Boosted Workplace Safety Promising for Employers

The good news: fewer people in Arkansas are dying of work-related injuries.

The bad news might just be that it’s more a result of fewer jobs than of altruistic efforts by employers.

Data from the U.S. and Arkansas Departments of Labor shows there were 75 fatal occupational injuries during 2009, the lowest reported number since 2004 and 10 fewer than in 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arkansas unemployment was 7.4 percent in July, compared with 5.1 percent five years earlier, so it’s likely there’s a correlation.  

“We don’t have nearly the construction injuries we used to have because of the economy slowing down,” said Luke Moffit, clinic administrator for the Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic in Springdale.

The clinic, which serves nearly 2,500 employers in Northwest Arkansas, treated 2,314 injuries in 2009, down nearly 17.3 percent from 2,798 a year earlier.

The No. 1 treated injury for both years was back pain, followed by lacerations, fractures, sprains and strains.

Forty-seven percent of the deaths in 2009 were transportation-related.

Still, enhanced safety programs, tighter regulations and Northwest Arkansas employers’ work to step up safety standards leave strong hope that 2010 is the start of a more positive trend.

What’s more, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will more thoroughly regulate inspections of training methods and preventions programs, and will raise penalties for negligent employers committing willful or repeat safety violations under the Severe Violators Enforcement Program, made effective June 18.

 “There are a lot of people working toward the same goal,” said Pat Burge, head of health and safety at the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission, the entity that enforces workers’ comp laws in the state. “That doesn’t mean we won’t still have accidents, but I think we are going the right direction in Arkansas as employers are becoming more aware of safety measures.” 

While the AWCC does not investigate individual incidents, it does require insurance carriers to assist employers, offers safety consultations and helps enforce the “Rule 32” management program for all employers who have a higher-than-expected number of compensable claims for their industry group.

 “Management must state that they support a safe work environment, record and analyze injury trends, perform a self-audit to look for hazards, look for root causes of injuries and do a periodic review to assess its effectiveness,” Burge said.

The AWCC reported 56 fatalities during its fiscal year 2010, which ended June 30 -the least number reported in the past eight years. Biennial reports show accidents decreasing in Benton County from 815 in 2005 to 721 in 2008 and in Washington County from 711 in 2005 to 593 in 2008.

 

High-Risk Industries

Kevin Igli, senior vice president and chief environmental health and safety officer for Tyson Foods Inc., spoke candidly about its “site-specific, management system approach to safety” in meat-processing jobs. In terms of prevention, 30 different safety topics are reinforced in classroom and on-the-job training. A medical management team devoted to treating early signs of employee injury and illness is also on site.

“We set a very clear expectation for safety from the outset,” Igli said. “We ask our team members to speak up if they observe any unsafe conditions.”

Tyson’s 2010 sustainability report states that over the last four years, its Total OSHA Recordable Rate (TRR) and its Days Away/Restricted or Transfer Rate (DART) have decreased. In 2009 alone, Tyson reduced its TRR by 19.2 percent, its DART rate by 20.7 percent and improved its overall safety metric score by 14.1 percent.

However, the company did have two work-related fatalities during fiscal year 2009.

The same year, Tyson, in cooperation with OSHA, responded to 23 complaints and 28 inspections. Among the 63 citations it received, 26 were dismissed, 7 have been settled, and 30 are still under review.

 “We think the reason our injury rates are declining is because of our strong management approach to safety, strong team member buy-in, higher safety awareness and lower turnover rates,” Igli said.

Simmons Foods Inc. also seems to be among the area’s leaders in heightened safety measures.

“We promote a no-fear environment at Simmons in which people can openly discuss safety concerns without fear of repercussion,” safety director Daron Sharp said.

Sharp said the company developed an initiative six years ago called “Better, Easier, Safer Today,” or BEST. The program includes more safety training for both salaried and hourly employees, and encourages employees to submit ideas for a safer workplace.

 “Because of that, our safety numbers are better than they have ever been,” he said, noting the company’s overall DART rate decreased from 4.29 percent in 2002 to 2.22 percent in 2009.  

Before BEST was implemented, Sharp said Simmons, with about 5,800 total employees, would receive 30 to 60 safety ideas a month. In July 2010, Simmons received 3,570 ideas from its employees and had implemented 2,909 ideas.

“When employees realized that we were listening to them and implementing many of those changes, they started turning in more ideas,” Sharp said. 

Although he wouldn’t disclose Simmons’ annual safety budget, Sharp said safety managers now spend more time and money training employees. Three years ago, Simmons replaced a four-hour orientation with a three-day orientation for hourly employees.

“Spending money up-front is a key investment, and not only are our employees safer, our retention is unbelievable,” he said.

Nabholz Construction Corp., one of the largest contractors in Arkansas with nearly 850 employees, has seen positive results since the development of a “behavior-based safety program,” in which workers critically observe their fellow employees and address safety concerns on the spot.

“We’re always looking for the next idea that will bring us to our goal of zero incidents,” said safety director Joey Ryan.

The company has never had a fatality.

“Safety is our number one value,” he said. “It supersedes all else, and we make sure that our guys know that.”

Ozarks Electric’s safety director Don Pinkley said his company spends $250,000 on safety programs each year.

Although OSHA is still investigating an April incident in which a lineman lost his footing and died after being shocked by a high voltage equipment box, Pinkley said the company was not lacking safety precautions.

“We do whatever it takes to keep our people safe,” Pinkley said.

Ozarks Electric offers First Aid and CPR training for new hires, an OSHA-mandated digging and shoring class, a crane-operating training course, and an apprentice safety correspondence course for line workers within the first two years of employment.

Naming ditch cave-ins as one of the industry’s biggest hazards, Pinkley said, “Any time there is an open ditch, there must be one competent person on-site who knows how to test the quality of class soils and the rate of cave-in.”

Mary King, an accounts manager at the Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic, said most companies are OSHA-compliant and encourage employees to report injuries. However, smaller companies may have more trouble interpreting the rules.

“It is very seldom that we see OSHA violations,” King said. “In this part of the country, the companies do their level best.”