of the answer can be traced to the operational changes in recent years. A temporary lapse
in safety during such times has occurred in many companies, including DuPont. Given the
current restructuring facing the entire North American electric utility industry under deregulation
and other pressures, many other utilities are experiencing similar changes. However, this
deterioration in safety management usually occurs over a shorter time span (a year or so) than
has been the case at BC Hydro.
Our evaluation leads us to conclude that if BC Hydro wishes to move from “industry average”
performance to “industry leader” in workplace safety, a significant and renewed focus on
proactive safety management is needed to mobilize company-wide “safety first” energies and
reverse the escalating injury rates. This needed change in the basic safety management
approach will be laid out in depth in the Recommendations section.
Five Safety Management Elements
We examined compliance with five elements selected by Corporate Safety as a framework to
use for evaluating the BC Hydro safety management systemmanagement commitment,
planning, consultation, hazard management, and training. The fifty indicators (see Appendix I)
Corporate Safety associates with these elements were applied to current safety practice. We
concluded that all were being met but to varying degrees. Those results are addressed in
Appendix II, with strong and weak indicator results mentioned.
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BC Hydro
Summary of Recommendations
To facilitate workforce ownership of safety and continuously improve safety performance:
n Establish mandatory, measurable, annual improvements in frequency results with
supporting action plans to achieve the improvements.
n Provide user-friendly benchmark metrics that will show all units how they compare
against their own safety management history, peer units, and goals.
n Require an annual improvement in quality of safety effort by all levels of supervision and
management, including crew leaders and first line managers.
n Stress the use of trending indicators, which provide much more data than disabling
injury statistics, and optimally can prevent injuries by revealing developing unsafe
patterns before they lead to injuries.
n Immediate supervisors must be responsible for evaluating quality of safety effort.
n Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) must be established at all levels of the injury
prevention effort and include injury metrics to track improvements or emerging areas of
concern etc.
n There should be an annual process to evaluate the performance of all executives,
managers, and supervisors vs. the relevant KPIs. Compensation should be impacted
accordingly.
n Senior and mid-level managers must visit work sites more frequently, demonstrating
their commitment through regular discussions with the workforce about management’s
safety beliefs and expectations.
n The present large variability in understanding, commitment, and techniques in the
management ranks should be addressed by safety management training.
n The safety committee structure should be modified to include a solid connection
between committee levels by adding co-chairs of each local committee who also sit on
the central committee
Each of these recommendations is aimed at strengthening the safety management approach at
BC Hydro. When applied with the existing strong safety systems and measures, they will
reverse recent injury trends, greatly reducing the chance of serious injuries in the future.
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BC Hydro
Conclusions
Based on the depth and breadth of the safety management systems already in place and on the
desire of the corporate leaders to change, we feel BC Hydro has the potential to make a
substantial, lasting improvement in its current injury rate and overall safety performance.
Although Corporate Safety’s “Five Key Elements” and fifty indicators can be good measures of
how well the safety management system is functioning mechanically, they do not provide a
leading indicator of whether or not an employee will make a conscious decision to work
unsafely. We suggest that BC Hydro embrace all or part of DuPont’s “Twelve Essential
Elements of Safety Management” in Appendix III to ensure this crucial part of a safety effort is
included in your corporate action plan. This is explained in detail in the following section.
Some utility industry observers feel that the current business pressures from deregulation and
elsewhere may continue for some time. The structure and staff changes that result could continue
and may act as an obstacle to improvements in the short-term as leadership turns its focus
elsewhere. Conversely, these changes present a real opportunity to improve the general feeling
of well being among BC Hydro employees, since a rejuvenated safety commitment could be
used as a rallying point for local leaders to get employees refocused on the task at hand. A
united focus on safety can provide a way to show them that the corporation has not lost sight of
their welfare even during another major business change.
We feel strongly that the company can see a significant improvement in overall safety
performance by the end of this year if management:
n Solidifies its commitment to improve.
n Establishes a process for continuous improvement that includes ongoing analysis of
issues and training of employees, supervisors, managers, and executives.
n Implements the recommendations contained in this report
n Embraces the principles detailed in Appendix III.
DuPont Safety Resources appreciates the opportunity to be a part of BC Hydro’s journey to
world-class safety and is honored to have be asked to participate. We look forward to working
together as you refine and implement your plans.
DuPont Safety Resources • 4
FINDINGS AND DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS
BC Hydro
FINDINGS AND DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS
Background and Discussion
At present, safety practices in the workplace, including those used by first-line managers, are
focused on complying with prescribed rules and documenting that compliance. The company’s
safety plans detail compliance schedules for the year, and the resulting documentation goes
through levels of adequate management review. However, variability in reporting affects the
quality of the documentation. Certain employees try to do it well but in many cases, compliance
itself becomes the goal. Documentation is sometimes made without the implied action being
taken (written in the truck cab, or office.) Practitioners often do not feel that they own the safety
behavior or that they are responsible for its effectiveness.
Managers who are isolated from the workplace are also isolated from their employees. As a
result, some managers are not known or respected by many of the workers. (There are notable
examples, however, where the manager has spent considerable time in the field, garnering a high
level of respect from their people.) BC Hydro, as an entity, is accorded more respect than the
managers implementing BC Hydro policies. This is an example of managers negatively
influencing the practice of workplace safety by their lack of visibility. For workers to be aware
of and believe in workplace safety, they must have managers visibly “walking the talk” of
effective safety management and “zero injuries.”
It is common in organizations with abundant safety resources and the OH&S committee
structure, for workers and managers not directly involved in the safety and health effort, to “let
the safety guys take care of safety.” This attitude exists to a considerable degree at BC Hydro.
Ways must be found to bring more people into the safety effort, and to make it clear that a
personal commitment to safe work practices is a key part of every employee’s job
responsibilities and a condition of continued employment.
Exhibit I charts the overall injury prevention process. Once injury prevention/safety becomes a
stated corporate goal, the company’s safety policy and its leaders’ personal safety management
values become an integral part of the safety process. The BC Hydro corporate safety policy is
suitable, and priority for safety has been established as a corporate goal. The workforce knows
and appreciates the company’s commitment to a safe workplace. However, individuals within
management’s ranks do not place a high personal value on safety and do not facilitate safety
priority. (They won’t act against it, but won’t strongly support it either.)
This lack of visible management support for “safety first” is compounded at BC Hydro by the
lack of management visibility generally. Values, in order to impact the workforce, must come
from managers who communicate those values on a regular basis. Many managers have no
presence in the workplace, and are not personally known to most of their employees. This
accounts for employees’ higher regard for the company itself than for its managers.
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BC Hydro
Injury prevention tools and similar activities are listed in Exhibit I. However, the overall
effectiveness of the safety plan is determined by how well they are executed. Many of these
tools are implemented quite well at BC Hydro, but already stated deficiencies in shared
ownership, involvement, performance assessment, and responsibility exist. Other weaknesses
are mentioned later in this report.
It is difficult to link the activities, a tangible process, to zero injuries, an absence of occurrences.
The relationship can be clarified by considering two pivotal intermediate goals:
1. Providing a safe workplace
2. People deciding to work safely
The activities in Exhibit I are designed to achieve these two goals.
In the case of providing a safe workplace, BC Hydro is doing quite well. People in the
workplace appreciate the company’s safety effort, and printed support materials (manuals,
booklets, etc.) are very good. In every interview, people stated that safety problems were
addressed (although at a very slow pace at times), and there was no pressure to work unsafely.
However, little evidence exists that thought has been given to the second, and more important
and much more difficult intermediate goal: the decision to work safely. In fact, the weaknesses
mentioned in several of the activities hinder the company from reaching that goal.
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BC Hydro
Exhibit I
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BC Hydro
Exhibit II
The Decision to Work Safely
n Factors required: Awareness plus Attitude
n Awareness builders
•
Specific situational hazard knowledge (hazards faced on the job)
•
Examples of injuries in this type of situation
•
Training
•
Reminders
n Attitude builders
•
Safety sincerity of supervisor
•
Perception of management commitment
•
Seeing others taking ownership of safety
•
Pride in self, group
•
Communications
•
Training
•
Quality of injury prevention activities
•
Positive reinforcement of safe working habits
•
Personal safety standards exhibited by others
•
Personal experience
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BC Hydro
According to Exhibit II, the decision to work safely is determined by awareness plus attitude.
Influencing factors mitigate or encourage the decision process by shaping attitudes. Strengths
and weaknesses in the BC Hydro approach to safety management lie in these factors.
Recommendations in this report are designed to correct the vulnerabilities and reinforce the
strengths.
As mentioned earlier, injury prevention activities (Exhibit I) are the only effective tools available
to decrease injuries. So, if decreasing the number of injuries is the corporate goal, then work
should focus on the quantity and/or quality of these activities. However, there is no need to
increase BC Hydro’s already ample quantity of safety programs. The key to a more effective
safety management plan therefore, is improved quality of programs.
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Require an annual improvement plan from first- and second-level managers .
First-line managers should look at the activities they have in place to prevent injuries,
and decide how they will improve the way a few of them are done. It is better to focus
on some of the activities than to spread the effort over all at once. Examples follow.
n Tail board meetings at times focus mainly on logistics and work sequence. They
also tend to be repetitive and boring. Members of the crew and the supervisor
should address how to make these sessions more effective.
n Second level managers may decide to attend these meetings to show their
support and interest, and raise their “values visibility” in the workplace.
n Other forums can be instituted to bring the issues, hazards, and precautions
raised in these meetings to the attention of higher-level management.
2. Provide user-friendly metrics.
n Hardly anyone we spoke with from various levels of the organization could
answer the question “How are you doing vs. other similar BC Hydro units?”
Information is available but is not easy to use, and in its current form, of little
interest to the workforce. Also, the lost time injury frequency (LTIF) measure
is not useful to groups of 15, 50, or 90. Units of 50 were visited who had gone
1,800 days without a lost time injury. This is a good record, which inspires
confidence. Yet a single lost-time injury this year will lower LTIF frequency to
2.00, below average. BC Hydro has reached a position where lost-time
injuries no longer supply enough data to guide the expanded safety management
effort; additional metrics are required.
n Medical-aid injuries should be raised to equal status with lost-time injuries. A clear
definition should be shared with the workforce, and related metrics should be
DuPont Safety Resources ? 9
BC Hydro
prominently displayed in graphical form. Bar charts are useful to depict relative
performance between peer groups/units. Line graphs can be used to show historical
performance and to compare performance vs. goals. The continuously updated
results can be discussed and posted in high-visibility areas of the workplace.
Groups who are doing well will develop a sense of pride. Those who aren’t will
become uneasy with their current efforts.
§
Costs should not be included in these presentations as they send the wrong
message, i.e., “We don’t care about people, we care about costs.”
This recommendation is aimed at increasing safety awareness, pride, and priority: “If
management is keeping track, it must be important.”
3. Require an annual percent improvement in injury metrics. The long-term goal at
BC Hydro, as at DuPont, is zero injuries or incidents. But this is more vision than goal
and is too soft to be of much use. A measurable percentage decrease in injuries
annually is more useful when this goal is supported by actions to improve the quality of
the safety effort. Smaller groups should track medical-aid injuries, and larger groups
should track both medical-aid and lost-time injuries.
n Goals should not be set for leading indicators (as described in Exhibit V and in
the next recommendation) because these can be easily manipulated to meet the
goal.
This recommendation is aimed at enhancing safety ownership and quality of effort.
4. Stress the use of leading indicators and less serious incidents. Exhibit III
demonstrates the relationship of injuries to other workplace events.
n From the bottom, work is performed in a hazardous environment, usually safely.
However, individuals, knowingly or unknowingly, expose themselves to
hazards. Usually nothing happens, but sometimes a range of incidents occurs.
Fortunately, the more frequent occurrences are less serious in nature, but no
one can predict how serious any incident will be. At present, BC Hydro reacts
to the serious incidents only. However, the much more frequent, less serious
incidents are not addressed well. It is more useful to view all incidents as
lessons to be learned. Investigations are required to learn these lessons. Again,
at BC Hydro good investigations of serious incidents are performed, but less
serious events are not well investigated, if at all. Training is needed for those
who do these investigations, and BC Hydro Corporate Safety is evaluating how
to address this need.
n Near misses, a potentially valuable source of information, are rarely even
reported. Near misses occur much more frequently than injuries. Exhibit IV
describes a recommended campaign to encourage near miss reporting. Simply
issuing a memo requesting more near miss reporting will not work by itself.
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BC Hydro
n The most valuable leading indicator is the prevalence of “excessive exposure to
hazards” (the base of the pyramid in Exhibit III). Without excessive exposure,
there should be no incidents. As this category increases, so will injuries. At
DuPont and at many of our clients, metrics quantifying the extent of this
exposure are tracked closely. But a grace period exists between first exposure
and the occurrence of injuries. So prompt, early, effective action will head off
more serious unsafe consequences. The metric is simply a fraction of situations
observed in the workplace that involve excessive exposure. Developing this
measurement requires a structured auditing effort.
n Other, softer, leading indicators that primarily measure workforce attitudes are
shown in Exhibit V. Use of leading indicators can help prevent injuries.
Reacting to injuries only perpetuates the injury trail.
n Again, goals should not be set for leading indicators because these can be easily
manipulated to meet the goal. (Example: tracking the number of near misses
can give a warning about imminent injuries. However, setting a limit as to how
many near misses a unit can have will make employees reluctant to report
them.)
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BC Hydro
Exhibit III
Workplace Hazard Pyramid
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BC Hydro
Exhibit IV
“Near Miss” Campaign
n “Talk It Up” Campaign
n Some posters, publicity, and tail-boards
n Make hero of first-to-report
n Keep score
n Periodically re-energize effort
n Address reasons why not reported:
n Management reaction
n Peer embarrassment
n Resulting effort
n Share benefits from history
n Share negative results of non-reporting
n Be sure improvements did or could have resulted
DuPont Safety Resources ? 13
BC Hydro
Exhibit V
Leading Indicators
The safety management effort will respond to these leading indicators:
1. Audit results
2. Near misses
3. Degree of volunteerism
4. Safety suggestion content
5. Quality of training and procedures
6. Housekeeping
7. Injury trends
DuPont Safety Resources ? 14
BC Hydro
5. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for safety parameters at all levels
of the company. Recommendations 5 and 6 are closely allied. If safety has a high
priority at BC Hydro, then a key performance measure should be how well managers
manage the safe work practices for which they are responsible.
There should be an annual process to evaluate the performance of all executives,
managers, and supervisors vs. the relevant KPIs. Compensation should be impacted
accordingly.
6. Evaluate quality of effort. It is important that the evaluation of safety management be
aimed at the quality of effort as well as for results. Results can be tracked from a
distance, but quality-of-effort can only be accurately assessed by a manager who
knows what is happening. The only person who can do this is the immediate supervisor
of the employee being evaluated. The fact that this process requires good
communications between the supervisor and the person being evaluated is quite
beneficial to the overall safety effort.
7. Managers must visit the workplace. Managers at all levels must make themselves
visible and available to the workforce, and be perceived as committed, sincere leaders
in safety management. This is extremely important. In DuPont, major reorganizations in
1994 resulted in an increase in injuries (corrected in 1995.) However, this increase was
very uneven. Many sites and businesses continued as before. An investigation of the
differences between the low-performing vs. high-performing groups revealed that
throughout the reorganization, the latter groups maintained good communication, shared
ownership of safety, and kept their perception that the remaining leadership was still
committed to safety as the highest priority. This investigation gave rise to the term “felt
commitment.”
n Visits must be scheduled and structured to achieve the most benefit from the
contacts. Tracking these visits would be beneficial.
8. Train managers to establish an effective, consistent approach to safety
management. Safety understanding, dedication, and involvement of various levels of
management at BC Hydro fluctuate considerably. The workforce has a fairly accurate
understanding of which managers are dedicated and sincere, and those managers are
known and respected. We recommend training in effective safety management for all
levels of management. Exhibit VI addresses leadership and commitment. A consistent
understanding and approach across management levels will greatly facilitate the other
recommendations.
9. Modify the safety committee structure . A classical interlocking safety structure
exists at BC Hydro. There are three reasons for this structure.
n Communication on safety matters is facilitated throughout the organization. The
workforce understands plans and rationale for decisions and Senior
management understands concerns and thinking of the workforce.
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BC Hydro
n Committee members feel they are a regular part of a unified safety management
structure.
n The structure provides a channel for concerns and requests to be passed up the
chain of command.
The present structure is focused on the third reasona historic need in industry. However,
today BC Hydro personnel, as a whole, recognize that concerns and requests need to be
passed up the chain of command. The process has become faster and more efficient. Workers
value BC Hydro’s response to problems highly.
The first two reasons are not well served by the current structure, since worker committee
members are not always represented at the upper-level committees. This reduces
communication to passively reading minutes, and detracts from the feeling of being a member of
the unified safety management structure.
We recommend that for each level, a co-chair from each committee should sit on the committee
at the next highest level. If certain committees are too large, alternate co-chairs’ attendance.
Ad hoc sub-committees should also be used for specific projects. Members of management
and workers not sitting on OH&S committees should be assigned to subcommittees. This will
bring the entire workforce into the safety management effort.
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BC Hydro
Exhibit VI
Leadership
n Unbending expectations for success
n Focus on injury prevention effort
n Evangelize
n Stress continuous improvement
n Give constant priority to safety effort
n Commitment
Safety Commitment
n Not allowing people in your organization to shirk their safety responsibilities and
helping them succeed
n Not permitting activities to be done poorly or not at all
n Monitoring quality and compliance
n Pulling harder when difficulties arise
n Working on converting the unconverted
n Not being satisfied with yesterday’s progress or today’s status
n Never compromising standards (others will follow your example when you
don’t want them to)
n Believing in the value and effectiveness of what you are doing
n Always devoting adequate time and energy to safety management
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
BC Hydro’s Five Elements and Fifty Indicators of Safety Management
BC Hydro
APPENDIX I
BC Hydro’s Five Elements and Fifty Indicators of Safety Management
1.
Management Commitment
STANDARD
There is commitment to achieving high standards of occupational health & safety (OH&S)
performance through effective safety management practices.
Indicators:
n The employer’s responsibilities are identified.
n General duties are understood.
n The employer is directly involved in safety management.
n OH&S activity is coordinated.
n There is an effective occupational health & safety policy.
n The occupational health & safety policy is understood.
n Adequate resources are provided for occupational health & safety.
n Time for occupational health & safety is correctly managed.
n All employees are accountable for occupational health & safety in their area of
responsibility.
2.
PLANNING
STANDARD
Planning is used to establish and maintain a safety management system that continuously
improves occupational health & safety.
Indicators:
n OH&S management is planned systematically.
n There are specific occupational health & safety objectives.
n OH&S performance is measured.
n OH&S specialists are used when required.
BC Hydro
n OH&S management is assessed annually.
n Recommendations are acted upon.
n OH&S information is accessible.
n Contractor’s safety is established.
n Contractor’s work to agreed safety standards.
n The health and safety of visitors is managed.
n There are arrangements for employees with special needs.
n Effective emergency procedures are in place.
3.
Consultation
STANDARD
A mechanism for consulting with employees has been developed and is working effectively.
Indicators:
n Consultation requirements are identified.
n Consultation requirements are understood.
n Consultation is planned.
n There is consultation on occupational health & safety planning.
n There is consultation on risk management.
n There is consultation on occupational health & safety training.
n The consultation process is evaluated.
4.
Hazard Management
STANDARD
There is an effective system to identify hazards and assess and control risks.
Indicators:
n Requirements for reducing risks at work are identified.
n Requirements for reducing risks at work are understood.
n Incidents relating to injuries and diseases are reported.
n Incidents relating to injuries and diseases are investigated.
BC Hydro
n Workplaces are inspected.
n Hazards are identified.
n Risks are assessed,
n Work activities have been analyzed,
n Risk controls are planned.
n Risk controls are in place.
n An accepted hierarchy of controls is used.
n Risk controls are evaluated.
n Risk controls are corrected.
n New hazards are managed.
5.
OH&S Training
STANDARD
Training is organized to reduce the risk of work-related injury and disease and is evaluated to
ensure its effectiveness.
Indicators:
n OH&S training requirements are identified.
n OH&S training requirements are understood.
n OH&S training needs are analyzed.
n OH&S training is planned.
n OH&S training has clear objectives.
n OH&S training is provided as required.
n OH&S training is evaluated.
n OH&S employees can follow emergency procedures.
APPENDIX II
Results of Assessment vs. BC Hydro’s Fifty Indicators
BC Hydro
APPENDIX II
Results of Assessment vs. BC Hydro’s Fifty Indicators
Assessment of Five Basic Elements
1. Management commitment
2. Planning
3. Consultation
4. Hazard Management
5. Training
Management commitment
All 9 indicators are met (to varying degrees)
Strengths
n Recognition
n Resources
n Auditing of effort vs policy
n “Lifestyles” effort
Weaknesses
n Management commitment is not perceived in the workplace
n Various interpretations of commitment
Indicators where compliance could be increased
n Time for OH&S is correctly managed
n All employees feel accountable for OH&S in their area of responsibility
Planning
All 12 indicators are met (to varying degrees)
Strengths
n The effort put into planning, including the contractor safety plan
BC Hydro
Weaknesses
n Performance measurement is not useful for small units
n Contractors and BC Hydro workers are not always held to the standards
n Quality of effort is neither addressed nor emphasized
n Safety performance is not established at all levels as a KPI and quality of effort
is not emphasized
Indicators where compliance could be increased
n There are specific OH&S objectives
Consultation
All 7 indicators are being met (to varying degrees)
Weakness
n Committee structure is faulty
Indicators where compliance could be increased
n The consultation process is evaluated
Hazard Management
All 13 indicators are being met (to varying degrees.)
Weaknesses
n Near misses are rarely reported
n Most incidents are not well investigated
n Sharing of lessons learned is minimal
Training
All 8 indicators are being met
Strength
n The new training methods are excellent
Indicators where compliance could be increased
BC Hydro
n OH&S training is evaluated
APPENDIX III
DuPont’s Twelve Essential Elements of Safety Management
BC Hydro
APPENDIX III
DuPont’s Twelve Essential Elements of Safety Management
1. STRONG, DEMONSTRATED MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
Commitment is the basic component of a successful safety program. For a program to be
most effective, this commitment must exist from the top down through all levels of the
organization.
The commitment of top management establishes the importance of safety and guarantees
support for individual elements of the safety program. To achieve the best results
throughout the entire organization, top management must believe and demonstrate that
safety is as important as cost, production, quality, and employee relations.
2. INTEGRATED ORGANIZATION FOR SAFETY
Each site should provide an organization to administer safety effectively—one that cascades
from the top to the lowest level at the site. The safety organization should follow the line
organization, include everyone, and provide the opportunity for groups to meet regularly to
set policy and discuss safety-related matters. In practice, the organization for safety is
comprised of safety committees at every organizational level and regular safety meetings that
are attended by all employees.
3. SAFETY AS A LINE ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBILITY
Committees and staff personnel can set policy and formulate goals and objectives, but
effective implementation of safety can only be achieved when the line organization is actively
engaged. Line management coordinates the overall safety effort, sets standards, creates
work practices and procedures, and provides safety communication in two directions: up
the line to top management and down the line to every wage-roll employee.
The only proven way to excel in safety management is for all members of the line
organization to accept responsibility for their personal safety and for the safety of the people
reporting to them. Members of line management need to be accountable for the safety
performance of their organizations through regular performance appraisals.
4. WORKING SAFETY POLICY
In every industrial facility, some awareness of safety prevails even though a company may
not have spelled out the importance of safety to the organization.
To improve safety, a deliberate safety policy must be established and applied daily by each
member of the work force, whether manager, supervisor, or hourly employee. Top
management must establish the company policy, which will spell out the principles that are to
govern all decisions regarding safety. Without such a policy, safety tends to be pushed
aside when other business concerns become pressing.
BC Hydro
5. AGGRESSIVE SAFETY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Managing safety, like managing other aspects of a business, includes setting performance
goals and objectives. Goals guide the overall direction of the program; objectives define the
immediate steps needed to achieve the goals. By setting goals and objectives, the
organization is stimulated to develop and organize assorted safety activities into a coherent
program. Through goals and objectives a company can
n Motivate performance.
n Plan and direct improvement.
n Evaluate progress.
6. HIGH STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE
Standards of performance include such items as rules, procedures, and design criteria that
specify how work should be done. They should be written, reasonable, known, followed,
and enforced. Without written standards, people are left to determine their own methods
for performing activities; these may not always be safe and productive. Reasonable
standards are more likely to be accepted and are therefore more easily enforced. If the
standards are not known, employees cannot be expected to follow them. Adherence to
standards must be enforced, even to the point where adherence becomes a condition of
employment. Otherwise, these statements become guidelines, not standards.
7. SUPPORTIVE SAFETY PERSONNEL
While responsibility for safety rests with the line organization, the safety staff can be the key
to the smooth discharge of that responsibility. The three principal jobs of a safety manager
are to
n Facilitate the overall safety effort. He or she is the secretary of key safety
policy committees, participates in many subcommittees, frequently audits work
practices in the field, and analyzes performance results.
n Advise management on safety matters.
n Consult with the line organization. Having participated in the development of
safety policy, he or she is the ideal person to explain “why” and “how” to the
line organization.
This job does not include implementing safety or enforcing regulations or policies.
8. PROGRESSIVE MOTIVATION
The most important task—and often the most difficult—is motivation. In a motivated
organization
n Management is fully involved in the safety effort.
n Every employee is committed to good safety performance.
BC Hydro
Every other aspect of safety reflects top management’s motivation and its influence on the
line organization.
The best motivational method is to obtain employee involvement in the safety effort. This
involvement can be accomplished through committees, special activities, and participation in
safety meetings. The judicious use of discipline to secure compliance with standards of
performance is also an appropriate means of motivation.
9. EFFECTIVE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION
Safety communications are vital. A high level of communication facilitates the administration
of an effective program. Communication includes
n Developing a meaningful message.
n Delivering the message.
n Making sure that the message is understood.
Senior management plays an important role in developing the message; the entire line
organization delivers the message and ensures that it is understood. To be complete,
communication must flow in two directions: from management to employees and from
employees back to management.
10. CONTINUOUS SAFETY TRAINING
Continuous safety training is important for all employees. Therefore, it should be directed
toward
n The new employee.
n An employee who has transferred from another site.
n An employee who has moved from another area on the site.
n Supervision.
n The longer service employee (refresher training).
n Contractor employees (as appropriate).
Through continuous training, management can present information, update skills, and
encourage and reinforce a positive attitude toward safety. Regular safety meetings provide
excellent opportunities for ongoing training.
11. COMPREHENSIVE INJURY AND INCIDENT REPORTS AND
INVESTIGATIONS
A sound safety management program will include a system for reporting and comprehensively investigating injuries and serious incidents. By conducting investigations,
management can determine underlying causes of injuries and eliminate them, thus preventing
their recurrence.
BC Hydro
It is important to ensure that employees learn about and follow the resulting
recommendations. When employees see management taking quick, corrective action, they
will conclude that safety has high priority. Management commitment in this area will do
much to eliminate injuries through prevention.
12. EFFECTIVE AUDITS AND RE-EVALUATION
Studies have shown that more than 90 percent of all injuries are the result of unsafe acts. A
program that concentrates on identifying, eliminating, and publicizing these acts greatly
improves safety performance. Workplace audits that focus on people working can prevent
injuries by alerting affected personnel to an unsafe work habit or act before it causes an
injury. Both supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel should conduct audits.