BEHAVIORAL SAFETY

Newsday changed its philosophy on safety and found that the accident rate steadily fell throughout its Melville, N.Y., operations.

Cutting "the numbers" always has been important. But by tapping into the ideas behind behavioral safety, Newsday found other, more important results.

"There is an ongoing dialogue between supervisors and line workers about working safely," said James Norris, senior vice president of operations at the daily.

After implementing behaviorial safety programs -- which empower and encourage workers and supervisors to take ownership of safety efforts -- Newsday managers were inspired when workers pointed out more than 100 areas where changes were needed to keep the workplace safe. It was a sign they were taking the efforts seriously, he argued.

"There’s a reason the newspaper industry embraced behavioral safety -- that’s because it works," he said.

Conventional safety programs have a structure aimed solely at complying with federal rules. They also make the safety manager responsible for results, as well as for providing regular training and refreshers. Workers are punished for not following the rules. The overall focus is on reducing workers' compensation costs. Supervisors focus on daily production and workers on getting the job done regardless of the dangers.

Behavioral safety programs, by contrast, optimize safe work practices and make line workers and supervisors jointly responsible for safety. Management’s role is to determine causes of accidents and near misses. Supervisors focus on safe practices, even if it slows work. And workers focus on getting the job done safely, making it a priority equal to getting the job done.

Newsday hired DuPont to conduct an on-site safety audit and entrusted initial training to the company. DuPont trained managers and supervisors for a safety auditing program not just done at regular intervals, but carried out daily. So is training: Supervisors approach employees when they observe unsafe behavior and reteach the safe practice. (Surprisingly, said Norris, getting workers to keep shirttails tucked in and hair pulled back was the greatest challenge. Much of Newsday's 800-member production workforce spends the week inserting 22 million preprints and operating machinery that could snare loose clothing or long hair.)

Norris said the program has obvious safety benefits. But it also builds relationships by giving supervisors and workers more to talk about than daily production. The philosophical shift creates healthier attitudes toward the workplace and enables management to be proactive in helping workers work safely, he says.

"We’re pretty happy with results as voluntary compliance is about 90 percent," Norris said.

Tom Stewart, a consultant for Marsh USA Inc., suggested that publishers prepare for such programs -- and their cost.

"Are newspapers ready?" he asked. A behavioral safety program covering 300-to-500 employees would cost about $65,000 -- a worthwhile expense when you factor in savings from avoiding accidents.

"I have continuously been searching for something that helps us solve the problem of injuries in the workplace," Stewart said, outlining his efforts as a safety manager and former pressman during the past 30-plus years."In safety, for years, we’ve talked about severity and frequency of accidents. It’s time now to change our thinking."

-Bob Sims