Some people believe that injuries are to be expected in certain industries; they are just the cost of doing business. Three Oregon CEOs—Lynne Saxton, Matthew Smith, and Steffanie Smith—reject that idea. They considered the number of injuries in their organizations unacceptable and acted decisively to create successful safety cultures. Their stories show what can be done when you make safety an important value.
L&M Welding
Steel fabrication plant
TANGENT
When Matt Smith, president of L&M Welding, talks about the three claims the company had in 2009—a number that seems low—he says, "How is it acceptable that we have three or four? We should not have any. Our goal is zero injuries."
Some would consider zero to be an ambitious goal for a steel fabrication shop, a high-risk environment in which workers often believe they should just tough it out when they are injured.
When Smith took over leadership in 2002, the company had been a successful business for more than 30 years. Its 44 employees were skilled and talented, but they were accustomed to looking out for themselves. Safety was not their highest priority. There was no formal safety program, despite sporadic safety meetings.
L&M Welding's wake-up call came in 2004. That year they had nine claims, the most ever for one year, and 10 time-loss days. Eye injuries, back strains, and cuts and bruises were the most common claims.
"That is when things really changed," said Nancy Schlag, SAIF senior account representative.
"Matt was adamant about making all the changes necessary to keep workers safe and reduce losses. He believed the changes needed to begin with management and filter down to the workers."
Smith activated the safety committee and named a safety director with authority to enforce the new safety policy. The committee began to identify risks and make recommendations to improve safety, and those ideas were tested in production for the best way to implement them.
Several employees resisted the changes, making discipline necessary.
"At first we had to police all the time," Smith said. "Employees wanted to see whether management followed up and meant what we said."
Because so many of the claims were eye injuries, L&M tackled that risk early on.
"In the past, we didn't even require safety glasses," Smith said. "Now it's preposterous to do grinding without double protection. Employees wear safety glasses all the time, and additional protection as required for specific activities."
Because work processes change depending on the needs of the customer, the company must constantly adjust to new risks.
"Whenever we start a new project," Smith said, "project managers and foremen develop a work plan that includes how the material will be handled and processed; the plan is both operational and for safety. We also analyze past injuries and investigate all accidents. Initially, when we changed a process to increase safety, someone would ask me, â##Do you really want me to take longer to do this job?' My answer was always â##Yes!' Now, that question is never asked. Safety has a higher priority than production, but we have found that working safer often means being more efficient."
Like ChristieCare, L&M Welding makes sure there is a medical response for every incident. L&M uses Good Samaritan Hospital's Nurses 24/7.
In 2009, L&M Welding didn't have a single time-loss day. Smith believes that getting medical advice on how to handle an injury as soon as it happens has been especially helpful in taking care of strains and bruises and reducing time-loss days.
"We've put in place a culture that now manages itself," said Smith. "My role there has diminished as the safety culture grew."
Read other CEO safety stories | ChristieCare | River Point Farms
Reprinted from Comp News, Spring 2010