Tony Mazzocchi
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Near-Miss Prevention Written and produced by the Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environment Education, a project of the United Steelworkers - USW, the Communications Workers of America and the Labor Institute October 2013 Edition 5.0 © 2013 Tony Mazzocchi Center This book is written and produced in cooperation with the United Steelworkers - USW (Five Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15222), the Communications Workers of America (501 3rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20001) and The Labor Institute, a non-profit organization (817 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10003). The project is supported by grant number EPA 2 U45 ES06175 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS, NIH. i John Grobsmith On January 15, 2009, USW Brother, John “Grubby” Grobsmith, age 58, a longtime USW member and a 35 ½ year employee of Crucible Specialty Metals in suburban Syracuse, New York, was working as a Roller when he was fatally injured while attempting to connect a water hose to its related piping. He lost his balance and was pulled through two opposing rotating shafts of a rolling stand. The rotating shafts are powered by a 900 horse-powered motor. The rotating shafts are approximately 6 ½ inches apart. He was born in Syracuse and lived in Elbridge for 28 years. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and photography. He was an avid lacrosse and football fan. Grubby loved his family. He left behind Susan, his wife of 38 years; three daughters, three grandchildren, a brother, two sisters and his mother. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) later cited Crucible Specialty Metals for 71 alleged serious and repeat violations of safety and health standards following John Grobsmith’s death. OSHA’s inspection found that the machine’s moving parts were not guarded against contact. The inspection also identified a wide range of additional safety and health hazards throughout the plant. “This accident shows how even one instance of an unguarded machine can cost a worker’s life,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “Safeguarding workers against death, injury or illness on the job requires that all applicable safety and health requirements be met at all times.” Sources: Syracuse Post Standard, January 15, 2009, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=16065. ii Near-Miss Prevention Tony Mazzocchi (1926-2002) Tony Mazzocchi is credited by many with founding the modern health and safety movement. As Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, he also helped to create OSHA and was the first to link worker safety and health to the environmental movement. The following passage from his biography, The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor, by Les Leopold, conveys some of his vision and passion for the labor movement: “Tony Mazzocchi conjured up a labor movement that didn’t really exist, but just might. This movement would be militant and green. It wouldn’t just fight to protect the workforce from toxics — it would eliminate toxics. It would lead the struggle to prevent global warming. It would give workers real control over the quality and pace of work and over corporate investment decisions. It would champion the fight against militarism and for justice and equality. It would demand life-enhancing social programs like free higher education and free health care for all. In short, it would make good on its potential to transform American capitalism into something more humane.” iii Table of Contents Factsheet Reading Method v Activity 1: Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws 1 Activity 2: A Functional Near-miss Program — Your Right; Not an Option 7 Activity 3: Identifying Near-misses 17 Activity 4: The Early Days of an Incident 31 Activity 5: Near-miss or No Near-miss 37 Activity 6: How’s the Program Going to Work? 43 Activity 7: Making Program Decisions 61 Activity 8: Building a Plan 89 Final Assessment 99 Appendices: A-1 USW Policy on Sexual Harassment A-2 Tony Mazzocchi Center Worker-Trainers and Worker-Centered Training A-3 Tony Mazzocchi Green Policy Statement A-4 Attendance Form A-5 Sign-in Sheet A-7 Cards for Activity 3, Task 1 A-9 Sample Forms A-29 iv Near-Miss Prevention Example of the Factsheet Reading Method for a Task Containing Seven Factsheets The Small Group Activity Method places workers at the center of the learning experience. It is designed to draw on two bodies of knowledge: The knowledge and experiences workers bring into the room and the factsheets contained in your workbooks. Each of you will be assigned a small number of factsheets to read. You will then share this new information with your table. The idea is for each of you to describe your assigned factsheets to the others in your group. Your trainer will assign your individual factsheets in the following way: First, select a scribe for this task. Starting with the scribe and moving to his/her left, count out loud from 1 to 7. Keep going around the table until all numbers (factsheets) are distributed. For example, if there are four people at your table, the scribe will have self-assigned Factsheets 1 and 5; the person to their left will be responsible for Factsheets 2 and 6, etc. The numbers that you have assigned yourselves correspond to Factsheets 1 through 7 on the following pages. Once everyone has read their assigned factsheets individually, your scribe will go around the table and ask each of you to explain to the rest of your group what you have learned. No notes need to be taken during this discussion. The factsheets should be explained in the order they were assigned (1 through 7), as many times factsheets build on previous factsheets. Once this process is complete, your trainer will read the scenario and the task. In this way we all start at the same place and with the same information. Scribe 1 2 The method described above is used several Table 2 times in this book. A note appears each 4 time the method is 3 to be used. v vi Near-Miss Prevention Tony Mazzocchi Center Proficiency Assessment Near-Miss Prevention Complete this page BEFORE you begin your training. Workbook Title: Near-Miss Prevention Workbook Version: Edition 5.0, October 2013 Today’s date: _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ MM DD YYYY As you complete the assessments at the end of each activity, please only mark one answer choice per question. Make your marks dark and clear when selecting your choice. See the following example: O No Yes vii viii Near-Miss Prevention Activity 1 Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws Purpose To explore why many near-miss programs don’t work. This Activity has one task. Activity 1: Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws 1 Task Scenario: We’ve all had experiences with near-miss programs. Although near-miss programs have great potential in theory, the reality is that many near-miss programs fail. A study of near-miss programs conducted by the Wharton Risk Management Center at the University of Pennsylvania concluded that “Near-misses remain a recognized, yet largely untapped, safety improvement resource.” So, let’s explore why these potentially valuable programs do not function as they are designed. Using your experience, please make a list of why many near-miss programs don’t work. 1. ______________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________ 4. ______________________________________________________________ 5. ______________________________________________________________ 6. ______________________________________________________________ 2 Near-Miss Prevention Notes Activity 1: Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws 3 Summary: Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws 1. Workers fear being disciplined when involved in near-miss reporting. 2. Hazardous conditions don’t always get fixed. 3. The reporting system can be difficult and complicated. 4. Someone else will turn it in — complacency. 5. Near-misses are not reported because they are not seen as hazards or they are accepted as normal. 4 Near-Miss Prevention Tony Mazzocchi Center Proficiency Assessment Activity 1: Near-miss Programs and Their Flaws Learning Objectives: 1. To explore why many near-miss programs don’t work. How much do you agree or disagree that the training met this learning objective? O O O O O Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly nor disagree disagree 2. Workers fear being disciplined when involved in near-miss reporting. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Understanding and applying this learning objective will assist me in improving health and safety at my workplace. O O O O O Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly nor disagree disagree 3. Hazardous conditions don’t always get fixed. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Understanding and applying this learning objective will assist me in improving health and safety at my workplace. O O O O O Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly nor disagree disagree 4. The reporting system can be difficult and complicated. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Understanding and applying this learning objective will assist me in improving health and safety at my workplace. O O O O O Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly nor disagree disagree 5. Someone else will turn it in — complacency. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Understanding and applying this learning objective will assist me in improving health and safety at my workplace.