Safety and health management is all about continuous improvement. To consistently reduce risks to workers, organizations must identify how they will measure success and track progress toward their goals.

Skipper Kendrick, CSP, CIT, FASSP, president of Kendrick Global Enterprises LLC, assisted a Fortune 500 company in developing an environmental health and safety management system (EHSMS) and using EHSMS implementation scores as leading indicators. Leading indicators are proactive, preventive and predictive safety and health metrics.

The Problem

A Fortune 500 company was focused on lagging indiactors, such as injury and illness rates, which measure the occurrence and frequency of past events. It lacked a clear vision for improving safety and health, and leaders were not focused on human performance, environmental factors or systems thinking.

The Solution

Kendrick worked with the company to develop eight EHSMS principles:

1. No job or activity is worth risking injury
2. All injuries, illnesses and environmental incidents are preventable
3. Working safely and in an environmentally responsible manner is a condition of employment
4. Each of us is responsible for the safe behavior of ourselves and others
5. Occupational safety and health is a process led by senior management and implemented by line management, with each level accountable to the one above and responsible for the one below
6. We will design and integrate occupational safety and health into our facilities and management processes
7. All employees will be provided the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to work safely
8. Strong occupational safety and health performance is good business

The EHSMS consisted of 14 elements, including policy and management commitment, hazard recognition, operational control, documentation and review, improvement, and recognition. Each of the 14 elements were evaluated on a scale from one to five. Elements receiving a one had no or minimal processes in place, while those receiving a five had achieved premier performance. The goal was for each business unit to achieve and sustain a score between 4.6 and five.

The Outcome

The EHSMS led to a significant reduction in injuries and illnesses, as well as the total recordable incident rate. These improvements put the company on track to achieve compliance with ISO 45001, an internationally-recognized consensus standard.

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