DISPELLING MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS TO IMPLEMENT A SAFETY CULTURE
Industrial accidents are typically reported in terms of technological malfunctions, ignoring the human element in accident causation. However, over two-thirds of all accidents are attributable to human and organizational factors (e.g., planning, written procedures, job factors, training, communication, and teamwork), thereby affecting risk perception, behavior and attitudes. This paper reviews the development of WESKEM, LLC's Environmental, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Program that addresses human and organizational factors from a top-down, bottom-up approach. This approach is derived from the Department of Energy's Integrated Safety Management System. As a result, dispelling common myths and misconceptions about safety, while empowering employees to ''STOP work'' if necessary, have contributed to reducing an unusually high number of vehicle, ergonomic and slip/trip/fall incidents successfully. Furthermore, the safety culture that has developed within WESKEM, LLC's workforce consists of three common characteristics: (1) all employees hold safety as a value; (2) each individual feels responsible for the safety of their co-workers as well as themselves; and (3) each individual is willing and able to ''go beyond the call of duty'' on behalf of the safety of others. WESKEM, LLC as a company, upholds the safety culture and continues to enhance its existing ES&H program by incorporating employee feedback and lessons learned collected from other high-stress industries, thereby protecting its most vital resource - the employees. The success of this program is evident by reduced accident and injury rates, as well as the number of safe work hours accrued while performing hands-on field activities. WESKEM, LLC (Paducah + Oak Ridge) achieved over 800,000 safe work hours through August 2002. WESKEM-Paducah has achieved over 665,000 safe work hours without a recordable injury or lost workday case since it started operations on February 28, 2000.
- Research Organization:
- WESKEM, LLC, 105 Mitchell Road, Suite 100, Oak Ridge, TN 37830; WESKEM, LLC, 297 Kentucky Avenue, Kevil, KY 42053 (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 827067
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2003 Symposium, Tucson, AZ (US), 02/23/2003--02/27/2003; Other Information: PBD: 27 Feb 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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