In this video, Dr. Tom Krause discusses a disturbing trend. While most companies have seen recordable injuries decline, serious and fatal injuries have been level. Further, strategies that reduce smaller injuries don’t have the same impact on serious injuries. We must rethink how we approach safety improvement in general, and the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities in particular.
Learn more about our approach to serious injuries and fatalities
Recently our industry provided an info graph showing a decline in all recordables including fatals – I looked at the historical bars lining up behind the much vaunted small current statistical representation — the shoulders and head were so obvious that if incidents were a stock I would buy based on historical performance – knowing the frequency was about to go up – up up –
In the meeting where this was presented I kept my mouth closed – I knew if I were to speak about what I saw the ones pleased with the current low # would be so insulted that their news had been met with such negativity — of course I did not look upon it as a negative but I knew they would — so I am watching for the creep up and will comment at that time – will I be letting people get killed or injured – no – I will be waiting til the season is right to ensure they hear and act – rather than hear and dismiss –
The basis of any risk assessment Identifies severity and probability . Please assess current position and then apply risk control while carrying out risk assessment and For god’s sake , do it practically and not for creating another record. Integrate this assessment with your Risk assessment and review it periodically
This is completly on point in an honest company that truly reports every near miss, first aid and recordable minor and major injuries as I always look to the loss runs and attack major root causes of injuries. The issue that I have found in the construction industry is the employer will try and sweep the minor injuries under the rug and send the employee into the clinic and call it first aid non recordable. They only report major injuries on there OSHA 300 log hince the major injuries are static if not going up. The only way to find out if there is a true safety culture with the company is inspect several job sites and view the behavior of the employees and supervisors. The numbers are to easy to scew or just falsely report on paper for Insurance cost, Osha Citations etc. (Figures don’t Lie Lieers figure)
These comments all reflect complex issues that deserve focused attention. Do leaders know how to read, understand, and respond to data? Do analysts know how to present data in an accurate and compelling way? Are we integrating new developments into our existing tools or piling them on top of what we already have? And do our systems for measuring, managing, and rewarding performance encourage us to do the right things?
One way to approach an issue as complex as any of these are, is to start with an assessment. A good assessment will help leaders understand the issue in the broader business context, how they connect to it, and what they can do to solve it in a way that’s good for their people and their business.
I think, regardless how incidents are being reported in specific companies, EHS team must have a real-time, realistic view of a company’s safety program effectiveness. Equally important, constantly measure against itself and industry peers for improvements.