Promoting safety improvement programs

Different metrics may be used to describe past performance, predict future performance, and encourage behavioral change. They are a means to evaluate the overall system performance and to develop a path toward superior process safety performance. This is accomplished by identifying where the current performance falls within a spectrum of excellent-to-poor performance. Such information will allow executives and site management to develop plans to address the specific improvement opportunities that could lead to measurable improvement in process safety. Good process safety metrics reinforce a process safety culture that promotes the belief that process safety incidents are preventable, that improvement is continuous, and that policies and procedures are necessary and will be followed. Continuous improvement is necessary and any improvement program will be based on measurable elements. Therefore, to continuously improve performance, organizations must develop and implement effective process safety metrics. 

Good process safety metrics will reinforce a process safety culture promoting a belief that process safety incidents are preventable, that improvement is continuous, and that policies and procedures are necessary and will be followed. Continuous improvement is necessary and any improvement program must be based on... 

Safety promotion-. To help engage everyone in thinking safety, most safety programs utilize games and/or rewards to help raise safety awareness. In Chapter 8 on promoting safety, overviews of proactive safety improvement initiatives will be covered in some detail. For now, it is important to recognize both the need for this element of a world-class safety program and someone to lead the effort. 

For the most part, future trends will be found in liazard accident prevention, not lia/ard analysis. To help promote liazard accident prevention, companies should start employee-training programs. These programs should be designed to alert staff and employees about tlie liazards tliey are exposed to on die job. Training should also cover company safety policies and die proper procedures to follow in case an accident does occur. A major avenue to reducing risk will involve source reduction of hazardous materials. Risk education and communication are two other areas dial will need improvement. 

The Lab-to-Lab (or site-to-site) component involves projects between U.S. DOE national laboratories and Minatom research institutes and industrial sites in Russia. The corresponding proposed lead laboratories on this effort are the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the V.G. Khlopin Radium Institute (KRI) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Lab-to-Lab program will promote improved safety methodologies and their application to nuclear facilities for excess HEU and plutonium storage and disposition and improve training for facility operators. 

Because there are penalties for noncompliance, companies do keep their OSHA-required metrics current, but many stop there. In Chapter 11 on metrics, I will explain how using metrics that are related to innovative safety awareness programs can measure as well as promote ongoing safety improvement. 

An item provided to a worker, group, or organization to recognize its safety performance in accordance with an organization s goals. The award helps promote prevention of workplace injuries and illness and motivate employees to improve their safety performance. See also Safety Recognition Program. 

The Department of Labor has many activities to foster and promote the safety and health of workers. The Women s Bureau seeks to improve women s working conditions. Other important agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Office of Workers Compensation Program. 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for promoting the welfare of workers in the United States and improving working conditions. The department enforces laws related to workers and workplace safety and health in the public and private sector through OSHA. In 2010, OSHA announced the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which will conduct concentrated inspections of those companies that have demonstrated significant indifference to the Occupational Safety and Health Act or have a history of repeated hazard violations. Non-compliance fees are as high as 70,000 for willful serious violation. 

Programs are disjointed and do not focus on improving safety culture. Inadequate understanding or input from industry to appropriately design promotion campaigns. 

---