Is Outsourcing Safety a Good Investment?

Outsourcing can be a good investment; making sound financial sense to bring in the safety experts and free up some of your valuable time.  Benefits of outsourcing safety can be gained on a short, medium or long term basis. Three Sixty Safety can assist in the areas of safety committee structure, training, OSHA compliance, facility hazard auditing, job safety auditing, safety communications, injury control and strengthening safety culture and morale.  While this list is certainly not exhaustive, outsourcing safety can bring benefits in the shorter term.  We work with your business specifically to provide the expertise and quality of service and compliance you are looking for.  By aligning with your growth strategy we work together with a mutual goal of helping your business execute its vision and reach its goals.   

Contact your Three Sixty Safety representative today or email us at info@threesixtysafety.com to see how we can lighten your load so you can focus on income generating tasks.

Reducing Turnover with Safety

With the economy on the upswing, the new year promises more of the same with unemployment rates on a downward trajectory, auto sales stabilizing and the surprise of below-$2-a-gallon gasoline putting extra cash in everyone’s pockets.  Having said that most automotive industry analysts predict the auto industry can handle the demand for new cars without adding many jobs in 2015.  It also means those manufacturing employers will lean heavily on temp staffing to create a more flexible workforce, making it easier for them to shed jobs if the economy shifts.  When this occurs under paid and under-appreciated employees begin looking to upgrade employers.  Are you at risk?

Creating an environment where employees know you care could be the best way to increase retention and make them long term assets of your company.  A collaborative safety program that is embraced and promoted by your employees could be the answer you have been looking for. 

To learn more about reducing turnover with safety, contact Three Sixty Safety and let us show you the solution you have been looking for.

Changes to OSHA Reporting Requirements

Changes to OSHA reporting requirements: What need to be reported?

OSHA's updated recordkeeping rule expands the list of severe injuries that employers must report to OSHA.

As of January 1, 2015, all employers must report

1. All work related fatalities within 8 hours.
2. All work related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all loss of an eye within 24 hours.

You can report to OSHA by

1. Calling OSHA's free and confidential number at 1(800) 321-OSHA (6742).
2. Calling your closest Area Office during normal business hours.
3. Using the new online form that will soon be available.

Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported to OSHA. Further, for an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of eye, these incidents must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

Changes to OSHA record keeping requirements: Who is required to keep records? Who is exempt from keeping records?

OHSA regulations require certain employees to routinely keep records of serious employee injuries and illnesses. However, there are two classes of employers that are partially exempt from routinely keeping records. First, employers with ten or fewer employees at all time during the previous calendar year are exempt from routinely keeping OHSA injury and illness records. OSHA's revised record keeping regulation maintains this exemption. Second, establishments in certain low-hazard industries are also exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. Since 1982, this list has been comprised of establishments in the divisions of retail trade, finance, insurance and real estate; and the service industry. OSHA's revised record keeping regulation provides an updated list of low-hazard industries that are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records. The new list of exempt industries is now classified by North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS), which is the standard use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. The injury and illness rate threshold is based on more recent BLS data.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Sixty Safety Systems Model

The Three Sixty Safety systems model has been developed as a way to understand a process of accident prevention, causation and response. Systems theory dates from the thirties and forties and was a response to the limitations of classic analysis techniques in coping with the increasingly complex systems. The safety systems approach focuses on systems taken as a whole, requiring all subsystems operating simultaneously not on the parts taken separately. It assumes that some properties of systems can only be treated adequately in their entirety, taking into account all facets and relating the social to the technical aspects. These system properties derive from the relationships between the parts of systems: how the parts interact and fit together. Thus, the Three Sixty Safety systems approach concentrates on the analysis and design of the whole as distinct from the components or the parts. When practicing a systems approach to safety it is imperative that all parts of the system are operating simultaneously and that no one part is omitted.  Much like a human being, when one part of the body (a critical organ) is not working omitted the physical body suffers and eventually fails or dies.

The Three Sixty Safety system when operated as a whole, can take your organizations and the bodies within it into a future of sustainable health and prosperity.  Contact your Three Sixty Safety representative for a consultation on how we can impact your business family today.

 

Employee Safety Perception Surveys

October 2014

 

WHY CONDUCT EMPLOYEE SAFETY PERCEPTION SURVEYS?

Are there ways you could make your business more efficient, more attractive or more profitable? You may think everything is under control, but getting your employees’ input on the perceived level of safety in your organization  will give you a clearer picture of what's working well and what areas of your organization might benefit from change. Best-in-class employers use employee safety perceptions surveys based on directly observable behaviors to generate employee promoted changes from within.

 

A safety perception survey is like a performance review for your organization. Knowing where you stand with employees enables you to identify areas for improvement and collaborate with them to address their concerns. Safety perception surveys pinpoint priorities, showing you where you should focus your efforts.

 

If you already have ideas for change, it's important to test the waters prior to implementation by asking for feedback. You may be surprised by how your employees respond. You may learn there is a better approach or a more pressing issue that needs your attention.

 

If you're not aware of any areas of concern a safety perception survey is essential. These surveys often reveal important issues you had no idea were a factor.

Whom Should you Survey?

Make an effort to survey all your employees.. It shows you value everyone's opinion, whether they are managers or front-line employees. More importantly, you’ll get a clearer picture of your organization's strengths and weaknesses by seeing it from all perspectives.

How Do you Do It?

Safety perception surveys administered electronically, allow for results to be analyzed with statistically significant certainty. They don't cost a lot, and third-party administration can help improve results by emphasizing anonymity.  It also permits you to benchmark and measure improvements over time.

For Best Results

Be up-front with employees about how important the survey is to you. Explain that it is not a “wish list,” but that you are genuinely interested in getting their input to improve the organization. Ask them to be candid and reasonable in their feedback, and assure them that responses are anonymous and confidential.

 

Finally, you must commit to putting the survey results to work. With a well-designed questionnaire, responses will point toward specific outcomes. It's important to your business that you act on these insights. It also shows employees that completing the surveys was worthwhile. If you solicit survey participation but don't follow up on its results, staff will respond more negatively than if you'd never undertaken the survey effort. So, if you find that you cannot act on certain suggestions, make sure you communicate the reasons why to the survey participants.

 

In short, use surveys to inform your decision-making about effective changes—and then act on the information those surveys reveal

 

WHY THE THREE SIXTY SAFETY (TSS) PERCEPTION SURVEY SOLUTION?

TSS is able to benchmark your safety metrics against some of the nation’s top companies in a way that is accurate, reliable, and affordable. But TSS does more than just provide you with a survey; we also analyze your survey results, provide a comprehensive report of results, strategically determined next steps and provide the support, and tools to take you to the next level on your safety journey.   Contact a TSS representative at 586-778-9900 to schedule your survey consultation.

Three Sixty Safety Could Change the World

We believe the Three Sixty Safety (TSS) system can change the world. The safety systems we install inspire a change in the culture of a workplace. We involve every employee from the owner down to the hardworking folks on the line. Everyone’s input is acknowledged and appreciated. This empowers and inspires workers, therefore increasing productivity and greatly reducing risk and injury. Through principles , values and a devotion to providing a safe workplace our system delivers profits  and improves the bottom line. If this transformation occurred in every company, would it change the world? We believe it could…

Staying Hydrated

 We all know how hot it can get working in a shop environment over the next few months. Prolonged exposure to hot temperatures can cause heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke (also known as sun stroke). As your body works to cool itself under extreme or prolonged heat, blood rushes to the surface of your skin. As a result, less blood reaches your brain, muscles, and other organs. This can interfere with both your physical strength and your mental capacity, leading, in some cases, to serious danger and injury.

Most heat-related illnesses can be prevented by avoiding dehydration in hot environments. When you are working, try and remember to drink lots of water to keep yourself properly hydrated. Everyone knows where sinks and/or drinking fountains are located in their workplace. Also, try and keep a water bottle with you at your work station to ensure you are not going too long without hydrating your body. When it gets hot, it is very important that we try and keep a close eye on each other to try and spot any irregularities in our co-workers behavior due to dehydration and heat-related illnesses.

Some jobs can be very dangerous in even the most comfortable environments.  These jobs can be made much more dangerous when we aren’t thinking properly due to discomfort in the heat. Try to remember not to lose focus on your safety and the safety of those around you.