Tag: Employee Safety

This is a guest post from our partner Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE).

Fatigue is often an unnoticed factor affecting the workplace. Its mental impact is comparable to that of alcohol, with 21 hours of sleep deprivation equating to a blood alcohol content sufficient to fail a breathalyzer test. However, identifying the effects of fatigue can be challenging, as they are not always apparent from an external perspective. Fatigue can lead to diminished concentration, attention, memory, irritability, and other detrimental effects. Over time, this can result in boredom, a lack of fulfillment, and decreased productivity. In high-risk industries, fatigue can pose life-threatening risks. So, how can we address these negative impacts of fatigue effectively?

System-Level Focus

One approach is to focus on the system that gives rise to fatigue-inducing conditions. Research on workplace safety has revealed that 85% of workplace errors are caused by systemic factors rather than individual workers themselves. As Philip Greison, Vice President of PROSAFE Solutions, says, “When [workers] are fatigue-drunk, we don’t just tolerate it. We actually create the system that causes it.” Especially considering high turnover rates and the considerable resources required to attempt to change the mindset of each individual worker, it becomes evident that allocating resources towards changing the system is the most effective approach. For example, many companies follow the Department of Transportation’s 14-hour maximum for drivers and apply it to their own workplaces. However, if workers are working 14-hour shifts, do they really have enough time to commute home, take care of personal and familial responsibilities, eat, clean, and still be able to get a good night’s sleep? Addressing this concern, a Florida-based company implemented a change by giving employees a 7% blanket pay raise while reducing working hours. Six months later, they gave an additional 3% pay raise. These changes resulted in increased productivity, higher morale, improved worker retention, and enhanced profits. Avoiding long shifts, ensuring adequate rest and recovery time between shifts, and incorporating regular breaks during shifts are effective system-level changes that employers can make to mitigate fatigue.

Embracing Automation

Introducing automation is an intriguing approach for workplaces and another solution to help combat and reduce fatigue. However, it is crucial to evaluate existing processes thoroughly, identify hazards, and involve employees in the design before implementing automation. Otherwise, you may be “automating a bad process and producing bad results faster and more efficiently,” Paul Todd, leader of Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) team, says. The phrase “dull, dirty, and dangerous” describes tasks that may be prime candidates for automation because it would reduce risk and allow employees to focus their skills on more fulfilling tasks that require human talents. Additionally, it’s important to recognize that automation extends beyond the traditional perception of large, hazardous machinery often associated with car manufacturing facilities. There is a wide range of automation technology, including smaller-scale equipment that can be effectively and safely implemented in various workplace settings. By evaluating processes that contribute to fatigue and experimenting with changes, especially at the system level, employers can effectively manage the effects of fatigue and foster a more satisfying and sustainable workplace.

Mitigating the negative impacts of workplace fatigue requires addressing systemic factors rather than solely focusing on individual employees. By implementing system-level changes, such as avoiding long shifts, allowing sufficient rest time, and considering automation where applicable, organizations can create a more fulfilling and sustainable work environment.

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Tips for Reducing Fatigue and Injury in the Workplace, to hear directly from Georgia Tech experts on how organizations can help their workers stay mentally and physically engaged while on the job.

Customer Profile

Grenzebach is a privately owned, family-run company based in Germany, with 1,600 employees worldwide and 100 employees at its Newnan, Georgia, facility. Primarily a material handling manufacturer, Grenzebach produces large conveying systems for the glass industry and for James Hardie, makers of exterior siding products. The company also produces solar glass and manufactures electric automated guided vehicles for use in moving materials from place to place inside distribution facilities.

Situation

Prior to 2012, Grenzebach’s Newnan plant was experiencing too many recordable injuries, said Ken Pinkerton, head of facilities, quality, safety, and environmental at the Newnan location. From 2009 through 2013, the company averaged five recordable injuries per year, and one year the company had 10. Despite a long-time commitment to creating a safe and healthy workplace, leaders realized they needed to do something to bring those numbers down.

The place to start was with Georgia Tech’s Safety, Health, and Environmental Services (SHES) program, a part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, and the state’s on-site consultant for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The on-site consultation program provides small business owners with no-cost advisory services to address hazards and improve workplace safety and health without fear of citations or penalties. Pinkerton has a long relationship with Georgia Tech, including receiving his Industrial, Health, and Safety Certification through Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE).

Solution

In 2012, Grenzebach began working with SHES to pursue OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) certification. SHARP recognizes small businesses that operate exemplary safety and health programs. To qualify for SHARP, Grenzebach — and all businesses — must:

• Request comprehensive consultation visits in safety and health that include a hazard identification survey;
• Involve employees in the consultation process;
• Correct all hazards identified by the consultant;
• Implement and maintain health and safety programs as specified by OSHA;
• Maintain days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) rates and total recordable case (TRC) rates below the national industry average;
• Agree to notify the state consultant prior to making changes to working conditions in a facility.

Achieving SHARP status confers a number of benefits on a business. SHARP certified companies provide protection to workers through the development and implementation of best safety and health practices; create a culture that values health and safety; build a reputation for safety within their industry; save money; and are granted an exemption from OSHA programmed inspections for up to two years and subsequent renewal for up to three years.

“The real benefits to SHARP,” said Paul Schlumper, director of the SHES program, “are the improvements that a company makes in its safety and health management system to help provide a better work environment for employees. Another really big benefit is the prestige. A company can advertise the fact that they’re serious about safety and health. I think that means something to their customers and their employees.”

Results

SHARP has been so successful for the company that Grenzebach has renewed its certification each year since 2012.

“What the SHARP certification allowed us to do is open our eyes to some of the different hazards that we took for granted every day,” Pinkerton said. And noticing those hazards has led to drastic decreases in recordable incidents for the facility.

“Since 2014, the number of recordable incidents has dropped 85%, and we are now significantly below the industry average,” Pinkerton said. “We’ve had a few milestones where we have gone a year without a recordable injury, 365 days. In fact, we recently met that goal again. But we had never gone a complete calendar year without one, until 2020.”

To achieve those stellar results, Grenzebach listened to the suggestions of the SHES team, including a safety committee that meets monthly, and implemented processes that include a focus on cleanliness. “If you don’t have a clean environment, you’re not going to have a safe environment,” Pinkerton said.

SHES helped Grenzebach empower workers to correct any hazards that they see. “If you see that broken pallet on the floor, instead of walking over it, our employees now pick it up and put it in the designated place. It removes that hazard from existence,” Pinkerton said.

Achieving SHARP certification does not mean that SHES is no longer involved. In fact, that is often just the beginning of a collaboration with a company.

“The relationship we’ve built with Georgia Tech and SHES over this process has been very beneficial,” Pinkerton said. “If I have any type of question that has to do with OSHA, or has to do with safety in general, they are able to help me. They will go above and beyond. If I have an employee concerned about the air quality or noise level in the plant, they’ll do an air quality check or a noise level check anytime I call and ask them to do it. And they provide those free of charge.”

That relationship delivers a level of security that dealing with OSHA may not bring.

“If I see changes coming in OSHA, I can contact the SHES group to get information,” Pinkerton said. “They’re my liaison to OSHA. I don’t have to contact OSHA to get an answer to a question. I can contact Georgia Tech and get that same answer, and not feel the anxiety that a person may feel contacting OSHA.”

The commitment to safety has worked its way through the entire organization, Pinkerton said.

“The people on the floor see that we legitimately care about their safety,” he said. “It’s not how fast can you make a product and get it out the door. The main thing is safety. How safely can you make that product? The atmosphere has completely changed when it comes to safety. That’s what you want. You’re trying to build a safety culture in your facility, and not have employees do something because I tell them to do it. Do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

“The SHES group is as loyal to me as I am to them. When it comes to the safety of people in the workforce, they take their jobs very seriously. I tell people all the time about SHARP and that they should become SHARP certified. The main thing that I would say about Georgia Tech and their consultation program is that they care. They don’t come in just trying to find something wrong. They come in and try to find ways for us to improve.” – Ken Pinkerton, head of facilities, quality, safety, and environmental at Grenzebach in Newnan, Georgia

Note: Emerald Transportation Solutions signed a waiver of the confidentiality clause (1908.6(h)(2)) for the OSHA 21(d) Consultation program, allowing this story about the company’s work with the Safety, Health, and Environmental Services (SHES) program in Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to be published.

Watch the video here.

Customer Profile

Emerald Transportation Solutions is a privately owned, end-to-end provider of refrigerated vans and trucks. Headquartered in Fayetteville, Georgia, with a manufacturing facility in Griffin, Georgia, the company has been around since 2013 and has 65 employees.

Situation

After growing steadily from 2013 through 2019, Emerald found its business skyrocketing during the pandemic, as more and more people had groceries — and other necessities — delivered to their homes, causing an increase in the need for last-mile delivery vehicles that move products from a transportation hub to homes or businesses.

Working to meet this increased demand, Emerald outgrew its space in four buildings and two surface lots in Fayetteville and moved to a single large facility in Griffin that would allow for a streamlined assembly process under one roof. To better manage the health and safety of employees in the new facility, Emerald brought in the Safety, Health, and Environmental Services (SHES) team to survey the facility and the company’s health and safety practices and make recommendations.

SHES consultants looked at elements of Emerald’s overall safety and health management system, asking questions such as:

• How does the company anticipate and detect hazards?
• How does the company prevent hazards and plan for and control hazards?

Issues that were uncovered during the inspections included electrical safety, fall protection, compressed gas cylinder safety, and clearing exit routes — issues that are common in manufacturing facilities.

The health team performed contaminant and noise-level monitoring. These were found to be within guidelines. They also examined Emerald’s hazard communication program, and other health and safety documentation.

Results

The results of Emerald Transportation Solutions and SHES working together have been to create a safer workplace for all employees by:

• Correcting electrical hazards, including open junction boxes
• Adding restraints to keep employees from falling off ladders, trucks, and more
• Adding an emergency action plan
• Making Safety Data Sheets accessible
• Holding monthly safety meetings
• Tracking and documenting training
• Adding an environmental health and safety manager

“There are a lot of things that the SHES group pointed out as deficiencies that we’ve turned around and put into place to make the plant safer for our employees. We couldn’t have done all of that without SHES.” — Wes Funsch, chief operating officer, Emerald Transportation Solutions

This is a guest post from our partner Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE) featuring our Director of Georgia Tech’s OSHA Training Institute, Hilarie Warren.

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