practical application of safety plans programs and policies.
• A thorough review of records which provides further objective evidence of support of its safety and health management system. Union support is required for appli-
cants represented by a bargaining unit. Participating sites are reevaluated every three to fi ve years, and they are exempt from OSHA programmed inspections while they maintain VPP status. “One of the big benefi ts to VPP is
you’ve developed a much stronger bond between employees and management and between the company and OSHA,” said D’Amico. “We operate under the mindset that every injury is avoidable. And when it does happen, management has to take responsibility, even when employees embark on risky behavior. A strong culture of safety should prevent poor choices and minimize risky behav- iors, at work as well as at home. T e way to do that is to work together to drive safety awareness to change behaviors.”
Management Supported Worker Empowerment
”An investment in safety gets paid
back tenfold,” D’Amico said, citing the importance of ensuring workers have adequate safety gear that is maintained and replaced as needed. “Under our FEM Program, we empower employees through weekly Safety/5S audits and a monthly walkabout with the union president to identify and eliminate haz- ards.” All near miss, fi rst aid and OSHA recordable incidents are investigated. Victaulic has standardized on a world- wide electronic incident investigation template. Before an incident investiga- tion is approved, the direct surface cause, root cause and proper corrective actions to prevent recurrence must be clearly identifi ed. In addition, the company requires a review of the applicable Job Safety Analysis to ensure no process hazards were missed. T ese get reviewed not just by plant management, but by the Corporate Safety Manager and by D’Amico. All reports go into a shared
database for review in order to help pre- vent a similar incident at another activity. Victaulic has reduced its recordable
injury rate by 60% over the past three years and 81% over the past six years. “T e fl ywheel of momentum has
started,” said D’Amico, “and I think we have the right pieces of the puzzle in place to continue our drive toward world-class safety excellence.” Beyond the VPP program lies
an opportunity for safety conscious companies to attain world class status. Communication is a major component, as innovative ideas often originate on the shop fl oor. Training and empower- ing workers to be involved in continu- ous improvement, especially where it pertains to safety, pays dividends in tangible terms such as recordable injury rates and worker’s compensation costs as well as intangibles. An empowered workforce and committed manage- ment team that links business metrics to safety can achieve year-over-year improvement.
December 2013 MODERN CASTING | 39
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