MCN 401

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY ENGINERING

SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY

• Safety, quality, and productivity are inextricably linked

• When organizations put better care into maintaining their safety,

quality, and productivity, they are also better able to serve their
customers and protect their employees
 The Three Pillars:
Safety, Quality, and Productivity

• Too often, businesses will see safety, quality, and productivity as

interfering with each other, while they actually operate in concert.

• Organizations must not think of safety as a nuisance, but rather as an

incredibly important component to business success

Safety
• Improves quality and productivity

• When operations are unsafe, they aren’t well-managed employees will not be
motivated nor mindful, and employee churn will be far greater

• Quality and productivity both suffer when employees are under stress, unsatisfied, or
unable to complete their mission

• But when businesses are safe, it frees up employees to focus on their quality and their
productivity

• The safer the organization is, the less frequently the organization will experience large
scale disruption
Quality
• Improves safety and productivity

• Safety is a measure of conscientiousness and proactiveness

• High quality work means better results and better products

• The higher quality the work, the fewer reworks are needed, and the greater
overall productivity is

• When quality is high for a business, it can be assumed that standards for the
business are generally high, including safety equipment, safety software, and
safety processes
 Productivity
• Workplace productivity refers to the amount of work accomplished by employees
over a given period.
• Having a workforce that is engaged and committed can help maximize productivity
• An unsafe work environment lowers productivity
• Employers can increase productivity is by creating a safe work environment.
• Safety is improved by removing potential hazards from the workplace.
• • Aside from that, employers should create a psychologically safe environment for
employees.
• • A well-managed and efficient workflow, on the other hand, can improve
productivity levels by eliminating redundancies when tackling tasks.
• With the appropriate safety processes, safety can be improved, and quality can be
improved as well.
Traditional Barriers to Safety, Quality, and
Productivity
• It’s easy to see that safety improves business outcomes

• Dangerous operations lead to lost time, injured employees, and a loss of

morale

• Nevertheless, many organizations fear that additional safety processes can

take time and money

• While true, it’s time and money well spent; it’s better to spend a small
amount for preventative care than a large amount for an emergency
Traditional Barriers to Safety,
Quality, and Productivity (Cont.…)
• In terms of quality, the primary issue is often expediency

• Companies may feel they have to choose between fast, cheap, or high-quality

• When companies are forced to reduce costs (cheap) and produce quickly (fast)
they need to sacrifice quality

• But sacrificing quality actually ends up driving up time and costs; unsatisfied
customers demand reworks, which can often be upwards of three times the
original budget
Traditional Barriers to Safety, Quality, and
Productivity (Cont.…)
• Productivity must never be seen to be at odds with safety or quality

• Organizations may feel that safety and productivity are mutually

exclusive, and that it’s difficult to maintain a productive office
Accident
• The ordinary definition of the word “Accident” as derived from lexicons
is an unforeseen of an unexpected event.

• The American Safety council has defined accident as “that occurrence in

a sequence of events which usually produces unintended injury, death or
the property damage.

• Heinrich has defined accident as “an unplanned and uncontrolled event

in which the action or reaction on an object, substance, person or
radiation result in personal injury”.
Accidents can be caused by human (behavioral) factors, such as:
 Unsafe conduct
 Inattention
 Negligence
 Improper training
 Inexperience
 Drowsiness, fatigue, or illness

• Accidents can also be caused by environmental and workplace design factors, such
as:
 Unsafe working conditions
 Unsafe workplace design
 Substandard safety controls
 Inclement weather
 Injury
• An injury or illness is an abnormal condition or disorder.
• An injury is damage to your body.
• It is a general term that refers to harm caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and
more.
• An injury is any physiological damage to the human body caused by immediate physical
stress.

• Injuries include cases such as, but not limited to, a cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation.

• Illnesses include both acute and chronic illnesses, such as, but not limited to, a skin
disease, respiratory disorder, or poisoning.
Injury (Cont.…)

• “Injury” means mental or physical harm to an employee caused by

accident or disease, and also means damage to or destruction of
artificial members, dental appliances, teeth, hearing aids and
eyeglasses.
 Unsafe Acts

• Unsafe acts are actions by people that directly cause or contribute to an accident.
• Examples are:
 Not following procedures - taking shortcuts

 Operating equipment or tools without authority

 Using damaged and defective equipment

 Not using personal protective equipment

 Operating equipment at improper speeds

 Taking and improper working position

 Servicing equipment in motion

 Influence of drugs or alcohol

Unsafe Acts

Removing safety device

Performing unauthorized procedure

Dressing improperly

Welding with no shield

Standing on a top rung of step ladder

Working at height without protection

Poor house keeping

Throwing of materials after finished work

 Taking Short cuts

Improper lifting
 UNSAFE CONDITION
• The unsafe condition is a hazardous physical condition or circumstance which could directly
permit
the occurrence of an accident
OR
• Working conditions/environment which are prone to have an accident
• They all relate to physical or mechanical defects, which can be corrected relatively cheaply
and permanently.
Some examples of unsafe conditions are:
Defective Conditions – hand tools, equipment, substances

Poor Layout – work flow, overcrowding and congestion

Substandard housekeeping. Eg. Waste bins, Aisles, Storage, signs & notices
UNSAFE CONDITION

Loud noise – can’t hear instructions etc.

Inadequate illumination or ventilation – can’t see clearly or breathe properly
Inadequate or improper protective equipment
Defective tools, equipment or materials
Congestion or restricted action
Inadequate warning systems
Poor housekeeping or disorderly workplace
Hazardous environmental conditions; gases, dusts, smokes, fumes,
vapors
Noise exposures
High or low temperature exposures
 DANGEROUS OCCURENCES
• Dangerous occurrences usually include incidents
• Dangerous occurrences are
involving:
certain unintended, specified  Lifting equipment
events, which may not result  Pressure systems
in a reportable injury, but  Overhead electric lines
which do have the potential  Electrical incidents causing explosion or fire
to cause significant harm.
 Explosions, biological agents

 Diving operations

 Collapse of scaffolding

 Pipelines or pipeline works

 Heinrich’s Domino Theory

• Heinrich’s theory has two central points:

(1)injuries are caused by the action of preceding factors

(2) removal of the central factor (unsafe act/ hazardous condition ) negates the
action of the preceding factors and, in so doing, prevents accidents and injuries.
 Heinrich’s Axioms of Industrial Safety
 Injuries result from a series of preceding factors.
 Accidents occur as the result of physical hazard or an unsafe act.
 Most accidents are the result of unsafe behavior.
 Unsafe acts and hazards do not always result in immediate accidents and injuries.
 Understanding why people commit unsafe acts helps to establish guidelines for
corrective actions.
 The severity of the injury is unpredictable and the accident that caused it is
preventable.
 Best accident prevention techniques are analogous to best quality / productivity
techniques.
 Management should assume safety responsibilities.
 The supervisor is the key person in the prevention of industrial accidents.
 Cost of accidents include both direct costs and indirect costs.
 SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT CAUSATION
• This theory views a situation in which an accident may occur as a system comprised
of person (host), machine (agency), and environment.
• The likelihood of an accident occurring is determined by how these components
interact.
BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF ACCIDENT CAUSATION

• One of the most prominent proponents of BBS is E. Scott Geller, a senior partner
of Safety Performance Solutions, Inc., and a professor of psychology.
• The behaviour theory of accident causation and prevention is often referred to as
behaviour -based safety (BBS)
According to Geller, there are seven basic principles of BBS:
• intervention that is focused on employee behaviour;
• identification of external factors that will help understand and improve employee
behaviour (from the perspective of safety in the workplace)
• direct behaviour with activators or events antecedent to the desired behaviour, and
motivation of the employee to behave as desired with incentives and rewards that
will follow the desired behaviour;
• focus on the positive consequences that will result from the desired behaviour as
a way to motivate employees;
• application of the scientific method to improve attempts at behaviour
interventions;
• use of theory to integrate information rather than to limit possibilities; and
• planned interventions with the feelings and attitudes of the individual employee in
mind.
 The Importance of Establishing a
Safety Committee
• Safety committees help provide an overall perspective of the safety status of the
organization.

• It serves as a visible body that can be approached for safety or health complaints,
suggestions, and other types of feedback.

• As the committee solely deals with safety-related issues, it ensures that there are employees
focused on and dedicated to coordinating safety-related activities.

• It also encourages and motivates employees to follow safety standards and signals to them
that the organization is taking measures to protect their wellbeing.