Page 81 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2019

blocks of a more comprehensive safety observation program and concurrently aid in the development of key leading indicators for an organization’s measurement of safety. In conjunction with the use of appropriate safety checklists for hazards and processes within an organization, these metrics, along with their derivative components, can help an organization determine what is safe or what good looks like.
1. As inspections increase, incidents go down.
This is the easiest metric to measure, and it is important to pro- mote inspection activity. However, doing more inspections alone will solve for nothing. The act of collecting more and more safety inspections, by itself, does very little. That would be like trying to lose weight by standing on the scale more often. It helps to provide information, and is necessary to gain insights, but it is simply the first step.
2. The probability of having an incident decreases as the num- ber and diversity of the people performing inspection increases.
Sending the safety team out to conduct more inspections isn’t the answer. In order for safety to improve, ownership by the team is essential. This means that everyone in the organization, from lead- ers to front-line supervisors to workers, has a part to play in identi- fying hazards, reporting them, and helping to mitigate the risk they pose—both short- and long-term.
3. Too many 100% safe inspections are predictive of higher
injury rates.
Typically, a high number of inspections with no at-risk findings are seen on work sites with a relatively higher rate of injury. One would think that as safety efforts improve, fewer at-risk findings would be found. However, as long as humans are involved in the process, error will be present. In addition, as one systemic issue is discovered and addressed, another is likely to surface that was virtually unseen before. Another potential issue with reporting at- risk observations is the negative connotation it can pose to those within an organization. The opportunity to improve should be seen as a gift instead of an accusation or a curse. Finding and addressing at-risk items allows an organization to learn and grow positively, while driving continuous improvement overall.
4. Too many at-risk observations are predictive of higher in- jury rates.
While this metric may seem counter to the previous 100% safe metric, this is a relative measurement. Finding at-risks is not the problem. Finding the same systemic issue repeatedly can be a problem. As an example, an observation finds someone stand- ing on the top of a ladder during a work site inspection. As a conscientious person, the observer stops the work and makes it safe. The issue is discussed with the worker and a safe resolution is sought. The problem is averted and the observer moves on. But how many times has this happened? What if the data indicated it
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