Stage 1 - The new company. A company is just formed or a small company exists that is struggling with profitability. This company accepts a much higher risk financially and managerially while ignoring many peripheral administrative issues like safety. An autocratic management style common in panic or pressurized situations is typically used. Accidents are accepted or considered simply a matter of chance. Production tends to be task-oriented and thereby compromised. Management implements minimal planning and is primarily reactive, seeking short-term solutions. Communications are fear-based with an adversarial approach to employees who are considered a major cost to be controlled. The company suffers from poor employee relations by virtue of antiquated human resources policies and struggles with OSHA citations, varying quality, complaints and litigation. The accident rate is typically high, and there are no safety positions among staff personnel.
Stage 2 - The typical established company. Management comprises autonomous autocratic individuals, staff power struggles, and a lack of line accountability. The company is focused on measuring results. Accidents are excused or believed to be the fault of employees; thus, safety incentive programs are implemented. Employees are managed by-and see through-the clever programs and campaigns that are typically short-lived. Though problems are recognized, management is either unwilling or unable to solve them.
The company is fraught with committees, meetings and special assignments resulting in few tangible results. Safety responsibility is largely program-oriented involving a safety director charged with making safety work. Employees are encouraged to make suggestions or file complaints, which they seldom do because the comments and recommendations are typically ignored. Instead, employees tend to complain in safety meeting "bitch sessions" whenever they are allowed a safe environment to express their "ideas."
The company tends to be inspection-oriented with a "find it and fix it" approach despite the repetitive conditions identified. An adversarial situation exists between production operations and the safety department. In the latter phases of Stage 2, the safety department attains a high profile, functions as an employee relations tool, and is presented as a point of management "honor."
Stage 3 - The "world class" or highly successful company. Management considers safety responsibility to be line management-owned and driven, and safety is perceived as a good business investment. Accidents are intolerable-excuses are not accepted. Safety is considered essential to effective management.
Decisions are typically time consuming and deliberately made in view of long-term planning. Responsibilities and expectations are clearly defined. The company is employee-centered and participates in gain-sharing at the lowest levels. Communications are informal, open and encouraged. The safety director resumes the role of a staff person responsible for keeping the regulatory programs up-to-date, maintaining compliance systems, providing an additional resource for activities such as training, and advising line management of regulatory changes. Inspections are a line management function. Safety loses its corporate identity. The accident rate is low.
The tendency for hourly employees to rate a company unreasonably low can be exaggerated when a Stage 1 or early Stage 2 company has created an adversarial at-
In summary, using established criteria, rather than another company, may be far more effective for benchmarking against a "world class" standard. The complexities of intercompany communication and a possible lack of knowledge regarding the components of "world class" status may lead the benchmarker to mistakenly measure against a non-world class company. As opposed to regulations established by OSHA, management criteria such as those described above should be the basis for evaluation. A company's management should acknowledge the stages of evolution and move methodically through the process to develop a world class system.
1. Honesty in reporting accident rates. A world class company follows an accepted, established accident-reporting system. Though a modest accident rate could be expected from a world class company due to the statistical probability of incident occurrence, the probability is reduced in a world class company. All accidents are considered intolerable and are investigated with future prevention in mind.
2. Accurate and sufficient budgeting for safety so that all items identified in safety inspections can be, and are, immediately fixed.
3. Management preparation for anticipated heavy work loads. Integrating safety into the production process so that when extra work is required, planning includes considerations (and limitations) for overtime and fatigue, with adequate training of new employees and similar safety planning.
4. Viewing safety as a basic human right and integrating safety procedures into the production process naturally, thus minimizing losses. World class includes employee-centered, "gain-sharing" approaches.
5. Honesty and humility in management style with a constancy of purpose. Communications are open and honest. Safety is considered effective management.
6. Making an honest effort to comply with the regulations-excessive and ridiculous as some of them may appear to be. The company is active in the legislative process.
7. The ability to improve safety performance-in any company, a feature directly related to the ability to change its organizational culture in a positive manner.
8. Integration of safety practices in day-to-day operations, with the safety director functioning as a staff-support person, such that safety loses its separate identity.
