1st Edition

Lean Safety Transforming your Safety Culture with Lean Management

By Robert Hafey Copyright 2009
    186 Pages 30 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    186 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    While worker safety is often touted as a company’s first priority, more often than not, safety activity is driven by compliance to legislation rather than any safety improvement initiative. Lean takes a proactive approach – it is not contingent on legislation. A serious Lean effort will tear apart an old inefficient entitlement-riddled culture and build it into something effective.

    Lean Safety: Transforming your Safety Culture with Lean Management takes lessons learned from Lean and applies them to the building of a world-class safety-first organization. Based on 30 years of experience with successful implementation of continuous improvement, Robert Hafey focuses the power of Lean improvement on the universal topic of safety. In doing so, he shows how Lean and safety are linked; that the achievement of one is often dependent upon achievement of the other. In this book, written for managers and executives as well as workers on the line, Hafey: 

    • Challenges each stakeholder to think proactively and accept individual responsibility for safety
    • Emphasizes that the building of a top safety program requires the building of a world-class safety culture
    • Demonstrates how basic Lean tools are as applicable to safety as they are to Lean, such as the A3 problem-solving process and the facilitated kaizen blitz
    • Removes fear from the accident investigation process so that root causes are addressed rather than hidden
    • Establishes standards and metrics for safety management that are clearly definable and measurable

    Any lasting improvement must become both institutionalized and perpetually capable of adaptation. World class safety is not about writing correct rules, but more about righting the culture responsible for the well-being of its stakeholders.

    Listen to what Robert Hafey has to say about Lean Safety.

    Introduction
    Message for Leaders
    Message for Lean Thinkers
    Message for Hourly Safety Team Members
    Brief Overview of Chapters

    Why Focus on Safety?
    Demonstrate That Safety Really Is First
    Quick Guide: Lean Focused Approach to Safety Management
    Endnotes

    Change the Culture
    A Common Goal of Both Lean Philosophy and Safety Programs
    Quick Guide: Change the Culture

    Leadership’s Role
    Focus Everyone on the Process
    Quick Guide: Leadership’s Role

    Lean Tools for Safety
    You Can Continuously Cope or You Can Continuously Improve—The Choice Is Yours
    Lean Tool 5S: A Structured Method of Workplace Organization
         Sort
         Set in Order
         Shine
         Standardize
         Sustain
    Disciplined Approach Necessary to Maintain Safety in the Workplace
    Lean Tool: Visual Factory
    Signage
    Charts
    Signaling Systems
    Process Mapping
    Lean Tool: Training
    Lean Tool: Poka-Yoke (Failsafe)
    Lean Tool: Benchmarking
    Lean Tool: Continuous Flow/Cycle Time Gains
    Lean Tool: Standard Work
    Lean Tool: Problem Solving
    Lean Tool: Metrics
    Lean Tool: Teams
    Quick Guide: Lean Tools for Safety
    Endnotes

    Advanced Lean Tools for Safety
    Facilitated Leadership: Changing How People Think
    Lean Tool: A3 Problem Solving
         Step 1: State the Agreed Upon Problem or Need
         Step 2: Draw the Current State Map or State the Current Condition
         Step 3: Problem Solving—Use Ask "Why" Five Times Technique to Get to Root Causes
         Step 4: The Future State—Draw a Map or Describe HowYou Would Like It to Be
         Step 5: Implementation Plan
         Step 6: Audit Expected Results Against Actual Results
    Lean Tool: Kaizen Blitz
    Planning the Kaizen Event
    Facilitating the Kaizen Blitz
    Kaizen Team Presentation
    Kaizen Event Follow-Up Meeting
    Quick Guide: Advanced Lean Tools for Safety
    Endnote

    Safety Program Leadership
    It Doesn’t Have to Be a Manager
    Team Leader
    Management Facilitator
    Accident Investigation Facilitator
    Recorder Keeper
    Subteam Leaders
    Human Resources (HR) Facilitator
    Safety Walk Co-Coordinator
    OSHA Knowledge Expert
    Training Coordinator
    Quick Guide: Safety Program Leadership
    Endnote

    Incident/Accident Investigation
    Getting to Root Causes and Lasting Solutions
    Focus on Process, not People
    Getting to Root Cause and Corrective Actions
    Quick Guide: Lean Approach to Incident and Accident Investigations

    Promoting Safety
    Engaging Employees to Build Safety Awareness
    Flash Meetings
    Benchmarking (A Standard against Which Something Can Be
    Measured or Assessed)
    Safety Improvement Programs
    Safety Observation Program
    Job Safety Analysis
    Safety Kaizen Blitz Events
    Quick Guide: Lean Approach to Internal Safety Promotion

    Roadmap to World-Class Safety
    Pulling the Pieces Together to Build or Rebuild a Safety Program
    Safety Program Leadership
    Lean Approach to Safety Program Leadership
    Safety Team
    Lean Approach to a Safety Team
    Other Team Building Opportunities
    Recordkeeping
    Lean Approach to Recordkeeping
    Safety Program Outline Documents
    Safety Education
    Lean Approach to Safety Education
    Safety Program Activity Management
    Lean Approach to Safety Program Activity Management
    Safety Rule Definition.
    Lean Approach to Safety Rule Definition
    Safety Communications
    Lean-Influenced Safety Communications
    Quick Guide: Roadmap to World-Class Safety

    Safety Standard Work
    Foundation of Continuous Improvement
    Quick Guide: Standard Work for Managers
    Endnote

    Safety Metrics
    What You Measure Makes a Difference
    Lean Approach to Safety Metrics
    Quick Guide: Metrics

    Conclusion

    Glossary
    Index
    About the Author

    Biography

    Hafey, Robert

    If the strength of your company is dependent on developing an exceptional workforce, then start where it matters most – providing the tools for a safe, efficient and involved employee group. This book can be the roadmap to get you there.
    —Jerry Paulson, retired president and CEO, Flexco

    This much-needed book provides real practical examples of how safety and Lean teams working on their own improvement journeys can come together and drive easier, cleaner, and safer work environments and practices for the employees of any business.
    —Dan McDonnell, Lean Initiative Manager, General Electric Transportation