One major challenge for General Motors and the automobile industry in general is finding new ways to help skilled workers and contractors identify hazards in the workplace and ensure that proper procedures are used when performing tasks. Another is developing leading indicators to complement existing injury and illness record-keeping. As incident rates continue to decline, tracking ongoing improvement will require other leading indicators (e.g. process-related performance). To meet these challenges, GM has a number of initiatives in place:
- Sharing Safety Practices
- Skilled Trades Safety
- Industrial Truck / Material Handling
- Risk assessment
- Management system
- GM Safe Driving
- Office safety
- Memberships
- Security
- UAW-GM Health and Safety Activity
Sharing Safety Practices
A key strategy in reducing risk is the identification and sharing of safety practices. GM's experience has shown that a safety practice can come from anywhere in the world. Through email, teleconferences, or GM's Health and Safety web site, information is shared and passed to all corners of the globe. The Global Safety team facilitates development of these safety practices and helps implement procedures and systems that have proved successful in other parts of the company. This team serves as the technical and administrative arm of GM top management leading the health and safety process. Global Safety assists operating divisions and plants throughout the world in meeting safety objectives, sharing information, and providing leading edge information.
Skilled Trades Safety
Course - Tools for Skilled Trade Supervisors
The purpose of this tool is to provide supervisors with the skills they need to effectively supervise skilled trades’ employees from a safety perspective. Examination of past injuries/fatalities has found a need to ensure that skilled trades supervisors are keenly aware of hazard identification and hazard control when performing their duties. In light of this data, and in support of the Skilled Trade Focus (one of our Health & Safety Requirements), this course was implemented in 2006 as a positive step towards meeting this focus.
"Assigning Risk" refers to the introduction of a different approach to how skilled trades supervisors assign work. When skilled trades take on the assignment, they are accepting risk, but risk that has been identified and covered with a “pre-task” plan to mitigate that risk. This pre-task plan is the joint responsibility of the supervisor and the employee. In summary, with the greater risk of serious injury that our skilled trades employees face, the goal is to develop a mindset where our employees make the right decisions, every time, for their protection and work to a plan specifically designed to mitigate risks.
Industrial Truck / Material Handling
A review of statistics over the past several years identified a potentially significant source of injuries and near misses in GM North America. This source involves the interplay between pedestrians and mobile equipment such as fork trucks in our locations. As a result of this data review, GMNA Safety and UAW-GM Health and Safety identified several actions to reduce incidents of this type. Some of the key initiatives involved in this program are as follows:
- Improved Data Collection
- Formation of Pedestrian Industrial Vehicle Committees at each location
- Regular Safety Messages
- Sharing of Best Practices and In-House Developed Videos
- Posters
- Color Selection for New Material Dollies
- New Seat Belt Policy
- Plant Layout Guidelines
- Orange Crush Zones (High Risk/High Caution Areas)
The list above reflects some of the efforts currently being implemented across GM North America and shared with our other global regions as well.
Risk Assessment
Joint programs with trade unions and specialized employee training initiatives have helped GM become the leader in health and safety performance in the automotive industry. GM has developed a practical risk assessment and design methodology that is used during the design of machine safety features. Known as Safety 21, this process has dramatically improved machine safety resulting in reduced risk to GM employees.
Safety 21 is a joint effort between GM engineering and safety professionals, the UAW and employees. Using this system, the UAW, GM, and its employees developed an alternative means to locking out machine power when performing certain maintenance tasks. Known as MPS, or Monitored Power Systems, this method ensures that robot cells are in a safe mode when performing specific tasks identified in the risk assessment process. Safety 21 is now being used by GM engineers around the world.
Management System
GM has integrated the core elements of safety processes into GMS, the GM Global Manufacturing System. Leading indicator metrics have now been integrated into GMS to provide global operations managers with a process specifically designed to mitigate risks.
Additionally, GM’s Asia Pacific (AP) region has implemented an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) based on the ISO 9000-2000 Quality Management System. This system provides the framework for effective management of numerous programs and procedures and complements the integration of safety into GMS.
GM Safe Driving
GM's Safe Driving Program is an ongoing program of traffic safety awareness and driver training focusing not only on our employees but also the general population. A cross-functional team continued GM's leadership role in promoting increased safety belt use in the U.S., helping to achieve a national belt use rate of 82 percent in 2005 and gaining enactment of long-term government support for programs that will further increase that rate. The team led coalition efforts to promote high-visibility enforcement campaigns, pushed successfully for federal policy changes, advocated strong state belt use legislation, reminded customers to buckle up, and educated target audiences through advertising. Former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Jeffrey W. Runge said the team "has saved literally thousands of lives, and deserves the thanks of the American people."
Office Safety
General Motors continues its efforts to develop a 24/7 safety culture among all employees. The platforms of manufacturing and office safety exist to foster safety in all work areas and assignments. The safety processes are now fully integrated into the General Motors Global Manufacturing System (GMS).
The GM Office Health and Safety process assesses the physical safety of our facilities, and requires the implementation of risk reduction processes such as building emergency plans, indoor air quality management, and related healthy work environment initiatives. In addition, focus is aimed at engaging leaders at all levels to actively promote safety in their respective work areas with their employees.
Global implementation of the process continues.
Memberships
GM belongs to numerous health-and-safety industry and business associations. Experience has shown that such partnerships have benefits, where GM learns from benchmarking against other organizations while, in turn, sharing its own practices.
In addition to industry partnerships, GM is an active member in several key ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards for machine safety, as well as ANSI Z10, the first U.S. standard for an Occupational Health and Management Safety System. At the ISO, or international, level, GM has been an active participant in standards for robot safety, machine safety, and ergonomics.
Security
GM's standards address four elements of security:
- Processes and administration for GM security operations - these standards specify requirements for GM Security Operations and suppliers, including process scope and performance reporting requirements for GM locations.
- Fire and emergency prevention and protection standards seek to assure the protection of employees, property, and continuity of business operations. Local business unit management, along with security personnel, must develop specific procedures for each facility.
- Investigation of wrongdoing or negative incidents – these standards address how security investigations within General Motors are to be conducted.
- Security standards are established to assure the protection of employees and property.
UAW-GM Health and Safety Activity
“Health and safety at work
– and at home – is a number
one UAW-GM priority.”
The UAW-GM Health and Safety Activity, part of the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources (see Training), develops programs and provides training implemented within UAW-represented GM facilities. Workers receive appropriate health and safety training based on their job assignments. Additionally, the activity conducts audits of facilities to ensure proper implementation of health and safety programs. The UAW and GM have led the way nationally in developing such industrial health-and-safety programs as Ergonomics, Lockout and Energy Control, Confined Space Entry, Fall Hazard Control, and Industrial Hygiene, to name a few.
Since 1985, more than 20,000 plant-based safety trainers have completed courses at the Health and Safety Center. The joint administration and development of health and safety programs during the past 25 years at the national and local levels have been a major factor in improving health and safety conditions for UAW represented workers and GM salaried employees.
Visit the UAW-GM web site at uaw-gm.org/health_safety.
