Friday, January 2, 2015

Working IN Safety v. Working ON Safety – An Equipment Design Perspective

2014 was a very busy and exciting year for me.  I have helped a number of people and organizations this year in the control of hazardous energy (lockout tagout), lab equipment design, safety review of equipment.  Additionally, I have trained more than 300 people in basic electrical safety (including shock and arc flash hazards), arc flash hazard analysis, and electrical equipment design.

While I was putting together my plan for blog postings this year, I ran across a LinkedIN posting on “WorkingIn Safety v. Working On Safety” [1] that I thought was very informative and timely.  When we work in safety we are performing specific tasks.  Working IN Safety includes working on risk assessments, evaluating equipment to safety standards, performing functional safety testing, etc.

In contrast, Working ON Safety requires setting goals, establishing processes and procedures to ensure that the organization has the capabilities to meet the established goals.  This includes having the appropriate personnel and resources are dedicated to meet the established goals.

Goals should be established using the SMART system are:
  • Specific
  • Measureable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Time bound

Organizations that design, manufacturer, or sell equipment should have an organization goal of ensuring that the equipment designed or sold in 2015, when used in accordance with the defined operating conditions, does not create any hazards that would result in more than minor first aid.  The establishment of the aforementioned goal is more than ensuring that their products meet the defined safety requirements (National Electric Code or UL Standards).

For safety leaders, Working ON Safety in meeting this goal can include:
  • Obtaining and training the appropriate personnel
  • Ensuring that sufficient financial resources are available
  • Incorporation of equipment safety personnel into the design, development, manufacturing processes
  • Defining the methodologies that will be used to determine the safety of the equipment
    • Risk assessments
    • Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA)
    • Process FMEA
  • Defining, developing, and establishment of an equipment validation and verification process
  • Creation of Product Safety review process

Organizations that design, manufacturer, or sell equipment play an important component in determining if people are injured while working.  Safety leaders who spend time Working ON Safety will play a pivotal role ensuring that ALL workplace injuries are reduced.


I hope everyone has a successful, prosperous and SAFE year! 

Reference:
  1. http://www.safetycultureexcellence.com/e/working-in-safety-vs-working-on-safety/