OTJ Book

The
SAFETY PROGRAM MANUAL

2
nd
Edition
OFF-THE-JOB
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W
hile companies work diligently to manage, track and
reduce unintentional workplace injuries and deaths, there
are a limited number of efforts aimed at managing off-the-job safety.
And yet, employees are safer at their jobs than when they leave
work. In fact, nine out of 10 deaths and two-thirds of disabling
injuries suffered by workers in 2004 occurred off the job. And off-
the-job injuries to workers cost the nation at least $193.6 billion in
2004 compared to $142.2 billion for workplace injuries.
The Off-The-Job Safety Program Manual 2nd Edition takes you
through the numbers: investing in off-the-job safety, collecting data
and measuring off-the-job safety costs. It outlines the elements of a
successful program, discusses motivating employees and creating
the right workplace culture, and offers tips and tactics for communi-
cating your off-the-job safety program. The last chapter summarizes
off-the-job safety topics that can be applied within your off-the-job
safety program.
NSC 12211-0000
ISBN 0-87912-267-6
The
2
nd
Edition
OFF-THE-JOB
toc.qxd 1/17/06 2:58 PM Page i
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the National Safety Council is to educate and influence
society to adopt safety, health, and environmental policies, practices,
and procedures that prevent and mitigate human suffering and eco-
nomic losses arising from preventable causes.
COPYRIGHT, WAIVER OF FIRST SALE DOCTRINE
The National Safety Councils materials are fully protected by the
United States copyright laws and are solely for the noncommercial,
internal use of the purchaser. Without the prior written consent of the
National Safety Council, purchaser agrees that such materials shall not
be rented, leased, loaned, sold, transferred, assigned, broadcast in any
media form, publicly exhibited or used outside the organization of the
purchaser, or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise. Use of these materials for training for which
compensation is received is prohibited, unless authorized by the
National Safety Council in writing.
DISCLAIMER
Although the information and recommendations contained in this pub-
lication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, the
National Safety Council makes no guarantee as to, and assumes no
responsibility for, the correctness, sufficiency, or completeness of such
information or recommendations. Other or additional safety measures
may be required under particular circumstances
Copyright 2006 by the National Safety Council
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
09 08 07 06 4 3 2 1
5C0106 NSC 12211-0000 ISBN 0-87912-267-6
The Off-the-Job Safety Program Manual | 2nd Edition
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Table of Contents
Introduction v
Chapter 1: The national perspective 1
Chapter 2: Investing in off-the-job safety: 9
The dividends
Chapter 3: Elements of a successful program 15
Chapter 4: Data collection: Proving return 23
on investment
Chapter 5: Measuring off-the-job safety costs 33
Chapter 6: Motivation and safety culture 45
Chapter 7: Communicating the plan 53
Chapter 8: Program topics: Ideas for 61
moving forward
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Introduction
W
reduce unintentional workplace injuries and deaths,
there are a limited number of efforts aimed at managing off-the-
job safety. And, passage of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act with stringent rules covering confidentiality
of health and hospital records makes it even harder for employ-
ers by reducing the availability of off-the-job safety data.
Other factors inhibiting the growth of company-based off-the-
job safety programs include a lack of understanding of the finan-
cial ramifications of off-the-job injury and death costs, a lack of
interest among management and workers, lack of time to develop
and maintain data collection systems, lack of experience with col-
lecting and handling off-the-job injury data, a delay in reporting
of off-the-job injuries, and a lack of staffing to handle the data.
There also is a lack of understanding as to what off-the-job safety
data means and what to do with it once it is collected.
Nonetheless, it is imperative that companies understand the
importance of promoting off-the-job safety to their employees,
and involve them in a discussion on the topic. The incentive for
employees is just as economically viable the ability to help
ensure safety for their family, a stable source of income, manage-
ment of insurance and health care costs, and preservation of
company capital.
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In fact, companies that share financial data regarding off-the-
job safety costs find that employees are willing to take greater
ownership in such issues. Employee involvement in safety is
always the most crucial issue in the success of such programs, and
the same is true for an off-the-job safety program that extends
beyond the workplace to include families.
The goal of any off-the-job safety program is to persuade
employees to follow the same good safety practices outside of the
workplace as they do on the job. Actually, off-the-job safety is a
logical extension of occupational safety. Experience indicates,
however, that many individuals tend to leave their safety training
at the workplace when they go home.
The facts
The off-the-job safety statistics are staggering.
Employees are safer at their jobs than when they leave
work.
Nine out of 10 deaths and two-thirds of disabling injuries
suffered by workers in 2004 occurred off the job.
Off-the-job injuries to workers cost the nation at least
$193.6 billion in 2004 compared with $142.2 billion for
workplace injuries. Some costs are paid directly in the form
of wages to absent workers and the cost of hiring and train-
ing replacement workers. Some of the cost is hidden: lost
production, lost sales, late deliveries and ultimately, lost
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customers. And some of the cost is hidden even deeper.
Growing community accidents result in increased insur-
ance costs, taxes and welfare contributions.
Off-the-job injuries and fatalities are numerous and varied.
They occur in the home, in public, during recreational activities
and while on the road. These injuries and fatalities are classified
as off-the-job because they do not arise out of, nor in the course
of, employment.
So, why should employers care about off-the-job safety?
Its the right thing to do. While companies have a legal
responsibility to prevent occupational injuries and deaths,
they have a moral responsibility to try to prevent injuries
away from the job.
It creates good will and good publicity. A company that
cares for its employees after they leave work is showing a
commitment to the community which reflects well on the
company.
It offers a recruiting edge. Off-the-job safety is an additional
benefit that can be used to attract and retain employees.
It saves money. Operating costs and production schedules
are affected as much when employees are injured away
from work as when they are injured on the job.
Injury, illness and death off the job are as emotionally and
financially costly to employees and their families as injury, illness
and death on the job. And the impact on employers profits is
Introduction
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considerable. For example, to offset a $150 accident involving
only a minor emergency medical treatment, an organization must
produce at least that much in profits. If a company makes a 10
percent profit on every dollar, it has to sell $1,500 in goods or
services to cover that expense.
These facts and figures illustrate the seriousness of unintention-
al off-the-job injuries and deaths and the need to reduce these
accidents. An off-the-job safety program can help reduce off-the-
job accidents in the same way traditional safety programs reduce
occupational accidents.
This off-the-job safety manual is not intended to be an in-depth
guide for the complete structuring and implementation of an orga-
nizations off-the-job safety program. Organizations needs and cir-
cumstances vary too greatly for that to be possible. However, this
manual does discuss concepts and provides the basic elements to
consider when developing any off-the-job safety program.
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Chapter 1
The national
perspective
W
orkplace safety numbers have dramatically improved dur-
ing the last 30 years. Total occupational injuries are down,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workplace fatalities
are down to historically low levels. While the number of
American workers rose to more than 140 million in 2004, total
workplace deaths are down to 4,952 according to National
Safety Council estimates.
The total cost of workplace injuries in 2004 was $142.2 billion,
with wage and productivity losses comprising $73.3 billion of that
total. Medical costs were another $26 billion and administrative
costs totaled $31 billion. More than 80 million days were lost to
workplace injuries in 2004.
Paying the toll
Yet as staggering as those numbers are, they are small in compari-
son to the cost of off-the-job injuries to Americas workforce. More
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than 44,000 workers died off the job in 2004, and another 6.8 mil-
lion were injured, including 3 million in the home.
Nine out of 10 deaths and about two-thirds of the injuries suf-
fered by workers occurred away from work in 2004. The off-the-job
death rate is five times higher than the workplace death rate, and
off-the-job injuries cost the nation an additional $193.6 billion in
2004 more than 36 percent higher than the cost of workplace
injuries.
Motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 cause of death to work-
ers on and off the job. Between 1993 and 2002, transportation
accidents accounted for 42 percent of all fatalities on the job.
Almost 55 percent of all off-the-job fatalities are the result of
motor vehicle accidents, and the off-the-job death rate in motor
vehicles is almost 28 times higher than the death rate at work.
2
FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE WORKERS
TO REPORT OFF-THE-JOB INJURIES:
Mandatory reporting company policy, disciplinary
action
Voluntary reporting training and re-training of
employees, continuing verbal and written communication,
demonstrating the cost of off-the-job injuries
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Injuries and fatalities in the home also have a devastating impact
on the workplace. More than 3 million workers suffered disabling
injuries at home in 2004 more than double the 1.3 million hurt
in off-the-job vehicle accidents and almost as many as were hurt
on the job (3.7 million). More than 12,600 workers were killed at
home nearly three times the number of workplace fatalities.
The survey says
Companies are starting to understand the importance of employee
safety away from work. To quantify employer perceptions, the
National Safety Council examined company attitudes toward off-
the-job safety by surveying 1,300 companies. The findings were
CH 1 | THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
3
FACTORS THAT DISCOURAGE WORKERS
FROM REPORTING OFF-THE-JOB INJURIES:
Fear of retribution/disciplinary action
Fear of discovery or being singled out
Indifference
Peer pressure
Privacy concerns
Loss of income or benefits
Lack of communication between workers
and management
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somewhat startling given the staggering numbers of injuries and
deaths off the job.
Nearly 60 percent of responding companies said they believe
the cost of off-the-job injuries is equal to or greater than the cost
of workplace injuries.
Responding companies most often used the cost of lost produc-
tion days to calculate the cost of off-the-job injuries.
While more than half the responding companies said they
promote off-the-job safety in the workplace, 43 percent of the
companies have no off-the-job safety program. And nearly two-
thirds of existing company-wide off-the-job safety programs
have not been formally evaluated.
The two most important barriers to the implementation of off-
the-job safety programs were lack of resources and lack of interest.
Other factors includ-
ing confidentiality/lia-
bility concerns, compet-
ing priorities, lack of
motivation/role model
and logistic difficulties
also were mentioned as
affecting organizational
decisions not to be
involved in promoting
4
WHY DONT ALL COMPANIES
OFFER OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY
PROGRAMS?
Lack of resources
Lack of interest
Lack of awareness
Lack of information
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off-the-job safety in the workplace.
In addition to safety programs, responding companies said they
offer health promotion programs to employees and families.
About 40 percent of companies said they offer general health edu-
cation. Other health programs offered included smoking cessation
(36 percent), fitness training (35 percent), stress management (34
percent) and weight management (27 percent).
Respondents ranked nine specific types of safety and health
programs based on their potential to improve worker safety and
health off the job. The top five programs, listed in order of
importance, were fitness training, stress management, health edu-
cation, smoking cessation and defensive driving courses.
5
WHAT SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS
DO EMPLOYERS OFFER?
First Aid/CPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75%
Health education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41%
Disaster preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37%
Smoking cessation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36%
Fitness training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35%
Defensive driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34%
Stress management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34%
Weight management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27%
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Collecting data
Only about 25 percent of all companies reported keeping off-the-
job injury data. More than half the companies collected such data
either from the workers themselves or from their supervisors.
About 10 percent of the companies said they rely on reports from
health insurance providers, and about one-third of employers said
they use a combination of employee and health insurance data.
In most cases, data collected included the nature of the injury,
the date of the injury, the body part affected, the type of incident
that caused the injury and the days away from work.
One in three responding companies (33 percent) said the
human resources staff gathers off-the-job injury reports. Less fre-
quently, companies cited medical staff (24 percent), frontline
supervisors (19 percent), safety managers (14 percent) or other
personnel (10 percent) as the primary party responsible for col-
lecting data, according to the survey.
Companies said they use face-to-face interviews with injured
workers to collect off-the-job injury information. Telephone, fax,
email and other communications channels were used less frequently.
One in three companies (32 percent) indicated that they have
access to off-the-job injury information from external sources. Of
those, health insurance carriers are the most common source of injury
information (57 percent) followed by employee benefit coordinators
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(29 percent) and casualty/liability insurance carriers (14 percent).
When companies institute mandatory reporting policies for off-
the-job injuries, or when companies institute a continuing off-the-
job education program and explain the cost and benefits of con-
stant attention to safety at home and on the job, it is more likely
employees will report off-the-job injuries promptly.
Employee participation is mandatory in only 44.4 percent of
existing off-the-job safety programs, according to respondents.
Where such programs are started, almost 80 percent of companies
said they involve employees in the planning of the program, and
more than 83 percent of companies said they use employee feed-
back to evaluate the off-the-job program.
More than 75 percent of companies reported increasing
employee participation in off-the-job programs. In almost 58 per-
cent of companies, off-the-job injuries are on the decline, accord-
ing to responding companies.
By contrast, when the existing communication between manage-
ment and workers is poor, when employees fear they will lose
wages or benefits, when there are privacy concerns or when
employees fear disciplinary action, employees are less likely to
report off-the-job injuries. About half of companies designate HR
staff to maintain off-the-job injury records. Nearly two-thirds of
companies maintain off-the-job injury records both electronically
and in paper-based form.
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Chapter 2
Investing in
off-the-job safety:
The dividends
A
ny company large or small should invest in off-the-job
safety. The investment does not have to be complicated nor
extravagant to yield a high return. In fact, the crucial question is
not whether an organization can afford to invest in off-the-job
safety, but whether it can afford not to.
Why invest? The cost of a single off-the-job accident can
exceed the total investment in off-the-job safety. For example, a
lingering accidental disability that eventually results in death may
involve an extended hospitalization with specialized treatment,
weekly payment of disability benefits, and finally, death benefits.
All of these benefits may eventually be paid by the employer.
The cost of off-the-job accidents
Money spent to keep employees from being injured away from
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work is a sound investment. Many employers that have tracked
and maintained records of reductions in off-the-job accidents are
nearly unanimous: the money spent on off-the-job safety educa-
tion was more than returned in subsequent savings.
The fact is that off-the-job safety programs save money.
Perhaps the biggest is the savings in reduced lost workdays.
Consider the accident statistics below for 2004 showing that off-
the-job deaths occur nearly nine times as often as deaths on the
job. Off-the-job disabling injuries occur nearly twice as often as
on-the-job disabling injuries.
10
UNINTENTIONAL ON- AND OFF-THE-JOB INJURIES
AND DEATHS AMONG U.S. WORKERS: 2004
Place Deaths Disabling injuries
All 49,052 10,500,000
On the job 4,952 3,700,000
Off the job 44,100 6,800,000
Motor vehicle 23,900 1,300,000
Public non-motor vehicle 7,600 2,500,000
Home 12,600 3,000,000
Source: National Safety Council estimates
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Translating these statistics into costs and lost production time is
even more revealing.
Off-the-job injuries and deaths to workers in 2004 cost the
nation at least $193.6 billion. This figure includes lost wages,
medical and hospital costs and administrative expenses associat-
ed with insurance. (They do not include costs associated with
property damage or personal loss.)
Employers lost 165 million days of production time in 2004 due
to off-the-job accidents. This figure compares with 80 million lost
work days resulting from workplace injuries.
Future lost production time resulting from off-the-job injuries
occurring in 2004 will total an estimated 420 million days more
than six times the 65 million days lost in future years resulting
from workplace injuries occurring in 2004.
Some of the costs associated with off-the-job injuries are appar-
ent. As stated above, wage losses and medical and hospital insur-
ance costs for employees are direct costs.
However, hidden costs also increase with an off-the-job injury.
For example, an off-the-job injury may result in production slow-
downs and delays, costly retraining and replacement, or costly
overtime put in by the employees who must pick up the slack. An
unscheduled absence also may result in lost sales, late deliveries,
and ultimately, lost customers.
CH 2 | INVESTING IN OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY: THE DIVIDENDS
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Further, there are costs associated with replacement employees,
including additional personnel department costs, additional wages
spent on training and lost sales resulting from slower production.
Employers also should recognize the cost of tools damaged and
materials spoiled by new replacement employees. In addition, the
possibility of injury occurring to the replacement or substitute
employees because of their unfamiliarity with the job or plant is very
real and may require more substitutions, increasing losses further.
These costs are all in addition to the fact that most companies
have some type of salary continuance or weekly disability pro-
gram for injured employees. Therefore, the company actually is
paying two salaries or wages to accomplish the same job previ-
ously handled by one person.
Many times an employee who returns to work following a dis-
abling injury may be only half as productive as normal during the
first 40 hours back on the job. So even after employees return to
work, losses can still occur.
Additionally, an employees productivity at work can be affected
by an off-the-job injury to a family member. For example, an
employee may stay home to care for an injured family member.
Attendance, punctuality and powers of concentration on the job are
all affected by injured family members.
The personal cost to an injured person is often beyond meas-
ure. Physical suffering, loss of earning power and an upset home
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environment come into play. Worry and anxiety can rapidly lead
to an alarming neglect of safety on the job and quite possibly
an occupational accident.
Public and employee relations
In addition to the associated cost savings, an off-the-job safety
program can be an excellent public relations tool. Community
residents witness that company management is serious about its
commitment to employee safety and that this commitment
extends to employees families as well. The result can be
improved acceptance of the company in the community.
An off-the-job safety program also can enhance the communica-
tion between employee and supervisor. In turn, this can reinforce
good employee morale and encourage a positive safety attitude on
the job. The result is improved safety awareness on the job. This is
especially true when off-the-job and workplace safety programs
operate side by side. In fact, it is recommended that off-the-job and
occupational safety efforts be integrated.
While many companies are building outstanding occupational
safety records, their employees continue to suffer disabling
injuries and deaths while off the job. As with workplace accidents,
off-the-job accidents affect production and schedules. For the
most beneficial results, occupational and off-the-job safety should
be integrated.
CH 2 | INVESTING IN OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY: THE DIVIDENDS
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The final analysis
A program that can increase production and reduce operating
costs makes good economic sense. But an off-the-job safety pro-
gram is much more than a money saver. Its really a lifesaver. For
example, a company-sponsored, first aid cardiopulmonary resus-
citation class can make an important and positive difference to the
lives of employees and their families.
As with any viable occupational safety program, management
involvement and participation in off-the-job safety must be vocal,
visible and continuous from top management through division
managers to first-line supervisors. In this competitive economic
climate, companies must have an ongoing formalized off-the-job
safety program that is equal to and integrated with a strong occu-
pational safety program.
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Chapter 3
Elements of a
successful program
A
n off-the-job safety program is similar in many respects to
on-the-job safety programming. Management support and
an operating budget are just two requirements that the programs
share.
As with occupational safety, an off-the-job safety program is
comprised of several components including those concerning
administrative or management issues, operational or technical
issues, and cultural and behavioral issues. No one component is
more important than another; each should be given equal consid-
eration as part of a continuous improvement process.
There are five steps in the continuous improvement process for
implementing a successful off-the-job safety program.
Step 1: The first phase of the continuous improvement process is
to provide management commitment and involvement. In fact,
successful workplace safety and health processes exist in compa-
nies where management takes an active role.
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Management commitment and involvement is usually a reflec-
tion of the executive teams philosophy. Executive management
must drive the off-the-job safety effort keeping in mind that their
actions reveal more than their words.
Within this step, management must:
Create and communicate their vision for off-the-job safety
Set performance standards including goals, actions, time
frames and follow up
Define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
16
COMPONENTS OF AN OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY PROGRAM
Administrative/ Management leadership
management issues and commitment
Organizational communications
and system documentation
Assessments, audits, evaluations
and continuous improvement
Operational/technical Hazard recognition,
issues evaluation and control
Cultural/behavioral Employee involvement
issues
Motivation, behavior and attitude
Training and orientation
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Establish measurement and evaluation systems
Champion the off-the-job safety program
Step 2: Once senior management makes a commitment, a baseline
should be established to assess the current status of off-the-job
injuries and determine the direction of future efforts. This baseline
measurement will help executives focus their efforts. Within this
step, organizations should:
Identify target areas for the off-the-job safety program
Conduct a gap analysis to determine areas for improvement
Analyze the results of the gap analysis
Develop measurement systems
Communicate the findings of the assessment and the future
direction of the program
Step 3: After establishing a baseline, the next step is to set
improvement goals. Management should establish measurable
improvement goals whether these goals are based on financial
or quantity reductions in off-the-job injuries. Management should
ensure the goals are aligned with occupational safety improve-
ment plans and other business priorities. These goals should be
communicated to all employees.
In setting goals, management should keep several helpful hints
and precautions in mind:
CH 3 | ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM
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Use S-M-A-R-T goals. SMART stands for specific-measurable-
actionable-realistic and time-oriented. SMART is used in
strategic planning by all industries and types of organizations.
SMART goals are more likely to be met than non-specific,
non-measurable, non-actionable goals. Goals should be
clear and manageable, otherwise problems may never be
resolved.
Goals do not solve the problem. Once the information is
gathered, the problem needs to be identified and goals need
to be set. But, remember goals do not solve the problem. For
example, a company with a high rate of off-the-job back
injuries during the winter months may set a goal to reduce
back injuries. Merely setting the goal will not reduce back
injuries. Education on safe practices for snow removal will
reduce back injuries.
Too many goals. Often when following a goal-setting process,
dozens of problems are uncovered. Although it may be
tempting to try to solve all of the problems right away, goals
must be prioritized with strategies to reach each.
Step 4: To close the gap between the current off-the-job safety
environment and the desired off-the-job safety environment, plans
must be implemented. Management should make these plans
happen providing training when and where it is needed.
In this phase, management should take the following steps.
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Develop action strategies. Once goals are set, plans must be
developed to reach the goals. A good way to create a plan is
to answer the basic questions of who, what, when, where,
how and why. Some goals will require several plans. For
example, one plan might be developed to address physical
changes needed to improve off-the-job safety, while another
plan should be developed to train employees and managers
on these physical changes.
Implement the strategies. Too often, managers think their
jobs end when the plans are developed. Management needs
to follow up to see that strategies are implemented. Another
challenge at this point is the potential loss of energy.
Although identifying problems and setting goals can be excit-
ing, a great deal of energy is exerted in these phases. Energies
also may begin to lag with the more routine, less exciting
tasks of implementing strategies.
Monitor the results. Are the plans resulting in improvements?
Results must be monitored to answer this question.
Acknowledge successes. Employees need to understand that
off-the-job safety is as important as workplace safety. To instill
this understanding, management should acknowledge suc-
cesses of the off-the-job safety program. Publicizing success in
a company newsletter or a safety memo can be very effective.
Giving away caps or T-shirts once a key goal has been
CH 3 | ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM
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achieved can be a walking ad as well as motivator for employ-
ees. Competition as reported on the safety measurement
results also may be used as incentive and acknowledgement.
Step 5: Review and adjust. By learning what did and didnt work,
management can discard what didnt work. Management should
continually assess repeating the entire process.
Build on success. One way to keep improving is to continue
to improve ongoing programs. Build on successes by increas-
ing goals for existing programs.
Reexamine failures. Another way to keep improving is to
examine failures. A program may not succeed, but there may
be aspects worth continuing.
Repeat the process. Repeat the continuous improvement
process to find new areas for goals. Once team members
have been through the continuous improvement process,
they can lead other groups of employees through it. As more
people become involved, they will find and solve even more
problems.
In creating an off-the-job safety program, a company must first
clarify and establish its safety and health philosophy, beliefs, and
vision or mission. Through these efforts, a culture that promotes
safety and health both on and off the job is established.
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CH 3 | ELEMENTS OF A SUCESSFUL PROGRAM
21
SUCCESS GUIDELINES FOR AN
OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY PROGRAM
The following factors are essential to an effective off-the-job
safety program:
1. Management and employee participation must be vocal,
visible and continuous from top management through all
levels, including first-line supervisors, to employees.
Conveying the feeling that management is concerned for its
employees is essential. At the same time, employees must
feel involved in the program by being allowed to participate
in its development. Use employee-management safety com-
mittees as a basis to develop off-the-job safety programs.
2. Results are better when the safety message gets into the
home. The family can be extremely influential in bringing
about attitude changes.
Some suggestions include making materials sent to the
home attractive, well organized and informative to cap-
ture the readers attention. A letter from the plant manag-
er or other top management is always an attention getter.
3. The interest of cooperating employees and groups should
appear spontaneous, as much as possible. Play down that
this is part of a systematic campaign.
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22
4. Make use of management authority when appropriate,
but go easy. It is best that most of the activity be conduct-
ed by fellow employees.
5. Order all materials well in advance and have them on
hand before beginning the campaign. Make sure all par-
ticipants know their parts and will carry out their duties as
scheduled. Timing is important.
6. Keep the individual safety campaigns going at a good
pace, but terminate them at definite, predetermined dates.
There is such a thing as overdoing it!
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Chapter 4
Data collection:
Proving return on
investment
O
ne of the biggest stumbling blocks for any company initiat-
ing an off-the-job safety program is data collection. And yet,
data collection and recordkeeping are critical to prove program
value and return on investment. In general, organizations should
develop a workable system of data collection and recordkeeping
that is in accordance with established policies and practices.
Data collection may seem insurmountable. But some basic
sources of off-the-job data currently exist for most companies.
These include:
Company medical records and personnel records
Insurance department or benefits administrator records
Accident and health insurance carrier records
Timekeeping or payroll department records
Supervisor records
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Company medical records and personnel records: Organizations
that require all absentees to receive clearance through the medical
or first aid department before returning to work have a ready-made
data collection system. The department nurse or the medical or first
aid treatment facility automatically becomes the clearinghouse for
all absences. Nurses can initiate a report identifying off-the-job
accidents and causes.
Insurance department or benefits administrator records: The
insurance department or benefits administrator may have useful
off-the-job data. Most organizations have an insurance plan for
non-work-related injuries and illnesses. When an employees
insurance benefits application is processed, the administrator can
indicate if it is an off-the-job accident-related claim. Off-the-job
injury information can be compiled later. While this process
works for non-exempt staff, salaried employees have a salary con-
tinuance benefit. Thus, their lost time would not appear on many
companies insurance department records. In this instance, a sup-
plemental method may be added to the system to pick up the
salaried-employee cases. If this is not feasible, it should be noted
in the program structure that the data tracking system for off-the-
job accidents includes only wage-employee experience.
Accident and health insurance carrier records: Insurance carri-
ers administering accident and health insurance for employees and
their families are one of the best sources of off-the-job information.
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Insurance carriers may be able to provide annual cost data on the
dollar amount paid out for off-the-job injuries during the policy
year. Although this may be a good source for off-the-job injury costs,
the employer will have to generate specific loss information.
Timekeeping or payroll department records: Many companies
require employees to report absences to their employer. The per-
son designated to receive these calls may ask the caller to give the
reason for the absence. More details should be gathered about the
accident if it is an off-the-job injury. This information can then be
compiled into a report that identifies the number of employee off-
the-job injuries during a time period, as well as accident types,
causes and sources.
Supervisor records: In some companies, the most reliable and
perhaps only source of off-the-job accident data will be an employ-
ees supervisor. The supervisor will be the first to receive word of the
absence and its cause. The supervisor should make a record of off-
the-job-related absences for the purpose of the follow-up.
Other reporting systems may be established, such as a volun-
tary reporting system. However, the test of any reporting system is
whether all incidents of employee off-the-job injuries are being
reported. For example, if only 75 percent of the incidents are
being reported, then the companys off-the-job incident rates will
be significantly lower than the actual experience.
CH 4 | DATA COLLECTION: PROVING RETURN ON INVESTMENT
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Gathering off-the-job injury data
The best way to ensure accurate off-the-job data reporting is to
have easy reporting mechanisms. For example, an easy-to-under-
stand form that can be filled out during telephone conversation
will prompt greater participation in the data gathering effort.
The people handling the phone calls, however, have to be both
understanding and discreet. An employee who calls in to report a
fatal accident of a family member will expect understanding and
sympathy, and may not be too interested in relaying who or what
may have been the contributing cause of the death. Pressing too
hard to get every detail in the early stages of the program can turn
off people.
As employees better understand the benefits of the program and
see a genuine concern expressed by their employers, employees
will be more likely to share meaningful off-the-job injury data. As
the program moves forward and people become familiar with the
need for detailed information, they will be more cooperative in
supplying needed information.
The validity of the data collected is in direct proportion to
employee understanding and appreciation of the program objec-
tives. It is critical to plan and launch an educational campaign
explaining the purpose for obtaining the information. Be sure that
those who record the initial information do not misunderstand
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their function to gather information for educational and statisti-
cal purposes, not to gather information to be used against the
employee.
Leading off-the-job disabling injuries
Many factors affect the off-the-job injury experience of each organ-
ization. Variances will occur by geography both regionally and by
rural, suburban and urban areas. For instance, accident patterns in
the northern United States may differ from those in the southern part
of the country. In addition, age can be a major factor in certain types
of accidents.
Most organizations have found that falls, motor vehicle accidents,
sports and overexertion sprains/strains account for the majority of
their off-the-job safety statistics. In fact, according to the National
Safety Council, the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the
home and community in 2004 was falls.
While these statistics are based on national data and, as stated,
regional variances exist, they do suggest some major areas of
focus for off-the-job programs. Understanding the scope of an
organizations off-the-job safety problems can lead the way
toward establishing an effective results-oriented program.
For example, if employees and their family members are swim-
ming enthusiasts, it makes no sense to run a program on sky div-
ing safety. This obvious example makes a necessary point: If the
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off-the-job program is to be effective, it must be aimed at tackling
the real problems and setting meaningful priorities.
To uncover and assess these problems, organizations must first
determine how employees and their family members are being
hurt. Then, they must examine the records to find leading causes
of all off-the-job safety problems. Once the specific problems are
identified, programming efforts can be directed where they will
do the most good.
This data also can be used as a benchmark to estimate the most
prevalent types of accidents for a particular organization.
28
LEADING CAUSES OF UNINTENTIONAL DEATHS
IN THE HOME AND COMMUNITY: 2004
Falls 19,500 deaths
Poisoning 13,200 deaths
Choking* 4,900 deaths
Drowning 3,700 deaths
Fires/flames 3,800 deaths
All other 17,000 deaths
* Inhalation and ingestion of food or other object that obstructs breathing
Source: National Safety Council estimates
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The actual number of employee off-the-job injuries and lost
workdays can offer a realistic picture of the total loss experience.
These are the major concerns of top management, and a well-doc-
umented presentation may readily obtain their support for estab-
lishing an off-the-job safety program.
Recording and classifying data
In recording off-the-job injuries, organizations must decide what
categories of off-the-job injuries to record. For example, will the
statistical record show employee off-the-job injuries that resulted in
one or more full workdays lost; employee lost time and employee
non-lost time off-the-job injuries; spouse and dependent injuries;
and/or retiree off-the-job injuries? Normally, categories are estab-
lished for each of these injury areas, depending on the availability
of the information.
General injury classifications must be established that describe
the off-the-job situations pertinent to the organization. Specific
cause/source information should be set up under each general
category. This classification method will help to identify and ana-
lyze patterns and common features of the organizations off-the-job
cases. This is the starting point for off-the-job accident analysis.
There are three major classifications of off-the-job accidents.
1. Transportation accidents. These are injury-producing events
that occur outside the home and involve a vehicle designed
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primarily for transporting people or goods from one place to
another. This includes motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft,
railway cars, motorcycles and bicycles.
Excluded are injuries in sports where the transportation is
incidental to the sporting activity, such as the use of a boat
for fishing, or accidents on a ski tow. Also excluded are
injuries occurring during transportation, but unrelated to the
hazards associated with the means of transportation. For
example, excluded would be injuries received from tripping
over luggage at an airport.
2. Home accidents. These are injury-producing events that
occur in the home (whether owned or rented) or on the
home premises. This includes apartments or hotel rooms if
they constitute a regular residence.
3. Public accidents. These are injury-producing events that occur
in areas other than the home or transportation-related areas.
Off-the-job injury categories
An off-the-job injury report form should be devised to record and
classify accidents. To determine if the number of injury categories
listed on the report form are adequate, calculate the percentage of
total off-the-job injuries under the Other category. If this per-
centage is more than 5 to 10 percent, not enough categories have
been included.
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If some categories are seldom used or consistently result in less
than one percent of the total off-the-job injuries, the category may
be combined with another. For example, under the Home clas-
sification of off-the-job injuries, two categories are used for Hand
ToolsPowered and Hand ToolsUnpowered. If the total for
each category is a fraction of 1 percent, then both of these cate-
gories could be combined into one and listed as Hand Tools
Powered or Unpowered.
An organizations off-the-job injury experience should dictate
what is best for the situation. It is recommended, however, that a
company begin with a variety of categories and then reduce the
number later as experience is gained.
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Chapter 5
Measuring off-the-
job safety costs
W
hat is the cost of off-the-job accidents?
The answer to this question will help resolve a number of issues
regarding an off-the-job safety program. This data can be used to:
Determine the extent of an organizations off-the-job problem
Establish a program operating budget
Help sell the off-the-job safety program to top management
No organization is aware of all the costs resulting from
off-the-job accidents, or the full impact on operations and
profits. However, enough experience has been accumulated
to develop a simplified plan for estimating such costs. There
are two types of costs associated with off-the-job injuries
direct and indirect costs.
Direct Costs. These costs are wages and benefits paid to injured
employees while off the job, including disability insurance pay-
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ments, medical and hospital costs, and medical and hospital costs
for retirees and employees families. Organizations insured by an
outside carrier should use the premiums paid on that portion of
health and accident policies that cover accident experience to
determine cost. Self-insured organizations should take the amount
of claims paid for the off-the-job injuries plus the cost of adminis-
tering the program to determine the cost.
Indirect costs of disabling injuries and non-disabling injuries.
The indirect costs of disabling injuries is an amount estimated to
be equal to the direct costs, or the value of wage losses even if
wages are not paid for all lost time. Indirect non-disabling cost is
estimated as being about two-thirds of the indirect disabling cost.
However, these are conservative estimates for determining indi-
rect cost. Indirect costs can range from 1 to 10 times the direct
costs, depending on the type of industry or organization involved.
These costs may include such factors as:
Personnel cost of hiring replacements
Wage cost of supervisors for time spent in training replace-
ment employees
Wage cost due to lower output of replacement employees
during break-in period
Products, materials and tools spoiled by replacement workers
during break-in period
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Wage cost of time lost by other employees who were delayed
getting started because the injured employee was a member
of a team, and his or her knowledgeable input was needed
CH 5 | MEASURING OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY COSTS
35
CALCULATING OFF-THE-JOB INJURY COSTS
Below is an example of how to estimate the cost of an off-the-job
injury.
Company X carries full accident, health and disability insurance
on all of its 1,000 employees. For purposes of this example, fami-
ly coverage is excluded. Company Xs insurance carrier stated that
20 percent, or $150,000, of the annual premium for both group
insurance policies went to pay for employee off-the-job injuries.
Estimating the direct and indirect costs is done as follows:
Direct cost $150,000
(insurance benefits paid for the off-the-job injuries)
Indirect disabling injury cost $150,000
(1:1 ratio to direct cost)
Indirect non-disabling injury cost $100,000
(2:3 ratio to indirect disabling injury cost)
Total annual estimated direct and indirect
off-the-job employee injury cost $400,000
Cost per employee (1,000) $400
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Wage cost due to decreased output by injured employees
Wage cost due to decreased output by injured employee
upon return to work
Wage cost of other employees who may be slowed down,
either because the injured employee was slow, temporarily
absent or needed the help of other employees
Spoilage of products or materials due to less efficient work
because of the injury, upon the employees return to work
Off-the-job costs vary by company, depending upon the insur-
ance plans in force, scope of coverage and plan provisions. For
example, if a companys disability insurance requires a waiting
period before paying, the disability costs will be less than for a
plan paying disability from the first day of an absence due to an
off-the-job accident.
Setting a goal
To show progress or improvements in off-the-job safety, organiza-
tions should set targets for reductions in the number of off-the-job
injuries. The reduction can then be translated into dollar savings.
The program budget could be based on a percentage of the
return on investment projected. For example, if an organizations
off-the-job injury cost is $250,000, and it projects that a budget of
$7,500 could save $37,500 (or 15 percent of its total off-the-job
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injury cost), the estimated net return would be $30,000 or 400
percent.
If top management can expect a reasonable return on their
organizations investment, they will be more likely to support the
program. Because of the high cost of off-the-job accidents, any
reduction in accident rates will bring substantial savings to the
organization.
Measuring off-the-job injury
Companies should use a uniform method for determining off-the-job
accident data. However, current methods of information gathering,
recording and measuring of employee accidental off-the-job injuries
may vary across the board. Only when companies with off-the-job
safety programs treat their accident data uniformly can the data
necessary for computation of off-the-job accidental injury frequency
rates nationwide be determined.
When compiling off-the-job accident data for computation of
an overall off-the-job accidental injury incidence rate, these defi-
nitions should be considered:
Employee Any person on the company payroll, full or part time,
at the time of injury. This excludes temporary part-time staff paid
directly by an outside agency.
Employees family Spouses or dependents of employees living at
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home with the employee and/or are covered under employees
accident and health insurance plan.
Retiree Retired employees covered under the employers acci-
dent and health insurance plan.
Off-the-job injury An injury suffered by an employee, employee
family member or retiree that is not the result of a workplace
accident.
Days of disability (employee off-the-job injuries only) A first day
of disability is any full work shift or any full workday that an
employee is unable, because of an off-the-job injury, to perform
the essential functions of his or her regularly established job.
In the case of a permanent total disability, days of disability
would be the number of days the employee was unable to work
between the date of the accident and the date the company
decides the employee will not be able to return to some form of
gainful employment.
In the case of an off-the-job fatality, the days of disability would
be the number of days the employee was unable to work between
the date of the accident and the date of death. If the death
occurred on the day of the off-the-job accident, there would be no
days of disability recorded. However, the fatality is included in the
total of off-the-job accidents during the month in which the acci-
dent occurred.
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Death Any off-the-job injury that ultimately results in death
regardless of the time between the occurrence of the injury and
death. Exclusions under this definition include:
Illnesses
Suicide or attempted suicide
Legal intervention employee injuries experienced while
resisting arrest; attempting to escape from, or disobeying the
orders of a duly constituted officer of the law; employee
death resulting from a legal execution
Military duty
Moonlighting any injury experienced while performing
work for another employer for financial gain or while con-
ducting personal business for profit should not be counted.
Any injury experienced while performing voluntary work for
which there is no financial gain should be counted.
Off-the-job incidence rates
Numerous methods to calculate off-the-job injury incidence rates
exist.
Most organizations follow the Occupational Safety and Health
Administrations recordkeeping requirements for determining
occupational injury incidence rates, which uses a 200,000 work-
hour base. An advantage to using this 200,000 exposure-hour
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base to determine the off-the-job incidence rate is uniformity.
Companies can compare their occupational and off-the-job injury
experiences.
For example, an organization with an off-the-job disabling injury
(loss of time from work) incidence rate of 5.0 for employees and an
OSHA lost workday case incidence rate of 1.0, the organization
could conclude that employees experience 5 times more off-the-job
disabling injuries than job-related disabling injuries per 200,000
hour unit of exposure.
This modified formula for calculating off-the-job injury inci-
dence rate looks like this:
This formula is based on an employee working eight hours a
day, five days a week or a 40-hour work week. Excluding eight
hours for sleeping, this leaves eight hours a day or 40 hours a work
week of off-the-job exposure time. In addition, an employee has
two 16-hour days of off-the-job exposure each weekend.
Therefore, total employee off-the-job exposure is 72 hours a week.
The 72 hours multiplied by 4 1/3 weeks a month totals 312 hours
of off-the-job exposure each month. Because overtime is consid-
ered to be offset by holidays, vacations, and other absences, no
40
Off-the-job incidence rate =
Number of off-the-job disabling injuries x 200,000
312 x number of employees x time period
ch_05.qxd 1/17/06 3:03 PM Page 40
special allowance is provided.
An alternate method of estimating off-the-job exposure hours
although with a higher percentage of error is based on the
assumption that there are 3,840 hours of active off-the-job time
per person per year. This figure is obtained as follows:
A simplified method of calculating off-the-job exposure hours
is to multiply on-the-job exposure hours by 1.9. This factor (actu-
ally 1.92, a 1 percent difference) is the ratio of off-the-job hours to
work hours (3,840 2,000 = 1.9; rounded to one decimal place).
Therefore, off-the-job exposure hours can easily be estimated by
multiplying occupational exposure hours by 1.9.
Using this method, the incidence rate formula would look like
this:
41
24 hours/day x 365 days 8,760 hours
Less work time -2,000 hours
6,760 hours
Less sleep -2,920 hours
(8 hours/days x 365 days)
3,840 hours
Off-the-job incidence rate =
Number of off-the-job disabling injuries x 200,000
1.9 x workplace exposure hours
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This rate relates the total number of off-the-job injuries to the
total hours of exposure during a specified period of time, and
expresses them in terms of 200,000-hour exposure.
The following example shows the off-the-job injury incidence
rate for a company with 100 employees experiencing one off-the-
job injury for one month. For this example, work hours for 100
employees equals 17,300. The work hours exposure of 17,300
multiplied by 1.9 equals 32,870 off-the-job exposure hours for the
month.
These incidence rate formulas are an integral part of an organi-
zations measurement system. Over time, evaluation of these find-
ings allows a company to track the progress being made in
improving its off-the-job injury experience.
Rates are normally computed for employee exposures only. If
spouse, dependent(s) and retiree off-the-job injury experience also
are being recorded, it would be difficult to calculate off-the-job
injury rates for them because their off-the-job exposures vary
tremendously. Usually, raw numbers and costs for families and
retirees are reported and categorized separately from employee
off-the-job injury experience.
42
Off-the-job incidence rate = 6.08
1 x 200,000
32,870
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Evaluating results
In the absence of exposure information and controlled studies,
measuring the effectiveness of an off-the-job program is based on
gut instinct and guess work at best.
While it may be difficult at times to measure how many accidents
an off-the-job safety program has actually prevented, bottom-line
results can be measured. These results would include the reduction
in overall off-the-job injury rates and off-the-job injury costs.
For example, the overall reduction in power mower injuries fol-
lowing a special campaign to promote power mower safety does
suggest a possible cause-and-effect relationship. However, other
variables also may have affected the reduction in injuries, such as
lower than normal rain fall during the spring and summer months,
reducing the need for cutting lawns.
Other factors can affect the results of an off-the-job safety pro-
gram. For instance, an organization with both an occupational
and an off-the-job safety program cannot divorce one program
from the other. Both efforts should be coordinated.
Periodic audits should be made of the off-the-job safety program
in order to measure the quantity and quality of the efforts to prevent
off-the-job accidents. An audit may include the following questions:
Is there appropriate off-the-job accident data about both
employees and their families?
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What is the off-the-job performance record in this area?
How many off-the-job safety meetings are held with
employees?
What is the quality of employee off-the-job safety meetings?
Are the off-the-job safety meetings being monitored or audited
by top management?
Are there performance critiques of the speaker?
What type of off-the-job material is being distributed to
employees and their families?
Are families of employees being exposed to off-the-job safety
through print media, town meetings, television, radio films,
videotapes, slide shows or a combination of these?
Have readership and viewer surveys been conducted to
determine the quality and use of off-the-job materials?
Are there reports from employees on lives saved and serious
accidents prevented?
Companies should monitor the off-the-job injury experience
and alter the program as necessary while keeping management
informed of the progress.
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Chapter 6
Motivation and
safety culture
T
he goal of an off-the-job safety program is to train individuals
in safe practices and to create safety awareness. To accom-
plish this objective, an off-the-job safety program has to depend
on education and motivation to get its message across. The reason
for this is that once employees leave the workplace, they are on
their own and supervision is no longer available.
In the workplace, employees are trained to spot hazardous sit-
uations and avoid them. They know how to operate equipment
safely, they take precautions when climbing ladders or using
machinery. They wear the proper safety equipment. Employers
conduct safety training for their employees because they know
safety is an important component of workplace success.
What happens to that safety training when the worker leaves
at the end of the day? How does safety training learned at work
apply to the home, where a worker is almost 10 times more
likely to die in an accident? Those are questions researchers are
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just now beginning to understand, and some employers are just
now coming to grips with.
There are, perhaps, three major reasons people commit unsafe
practices whether on or off the job:
Lack of knowledge
Lack of attention or distraction
Intentional violation of safe practices
While lack of knowledge can be overcome through off-the-job
safety education and training, overcoming the latter two practices
is more difficult. An example of lack of attention or distraction
would be a person driving through a red light because his or her
mind was on something else. An example of intentionally violat-
ing safe practices would be a driver who decides not to wear a
safety belt even though he or she knows better and cannot offer a
good reason for not doing so. In these two instances where a lack
of knowledge is not necessarily the problem, more creative coun-
termeasures may be needed. Off-the-job safety awareness and
motivational activities are required.
Influencing attitudes
Individuals cannot be forced to behave safely. Unless a person
develops the attitude that this is the best thing to do, any safety
motivation efforts will be futile. As such, the only practical
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approach to off-the-job safety programs is to educate, motivate
and sell. In doing so, companies may influence the attitudes of
employees and their families.
An off-the-job safety program should emphasize that most activ-
ities can be performed safely by following the correct procedure
and using the correct equipment or tools. While this may sound
like a simple message, the following rules should be kept in mind:
1. Do not preach or try to coerce. The facts should speak for
themselves.
2. Be positive. Stress the benefits for the individual employee and
avoid negative terms such as: Dont do this, or Dont do that.
3. Do not scold or patronize.
When employees and their families become aware of unsafe
conditions and behaviors in their daily lives, the organization will
have accomplished a major objective in its off-the-job safety pro-
gram: motivating employees.
Creating the right culture
Unfortunately, one of the biggest de-motivators is a poor safety
culture. Much has been written about instilling a safety culture
within an organization. These same methods should be used to
create an effective off-the-job safety culture. In order to create a
positive safety culture, it is important to define it.
CH 6 | MOTIVATION AND SAFETY CULTURE
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Safety culture: A dynamic organizational envi-
ronment in which the collective positive and/or
negative values, attitudes, knowledge or behavior
regarding safety are both defined and exhibited.
Strategies that are formed, decisions that are
made, procedures that are performed and actions
that are taken reflect an overall positive, negative
or indifferent safety culture.
This same definition can and should be used for an off-the-job
safety program.
So how does an organization obtain a positive safety culture? It
does not happen overnight, and starts at the very foundation of an
organization with its beliefs, attitudes, values and principles.
What are the fundamental beliefs of the leaders who run the busi-
ness? What are their attitudes toward safety? What are their ulti-
mate values? What principles guide the business?
These fundamental principles are used as the basis of the orga-
nizations policies, practices and procedures. These practices may
be formal, such as written guidelines or handbooks, or they may
be informal, such as daily habits or routines.
The organization then sets priorities, makes decisions, and takes
actions using the policies, practices and procedures as guidelines.
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When the organization sets priorities, makes decisions, and takes
action, stories, legends, and myths begin to form about the business
and its leaders. These anecdotes may reflect positively or negatively
on the business, and they endure over time.
An organizations culture is the accumulation of all the build-
ing blocks below it. Employees form their own values and beliefs
based on what they see their leaders doing not on what is writ-
ten in a values statement or employee handbook. They also form
their decisions and actions based on what they see happening in
the organization.
Culture pointers
Organizations do not get a positive off-the-job safety culture
overnight. Rather, it is developed slowly through the establish-
49
The making of a business culture
Culture
Stories, Legends, Myths
Priorities, Decisions, Actions
Policies, Practices, Procedures
Beliefs, Attitudes, Values, Principles
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ment of beliefs, attitudes and principles. Then it has to be fol-
lowed up with policies, priorities and action. Following are some
important points about creating a positive workplace or off-the-
job safety culture.
1. Building a positive safety culture has to start at the bottom of
the culture pyramid, then move up. It is absolutely essential
that leaders believe in safety as a priority before they talk
about it. Then they must create policies and procedures relat-
ing to safety, and they must support and implement the poli-
cies and procedures. Only then will the stories and legends
emerge. Knowing these stories and legends, employees will
then form their own values and beliefs.
2. A business may say that off-the-job safety is a high priority
but that is not enough. The actions of senior management
must be consistent with the stated values.
3. If management says off-the-job safety is a high priority, but
does not back it up with policies, practices and procedures,
then employees will not understand or believe that safety is
a value. They will only understand the actions of the leaders.
4. Even policies, practices and procedures are not enough. If
off-the-job safety initiatives are not given a high priority after
their initial development, they will fail. Off-the-job safety ini-
tiatives must be backed up with allotments in the budget,
commitment to training, accountabilities with measure-
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ments, and a dedication to follow through with items that
need action or improvement.
5. If management does not follow through with action on the
written policies and procedures, the stories and legends that
emerge will be of a negative safety culture.
6. It can take as long as seven years to change an organizations
culture. Initially, the old way of doing things is what is in the
culture. Employees have to consistently see the new princi-
ples in action. When they see the new principles being used
more than the old principles, their attitudes will change.
Eventually, the culture will change as well.
51
THERE ARE MANY COMPONENTS TO CREATING
A SUCCESSFUL SAFETY CULTURE. THESE INCLUDE:
Making safety a value
Safety communication
Providing safety training
Building safety into new employee orientation
Safety meetings
Getting meaningful employee involvement
Recognizing, rewarding and reinforcing safe behavior
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Chapter 7
Communicating
the plan
C
ompanies may have all the best intentions, great data,
established monitoring systems and executive management
commitment; but without employee involvement any plan is sure
to fail. To obtain this involvement, the plan must be communicat-
ed to employees. It is recommended that management develop
an off-the-job safety campaign to communicate the plan to
employees.
Management should follow these basic steps to implement an
off-the-job safety campaign.
1. Determine how much ground should be covered in the cam-
paign. This is directly related to the extent of a companys off-
the-job injuries.
2. Itemize campaign objectives and establish a timetable for
accomplishing them.
3. Estimate cost-benefit factors. Be realistic and include man-
power hours, planning time, meeting time and work inter-
ruptions.
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4. Obtain management commitment.
5. Organize the campaign strategy.
6. Order and receive materials.
7. Gather and prepare employee publication materials.
8. Organize and train campaign supervisors.
9. Set up ways to monitor or track progress.
10. Announce the program to the employees.
11. Start the program.
12. Plan for the future.
There are four basic means to communicate the importance of
off-the-job safety to employees and their families.
1. Personal communications that reach employees through
private and social channels
2. Public communications directed toward more general
populations
3. Peer/supervisor communications obtained at work
4. Corporate formal communications reflecting corporate
philosophy, policy and other guidelines
When these avenues of communication are maximized, a pro-
gram can provide a variety of stimulating messages to gain the
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audiences attention and commitment. The formats for such mes-
sages may include the following media.
Publications. The off-the-job safety program will undoubtedly
benefit from a means of publicity that is convenient, inexpensive
and effective. For example, if a serious off-the-job accident happens
to (or is averted by) an employee or an employees family member,
consider a feature story in the publication. Publishing these actual
accounts makes the message intensely personal. The need to prac-
tice preventive measures becomes more meaningful. This approach
can be more effective then any list of safety warnings.
Personalized injury data can work in another way. When injury
statistics are tallied, they can spark lively competition between
employees in different departments to see which division can turn
in the best off-the-job safety record.
Reference booklet or magazine. A reference booklet can pro-
vide certain distinct advantages to employees and their families
safety. It is permanent and can serve as a small directory for
answering safety questions. It can provide ways to test off-the-job
knowledge such as multiple-choice quizzes. It can be structured
to provide information for each family member. For example, it
might contain coloring pages for small children and information
in story-form for teens.
Safety calendar. A safety calendar allows dissemination of
timely safety information. As such, it is practical and useful.
CH 7 | COMMUNICATING THE PLAN
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Because a calendar is referred to constantly, it can provide
ample opportunity to reinforce safety messages.
Posters. A poster is often seen at a quick glance, but its mes-
sages (which should be easy to comprehend) may be long
remembered. A poster can summarize major safety messages,
and thereby, reinforce the more detailed how to information.
Contests. One of the most successful ways to enhance infor-
mation retention and promote a particular kind of behavior is to
provide a competitive situation in which the winner receives
something of value. In addition, participation and involvement
usually assure gaining a more thorough and complete knowl-
edge of a concept or idea.
Video, DVD and CDs. A visual message communicates better
than a spoken message. However, a combined visual and spo-
ken message is better yet. The safety message can be presented
in a meaningful way and command audience attention. Visual
media can be used during lunch breaks, before vacation/holiday
periods, as well as being made part of a group safety meeting or
family night.
Safety fair/company picnic/family night. A safety fair, company
picnic or a family night offers an excellent opportunity to reach
both employees and their families. The community can be enlisted
for help in many ways, resulting in cost-effective and good public
relations. At safety fairs, local merchants display their safety equip-
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ment to large, safety-conscious gatherings. They can display and
demonstrate safety equipment, including protective athletic gear,
motorcycle helmets, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
Sometimes merchants offer donations, discounts or prizes that are
given away in raffles or contest events.
Company safety picnics should involve the whole family. They
can be as expensive as a completely catered affair or as simple as
a pot-luck dinner. A safety theme can be included in drawings for
door prizes, activities for all ages and presentations of awards to,
or in recognition of, employees for safety achievements.
Family nights are quite different from picnics. Family night gath-
erings are built around a presentation on safety typically with
refreshments. Family nights also can include an open house tour
of the company.
Youth activities. Sponsorship of activities such as softball, foot-
ball or bicycle rallies can result in strong, positive community sen-
timent. But a poor safety record among young participants can
hurt the sponsors image. Therefore, financial sponsorship of such
affairs should not be the end of an organizations participation.
Organizations should provide employee leaders who are knowl-
edgeable in the activity and trained at the organizations expense
in safety and first aid. Protective athletic gear should be supplied.
Recreational programs. In any organization, large numbers of
employees and their families are sports enthusiasts. Pastimes
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include hunting, boating, camping, swimming, fishing, skiing and
similar activities. Organization-sponsored clinics on these sports
with registered or competent instructors to educate and inspect
equipment are usually welcomed by employees and their fami-
lies.
Vacation/holiday programs. Some organizations close down
completely for regular summer vacation time. Others have
employees on vacation throughout the year. Many offer three-day
weekends. These are opportunities to offer safe driving tips and to
distribute promotional literature, especially regarding fatigue and
driving too fast for conditions.
Safety talks. Safety talks can cover both occupational and off-
the-job safety concerns. For example, many types of hand tools
used at work, such as hammers and screwdrivers, also are used at
home. An occupational training talk can be adapted to serve off-
the-job needs. These meetings should be short and simple. Only
the most exceptionally appealing material justifies a long get-
together, even if the time is available. A safety session should not
run longer than 30 minutes. (These time estimates apply to infor-
mal group meetings, not to instructional courses.)
Tackling the problems
The numerous programming aids described can be used in a vari-
ety of ways. The basis for choosing the one that will work best
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will depend largely on the type and seriousness of each off-the-
job safety problem being tackled. Shotgun approaches based
on the hope that broad subjects will result in something of value
only serve to waste resources.
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Chapter 8
Program topics:
Ideas for moving
forward
G
enerally, individuals are more receptive to off-the-job safety
program topics or themes that coincide with their normal
routines. For example, late autumn is a good time for instruction on
how to use fireplaces and wood-burning stoves properly. And sum-
mer may call for programs dealing with outdoor recreation safety,
such as swimming and boating.
As mentioned previously, a companys geographic location will
determine program choices as well. An establishment located
near a coastline may sponsor a program on swimming safety. An
organization in or near the mountain regions may find it useful to
sponsor a program on skiing, hiking or mountain climbing safety.
Some subjects can stand repetition any time, such as safety edu-
cation on automotive safety restraints, fall prevention, correct lift-
ing methods, and alcohol and other drug abuse.
Topics also can tie into programs of national interest, such as
National Safety Month in June, National Poison Prevention Week in
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March, and Fire Prevention Week in October. These national events
offer publicity advantages that help spread the safety message faster
and further throughout the organization. These advantages often
include national television, radio and newspaper coverage.
The safety message also can be reinforced by offering employees
the chance to purchase safety equipment at wholesale prices.
For instance, a company may offer safety shoes during a spring lawn
mower safety training program. Before summer and vacation time
arrive, offer firstaid kits and automotive restraints for children.
The availability of these safety items can provide high visibility for an
off-the-job safety program. Most important, though, they are a prac-
tical and timely means of safeguarding employees and their families.
One company provided fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and
first aid kits for employees to purchase during Fire Prevention
Week. A payroll deduction system was set up to help make the
purchase of these items more affordable.
Community assistance
The success of off-the-job safety efforts can be multiplied by
enlisting the help of community service groups and public organ-
izations. After all, many of them are already concerned with dif-
ferent aspects of off-the-job safety. These groups include local
health, police and fire departments, the local YMCA and local
chapter of the National Safety Council.
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Many of these organizations have materials that can be distrib-
uted; some have speakers and materials available for company
meetings. Some organizations maintain accident and health
records, and some conduct courses of off-the-job-related subjects.
All can serve as sources of ideas for activities.
Examples of specific forms of assistance available in the com-
munity include:
The municipal recreation department can help with promot-
ing swimming classes or courses on boating safety.
The National Safety Council can be enlisted to conduct a
series of first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses.
Local police can be asked to supervise voluntary auto or bike
inspection clinics.
The local fire department can provide speakers and, some-
times, materials.
The U.S. Coast Guard or its auxiliary can provide speakers,
materials or courses on safe boating.
Other community groups include 4-H Clubs; Boy Scouts and Girl
Scouts of America; the chamber of commerce; local newspapers,
radio and TV stations; rescue squads; emergency services; commu-
nity colleges; insurance companies; and state and local councils.
CH 8 | PROGRAM TOPICS: IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD
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Combined efforts
Forming a company off-the-job safety committee also can offer
valuable assistance. Membership in this group may include
employees and their families, and local civil, school, or commu-
nity persons with an interest or role in safety in general.
Organizations that use such a committee often find that its mem-
bers contribute immeasurably to the success of the program by
providing a perspective that represents their background and
understanding of off-the-job safety. Another benefit of the group
is that members share serious safety convictions with peers,
friends, neighbors and their families.
If employees seem uninterested in a program activity, an extra
push may be needed. Variety is essential. Often a simple change,
such as a different type of contest, revising the format of safety
meetings, or even redesigning a bulletin board, can result in
renewed interest. These methods can stimulate additional thought,
discussion and interest. Although safe practices should become
routine, their presentations should not.
Timing also is important to the success of any program. Set an
appropriate time interval between the initial announcement and
each featured safety topic. Too-frequent change will not provide
complete saturation. Too much time between topic changes can
result in a lack of interest. The minimum time suggested for each
topic is one month, or six months for the entire campaign.
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However, extending the campaign up to 12 months may be
preferable in some cases.
Announcing the program
Before a new program is announced, several months of the pro-
gram activities should already be developed and be ready for use.
Different program phases can be covered several times in a year
when the overall off-the-job safety program begins and at the
onset of each separate campaign within the program. During
those times, support and participation only can be gained
through awareness.
Advanced publicity assures employee support by communicat-
ing the objective, plans and activities. An informal personalized
letter from senior management sent to each employees home
emphasizes the organizations concern for the safety of the
employees and their families.
An initial introductory meeting for employees can be followed
by other meetings to which the members of the employees fami-
ly also may be invited. Publications can carry the word, too.
Company bulletin boards, posters and displays can reinforce the
message. A well-organized contest can promote involvement and
generate enthusiasm.
An organizations ongoing job
An organizations work is not done after launching an off-the-job
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66
safety program. To the contrary, an organization must continue to:
Assess previous and ongoing off-the-job safety program
activities.
Maintain the support and involvement of management,
employees and employees families.
Survey outside organizations to learn what programs worked
and how well they worked.
Make changes as necessary to revitalize individual programs.
Encourage continuous programming ideas and feedback,
possibly through a joint employee-management or off-the-
job committee and an employee suggestion box.
Report periodically the programs status to management.
Monitor and publicize the organizations progress in the
reduction of off-the-job fatalities, injuries and illnesses. Let
the employees and their families know about the good job
they are doing.
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67
Traffic Home Public
New signs,
signals, pavement
markings
Motorcycles
Recreational
vehicles
Poison Prevention
Week (March)
Boat inspection
and maintenance
S
P
R
I
N
G
Seasonal off-the-job safety topics
Traffic Home Public
Trailer-towing
Hot-weather
vehicle mainte-
nance: cooling
system, tires
Lawn mowers
and other
powered garden
equipment
Backyard pools
Pesticides and
insecticides
how to choose
and use them
Fireworks hazards
National Safety
Month (June)
Safe swimming
Sun hazards: sun-
burn, sun stroke,
heat exhaustion
Fishing safety
Camping safety
S
U
M
M
E
R
ch_08.qxd 1/17/06 3:05 PM Page 67
68
Traffic Home Public
Back to school:
young
pedestrians
Winter car main-
tenance: battery,
snow tires,
chains, defroster
check
Fire Prevention
Week (October)
Halloween safety
Home heating
system checkup
Contact sports:
personal protec-
tive equipment
F
A
L
L
Traffic Home Public
How to jump
start a car
Winter driving
techniques: how
to avoid getting
stuck, how to
handle a skid
Snowmobiles in
traffic
Holiday safety:
decorating your
home
Outdoor falls due
to ice and snow
Snow-thrower
safety and heart
attack warnings
for shovelers
Winter sports:
hockey, ice
skating, skiing,
tobogganing
and sledding,
snowmobiling
Frostbite and
hypothermia
W
I
N
T
E
R
Seasonal off-the-job safety topics (cont.)
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69
Seasonal off-the-job safety topics (cont.)
Traffic Home Public
Railroad grade
crossings
Defensive driving
Occupant protec-
tion: safety belts,
child restraints
Alcohol and
other drug abuse
Two-wheelers:
bicycles, mopeds,
mini-bikes
Roadside hazards
Slips and falls
Care and use of
hand and power
tools
Sports: physical
conditioning
First aid
Cardiopulmonary
resuscitation
Eye protection
Y
E
A
R
R
O
U
N
D
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The
2
nd
Edition
OFF-THE-JOB
T
H
E
O
F
F
-
T
H
E
-
J
O
B
S
A
F
E
T
Y
P
R
O
G
R
A
M
M
A
N
U
A
L
2
N
D
E
D
I
T
I
O
N
W
reduce unintentional workplace injuries and deaths, there
are a limited number of efforts aimed at managing off-the-job safety.
And yet, employees are safer at their jobs than when they leave
work. In fact, nine out of 10 deaths and two-thirds of disabling
injuries suffered by workers in 2004 occurred off the job. And off-
the-job injuries to workers cost the nation at least $193.6 billion in
2004 compared to $142.2 billion for workplace injuries.
The Off-The-Job Safety Program Manual 2nd Edition takes you
through the numbers: investing in off-the-job safety, collecting data
and measuring off-the-job safety costs. It outlines the elements of a
successful program, discusses motivating employees and creating
the right workplace culture, and offers tips and tactics for communi-
cating your off-the-job safety program. The last chapter summarizes
off-the-job safety topics that can be applied within your off-the-job
safety program.
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