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From the traditional concept of safety management to safety integrated with quality
Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 1 – 20 www.elsevier.com/locate/jsr
Editorial
From the traditional concept of safety management to safety integrated with quality Susana Garcı´a Herreroa, Miguel Angel Mariscal Saldan˜aa, Miguel Angel Manzanedo del Campoa, Dale O. Ritzelb,* a
Area de Organizacio´n de Empresas, Escuela Polite´cnica Superior, Avda. Cantabria S/N, 09006 Burgos, Spain b Center for Injury Control and Worksite Health Promotion, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA Received 19 February 2001; received in revised form 1 August 2001; accepted 10 October 2001
Abstract This editorial reviews the evolution of the concepts of safety and quality that have been used in the traditional workplace. The traditional programs of safety are explored showing strengths and weaknesses. The concept of quality management is also viewed. Safety management and quality management principles, stages, and measurement are highlighted. The concepts of quality and safety guarantee are assessed. Total Quality Management concepts are reviewed and applied to safety quality. Total safety management principles are discussed. Finally, an analysis of the relationship between quality and safety from data collected from a company in Spain is presented. D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Safety management; Safety quality; Total safety management
1. Traditional methods of safety management There are many forms of safety management in the workplace. The types most commonly used are (a) the traditional method of safety and (b) the methods and philosophies of quality in conjunction with safety (Smith, 1996).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-618-453-2080; fax: +1-618-453-2879. 0022-4375/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 2 2 - 4 3 7 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 0 8 - 7
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Safety professionals from companies adhering to the traditional method of safety direct and control workers so that they complete the expected company safety standards and regulations. They also enforce laws and government regulations. They are informed on new regulations, devoted to impose rules and regulations to their employees, carry out inspections, audit the system, direct investigations of accidents and injuries, and establish recommendations in order to prevent accidents and injuries in the future. For the safety professionals, adhering to this concept means modifying the behavior of the worker, motivating them, and using prizes and incentives to help them work in a safer way. Rewards are given only to those workers or departments that meet the preset safety objectives (Smith, 1996). The traditional safety management programs do not always improve the results of safety because they are centered exclusively on the technical requirements and on obtaining short-term results (Weinstein, 1996). Fig. 1 provides an illustration of a representation of the traditional focus of safety management, in which we observe that the company only acts when accidents or injuries happen. Another shortcoming of the traditional safety management program is that the program is isolated and many times not integrated with the rest of the functions of an organization. The common elements of traditional safety programs include: safety director, safety committees, meetings relating to safety, list of rules pertaining to safety, posting of slogans, posters, and programs of safety incentives. The responsibility of the safety program falls on the safety director who occupies a position inside the organization of the company and, in many cases, does not have the authority to make changes (Hansen, 1993). A system that is centered on taking a proactive approach is more effective than the one that continually analyzes accidents after they happen in order to generate data on which to base improvements. Prevention is based on established rules, regulations, and safety instructions, but the mere publication of those rules and
Fig. 1. Traditional focus of safety management (adapted from Rahimi, 1995).
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regulations in a safety manual is not enough for their effective implementation. Only when all personnel work in accordance with the safety norms and the established instructions will the company have safe practices. The 10 obligations of management as defined by Petersen (1994) represent the way of leaving traditional safety management. Under these new obligations within the company:
Progress is not measured by injury ratios. Safety becomes a system, more than a program. Statistical techniques drive the efforts of continuous improvement. The investigation of accidents and injuries is renewed or is eliminated. Technical principles and tools for the statistical control of the process are used. Emphasis is placed on improving the system. Benefits are provided for people that discover illegal situations. The participation of workers in the resolution of problems and making decisions is formalized. Ergonomic well-being is projected inside the place of work. The traps within the system that cause human errors are eliminated.
2. Integration of quality and safety If the evolution of quality management is analyzed, the results should show that three stages exist: (a) quality control, (b) quality assurance, and (c) total quality. If the same analysis is carried out for the safety management system, three similar stages would be found: (a) safety control, (b) safety assurance or guarantee, and (c) total safety. These stages are shown in Table 1. 2.1. Safety control One of the first contributions relating to the integration of quality with safety was Dumas (1987). After carrying out a study in more than 200 companies for 5 years, Dumas discovered that programs of quality and programs of safety have the same components. One of the conclusions of his study was that ‘‘safety is a dimension of quality, after everything, the elimination of defects includes the elimination of practices of unsafe work.’’ Minter (1991) affirms that if one looks
Table 1 Evolution of the concepts quality and safety Quality management steps
Safety management steps
Quality control Quality assurance Total quality
Safety control Safety assurance or guarantee Total safety
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at safety as a consequence of making things well, then the program will undoubtedly bear quality. Therefore, if the objective of quality control is to improve the quality of the products through the detection and elimination of defects, we can define the objective of safety control as the reduction of injuries through the elimination of unsafe acts and work conditions. 2.2. Stages of safety control Safety control could be synthesized in three phases or stages: (a) the postcontrol, (b) the control of the events, and (c) the precontrol (Montante, 1991). The postcontrol stage includes all the safety performances and activities that occur as a result of an accident or injury. Some of these performances are: (a) first aid and medical care that were needed, or that were required, on the part of the injured victim; (b) control of the damages resulting from the accident or injury; (c) emergencies or reactions in the face of a certain situation; and (d) programs of rehabilitation offered to the accident/injury victim. We could also include in this stage the studies that investigate the causes of accidents and injuries and communicating results of the event to the rest of the company members. The second stage of safety control makes reference to the control of the events. In this phase, the visible side of safety is observed and all of the measures that should be taken are taken so that in the moment of the accident, the damages and the occasional injuries are diminished. Lastly, precontrol is directed to eliminate accidents and injuries by prevention techniques. 2.3. The measure of safety results In the first phase of safety management, there are several techniques of safety that are used to control accidents and injuries, one of which is statistical analysis. Several authors, among them Krause and Salazar, have indicated that statistical analysis is used to control worker risk through a technique called the statistical processes control (SPC). SPC is a tool that is used to control the quality of the processes. SPC shows that the outcomes of a system do not have a constant value because random variations will always exist. In many systems, this random variation is represented in the time that comes from a rise in the function of normal distribution. Statistics provide a tool to predict the probability that the value of a variable is understood between a range of values. For example, if a system is stable, or ‘‘under control,’’ more than 99% of all the values that are measured will be understood in a range of ±3 S.D. centered around the central value. The statistical analysis of accidents and injuries shows the situation of the company in regards to safety. However, statistics are not always a useful tool to improve safety.
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On one hand, when safety management is based on the results of accidents and injuries, the efforts of safety are stimulated as a function of accident and injury statements, and one can tell top management about the need to pay more attention to the prevention of accidents at times when the rates of accidents and injuries increase. This will also diminish having to pay attention when injuries rates are lower (Krause & Hidley, 1989). On the other hand, if the number of accidents are represented graphically, over time, and injuries within a company are determined to be stable, or ‘‘under control,’’ then this could be a more difficult situation. This means that the rate of accidents and injuries may remain at the same level, and that the increase or decrease in the number of accidents and injuries may simply result from random variations in the system of safety (Salazar, 1989). In order to combat this phenomenon and improve the results of safety, it is necessary to measure the performances of safety before the accidents happen (Krause & Hidley, 1989). 2.4. The problem of measuring the quality of the results When the number of accidents and injuries are measured, the number of defects produced by a system are being measured. When these indicators are used to establish objectives, we work with numeric quotas that do not contribute value. This measure of quality could create conflict between the workers, supervisors, and others responsible for safety. This type of situation can force those involved to choose between what is best for themselves or best for the company. One problem for those who are responsible for the safety in a company is that they must require workers to notify them when accidents and injuries occur. Many workers hide their own accidents and even those of their companions in order to decrease the index of frequency and obtain safety incentives (Geller, 1994; Promfret, 1994). In addition, according to Krause and Russell (1994), the fact that workers experience negative consequences after accident and injury investigations makes them elect to hide them. At times, Promfret (1994) affirms that workers suffer injuries caused by a series of factors that are outside their control: unsafe conditions, wrong systems designed, excessive work load, or a culture that advocates the individual and impedes a perspective of team work. According to Deming (1986), top management is responsible for 94% of the problems because they control the assignment of resources, establish and implement the methods of work, develop the politics, and so forth. For these reasons, each manager should be the lone sponsor of their own particular results (Sznaider, 1998). The improvement of the system is the responsibility of top management, without forgetting that in order to reach the global objectives of the company, the workers and members of work teams play an important part. The Consultant Unit for the Prevention of Accidents of the Executive of Safety and Health of the United Kingdom carried out a study entitled ‘‘Success
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and Failure of the Prevention of Accidents.’’ The study concluded that the index of frequency of accidents was not a sure guide to measure the safety of a company, and that in order to carry out more exact measurement of the efforts of safety, it was better to carry out inspections and systematic audits. If we compared the evolution of safety with that of quality, we realize that in order to improve safety we should not remain in the postaccident analysis because the same accidents could happen as they do now in quality analysis. Analyzing the defects at the end of the process of production does not show our level of quality and we do not know how to improve it. Deming (1986) proposes that we must measure the quality of the system (or program of safety) and not the quality of the results of safety. 2.5. The measure of the quality of the program of safety Two tools exist that can be used to measure the quality of the program of safety: safety inspections that identify the practices, behaviors, and unsafe conditions; and safety audits that identify the actions carried out by top management of the company that affect positively the system of safety (Salazar, 1989).
3. Safety assurance If we analyzed the history of quality management, we observe that the concept of quality evolves from quality control toward quality assurance. In quality assurance, the center of the activity, the planning, and the culture are directed toward the client and the product. In terms of safety, the workers and managers of the company are the clients and safety is the product (absence of injuries and illnesses; Roberge, 1999). As is the case for quality assurance (ISO 9000), top management should visibly commit to safety, establish a managerial culture that does not tolerate unsafe performances, and facilitate channels of communication that permit workers to report the conditions of risk. On the other hand, workers should participate in the planning of safety and share their responsibility. The objectives of safety can be reached when both workers and top management have the same understandings. 3.1. The ISO 9000 and systems of management of prevention of worker risks The international standards of the ISO 9000 have helped many organizations implement quality systems since they describe the essential elements. Regulations based on ISO 9000 have been created to guide companies in developing systems for the management and the prevention of worker risks. Some examples include: the British BS 8800 (1996), a guide for the systems of safety management and worker health; the experimental Spanish UNE 81900 (1996) that indicates the general rules for the implementation of a system of management to prevent worker risks; and the American Association of Industrial
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Hygiene, Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), which is a guide for safety management and worker health. In Spain, big companies tend to implement systems of management and prevention of worker risks based upon the UNE 81900, ‘‘Prevention of occupational risks. General rules to implementation of a management system for occupational risks prevention.’’ This regulation, which shares the same general principles that the norms of quality assurance UNE-EN-ISO series 9000, specifies the elements that integrate a management system for the prevention of occupational risks. 3.2. The concept of safety guarantee Companies that have implemented occupational risk prevention systems are at a level of safety management comparable with quality assurance or quality guarantee. Based on the definition of quality assurance, safety guarantee is defined as the group of actions, planned and systematic, implemented inside the management system for the prevention of occupational risks, which provides the appropriate trust that an entity will complete the requirements of occupational safety and health. 3.3. The integration of the systems of prevention of worker risks with the systems of quality and environment Some authors defend the idea of integrating occupational risk prevention management systems with quality management systems. Others are in favor of integrating occupational risk prevention systems with the system of environmental administration. And others favor integrating the three disciplines: quality, safety, and environment, by means of a system of integrated administration. Manzella (1997) affirms that in order to get excellent safety results, one needs to integrate the safety system in the quality management system. The author comments that the quality and safety principles are essentially the same (see Table 2). Luce (1990) developed an Integrated Management Program (IMP), which integrated environment issues with safety and health. Later on in Spain, Urrutia
Table 2 The principles and relationship of quality and safety Safety
Quality
Objective: zero accidents Analysis of incidents Documenting the politics of safety, the procedures and the instructions Safety committees Participation of the workers Statistical analysis All accidents and injuries could be prevented
Objective: zero defects Analysis of events Documenting the politics of quality, the procedures and the instructions of work Quality circles Participation of the workers Statistical control of the process The not conformities could be prevented
Source: Manzella (1997).
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(1995) developed a model of management that integrated safety, environment, and quality. The model consisted of 24 elements: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
Top management leadership Politics and strategy Recruiting and selection Programs of formation Motivation of personnel Control of health Financial resources Information resources Documentation Material and technological resources Contract revisions Design Purchases Identification and product tracking Processes Inspection and testing State of inspection and testing Control of products that do not conform Analysis of accidents/incidents/injuries Work correctives Preventive actions Manipulation, packing, and delivery Service after-sale Diffusion
4. Total Safety Management (TSM) Lastly, if we continue analyzing the evolution of the concept of quality, we observe that the last phase is Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM caused a great deal of interest in the 1990s. Many authors indicate that the TQM philosophy could improve the management of any area inside the company, and they lend special attention to the improvement of the safety management and to the improvement of environmental management. 4.1. TQM and safety Since 1992, in the United Kingdom, occupational safety and health has been viewed as an integral part of TQM and is based upon two respects: the model HS(G)65 and the norm BS7850 (Deacon, 1994). On one hand, the British model HS (G) 65, published in 1991, was used for safety and health management. On the other hand, the quality regulation BS7850
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Fig. 2. Model of integrated quality safety.
from 1992 added to the traditional concept of TQM that satisfaction of the client, the safety, the health, the environment, and the managerial objectives are checks to each other (see Fig. 2). Weinstein (1996) developed the Safety Hazard Management System (SHMS), which integrates the principles of the TQM, the requirements of the ISO 9000 and the technical requirements (laws, norms, etc.). This system is displayed in Fig. 3. Rahimi (1995) suggested integrating the strategic planning (long term) of safety inside TQM. A conceptual frame was developed that included the concepts of strategic safety management (SSM) and self-managed teams (SMT). One of the characteristics of Rahimi’s model is the integration of teams of safety and the teams of quality. The idea included integrating the organization of a company into teams of work, with workers from several levels, in order to have on the same team: (a) people with enough experience to design and
Fig. 3. SHMS (source: Weinstein, 1996).
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supervise the physical components of the environment of work (for example machines, teams and facilities, buildings, etc.); and (b) people able to plan, organize, direct, and control the actions that need to be carried out. These work teams do not eliminate the authority of top management but they provide additional tools for continuous improvement. These work teams have to begin to be integrated little by little, so that top management and the workers have time to adapt to the new rules. The work teams should begin by working on small pilot projects and move forward to adopt new organizational forms (Rahimi, 1995). Rahimi suggests the following recommendations, described by Wilson (1993), for the good operation of work teams:
Teams need to know how their contributions will help meet the objectives of the company and what they will receive in return. Team members and supervisors have to differentiate the routine activities carried out with the team. Measures of performance need to specify what kind of behavior or actions can lead to ‘‘overachievement.’’ They need to know how they are performing with a performance yardstick or ‘‘benchmark.’’ Team members need the support of their supervisors, top management, their clients, and all those that are involved in the process. Supervisors need to be evaluated and given reinforcement for actions they have taken to build, support, maintain, and contribute to the success of teams in their areas. The previous item is also applicable to middle and top management. Supporting the formation of continuous improvement is an essential element. An effective system of measuring and providing feedback is essential.
When worker safety and health is desired, the first motivation should come from the interior of the company, through the development of a solid culture of safety and health. On the contrary, worker safety and health should not come from the exterior of the company as a result of the legal imperatives (Deacon, 1994). The people that work in safety management and, at the same time, are members of quality teams, assure that quality management has a great relationship with risk management. The actions that are carried out to achieve quality are the same actions necessary to achieve effective risk management. 4.2. The principles of the TQM applied to safety quality Many authors defend the idea that the concepts of TQM can be applied to the practices of safety and health (Blair, 1996; Goetsch, 1999; Manzella, 1997; McMillan & Mahoney, 1994; Pollock, 1995; Rine, 1994; Saunders, 1995; Senecal, 1994; Weinstein, 1996; Yarborough, 1994; Zera, 1994). The basic principles of TQM provide us an excellent description of the daily activities of the people responsible for safety and health management in the work place (Vincoli, 1991).
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Experts in quality, like Deming, Juran, and Crosby, have developed the concept of Total Quality in their studies. Some points exist in which they differ, but in general the principles of quality endorsed by the authors are: (a) the organizational commitment; (b) the culture; (c) the formation; (d) the continuous improvement; (e) the satisfaction of the client; and (f) the use of systems of measuring and communication. Roughton (1993) expressed the necessity of applying these principles in safety management:
Organizational commitment. Top management should involve both the processes of improvement of quality and of safety, and should act as the leader. The processes of improvement should integrate daily activities. Culture. The organization should understand that quality and safety operate as one. The problems of quality and of safety should be tried not only for top management but also for supervisors and workers. The identification of problems should be seen as an opportunity to improve, instead of using it to accuse a worker or a workers’ group. Formation. Formation is important because it provides an understanding and a common language for all the workers. The formation in relation to quality and safety should incorporate the knowledge of basic tools like those of resolution of problems, the diagrams of cause-effect, the data collection, and statistical principles. Continuous improvement. Quality management and safety should center on the continuous improvement of all the parts of the organization. Satisfaction of the client. Identify the necessities of the client, measure and control their satisfaction, and develop a system of managing complaints or reclamations. Systems of measuring. It is necessary to develop a system of measuring and identifying areas where opportunities exist for improvements. Communication. Communication is the key to the relationship between top management and workers. The system could be damaged if the communications are unusual. The improvements of quality and of safety proposals for the operatives should be recognized.
The principles that Deming (1986) proposed in his book Out of the Crisis for quality management are directly related to the success that one can obtain in risk management. Some of the principles proposed by Deming, related to the management of risks, were summarize by Manuele (1994) where he indicates that one could substitute the word ‘‘safety’’ for ‘‘quality’’:
Quality begins with top management. The important improvements in quality require a change in the managerial culture. The long-term commitment of top management is necessary for improvements of quality.
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The support of top management is not enough. What is required is their behavior and leadership. The obligations of top management could not be delegated. Everybody has clients. The persons that are not aware of who their clients are do not understand their work. Quality should be built in the stages of design. Quality is reached by improving the processes continually. Quality does not come from inspections, but from the improvement of the processes. The directors tend to make workers responsible for aspects that are not under their control. People work in a system created by top management, therefore, only top management can change it. Gathering the established specifications are necessary for the maintenance of the current situation, but they do not improve the results. It is essential to distinguish between a stable and an unstable system. Statistical diagrams indicate whether a system is or is not stable. The common causes are shortcomings of the system (capacity of the team, design of the processes of work, not very clear procedures) and often can only be corrected by top management. The special causes (wrong operation of the machinery, assignment of workers) come from fleeting events.
In order to apply the 14 points of the philosophy of Deming to the safety system, Salazar (1989) proposes four basic topics:
The stability. Top management should commit to a philosophy or politics of safety in order to guide the daily decisions. The formation. The basic difference between safe employees and those that are prone to injuries is that safe employees have the capacity to recognize the risks, determine their actions, and understand the consequences. This capacity is not present at birth, but rather is acquired through learning. In order to improve the safety quality of each employee, it is necessary to systematize safety training: Defining the functions of the technical aspects of safety clearly and providing training to all levels, facilitating the necessary resources for safety training, establishing programs of training for the new workers, providing training to Directors and supervisors, and institutionalizing systems of continuous training, are all necessary functions of safety training. The measure of the quality of the system. When we measure the number of accidents and injuries, we are measuring the number of defects produced by the system. When we use these indicators to establish objectives, we work with numeric quotas that do not contribute value. The quality of the results should not create conflict between the workers, supervisors, and those responsible for safety, because they are often forced to choose between what is best for themselves or best for the company. The solution according to Deming is to measure the quality of the system, and not the
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quality of the results. As we indicated previously, two types of indicators are key for the measure of system quality, on one hand the practices, behaviors, and insecure conditions, and on the other hand the measurements of actions carried out by top management that affect positively the system of safety. The implementation of the processes of improvement. Deming integrates the responsibility of management and the participation of workers through the extensive use of committees and quality groups. The practical application of this to safety is the creation of teams of safe work. One of the better descriptions of the TQM is captured in the 14 Obligation Management by Deming:
Concentrate on the long-term objectives in order to develop a system of world quality. Discard the old philosophy of accepting accidents and injuries. Use statistical techniques to identify the two sources of accidents and injuries (the system and the human error). Institutionalize more training. Eliminate the dependence on the investigation of accidents and injuries. In their place use such methods as checking behavior, cause-effect diagrams, flow charts, and so forth in order to demonstrate the defects of the system and achieve a continuous improvement of the system. Provide supervisors (and employees) with training about using statistical tools and assure that those tools are used in order to identify areas that need additional studies and corrective actions. Reduce fear by encouraging the workers to identify the defects of the system and help them find solutions. Reduce accidents and injuries by designing safety within the process. Use engineering concepts in all aspects of safety. Eliminate the use of slogans, incentives, and posters. Examine the standard of work in order to eliminate the traps of accidents and injuries.
Other aspects of total quality are also valuable. In fact, measurements that follow are necessary in safety: 1. Ask employees to define and solve the problems of the company and identify the weakness of the system. 2. Provide workers with simple tools to solve problems. 3. Replace the statistics based on accidents and injuries by measuring ‘‘waters up’’ (e.g. show you the behavior). 4. Replace the statistics based on the accidents and injuries by measuring ‘‘waters below’’ (e.g. perceptions of the workers through surveys and interviews).
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Table 3 Phases for the implementation of TSM Planning and preparation (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Gain executive-level commitment Establish the TSM steering committee Mold the steering committee into a team Give the steering committee safety and health awareness training Develop the organization’s safety and health vision guiding principles Develop the organization’s safety and health mission and objectives Communicate and inform
Identification and measure (8) Identify the organization’s safety and health strengths and weakness (9) Identify the defenders and opponents of safety and health (10) Benchmark initial employee perceptions concerning the work environment (11) Make it extensive to the organization (12) Identify specific improvement projects Execution /implementation (13) Create improvement project teams (14) Activate the feedback loop (new projects/new teams) (15) Establish a TSM culture Source: Goetsch (1999).
Petersen (1994) underlines the idea of negotiating safety using the philosophies of TQM, and comments that one could get, by means of the participation of workers, the creation of a new culture where safety is perceived as a key value, where statistical tools are used to solve problems, where continuous improvements are emphasized, and where indicators are used to measure the quality of the system and not the quality of the results. 4.3. TSM TSM is safety management written and practiced using the principles of TQM. TQM has demonstrated that it is an effective way of maximizing the long-term Table 4 Differences between TQM and TSM TQM
TSM
Know the processes Minimize the errors Center on prevention Reduce variations Deepen in the satisfaction of the client
Know the sources of risks Minimize the risks Center on prevention Reduce the uncertainty Deepen in the safety of the workers, the organization and the clients The accidents and injuries are caused more by faulty planning than by the people
The problems are caused more by the system than by the individuals Source: Saunders (1995).
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Table 5 Areas of suggestions by company employees by year Suggestions
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Safety Productivity Quality Ergonomics Order and cleaning Saving of energy Waste Removal Total
85 31 83 58 10 0 0 267
128 127 115 141 65 7 0 583
213 77 160 168 92 13 0 723
204 70 147 164 87 4 0 676
268 42 115 140 81 6 0 652
177 39 64 109 38 1 0 428
172 22 62 121 29 0 0 406
141 53 67 109 30 0 0 400
149 29 89 147 56 10 13 493
118 57 78 117 62 0 0 432
competitiveness of a company. It is also a method than can improve the effectiveness of the programs of safety and health (Goetsch, 1999). Manzanedo (1994) advanced the concept of TSM, indicating that many concepts, principles, rules, technical and included objectives, of the TQM could move the TSM, with the single change of quality (Q) for safety (S). The problem of isolation that quality directors had, when quality was exclusively the responsibility of the Department of Quality or the Director of Quality, was solved with TQM. TQM makes everybody involved in the processes of quality, and the Director of Quality acts like a coordinator and assistant. The same type of isolation happens with safety, where the top management and workers sometimes see safety as the responsibility of the Safety Department or the Safety Director. In these cases, the TSM could also make sure everybody is involved in the topics of safety, and the functions of the Safety Director would be one of coordinating the processes and facilitating the necessary resources (Goetsch, 1999). According to Goetsch (1999), three components are needed to take the TSM philosophy to practice: (a) a TSM committee, (b) teams for improvement projects, and (c) a facilitator:
The committee would define the politics of safety and health, approve the rules and procedures of work related to worker safety and health, provide the resources, and approve the recommendations carried out by the teams of improvement. The teams for improvement will propose improvements related to the environment of work. And the facilitator, an expert in safety and health, possibly the director or person responsible for safety within the company, will take the responsibility of implementing the TSM program. Table 6 Combination of safety and ergonomics suggestions by year Number of suggestions
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Safety and ergonomics
143
269
381
368
408
286
293
250
296
235
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Table 7 Number of employee observations of safe and unsafe acts by year
Number of observations
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
80
398
415
503
318
According to Goetsch (1999), there are three phases to implement TSM inside a company: (a) planning and preparation, (b) identification and measure, and (c) execution and implementation. Table 3 outlines the stages of each one of these phases. Some similarities and differences between the TQM and TSM are expressed by Saunders (1995), as shown in Table 4.
5. Analysis of the relationship between quality and safety: A Spanish company assessment Herrero (2001) analyzes the relationship between quality and safety in a company in Spain during the last 10 years. This study analyzes the information of a labor intensive, manufacturing company including: (a) the suggestions of improvement by employees, (b) the employee observations of safety, and (c) the results of safety practices. In Herrero’s (2001) investigation, the suggested improvements are classified in seven areas: (a) safety, (b) productivity, (c) quality, (d) ergonomics, (e) order and cleaning, (f) saving of energy, and (g) waste removal. Table 5 indicates the frequency of suggestions for improving the work environment as reported by employees over a 10-year period. The ergonomics suggestions by employees have been assembled together with the safety suggestions into one category. The number of safety suggestions is shown in Table 6. Besides the employees’ suggestions for improvement, the company has systematized, since 1995, a system of using employee observations of safe and unsafe acts that contribute to improving safety. The number of observations is shown in Table 7. If the employee safety observations are added (Table 7) to the safety suggestions (including ergonomics; Table 6), the data shown in Table 8 is
Table 8 Frequency of employee suggestions and observations of safety Improvements
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
Safety Productivity Quality Another Total
143 31 83 10 267
269 127 115 72 583
381 77 160 105 723
368 70 147 91 676
408 42 115 87 652
366 39 64 39 508
691 22 62 29 804
665 53 67 30 815
799 29 89 66 996
553 57 78 62 750
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Table 9 Number of accidents and injuries relating to lost workdays 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Accidents and injuries with 30 lost work days
11
17
13
21
21
13
7
3
6
obtained. The new safety area shown in Table 8 is the combined data from Tables 6 and 7. In order to analyze the influence of improvement acts on the results of safety, the number of accidents and injuries resulting in lost workdays within the company are shown in Table 9. A statistical analysis demonstrates that the correlation between the accidents and injuries with lost workdays and safety improvements are weaker than the correlation between the accidents with lost workdays and the total improvements, including safety, quality, and productivity. These results are shown in Table 10. This statistical analysis has allowed us to demonstrate how certain actions of improvement, which were initially designed to improve aspects of quality and aspects of production, improve occupational safety. This information allows us to indicate that occupational safety in an industrial company should be integrated with quality and productivity functions.
6. Evolution of the concept of safety in the Spanish company Earlier three phases of safety management were defined: safety control, safety guarantee, and TSM. Analyzing the results of occupational safety and health in the company in Spain, two of the phases were identified: safety control and the safety guarantee. Table 11 shows the number of accidents without lost workdays, with lost workdays, and the total registered in the company from 1990 to 1999. The total number of accidents and injuries has generally had a negative trend, in particular, the numbers from the early 1990s shows that accidents and injuries
Table 10 Correlations between the lost time accidents and injuries, number of improvements, and safety improvements
Accidents with lost days Improvements Total Improvements Safety
Pearson correlation Significance level Pearson correlation Significance level Pearson correlation Significance level
Accidents lost days
Number of improvements
Safety improvements
1.000 .001 .869 .001 .775 .008
1.000 .001 .913 .001
1.000 .001
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Table 11 Work accidents from 1990 through 1999 Accidents
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Without lost days With lost days Total
25 30 55
30 11 41
34 17 51
19 13 32
19 21 40
14 21 35
18 13 31
20 7 27
21 3 24
15 6 21
were not stable. However, since 1994, the number of total accidents is in a downward trend. Analyzing this information, one can observe that during the years of uncertainty (for the number of accidents), from 1990 to 1994, the actions that are carried out in regards to worker safety are punctual actions, most of them are not systematize. This act is characteristic of the safety management phase called safety control. From 1995 to the present, one can observe that the actions implemented continue in the years that follow as a part of the daily management of the company (they are systematized). On the other hand, we also observed that from 1995 up to 1999, at no time did the company stop undertaking actions in safety and health. Therefore, two phases of the safety management can be clearly identified in this company: the concept of safety control that occurred up to 1994 and the safety guarantee that began in 1995. Fig. 4 illustrates this information. Beginning in the year 2000, a new stage in safety management was started in the company, denominated by a TSM model. This new model, called Tree of Safety Management, was developed by the authors of the present article, and it will be published in the near future. With the results of the evaluations, the company is expected to introduce the improvements identified by unfolding their objectives in the 2001.
Fig. 4. The accident trend line of the Spanish company relating to safety control and safety guarantee.
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References Blair, E.H. (1996). Achieving a total safety paradigm through authentic caring and quality. Professional Safety, 41(5), 24 – 27. Deacon, A. (1994). The role of safety in total quality management. The Safety and Health Practitioner, 12(1), 18 – 21. Deming, W.E. (1986). Out of the crisis. Cambridge: MIT Press. Dumas, R. (1987). Safety and quality: The human dimension. Professional Safety, 32(12), 11 – 14. Geller, E.S. (1994). Ten principles for achieving a total safety culture. Professional Safety, 39(9), 18. Goetsch, D.L. (1999). Occupational safety and health for technologist, engineers, and managers. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Hansen, L. (1993). Safety management: a call for revolution. Professional Safety, 38(3), 16 – 21. Herrero, S. (2001). From the traditional concept of safety to safety integrated with quality. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Burgos, Spain. Krause, R., & Russell, L.R. (1994). The behavior-based approach to proactive accident investigation. Professional Safety, 39(3), 22 – 26. Krause, T.R., & Hidley, J.H. (1989). Behaviorally based safety management: parallels with the quality improvement process. Professional Safety, 34(10), 20 – 25. Luce, Z.R. (1990). The integrated management approach to environmental protection, health, and safety. Professional Safety, 35(1), 30 – 33. Manuele, F.A. (1994, September/October). How do safety, ergonomics and quality management interface? Quality Management, 4 – 6. Manzanedo, M.A. (1994). Los costes de los accidentes en las empresas industriales. Valladolid, Spain: Universidad de Valladolid. Manzella, J.C. (1997). Achieving safety performance excellence through total quality management. Professional Safety, 42(5), 26 – 28. McMillan, A., & Mahoney, P.L. (1994). Riding the quality horse. Occupational Hazards, 56(10), 177 – 178. Minter, S.G. (1991). Quality and safety Unocal’s Winning. Occupational Hazards, 53(8), 47 – 50. Montante, W.M. (1991). The ancient art of safety management. Professional Safety, 36(8), 29 – 32. Petersen, D. (1994). Integrating quality into total quality management. Professional Safety, 39(6), 28 – 30. Pollock, R.A. (1995). Making safety matter. Occupational Hazards, 57(10), 193 – 198. Promfret, B. (1994, March). Developing a safety culture based on quality. Safety Management, 33(3), 17 – 20. Rahimi, M. (1995). Merging strategic safety, health and environment into total quality management. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 16, 83 – 94. Rine, F. (1994). Safety and quality: the synonymous sister for the ’90s. Safety and Health, 149, 63 – 67. Roberge, C.L. (1999). It’s all about attitude. Industrial Distribution, 88(5), 122. Roughton, J. (1993). Integrating a total quality management system into safety and health programs. Professional Safety, 38(6), 32 – 37. Salazar, N. (1989). Applying the Deming philosophy to the safety system. Professional Safety, 34(12), 22 – 27. Saunders, I. (1995). Managing quality and risk. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety, 11(6), 579 – 586. Senecal, P. (1994). Putting people on the path to safety. Occupational Hazards, 56(11), 47 – 48. Smith, T.A. (1996). Will safety be ready for workplace 2000. Professional Safety, 41(2), 37 – 38. Sznaider, B.A. (1998). TQM can make plants safer. Manufacturing Engineering, 121(5), 144. UNE 81900 (1996 EX). Prevencio´n de riesgos laborales. Reglas generales para la evaluacio´n de los sistemas de gestio´n de prevencio´n de riesgos laborales (SGPRL). Urrutia, J.A. (1995). Modelo integrado de gestio´n de la seguridad, medio ambiente y calidad, aplicable
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a pymes industriales de la comunidad auto´noma del Paı´s Vasco. Bilbao, Spain: Universidad del Paı´s Vasco. Vincoli, J.W. (1991). Total quality management and the safety and health professional. Professional Safety, 36(6), 27 – 32. Weinstein, M.H. (1996). Improving safety programs through total quality. Occupational Hazards, 58(8). Wilson, T.B. (1993). Why self-management teams work. Systems, 1 – 4. Yarborough, C.M. (1994). Bringing value to occupational health services. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 36(3), 334 – 337. Zera, T.L. (1994). Bringing quality strategies to safety programs. Industrial Safety and Hygiene News, 28(3), 17 – 20.
Editorial
From the traditional concept of safety management to safety integrated with quality Susana Garcı´a Herreroa, Miguel Angel Mariscal Saldan˜aa, Miguel Angel Manzanedo del Campoa, Dale O. Ritzelb,* a
Area de Organizacio´n de Empresas, Escuela Polite´cnica Superior, Avda. Cantabria S/N, 09006 Burgos, Spain b Center for Injury Control and Worksite Health Promotion, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA Received 19 February 2001; received in revised form 1 August 2001; accepted 10 October 2001
Abstract This editorial reviews the evolution of the concepts of safety and quality that have been used in the traditional workplace. The traditional programs of safety are explored showing strengths and weaknesses. The concept of quality management is also viewed. Safety management and quality management principles, stages, and measurement are highlighted. The concepts of quality and safety guarantee are assessed. Total Quality Management concepts are reviewed and applied to safety quality. Total safety management principles are discussed. Finally, an analysis of the relationship between quality and safety from data collected from a company in Spain is presented. D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Safety management; Safety quality; Total safety management
1. Traditional methods of safety management There are many forms of safety management in the workplace. The types most commonly used are (a) the traditional method of safety and (b) the methods and philosophies of quality in conjunction with safety (Smith, 1996).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-618-453-2080; fax: +1-618-453-2879. 0022-4375/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 2 2 - 4 3 7 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 0 8 - 7
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Safety professionals from companies adhering to the traditional method of safety direct and control workers so that they complete the expected company safety standards and regulations. They also enforce laws and government regulations. They are informed on new regulations, devoted to impose rules and regulations to their employees, carry out inspections, audit the system, direct investigations of accidents and injuries, and establish recommendations in order to prevent accidents and injuries in the future. For the safety professionals, adhering to this concept means modifying the behavior of the worker, motivating them, and using prizes and incentives to help them work in a safer way. Rewards are given only to those workers or departments that meet the preset safety objectives (Smith, 1996). The traditional safety management programs do not always improve the results of safety because they are centered exclusively on the technical requirements and on obtaining short-term results (Weinstein, 1996). Fig. 1 provides an illustration of a representation of the traditional focus of safety management, in which we observe that the company only acts when accidents or injuries happen. Another shortcoming of the traditional safety management program is that the program is isolated and many times not integrated with the rest of the functions of an organization. The common elements of traditional safety programs include: safety director, safety committees, meetings relating to safety, list of rules pertaining to safety, posting of slogans, posters, and programs of safety incentives. The responsibility of the safety program falls on the safety director who occupies a position inside the organization of the company and, in many cases, does not have the authority to make changes (Hansen, 1993). A system that is centered on taking a proactive approach is more effective than the one that continually analyzes accidents after they happen in order to generate data on which to base improvements. Prevention is based on established rules, regulations, and safety instructions, but the mere publication of those rules and
Fig. 1. Traditional focus of safety management (adapted from Rahimi, 1995).
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regulations in a safety manual is not enough for their effective implementation. Only when all personnel work in accordance with the safety norms and the established instructions will the company have safe practices. The 10 obligations of management as defined by Petersen (1994) represent the way of leaving traditional safety management. Under these new obligations within the company:
Progress is not measured by injury ratios. Safety becomes a system, more than a program. Statistical techniques drive the efforts of continuous improvement. The investigation of accidents and injuries is renewed or is eliminated. Technical principles and tools for the statistical control of the process are used. Emphasis is placed on improving the system. Benefits are provided for people that discover illegal situations. The participation of workers in the resolution of problems and making decisions is formalized. Ergonomic well-being is projected inside the place of work. The traps within the system that cause human errors are eliminated.
2. Integration of quality and safety If the evolution of quality management is analyzed, the results should show that three stages exist: (a) quality control, (b) quality assurance, and (c) total quality. If the same analysis is carried out for the safety management system, three similar stages would be found: (a) safety control, (b) safety assurance or guarantee, and (c) total safety. These stages are shown in Table 1. 2.1. Safety control One of the first contributions relating to the integration of quality with safety was Dumas (1987). After carrying out a study in more than 200 companies for 5 years, Dumas discovered that programs of quality and programs of safety have the same components. One of the conclusions of his study was that ‘‘safety is a dimension of quality, after everything, the elimination of defects includes the elimination of practices of unsafe work.’’ Minter (1991) affirms that if one looks
Table 1 Evolution of the concepts quality and safety Quality management steps
Safety management steps
Quality control Quality assurance Total quality
Safety control Safety assurance or guarantee Total safety
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at safety as a consequence of making things well, then the program will undoubtedly bear quality. Therefore, if the objective of quality control is to improve the quality of the products through the detection and elimination of defects, we can define the objective of safety control as the reduction of injuries through the elimination of unsafe acts and work conditions. 2.2. Stages of safety control Safety control could be synthesized in three phases or stages: (a) the postcontrol, (b) the control of the events, and (c) the precontrol (Montante, 1991). The postcontrol stage includes all the safety performances and activities that occur as a result of an accident or injury. Some of these performances are: (a) first aid and medical care that were needed, or that were required, on the part of the injured victim; (b) control of the damages resulting from the accident or injury; (c) emergencies or reactions in the face of a certain situation; and (d) programs of rehabilitation offered to the accident/injury victim. We could also include in this stage the studies that investigate the causes of accidents and injuries and communicating results of the event to the rest of the company members. The second stage of safety control makes reference to the control of the events. In this phase, the visible side of safety is observed and all of the measures that should be taken are taken so that in the moment of the accident, the damages and the occasional injuries are diminished. Lastly, precontrol is directed to eliminate accidents and injuries by prevention techniques. 2.3. The measure of safety results In the first phase of safety management, there are several techniques of safety that are used to control accidents and injuries, one of which is statistical analysis. Several authors, among them Krause and Salazar, have indicated that statistical analysis is used to control worker risk through a technique called the statistical processes control (SPC). SPC is a tool that is used to control the quality of the processes. SPC shows that the outcomes of a system do not have a constant value because random variations will always exist. In many systems, this random variation is represented in the time that comes from a rise in the function of normal distribution. Statistics provide a tool to predict the probability that the value of a variable is understood between a range of values. For example, if a system is stable, or ‘‘under control,’’ more than 99% of all the values that are measured will be understood in a range of ±3 S.D. centered around the central value. The statistical analysis of accidents and injuries shows the situation of the company in regards to safety. However, statistics are not always a useful tool to improve safety.
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On one hand, when safety management is based on the results of accidents and injuries, the efforts of safety are stimulated as a function of accident and injury statements, and one can tell top management about the need to pay more attention to the prevention of accidents at times when the rates of accidents and injuries increase. This will also diminish having to pay attention when injuries rates are lower (Krause & Hidley, 1989). On the other hand, if the number of accidents are represented graphically, over time, and injuries within a company are determined to be stable, or ‘‘under control,’’ then this could be a more difficult situation. This means that the rate of accidents and injuries may remain at the same level, and that the increase or decrease in the number of accidents and injuries may simply result from random variations in the system of safety (Salazar, 1989). In order to combat this phenomenon and improve the results of safety, it is necessary to measure the performances of safety before the accidents happen (Krause & Hidley, 1989). 2.4. The problem of measuring the quality of the results When the number of accidents and injuries are measured, the number of defects produced by a system are being measured. When these indicators are used to establish objectives, we work with numeric quotas that do not contribute value. This measure of quality could create conflict between the workers, supervisors, and others responsible for safety. This type of situation can force those involved to choose between what is best for themselves or best for the company. One problem for those who are responsible for the safety in a company is that they must require workers to notify them when accidents and injuries occur. Many workers hide their own accidents and even those of their companions in order to decrease the index of frequency and obtain safety incentives (Geller, 1994; Promfret, 1994). In addition, according to Krause and Russell (1994), the fact that workers experience negative consequences after accident and injury investigations makes them elect to hide them. At times, Promfret (1994) affirms that workers suffer injuries caused by a series of factors that are outside their control: unsafe conditions, wrong systems designed, excessive work load, or a culture that advocates the individual and impedes a perspective of team work. According to Deming (1986), top management is responsible for 94% of the problems because they control the assignment of resources, establish and implement the methods of work, develop the politics, and so forth. For these reasons, each manager should be the lone sponsor of their own particular results (Sznaider, 1998). The improvement of the system is the responsibility of top management, without forgetting that in order to reach the global objectives of the company, the workers and members of work teams play an important part. The Consultant Unit for the Prevention of Accidents of the Executive of Safety and Health of the United Kingdom carried out a study entitled ‘‘Success
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and Failure of the Prevention of Accidents.’’ The study concluded that the index of frequency of accidents was not a sure guide to measure the safety of a company, and that in order to carry out more exact measurement of the efforts of safety, it was better to carry out inspections and systematic audits. If we compared the evolution of safety with that of quality, we realize that in order to improve safety we should not remain in the postaccident analysis because the same accidents could happen as they do now in quality analysis. Analyzing the defects at the end of the process of production does not show our level of quality and we do not know how to improve it. Deming (1986) proposes that we must measure the quality of the system (or program of safety) and not the quality of the results of safety. 2.5. The measure of the quality of the program of safety Two tools exist that can be used to measure the quality of the program of safety: safety inspections that identify the practices, behaviors, and unsafe conditions; and safety audits that identify the actions carried out by top management of the company that affect positively the system of safety (Salazar, 1989).
3. Safety assurance If we analyzed the history of quality management, we observe that the concept of quality evolves from quality control toward quality assurance. In quality assurance, the center of the activity, the planning, and the culture are directed toward the client and the product. In terms of safety, the workers and managers of the company are the clients and safety is the product (absence of injuries and illnesses; Roberge, 1999). As is the case for quality assurance (ISO 9000), top management should visibly commit to safety, establish a managerial culture that does not tolerate unsafe performances, and facilitate channels of communication that permit workers to report the conditions of risk. On the other hand, workers should participate in the planning of safety and share their responsibility. The objectives of safety can be reached when both workers and top management have the same understandings. 3.1. The ISO 9000 and systems of management of prevention of worker risks The international standards of the ISO 9000 have helped many organizations implement quality systems since they describe the essential elements. Regulations based on ISO 9000 have been created to guide companies in developing systems for the management and the prevention of worker risks. Some examples include: the British BS 8800 (1996), a guide for the systems of safety management and worker health; the experimental Spanish UNE 81900 (1996) that indicates the general rules for the implementation of a system of management to prevent worker risks; and the American Association of Industrial
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Hygiene, Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), which is a guide for safety management and worker health. In Spain, big companies tend to implement systems of management and prevention of worker risks based upon the UNE 81900, ‘‘Prevention of occupational risks. General rules to implementation of a management system for occupational risks prevention.’’ This regulation, which shares the same general principles that the norms of quality assurance UNE-EN-ISO series 9000, specifies the elements that integrate a management system for the prevention of occupational risks. 3.2. The concept of safety guarantee Companies that have implemented occupational risk prevention systems are at a level of safety management comparable with quality assurance or quality guarantee. Based on the definition of quality assurance, safety guarantee is defined as the group of actions, planned and systematic, implemented inside the management system for the prevention of occupational risks, which provides the appropriate trust that an entity will complete the requirements of occupational safety and health. 3.3. The integration of the systems of prevention of worker risks with the systems of quality and environment Some authors defend the idea of integrating occupational risk prevention management systems with quality management systems. Others are in favor of integrating occupational risk prevention systems with the system of environmental administration. And others favor integrating the three disciplines: quality, safety, and environment, by means of a system of integrated administration. Manzella (1997) affirms that in order to get excellent safety results, one needs to integrate the safety system in the quality management system. The author comments that the quality and safety principles are essentially the same (see Table 2). Luce (1990) developed an Integrated Management Program (IMP), which integrated environment issues with safety and health. Later on in Spain, Urrutia
Table 2 The principles and relationship of quality and safety Safety
Quality
Objective: zero accidents Analysis of incidents Documenting the politics of safety, the procedures and the instructions Safety committees Participation of the workers Statistical analysis All accidents and injuries could be prevented
Objective: zero defects Analysis of events Documenting the politics of quality, the procedures and the instructions of work Quality circles Participation of the workers Statistical control of the process The not conformities could be prevented
Source: Manzella (1997).
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(1995) developed a model of management that integrated safety, environment, and quality. The model consisted of 24 elements: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
Top management leadership Politics and strategy Recruiting and selection Programs of formation Motivation of personnel Control of health Financial resources Information resources Documentation Material and technological resources Contract revisions Design Purchases Identification and product tracking Processes Inspection and testing State of inspection and testing Control of products that do not conform Analysis of accidents/incidents/injuries Work correctives Preventive actions Manipulation, packing, and delivery Service after-sale Diffusion
4. Total Safety Management (TSM) Lastly, if we continue analyzing the evolution of the concept of quality, we observe that the last phase is Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM caused a great deal of interest in the 1990s. Many authors indicate that the TQM philosophy could improve the management of any area inside the company, and they lend special attention to the improvement of the safety management and to the improvement of environmental management. 4.1. TQM and safety Since 1992, in the United Kingdom, occupational safety and health has been viewed as an integral part of TQM and is based upon two respects: the model HS(G)65 and the norm BS7850 (Deacon, 1994). On one hand, the British model HS (G) 65, published in 1991, was used for safety and health management. On the other hand, the quality regulation BS7850
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Fig. 2. Model of integrated quality safety.
from 1992 added to the traditional concept of TQM that satisfaction of the client, the safety, the health, the environment, and the managerial objectives are checks to each other (see Fig. 2). Weinstein (1996) developed the Safety Hazard Management System (SHMS), which integrates the principles of the TQM, the requirements of the ISO 9000 and the technical requirements (laws, norms, etc.). This system is displayed in Fig. 3. Rahimi (1995) suggested integrating the strategic planning (long term) of safety inside TQM. A conceptual frame was developed that included the concepts of strategic safety management (SSM) and self-managed teams (SMT). One of the characteristics of Rahimi’s model is the integration of teams of safety and the teams of quality. The idea included integrating the organization of a company into teams of work, with workers from several levels, in order to have on the same team: (a) people with enough experience to design and
Fig. 3. SHMS (source: Weinstein, 1996).
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supervise the physical components of the environment of work (for example machines, teams and facilities, buildings, etc.); and (b) people able to plan, organize, direct, and control the actions that need to be carried out. These work teams do not eliminate the authority of top management but they provide additional tools for continuous improvement. These work teams have to begin to be integrated little by little, so that top management and the workers have time to adapt to the new rules. The work teams should begin by working on small pilot projects and move forward to adopt new organizational forms (Rahimi, 1995). Rahimi suggests the following recommendations, described by Wilson (1993), for the good operation of work teams:
Teams need to know how their contributions will help meet the objectives of the company and what they will receive in return. Team members and supervisors have to differentiate the routine activities carried out with the team. Measures of performance need to specify what kind of behavior or actions can lead to ‘‘overachievement.’’ They need to know how they are performing with a performance yardstick or ‘‘benchmark.’’ Team members need the support of their supervisors, top management, their clients, and all those that are involved in the process. Supervisors need to be evaluated and given reinforcement for actions they have taken to build, support, maintain, and contribute to the success of teams in their areas. The previous item is also applicable to middle and top management. Supporting the formation of continuous improvement is an essential element. An effective system of measuring and providing feedback is essential.
When worker safety and health is desired, the first motivation should come from the interior of the company, through the development of a solid culture of safety and health. On the contrary, worker safety and health should not come from the exterior of the company as a result of the legal imperatives (Deacon, 1994). The people that work in safety management and, at the same time, are members of quality teams, assure that quality management has a great relationship with risk management. The actions that are carried out to achieve quality are the same actions necessary to achieve effective risk management. 4.2. The principles of the TQM applied to safety quality Many authors defend the idea that the concepts of TQM can be applied to the practices of safety and health (Blair, 1996; Goetsch, 1999; Manzella, 1997; McMillan & Mahoney, 1994; Pollock, 1995; Rine, 1994; Saunders, 1995; Senecal, 1994; Weinstein, 1996; Yarborough, 1994; Zera, 1994). The basic principles of TQM provide us an excellent description of the daily activities of the people responsible for safety and health management in the work place (Vincoli, 1991).
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Experts in quality, like Deming, Juran, and Crosby, have developed the concept of Total Quality in their studies. Some points exist in which they differ, but in general the principles of quality endorsed by the authors are: (a) the organizational commitment; (b) the culture; (c) the formation; (d) the continuous improvement; (e) the satisfaction of the client; and (f) the use of systems of measuring and communication. Roughton (1993) expressed the necessity of applying these principles in safety management:
Organizational commitment. Top management should involve both the processes of improvement of quality and of safety, and should act as the leader. The processes of improvement should integrate daily activities. Culture. The organization should understand that quality and safety operate as one. The problems of quality and of safety should be tried not only for top management but also for supervisors and workers. The identification of problems should be seen as an opportunity to improve, instead of using it to accuse a worker or a workers’ group. Formation. Formation is important because it provides an understanding and a common language for all the workers. The formation in relation to quality and safety should incorporate the knowledge of basic tools like those of resolution of problems, the diagrams of cause-effect, the data collection, and statistical principles. Continuous improvement. Quality management and safety should center on the continuous improvement of all the parts of the organization. Satisfaction of the client. Identify the necessities of the client, measure and control their satisfaction, and develop a system of managing complaints or reclamations. Systems of measuring. It is necessary to develop a system of measuring and identifying areas where opportunities exist for improvements. Communication. Communication is the key to the relationship between top management and workers. The system could be damaged if the communications are unusual. The improvements of quality and of safety proposals for the operatives should be recognized.
The principles that Deming (1986) proposed in his book Out of the Crisis for quality management are directly related to the success that one can obtain in risk management. Some of the principles proposed by Deming, related to the management of risks, were summarize by Manuele (1994) where he indicates that one could substitute the word ‘‘safety’’ for ‘‘quality’’:
Quality begins with top management. The important improvements in quality require a change in the managerial culture. The long-term commitment of top management is necessary for improvements of quality.
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The support of top management is not enough. What is required is their behavior and leadership. The obligations of top management could not be delegated. Everybody has clients. The persons that are not aware of who their clients are do not understand their work. Quality should be built in the stages of design. Quality is reached by improving the processes continually. Quality does not come from inspections, but from the improvement of the processes. The directors tend to make workers responsible for aspects that are not under their control. People work in a system created by top management, therefore, only top management can change it. Gathering the established specifications are necessary for the maintenance of the current situation, but they do not improve the results. It is essential to distinguish between a stable and an unstable system. Statistical diagrams indicate whether a system is or is not stable. The common causes are shortcomings of the system (capacity of the team, design of the processes of work, not very clear procedures) and often can only be corrected by top management. The special causes (wrong operation of the machinery, assignment of workers) come from fleeting events.
In order to apply the 14 points of the philosophy of Deming to the safety system, Salazar (1989) proposes four basic topics:
The stability. Top management should commit to a philosophy or politics of safety in order to guide the daily decisions. The formation. The basic difference between safe employees and those that are prone to injuries is that safe employees have the capacity to recognize the risks, determine their actions, and understand the consequences. This capacity is not present at birth, but rather is acquired through learning. In order to improve the safety quality of each employee, it is necessary to systematize safety training: Defining the functions of the technical aspects of safety clearly and providing training to all levels, facilitating the necessary resources for safety training, establishing programs of training for the new workers, providing training to Directors and supervisors, and institutionalizing systems of continuous training, are all necessary functions of safety training. The measure of the quality of the system. When we measure the number of accidents and injuries, we are measuring the number of defects produced by the system. When we use these indicators to establish objectives, we work with numeric quotas that do not contribute value. The quality of the results should not create conflict between the workers, supervisors, and those responsible for safety, because they are often forced to choose between what is best for themselves or best for the company. The solution according to Deming is to measure the quality of the system, and not the
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quality of the results. As we indicated previously, two types of indicators are key for the measure of system quality, on one hand the practices, behaviors, and insecure conditions, and on the other hand the measurements of actions carried out by top management that affect positively the system of safety. The implementation of the processes of improvement. Deming integrates the responsibility of management and the participation of workers through the extensive use of committees and quality groups. The practical application of this to safety is the creation of teams of safe work. One of the better descriptions of the TQM is captured in the 14 Obligation Management by Deming:
Concentrate on the long-term objectives in order to develop a system of world quality. Discard the old philosophy of accepting accidents and injuries. Use statistical techniques to identify the two sources of accidents and injuries (the system and the human error). Institutionalize more training. Eliminate the dependence on the investigation of accidents and injuries. In their place use such methods as checking behavior, cause-effect diagrams, flow charts, and so forth in order to demonstrate the defects of the system and achieve a continuous improvement of the system. Provide supervisors (and employees) with training about using statistical tools and assure that those tools are used in order to identify areas that need additional studies and corrective actions. Reduce fear by encouraging the workers to identify the defects of the system and help them find solutions. Reduce accidents and injuries by designing safety within the process. Use engineering concepts in all aspects of safety. Eliminate the use of slogans, incentives, and posters. Examine the standard of work in order to eliminate the traps of accidents and injuries.
Other aspects of total quality are also valuable. In fact, measurements that follow are necessary in safety: 1. Ask employees to define and solve the problems of the company and identify the weakness of the system. 2. Provide workers with simple tools to solve problems. 3. Replace the statistics based on accidents and injuries by measuring ‘‘waters up’’ (e.g. show you the behavior). 4. Replace the statistics based on the accidents and injuries by measuring ‘‘waters below’’ (e.g. perceptions of the workers through surveys and interviews).
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Table 3 Phases for the implementation of TSM Planning and preparation (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Gain executive-level commitment Establish the TSM steering committee Mold the steering committee into a team Give the steering committee safety and health awareness training Develop the organization’s safety and health vision guiding principles Develop the organization’s safety and health mission and objectives Communicate and inform
Identification and measure (8) Identify the organization’s safety and health strengths and weakness (9) Identify the defenders and opponents of safety and health (10) Benchmark initial employee perceptions concerning the work environment (11) Make it extensive to the organization (12) Identify specific improvement projects Execution /implementation (13) Create improvement project teams (14) Activate the feedback loop (new projects/new teams) (15) Establish a TSM culture Source: Goetsch (1999).
Petersen (1994) underlines the idea of negotiating safety using the philosophies of TQM, and comments that one could get, by means of the participation of workers, the creation of a new culture where safety is perceived as a key value, where statistical tools are used to solve problems, where continuous improvements are emphasized, and where indicators are used to measure the quality of the system and not the quality of the results. 4.3. TSM TSM is safety management written and practiced using the principles of TQM. TQM has demonstrated that it is an effective way of maximizing the long-term Table 4 Differences between TQM and TSM TQM
TSM
Know the processes Minimize the errors Center on prevention Reduce variations Deepen in the satisfaction of the client
Know the sources of risks Minimize the risks Center on prevention Reduce the uncertainty Deepen in the safety of the workers, the organization and the clients The accidents and injuries are caused more by faulty planning than by the people
The problems are caused more by the system than by the individuals Source: Saunders (1995).
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Table 5 Areas of suggestions by company employees by year Suggestions
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Safety Productivity Quality Ergonomics Order and cleaning Saving of energy Waste Removal Total
85 31 83 58 10 0 0 267
128 127 115 141 65 7 0 583
213 77 160 168 92 13 0 723
204 70 147 164 87 4 0 676
268 42 115 140 81 6 0 652
177 39 64 109 38 1 0 428
172 22 62 121 29 0 0 406
141 53 67 109 30 0 0 400
149 29 89 147 56 10 13 493
118 57 78 117 62 0 0 432
competitiveness of a company. It is also a method than can improve the effectiveness of the programs of safety and health (Goetsch, 1999). Manzanedo (1994) advanced the concept of TSM, indicating that many concepts, principles, rules, technical and included objectives, of the TQM could move the TSM, with the single change of quality (Q) for safety (S). The problem of isolation that quality directors had, when quality was exclusively the responsibility of the Department of Quality or the Director of Quality, was solved with TQM. TQM makes everybody involved in the processes of quality, and the Director of Quality acts like a coordinator and assistant. The same type of isolation happens with safety, where the top management and workers sometimes see safety as the responsibility of the Safety Department or the Safety Director. In these cases, the TSM could also make sure everybody is involved in the topics of safety, and the functions of the Safety Director would be one of coordinating the processes and facilitating the necessary resources (Goetsch, 1999). According to Goetsch (1999), three components are needed to take the TSM philosophy to practice: (a) a TSM committee, (b) teams for improvement projects, and (c) a facilitator:
The committee would define the politics of safety and health, approve the rules and procedures of work related to worker safety and health, provide the resources, and approve the recommendations carried out by the teams of improvement. The teams for improvement will propose improvements related to the environment of work. And the facilitator, an expert in safety and health, possibly the director or person responsible for safety within the company, will take the responsibility of implementing the TSM program. Table 6 Combination of safety and ergonomics suggestions by year Number of suggestions
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Safety and ergonomics
143
269
381
368
408
286
293
250
296
235
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Table 7 Number of employee observations of safe and unsafe acts by year
Number of observations
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
80
398
415
503
318
According to Goetsch (1999), there are three phases to implement TSM inside a company: (a) planning and preparation, (b) identification and measure, and (c) execution and implementation. Table 3 outlines the stages of each one of these phases. Some similarities and differences between the TQM and TSM are expressed by Saunders (1995), as shown in Table 4.
5. Analysis of the relationship between quality and safety: A Spanish company assessment Herrero (2001) analyzes the relationship between quality and safety in a company in Spain during the last 10 years. This study analyzes the information of a labor intensive, manufacturing company including: (a) the suggestions of improvement by employees, (b) the employee observations of safety, and (c) the results of safety practices. In Herrero’s (2001) investigation, the suggested improvements are classified in seven areas: (a) safety, (b) productivity, (c) quality, (d) ergonomics, (e) order and cleaning, (f) saving of energy, and (g) waste removal. Table 5 indicates the frequency of suggestions for improving the work environment as reported by employees over a 10-year period. The ergonomics suggestions by employees have been assembled together with the safety suggestions into one category. The number of safety suggestions is shown in Table 6. Besides the employees’ suggestions for improvement, the company has systematized, since 1995, a system of using employee observations of safe and unsafe acts that contribute to improving safety. The number of observations is shown in Table 7. If the employee safety observations are added (Table 7) to the safety suggestions (including ergonomics; Table 6), the data shown in Table 8 is
Table 8 Frequency of employee suggestions and observations of safety Improvements
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
Safety Productivity Quality Another Total
143 31 83 10 267
269 127 115 72 583
381 77 160 105 723
368 70 147 91 676
408 42 115 87 652
366 39 64 39 508
691 22 62 29 804
665 53 67 30 815
799 29 89 66 996
553 57 78 62 750
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Table 9 Number of accidents and injuries relating to lost workdays 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Accidents and injuries with 30 lost work days
11
17
13
21
21
13
7
3
6
obtained. The new safety area shown in Table 8 is the combined data from Tables 6 and 7. In order to analyze the influence of improvement acts on the results of safety, the number of accidents and injuries resulting in lost workdays within the company are shown in Table 9. A statistical analysis demonstrates that the correlation between the accidents and injuries with lost workdays and safety improvements are weaker than the correlation between the accidents with lost workdays and the total improvements, including safety, quality, and productivity. These results are shown in Table 10. This statistical analysis has allowed us to demonstrate how certain actions of improvement, which were initially designed to improve aspects of quality and aspects of production, improve occupational safety. This information allows us to indicate that occupational safety in an industrial company should be integrated with quality and productivity functions.
6. Evolution of the concept of safety in the Spanish company Earlier three phases of safety management were defined: safety control, safety guarantee, and TSM. Analyzing the results of occupational safety and health in the company in Spain, two of the phases were identified: safety control and the safety guarantee. Table 11 shows the number of accidents without lost workdays, with lost workdays, and the total registered in the company from 1990 to 1999. The total number of accidents and injuries has generally had a negative trend, in particular, the numbers from the early 1990s shows that accidents and injuries
Table 10 Correlations between the lost time accidents and injuries, number of improvements, and safety improvements
Accidents with lost days Improvements Total Improvements Safety
Pearson correlation Significance level Pearson correlation Significance level Pearson correlation Significance level
Accidents lost days
Number of improvements
Safety improvements
1.000 .001 .869 .001 .775 .008
1.000 .001 .913 .001
1.000 .001
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Table 11 Work accidents from 1990 through 1999 Accidents
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Without lost days With lost days Total
25 30 55
30 11 41
34 17 51
19 13 32
19 21 40
14 21 35
18 13 31
20 7 27
21 3 24
15 6 21
were not stable. However, since 1994, the number of total accidents is in a downward trend. Analyzing this information, one can observe that during the years of uncertainty (for the number of accidents), from 1990 to 1994, the actions that are carried out in regards to worker safety are punctual actions, most of them are not systematize. This act is characteristic of the safety management phase called safety control. From 1995 to the present, one can observe that the actions implemented continue in the years that follow as a part of the daily management of the company (they are systematized). On the other hand, we also observed that from 1995 up to 1999, at no time did the company stop undertaking actions in safety and health. Therefore, two phases of the safety management can be clearly identified in this company: the concept of safety control that occurred up to 1994 and the safety guarantee that began in 1995. Fig. 4 illustrates this information. Beginning in the year 2000, a new stage in safety management was started in the company, denominated by a TSM model. This new model, called Tree of Safety Management, was developed by the authors of the present article, and it will be published in the near future. With the results of the evaluations, the company is expected to introduce the improvements identified by unfolding their objectives in the 2001.
Fig. 4. The accident trend line of the Spanish company relating to safety control and safety guarantee.
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