Fun we had improving safety at Union Pump in Canada

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Fluid and Power quot;Daresquot; to Improve Safety
On a list of Textron manufacturing plants, Fluid and Power's Burlington, Ontario Canada Union Pump
plant ranked 165th out of 168 plants, meaning it had one of the highest injury rates in the company.
Nick Hurt inherited this concern 15 months ago when he became plant manager, after transferring
from Textron Fastening Systems (TFS) in the UK. quot;There was almost an attitude that injuries were
part of the job. You had to be tough enough to deal with them,quot; he explains.
Aside from the obvious concern about employees' welfare, the injuries caused a problem: employees were missing work at
the plant (which manufactures pumps for the oil industry).
Commitment to safety
The plant management team knew they needed to prevent injuries, to change workers attitudes about safety and to
ultimately make safety a way of life. They were committed to leading by example. quot;Now for example, if someone doesn't
wear safety goggles in designated areas, they are written up and disciplined – and so is that person's boss,quot; said Hurt.
Regular audits were implemented to check on new stricter measures and to look for unsafe conditions.
quot;Sometimes workers would call in sick, complaining of soreness from hammering,quot; said George Micevski, manufacturing
manager. quot;Now, instead of having that person stay home we find other options. Recently a sore employee helped with
training instead of missing a day.quot;
Hurt especially wanted to curtail hand injuries. An analysis by Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Coordinator, Mike
Collalilo, determined that they should be using different types of safety gloves for different types of work. So the plant
supplied workers with 12 different gloves such as one designed for assembly work and a heat-resistant glove for welding.
quot;Positive changes had been made, but we weren't moving quickly enough to install safety guarding around specific
machines that would further protect from injuries,quot; said Hurt. quot;It wasn't really a matter of folks not wanting to put up the
guarding; it was more of a work-load issue. But I had been trying for two months with no results.quot;
The dancing chicken becomes a Tele-tubby
In frustration, he challenged the management team to make it a priority. quot;If you get it done, I promise I'll dance around the
plant as a chicken,quot; he told them. quot;With that said, the guarding was in place remarkably quickly and I was on my way to the
costume shop.quot;
Unfortunately, the chicken outfit didn't fit. So, being from the U.K., he opted to be a Tele-tubby (Po to be exact), based on
the British children's show.
quot;Here were grown men – big tough guys with their arms around a Tele-tubby – and they were roaring with laughter.quot;
quot;It took a lot for a plant manager to do that,quot; said Micevski. quot;But he knew that safety speeches alone weren't going to cut it.
He had to get involved.quot;
One dare leads to another
The fun and the challenges haven't stopped. Union Pump started a Safety Performance Recognition Program where
anyone who wants to (so far, mostly management) can offer to humble themselves when the plant reaches safety
milestones.
quot;When we hit the three-month mark, materials manager Gan Danardojo dyed his black hair bright yellow and everyone got
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2. Textron Today Page 2 of 2
a Union Pump hat,quot; said Micevski who has offered to allow employee Janice Mancini shave his goatee of 17 years when
they reach the nine- month mark. Employees will also receive a Union Pump jacket at that time.
If they reach a year, a group of four managers will be victims of a quot;dunkquot; tank and then all 70 employees will celebrate with
dinner on the town.
quot;If we reach 21 months, Phyllis Ware, our controller will give up smoking. And at the two-year mark, Wayne Tourdot,
director of ISC Union Pump will donate $200 of his own money to a charity of the plant's choice,quot; adds Micevski.
Significant safety improvements
As for safety – the Burlington Fluid and Power plant now has the second best Environmental Health Safety Management
System (EHSMS) score of any plant in the business unit. They have already exceeded the year-end 700-point Safety
Performance Indicator (SPI) target and most importantly, the injury rates are significantly lower.
quot;While there is still more to do, the improvements are definitely showing. And that's because of a supportive attitude,quot; says
Hurt. quot;I consider myself very lucky to work with such a committed team.quot;
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