Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/134956
Editor's Note Safe Workplaces Are No Accident Measure the risks and manage them – it's the only way to get the safety gorilla off your bottom line. By kIM pHELAN A handful of small signs are tion and service of aerial equipment, taped to the outside of my office door, but every AED member surely houses amusing reminders of some missignificant hazards to humans if not haps – or should I say missteps – that tightly and consistently managed. occurred in 2012. Stick figures, like One of my favorite speakers at the those you see on restroom doors or IPAF conference was Terex CEO Ron crosswalks, are depicted in assorted DeFeo, who was surprisingly transparslipping, tripping and falling perils; oh, ent (even for Ron) about his comand someone has artistically scrawled pany's journey toward creating safer a patch of red marker upon the head workplaces worldwide. He admitted of each in a clever attempt to signify their lost time rate (LTR) in 2007 was some resemblance to me. at an unimpressive 3.92. (The "world I deserve these emblems, tokens of class" rate is .4.) And he described AED staff affection no doubt. Most a process, albeit with imperfecnoteworthy among my incidents last tions, that he launched in order to year was a complete wipe-out that, I reverse what he called "an unacceptswear, was not my fault. I arrived early able" safety trend at Terex operations to the local Holiday Inn café, where I around the globe. was meeting an out-of-town friend for Ron's major point for the audience breakfast one May morning, so I dewas that it's up to the leader of an cided to make a quick pit-stop in the la- organization to make safety culture dies' room. I took one step forward and the No. 1 priority. Lip service doesn't – bam! – I was on the floor smelling the cut it. And much better, he says, is the still-wet ammonia cleaner with which "committed" leader than he or she it had been very recently mopped. No who is merely "involved." yellow cautionary sign was left to warn "Think about the traditional English me. I hobbled out of there with goose breakfast of bacon and eggs," said bumps fast-arising on elbows and Ron, smiling. "The chicken is involved, knees, a sore neck and bruised pride, but the pig is committed! We need but luckily nothing worse. Lucky for me. commitment to achieve real progress Lucky for them, too. in safety." I was thinking about that (now He practices what he preaches. humorous) episode while attending a Every bimonthly management meetsafety-focused conference hosted by ing begins not with reports on sales the International Powered Access Fed- but with reports on safety perforeration (IPAF) this spring. An accident mance. When a lost time accident can happen so swiftly to an ordinary has occurred, Ron handwrites a girl like me minding her own business personal get-well note to the injured – but the risks, odds, and magniteam member. He begins every public tude of potential injury are greatly gathering of his employees by identiincreased for those who spend their fying CPR-trained people in the room days working in and around the maand explaining locations of defibrillachinery your company sells, rents, and tors and exit doors – a practice that repairs. IPAF members are obviously saved a team member's life six years dealing with the manufacture, operaago. Ron even asked his Board to deduct a sizeable penalty from his annual bonus if company safety goals are not met, so that everyone would understand that it's personal and that he's committed. But here's the thing that really stuck with that speech: The world class LTR standard of .4 is itself not the ideal goal, though a good place to start. The only goal that matters is zero. "Is 99.9 percent good enough?" he asked. "If 99.9 percent was good enough, then last year 164 pieces of our equipment that we sold would not start. Fourteen newborn babies would have been dropped, every hour, worldwide. If 99.9 percent was good enough, 4,368 babies would have been given to the wrong parents. And 1,666 surgeries in the U.S. would have operated on the wrong body part." You have to admit, Ron's got a way with words. June is National Safety Month, did you know? More important, do you know your company's safety risks and their potential consequences? The safety of your employees affects their lives and families, of course, but a high LTR also represents a major threat to your business, in terms of insurance premiums, legal fees, fines, reputation, etc. On June 19, UL and The AED Foundation will present a free webinar titled, "Risk Management 101: Get the 800-Pound Safety Gorilla Off Your Bottom Line." Please attend – even if your LTR is 99.9 percent perfect. Thanks for reading. Kim Phelan (kphelan@aednet.org) is the executive editor of Construction Equipment Distribution and director of programs for AED. June 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 7 7_editors note_KP.indd 7 5/31/13 2:03 PM