Issue-14

September 2013 Issue 14
Health & Safety
Editionfocus
QHSE
MAGAZINE
Can Adding
Stress to Teenage
Lifeguards
Improve Pool
Safety?
One Atlanta Georgia
company thinks so.
Learn the Creative
Practice That Keeps
Positively Pools Lifeguards
Sharp AND Productive
Should Your
Goal Be Zero
Defects?
Maybe Not
Learn Why OSHA
Discourages Safety
Incentive Programs
By Chris Seifert
Keeping Your
Brother Safe
The 4 Steps for
Effective Safety
Intervention
By John Drebinger
Safety with
Extended
Downtime
Learn Four Elements
of an “Extended
Downtime safety
Process”
By Pete Buczek

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CHIEF EDITOR’S NOTE
Warm Welcome To Our Magazine!
06
13
17
23
ADDING STRESS TO TEENAGE
LIFEGUARDS TO IMPROVE
POOL SAFETY
Learn the Creative Practice
to Keep Pools Lifeguards
Sharp And Productive
ZERO SAFETY INCIDENTS
SHOULD NOT BE YOUR GOAL
The Other Side of The Coin and
Why OSHA Discourages
Safety Incentive Programs
BE YOUR BROTHER’S
KEEPER! HOW?
The 4 Steps for Effective Safety
Intervention
SAFETY WITH EXTENDED
WORK DOWNTIME
Reveal the 4 Elements
of an “Extended Downtime
safety Process”
06
13
17
23

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without written permission of the publisher. ©
QHSE Focus Magazine 2012-2013
Fellow Safety and Health Professionals,
I am excited to join the staff at QHSE Focus
magazine! Our magazine is “Written by
Safety Professionals for Safety
Professionals” and your feedback is critical
to the success of this endeavor.
This month’s edition focuses on an innovative Atlanta Georgia USA
based pool management company who is finding ways to keep
teenagers focused and alert by flipping traditional training evaluation
upside down.
We hope that you find QHSE Focus magazine a useful resource and
we look forward to hearing from you. Knowledge grows when
it is shared so we hope you will follow us on Twitter, “like” us on
Facebook, and join us on LinkedIn to tell us ways that we can improve
this publication.
Have a safe and healthy day!
QHSE FOCUS MAGAZINE TEAM
Roman Gurbanov - CEO, Art Direction and Design
Bob Hubbard- Chief Editor, Health & Safety Edition
Rick Andrews - Chief Editor, Quality, Lean & Six Sigma Edition
www.qhsefocus.com
Chief Editor’s Note
http://about.me/bobhubbard
https://twitter.com/BobHubbardATL
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobhubbard

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© 2012-2013 qhsefocus.com - All rights reserved
Can Adding
Stress to Teenage
Lifeguards
Improve Pool
Safety?
One Atlanta Georgia company
thinks so. Learn the Creative
Practice That Keeps Positively
Pools Lifeguards Sharp AND
Productive
by Bob Hubbard
Summary
US based pool management company Positively Pools Inc. uses an innovative solution
to keep their employees focused and engaged. In this article, company president
Robert Mullins tells how he and his team use the Positively Pools Red Ball Drill© to hone
the skills of their lifeguards and meet the company’s goal to provide a Safe, Clean, and
Enjoyable© environment for their clients.
Situation
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Drowning is a leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4,
and the ﬁfth leading cause of unintentional injury death for people of all ages.
For toddlers (children ages 1 to 4 years), swimming pools pose the greatest risk
of submersion injury. 1
(see sidebar titled: “Stay Safe In and Around Swimming Pools”)
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, September indicates the end of summer. At
this time of year, seasonal businesses gauge how they did during the summer season.
➟
06

Stay Safe Around the Pool
Drowning is a leading cause of injury death for
young children ages 1 to 4, and the fifth
leading cause of unintentional injury death for
people of all ages. For toddlers (children ages
1 to 4 years), swimming pools pose the
greatest risk of submersion injury.
For every child less than 15 years old who
dies from drowning in a pool, another 10
receive emergency department care for
nonfatal submersion injuries. Nonfatal
drowning can cause brain damage that may
result in long-term disabilities including
memory problems, learning disabilities, and
permanent loss of basic functions. The good
news is that drowning can be prevented.
While rates of fatal drowning in a swimming
pool vary with age, gender, and race, the
highest rates are among children ages 1 to 4.
Males are at higher risk than females at all
ages.
Want to Know More?
For tips on how to stay safe around the water, click
“Stay Safe In and Around Swimming Pools ” on the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
website
Many summer businesses rely on
teenage workers, dealing with distracted
teenaged workers is nothing new.
Today’s young people have more ways
than ever to focus things other than
work. It is not surprising that keeping
teenaged employees engaged and
focused is more important than it has
ever been.
The Big Question:
How do you keep teenaged
employees focused on their jobs
in an era of Instagram®,
SnapChat®, Twitter® and the
latest social media?
Innovative Countermeasure
Positively Pools does this by doing three
things:
1. Prepare for Success
2. Test for Proficiency
3. Support and Coach
This company’s reputation depends how
well these lifeguards ensure the safety of
small children in the water. they must
keep their employees focused. Most of
the company’s employees are high
school students between the ages of 15
and 19. This is the first job for many of
these young people, making the
company’s task twice as difficult. Most of
these teens will be working alone, and all
will be responsible for the safe operation
of their swimming pools, so getting them
ready is a serious undertaking.
➟
0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
< 1 5-9 15-19 25-34 45-54 65-74 85+
Deathsper1,000
Age in Years
Male Female
US Swimming Pool Drowning Deaths
by Age & Gender 1999-2010*
07

Step 1. Prepare for Success
Positively Pools follows a straightforward
process that begins with the employee
taking the initiative. Before beginning
work, lifeguards must successfully
complete 24 hours of American Red
Cross basic training that includes
Lifesaving, First Aid and CPR. While the
basic instruction is sound, Robert tells
me, Red Cross training doesn't apply to
daily operations, however these skills
come heavily into play if an emergency
occurs. I asked how he ensured that
these kids are ready? He tells me that a
few years back, they had the same
question. So they conducted some
spontaneous evaluations of their guards.
He said that the results were not good.
He knew that they needed to do more to
prepare the guards to perform at an
acceptable level. Training is important
but employees are not productive when
they are in training and no simulation
can ever capture the adrenaline rush of a
real-life emergency.
Positively Pools begins with 3 hours of
introductory training at the beginning of
the summer. This is where the lifeguards
begin learning about the Red Ball Drill©.
Head Guards are an integral part of this
training, conducting Skill Challenges©
designed to help guards improve their
performance. Each day, Positively Pools
lifeguards go to work, and they wait to
get “red balled”.
Step 2. Test for Proﬁciency
Positively Pools Supervisors are
responsible for evaluating, coaching,
and developing guards. Supervisors
have a list of lifeguards and they travel
from pool to pool conducting the
evaluations. This summer all of the
supervisors are local school teachers,
and many of them have experience with
swimming. (former lifeguards, swim
team coaches, etc.) The supervisors
know the lifeguards and they are familiar
with the pool schedule, but more
importantly since they are teachers, they
understand these young people and
they speak their language.
Getting “Red Balled”
While the pool is operating, a Positively
Pools supervisor stands outside the pool
area and out of sight. They then throw a
red ball that's about 6 inches in diameter
into the pool. As soon as the ball hits the
pool, the lifeguard has 30 seconds to
clear the pool, jump off the guard stand
and to secure the red ball. If there is
more than one guard on duty, the
nearest guard to the red ball is the one
being evaluated.
➟
© 2012-2013 qhsefocus.com - All rights reserved 08

The lifeguards hate getting red balled, but
they seem to understand that this keeps
them sharp. “We are simply reinforcing Red
Cross systems while keeping kids ready for
action.” Rob tells me. “If they’re checking
the pool constantly for that Red Ball,
hopefully they'll see the struggling swimmer
as well.” They have been trained on the
exact steps to take, so there are no
surprises.
Once the initial recovery is over, the
supervisor works with the guard on CPR,
First Aid and any performance issues. Rob
tells me that “repetition is key to our
success”. He goes on to tell me that when
they started the Red Ball Drills©, their guards
did not take the drills seriously. He says that
over time, things improved greatly. “Some
companies make a big production of the
evaluation. They come into the pool area
and throw a dummy into the pool.” ➟
Rob points out that this approach has a
serious drawback in that it focus solely on
the second part of the lifeguard's job. This
method ignores the need to identify
problems before it requires someone
jumping in the water. The drills ensure
teenage lifeguards remain vigilant.
Step 3. Support and Coach
After the evaluation, the supervisor reviews
the evaluation with the guard and gives
them a score. Since this is the ﬁrst job for
many, this is their ﬁrst time dealing with a
performance review.
Rob says tells me that working with
teenagers is a challenge, which does not
surprise me. He goes on to tell me that they
didn't used to challenge their guards, but
that through the years, he found that the
kids would rise to the expectations that he
and his team place on them.
09

Bottom Line
Rob is insistent that the young people in his charge learn more than just how to work at
Positively Pools. Lifeguards meet as a group every other week to pick up their
paychecks, and for team building. His passion for these kids is obvious as he talks about
the goofy things they do to try and motivate his guards, including conducting a Red Ball
Drill© in the middle of a team meeting.
Their energy and dedication seems to be paying off. As this summer closes, the
company has succeeded at keeping all of its swimmers safe. They continue to improve
their processes and they continue to ask more from their lifeguards. Even though they are
teenagers, many with their ﬁrst jobs, these young people respond. Positively Pools Inc. is
proving that teenagers can be trusted with great responsibility, if they are also surrounded
with a positive and relevant support system.
References
1 http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssafeswimmingpool/index.html
➟
10

Positively Impacting
Teenagers Through Work
Founded in 1997 as a community
pool management company,
Positively Pools, Inc has expanded
into a complete swimming pool
resource. Neighborhood swim/
tennis communities and local
municipalities employ Positively
Pools for projects ranging from new
swimming pool design and
construction, through to and
including facilities maintenance and
renovation.
Each summer, Positively Pools
employs over 200 lifeguards in the
greater Atlanta area. They pour a
great deal of energy into training and
development of these young people
emphasizing that the pool goers
experience should always be Safe,
Clean, and Enjoyable© .
For more information about
Positively Pools, their Red Ball Drill©
please contact Robert Mullins at
robertmullins@positivelypools.com
http://www.positivelypools.com
Positively Pools on Facebook
■
11

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Why OSHA
discourages
safety
incentive
programs?
is the difference between a goal and an expectation? A
goal is something you strive for. You understand that you may not
achieve it. In fact, if you are setting a "stretch" goal, you know it is
likely you won’t achieve it. You celebrate when you accomplish a
goal. Sometimes, when you fail to achieve your goal, you are
congratulated just for trying - other times you are simply
disappointed. Rarely do you get punished. Goals generally come
with rewards for achieving them, but no consequences if you do not.
An expectation on the other hand is something you expect to
achieve. You don't celebrate expectations. You expect it. If what you
Zero Safety
Incidents
Should Not
Be Your
Goal!
What
By Chris Seifert

even OSHA, have begun to discourage this
practice on the basis that it encourages
employees to hide incidents. Peer pressure
from co-workers who want to receive their
reward or bonus may lead employees to hide
minor injuries. No one wants to be "that guy
who kept us from getting our bonus" because
of a small cut, burn, sprain, etc. But reporting
even minor injuries is important so that
lessons learned can be used to prevent
future, possibly more serious incidents.
Recognizing this, some companies have
started basing incentives on participation in
programs like Behavior Based Safety
Observations, safety committees, and other
proactive programs. While this is an
improvement over incentivizing incident
rates, it still treats safety as a goal. Is that
really how we should view it? I believe safety
should be an expectation.
I frequently hear leaders say they "believe all
incidents are preventable", "safety is their
first priority," and that "no one should get hurt
at work." Treating safety as a goal is not
compatible with those statements. When you
treat safety performance as a goal, you are
expected to happen doesn't, you are
surprised and investigate to understand why.
Hopefully you learn from it so the
unexpected outcome doesn't happen again.
When you leave your house for work in the
morning, is it a goal to arrive at work safely,
or an expectation? Do you do a celebratory
dance and high five your co-workers when
you get to work safely? Of course not. It's an
afterthought because arriving safely at work
is an expectation. What if you didn't expect to
arrive safely? What would you do? I'll tell
you what I would do - I'd figure out a different
way to get to work!
Most manufacturing companies have
incorporated safety performance into their
incentive programs in some way. Many
plants offer employees gift cards, hats, t-
shirts, or other trinkets as a reward for going
certain amounts of time without an injury.
Others incorporate safety performance into
their variable compensation program by tying
some portion of employees’ bonuses to
incident rates. Companies that do so, often
see an immediate improvement in incident
rates. Some safety professionals, and

saying that you aren't really sure all
incidents can be prevented. In fact,
you will celebrate if by chance you are
able to avoid incidents. If you do
believe that no one should get hurt at
work, and you believe that all incidents
are preventable, leaders should set
the expectation that everyone does
whatever they must to prevent
incidents.
Is this just semantics? I don't think so.
This notion has tremendous
implications for the way leaders view
safety. If safety is an expectation, we
shouldn't reward people for not getting
hurt. We shouldn't reward them for
participating in proactive safety
programs. Those should be
expectations and they should be
treated as such. If people
"knowingly" and "willfully" commit
unsafe acts, they should be held
accountable. If they do not
participate in proactive safety
programs, they should be held
accountable. Of course, those
must also be expectations for
leaders themselves.
Let me provide some practical
examples. I've had the
opportunity to manage 3 different
manufacturing plants. When I
ﬁrst arrived at all three plants,
safety was treated as a goal. At
two of the plants, employees
were actually given gift cards for
every month in which someone
didn't get hurt. Because I viewed
safety as an expectation, I ended
this practice. The outrage was
intense and immediate. I actually
had an employee loudly and
publicly tell me that I had taken
away his incentive for working
safely. I responded by asking
him if there were times during
the day when he thought about
doing something unsafe, but the
thought of losing his $30
Walmart gift card (rather than
avoiding life altering injury) was
the one thing that kept him from
doing it. You could hear crickets
chirp.

Safety isn’t the only dimension of
performance where zero should be the
expectation; it also should be the expectation
in environmental performance and
compliance. In fact, this is a best practice of
companies that achieve and sustain
Operational Excellence.
On a side note, when we removed this
reward system at one of the plants, we did
see an increase in the reporting of minor
incidents. It turned out that the peer
pressure to avoid reporting incidents had
been quite strong in that plant and
incidents had been under reported.
So does that mean incentives should not
be used to drive safety performance?
Absolutely not. Incentives are critical. At
one plant, after removing the rewards for
participating in safety programs, we
overhauled the variable compensation
program. Instead of receiving a bonus for
participating in safety programs,
employees who did not participate in
safety programs were ineligible to receive
any bonus. Participation was now being
communicated as an expectation, much
like attendance. Employees were
rewarded for meeting quality, productivity,
and cost targets, but only if they fulfilled
the minimum expectations for their job –
including participation in a proactive
safety program. The impact was dramatic.
Participation in the safety programs
increased immediately. Those who still
refused to participate were obvious. You
should have seen their faces the first time
their co-workers received a bonus for
increasing productivity, and they received
nothing. It was the talk of the plant.
I'll conclude with this. I served as an
officer for three years aboard a U.S.
Nuclear Submarine. There aren't too
many industries that are more dangerous.
For us, safety wasn't a goal. We expected
everyone to do what was needed to
protect the ship and make sure we got
home safely. We didn't celebrate the fact
that we didn't die. We definitely celebrated
though. We celebrated the successful
completion of our mission. If we came
home unharmed, but hadn't fulfilled our
mission, there wouldn't have been a party
on the pier. I assure you of that.
About Chris Seifert
Chris Seifert is a Case Team Leader at
Wilson Perumal & Company (WP&C), a
strategy and operations management
consulting firm and the leading advisor
on how to compete in today’s complex
world. In addition to his current role
helping companies overcome
operational risk and complexity to
achieve Operational Excellence, Chris
has extensive experience as an
operations leader in industry and the
U.S. Navy. To read more of Chris’s
thoughts on achieving Operational
Excellence, visit the WP&C Company
Page on LinkedIn at http://
www.linkedin.com/company/wilson-
perumal-&-company or follow their blog
at www.wilsonperumal.com/blog.

Employees
would be
willing to
watch out for
their fellow
employees.
They just
have never
been taught
how.
the release of my latest book, “Would You Watch Out For
My Safety?™ in March of 2011 I have had the privilege of sharing
it’s message with thousands of people. During that time I have
discovered a few things I thought I would share with you today.
First, virtually everywhere you go you hear leaders imploring their
employees to “watch out for each other.” The most common phrase I
hear is that we should be, “our brother’s keeper.” This safety
comment has its roots in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:9.
When Cain asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The clear
implication is that we are in fact responsible for those around us.
Employees Want To Help – But Don’t Know How
For over 23 years I have heard corporate executives and safety
team members encourage their employees to, “Be Your Brother’s
Keeper.” There is no question they know what they mean when they
say it and likewise their audience knows what they are being asked
Be Your
Brother’s
Keeper!
HOW?
Since
By John Drebinger
The 4 Steps For Effective
Safety Intervention

to do. I even believe from all the employees I
have interviewed over the years that they even
would be willing to watch out for their fellow
employees. They just have never been taught
how.
Why Are Observed Hazards or
Behaviors Ignored? – Or Are They?
Because of this lack of knowledge or skill, over
and over after an injury or incident people
report that they had observed the person doing
something unsafe or they saw the hazard that
injured them. Even though they recognized the
hazard they did not tell their fellow employee
about it. Was it because they did not want to,
“be their brothers keeper?”
Once again it is important to realize the reason
people may see an unsafe hazard or behavior
and not take action is not because they don’t
care about others it is because they don’t know
how to take action.
Action, not knowledge is the key! No one is
safer unless someone takes action to tell them
about the hazard. The challenge is that people
have never been taught techniques that they
could share safety in a way that they would
feel comfortable.
Reasons People Have Never Been
Taught the “How To”
There are several reasons people have never
been taught how.
1. It Seems Like It Should Be
The first reason is that people assumed that
sharing safety with others is simple and easy. It
has been assumed that, “be your brother’s
keeper” is self-explanatory. After all the
concept comes from the very first book of the
Old Testament. Leaders assumed that when
someone sees someone at risk they will say
something. This has been a false assumption.
2. We Have Focused On The
Receiver Of The Message - Not The
Messenger
A second reason is in some cases they have
been taught how to point out a hazard or an
unsafe behavior but the focus was on making
the person protected feel good about the
intervention.
No one in the field of communication has
focused on making sure the person intervening
(the messenger) feels good or comfortable.
The truth is that unless people learn
techniques to share safety that they are
comfortable with they will not take action.
Several years ago I read about this challenge
in a friends book. Ever since then I have
worked to develop techniques that people will
feel comfortable with.
The Solution - Four Elements
There are at least five reasons people would
want to watch out for the safety of others.
These are:
1. Their own personal safety awareness
increases.
2. People get distracted.
3. Our brains can fail us.
4. You will never have any regrets.
5. It’s the right thing to do.
First: People Must Have
Compelling Reasons

respond. I always let my audience know
that how they respond when someone
shares safety with them is not about them,
it’s about the next person that can be
helped. If someone responds negatively
the employee sharing safety might decide
it isn’t worth the hassle, so the next time
they see someone doing something unsafe
they might not say anything at all. We
never want our response to put someone
else at risk.
Last year I heard a story from an employee
of one of my clients that illustrated this
very powerfully. She shared a story of
being at a train station and observing a
mother with an infant in a stroller and a
three to four year old. Mom was being
preoccupied with the infant and the toddler
had taken advantage of this moment by
climbing up a ﬁve foot wall surrounded by
cement.
The employee shared that she walked
over to the mother to warn her of the
toddlers activity and peril. She said the
mother’s response was quite extreme. The
mother yelled at her and told her to mind
her own business. (She did however get
the child off the wall) The outcome of this
event is where the real lesson is.
A couple of months later the employee
observed another employee near a hazard
and was about to say something when she
stopped and said nothing. At that moment
the memory of the yelling at she received
train side made her think twice about
intervening. She overcame that initial
response and pointed out the hazard.
What if she hadn’t? I tell employees to
remember their response to a co-worker is
about the next person.
If you want more detail on these
techniques I would recommend my book,
“Would You Watch Out For My Safety?™
There are three obstacles or reasons that
prevent people from sharing safety with
others. It is important to consciously be
aware of these in order to keep them from
stopping a well meaning person. The three
reasons are:
1. People think nothing will happen.
2. It’s uncomfortable.
3. They don’t know how.
Without being taught techniques that allow
them to share safety and feel comfortable
doing so most people won’t intervene. This
has been the biggest element left out when
leaders admonish employees to be, “their
brother’s keeper”. Without the “how to” those
employees who want to watch out for the
safety of others will not do so because they
don’t know where to start. When people feel
a lack of competence they will not take
action. The secret is to get them trained in
how to watch out for the safety of others and
take action.
At the close of my presentations I share what
I believe is the most critical part of creating a
safety culture where employees watch out
for each other. That element is how to
Third: People Must Learn the
“How To”
Second: People Must
Understand Why They Don’t
Fourth: Know How To
Respond

The ﬁrst part of the book is written as the story of a young man and how he discovered
the importance of watching out for the safety of others. The second part is a narrative of
my live presentation of the same title. Also I am available both in the United States and
internationally to do my presentation live for your leaders and employees.
John’s presentation “Would
You Watch Out For My
Safety?™ is an informal way of
helping others avoid injury. It
can ﬁt with any formal safety
program and is easily learned
and shared with others. His
book is available at
www.drebinger.com For large
order discounts call: Sandie
Gilbert 209-747-2770 or
email sandie@drebinger.com
When you want to give
your employees the “how
to” of watching out for
each other contact Diane
Weiss at John Drebinger
Presentations
209-745-9419 or email
her at
diane@drebinger.com.
She can arrange a date
when he can teach your
entire team.
“Would You Watch Out
For My Safety?™

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Why OSHA
discourages
safety
incentive
programs?
a few of us in the auto industry
discovered a disturbing trend, injuries and near misses went up
drastically just before and after extended downtime in our plants. At
ﬁrst we noticed it during the Christmas – New Years time off and
then at the summer shutdown.
Just before the extended time off, we observed that workers were
distracted by the thoughts of what they might be doing while away
from work. Upon their return to work after the time off, they were
more prone to injuries due to the distraction of what they did during
the time off, maybe some small changes to the workplace or their
job while they were away, forgetting some basic safety habits and
even nursing some sore muscles from those off the job tasks that
they were not accustomed to.
We developed a special process that really worked and was
substantiated by data. An “Extended Downtime Safety Process” was
implemented across all of our plants. As with every safety
Safety with
Extended Work
Downtime
Many years ago
By Pete Buczek
Reveal The Basic
Four Elements of An
“Extended Downtime
Safety Process”

initiative, it was driven by leadership. The
process had four elements and started a few
weeks to several days ahead of the
downtime. We deﬁned an extended
downtime as any time production was
expected to be shut down for 4 days or
more. Some plants would even implement
part of the process for a 3 day weekend.
The basic four elements were:
1. Pre Task Safety Planning for Downtime
Tasks
2. Pre Downtime Safety Communication
3. Downtime Safety
Non-Routine In-plant Task Safety
Off the Job Safety
4. Return to Work Safety Reinforcement
The ﬁrst element was to conduct a pre-task
analysis for all the jobs that needed to be
performed while normal production was shut
down. These were typically maintenance or
rearrangement task that couldn’t be
performed during normal work days or even
weekends. This element was very complex
and was a special detailed process by itself
but basically required a detailed safety plan
for all non-routine tasks that were to be
performed.
The next element was to develop and
implement a local plan to communicate
about safety with workers for several days
prior to their last scheduled day of work.
Bulletins, posters, special safety talks and
periodic reminders by supervisors tried to
keep everyone focused on the task at hand

and perform each one safely until the end of
that last work day. Some of the
communications set the stage for the next
element, enjoying the time off safely.
We knew that workers would be doing very
different things during their time off. Some
would travel, go on picnics, boating, family
adventures, work around the house, try
athletic activities and countless other things
that they might not normally do. Bulletins and
safety talks were developed to remind
workers of the importance of safety while off
the job. Depending on the season, safety
checklists were developed for typical off the
job activities. In so task at hand me plants
where we had these special resources, we
would conduct short training sessions by our
athletic trainers from the work readiness
team. These sessions would show workers
how to prepare for those off the job physical
activities to prevent muscle or soft tissue
injuries. We even encouraged them to
provide their family and friends with a safety
talk or message when they were not at work.
The workers then became safety champions
at home, developing a culture to actually
make safety a priority in their personal
activities.
And the ﬁnal element was to start work with
a safety message. We created a policy that
no work was to start after the shutdown
period until those workers received a safety
message. Often safety messages were
cascaded from Corporate or Divisional senior
management to all levels of the organization.
Most plants developed a plan for the
leadership staff (union leadership included)
to greet workers at the plant entrances on all
shifts with a safety message and reminder
that their safety was our overriding priority.

Activities and messages were
limited only by imagination.
This process was used very
effectively even during the
difficult times in the auto industry
when plant downtime was
happening every few weeks to
balance inventories. We would
track injuries and near misses
with every plant having to report
their safety performance after
each return to work day. The
overall effect of this process was
a reduction in injuries and near
misses not only around the
downtime periods, but served as
a reinforcement of our overall
priority for a safety culture both
on and off the job. The workers
responded because we
demonstrated that we cared!
The process became ingrained
over many years; shutdown
safely, work safely on and off the
job during the shutdown and
restart safely after the shutdown.
About Pete Buczek
Pete Buczek formed Safety Management Services
LLC to leverage his extensive experience and
success in the workplace. In 2010 he joined Work-
Fit as vice president of consulting services after
concluding a 39 year career with General Motors.
He started as a General Motors Institute coop
student at the Chevrolet Tonawanda Metal Casting
Plant. After receiving his B.I.A., he moved through
several Chevrolet manufacturing plants primarily in
the safety function in addition to industrial relations
and manufacturing. In 1988 he accepted a special
assignment representing General Motors with the
UAW to develop a strategy to eliminate workplace
fatalities. Working closely with his joint partners
and industry experts, he became a pioneer in
establishing the Fall Hazard Control Program, the
first such comprehensive program in the
manufacturing industry. In 1992 he was promoted
to manage the GM Powertrain Health & Safety
process.
During his free time Pete enjoys motor racing
especially Indy Cars, attending as many races as
his schedule permits. This fits well with his passion
for his Corvette, nick named Baby Blue and
photography. Pete can be reached at
petebuczek@gmail.com or 248-535-4365

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