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Incident and Injury-Free is not so much about numbers as it is a new mindset about safety. It's a way of thinking that avoids incidents and injuries, making safety a high priority on both a personal and organizational level. It seeks to create a zero-incident worksite through a shared sense of responsibility and caring between the workforce and management.
IIF™ is designed to shift the focus of safety from a compliance requirement to a concern for workers' health and welfare. It's "mentality intolerant" of incidents or injuries of any kind, whatever the level, frequency or severity.
"Our mission is to create a future that at one time seemed impossible-an environment for working incident and injury-free in pipe coating," says Dr. Martyn Wilmott, President of Wasco Pipe Coating Division. "Pipe coating has historically been a very hazardous industry to work in, but we believe IIF™ can reverse that trend."
The IIF™ approach has dramatically reduced work-related incidents and injuries, while improving productivity and absenteeism. IIF™ establishes a culture of mutual concern and respect, giving team members a sense of collective ownership in the production process. These improvements cut lost-time hours and improve working relations for maximum jobsite efficiency.
IIF™, however, should not be seen as a replacement for current safety procedures. It should be viewed as another tool for daily, operational use. PPSC, for instance, uses a modified safety orientation where workers discuss their backgrounds. Dialogue about their personal safety concerns helps form mutual trust among workers, leading to friendships and relationships. It also underscores what's at risk where safety is concerned -wives, kids, relatives-while subtly asserting the need for a collective safety effort. The chat is often informal but intimate. The end result is a more personally connected jobsite, with workers, managers and supervision watching out for one another.
IIF™ also shuns traditional safety measurements such as lost work-time hours or experience modification factors, emphasizing the number of relationships forged instead. The philosophy removes the normal modes of enforcement, punishment and reprimand to enable the organization to have a truly safe environment.
Workers in a conventional setting often only follow rules and procedures for fear of being written up or fined. Several small and minor incidents, as a result, may never get reported. IIF™ removes those barriers and replaces them with worker concern to create a transparent jobsite where incidents can be reported without fear of retribution.
The movement has experienced an unusually high level of support across all segments of the industry. Practitioners feel that IIF™ brings labor and management closer, resulting in more collaboration and a better understanding of work force needs. It also cultivates stronger leadership skills, since IIF™ requires people to change their attitudes, behavior and values.
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