Precast Inc. - July/August 2008 - (Page 27) NPCA photo NPCA photo “opened up” to increase tonnage in a shorter amount of time. As a result, the down-line transfer was getting jammed. The safety specialist could have addressed only the specific hazard and not the problem, but an adjustment was made back to the engineered design and the entire hazard was eliminated. The material passed through the transfer point with no employee exposure to noise, dust or tunnel hazards, and no beating and damage to the transfer box with the sledge. It created the optimal performance of the entire process and corrected the need for a potentially unsafe practice in an exposed environment. Everyone understood that a change in the process created a whole set of other problems that, on the surface, could not be explained. The transfer point was too far down the process to connect what seemed to be an obvious problem back up the line. Performance Safety keeps the big picture in view while addressing specific issues. In the above example, it was not the safety person’s job to tell an experienced production manager same way, getting to the root cause of hazards and unsafe behaviors enables a manager to correct the problem rather than a symptom. Why Performance Safety? Performance Safety encourages positive recognition and feedback at all levels within the organization to promote positive change and optimal performance. It should be every individual’s goal to reach and maintain optimum performance rather than maximum performance. As in the second example, once the conveyor line was working at its engineered design level, down time was eliminated at the transfer point, the employee safety hazard was eliminated, the total cost to produce a finished product decreased, and there was less wear and tear on the equipment. Optimum performance was achieved. In a more conventional scenario, an employee may be capable of lifting a maximum weight of 150 pounds, but if that weight is Performance Safety encourages positive recognition and feedback at all levels within the organization to promote positive change and optimal performance. how to do his job. But in the process of doing his job, the safety specialist was able to identify a situation that ultimately helped the production manager’s numbers as well. Anyone who has conducted accident investigations knows to ask questions that get to the root cause of the accident. In the reduced he can lift for a longer period of time and minimize back strain. This creates optimum performance for that employee. More gets accomplished with less risk. Production goes up, risk goes down, and safety is improved. JULY/AUGUST 2008 | WWW.PRECAST.ORG 27 http://www.precast.org
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