Dramatic safety improvements seen across PPG

September 2006 - The goal is to cut the employee rate of injuries by nearly half. That’s a towering goal that many companies aspire to, but very few reach. It can take many years, even decades, for those that do attain it. But for PPG, it’s a goal that could become reality within the next five years. PPG was able to reach its five-year goal of reducing injuries by 25 percent two years early in 2005. Now the company aims to reduce that injury rate another 25 percent by 2010.

A material handler at PPG Aerospace’s application support center in Glendale, Calif., uses personal protective equipment while working with sealants.

“It’s a lofty goal, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Chuck Bunch, PPG chairman and chief executive officer. “Of course, we want each of our employees to return home safely to their loved ones each day. But there’s also a business imperative: We want each of our employees to work safely, go home safely and be ready and able to come back to work. “Safe work practices enhance our operational efficiency, and also help to control costs associated with injuries and illnesses.”

‘Excellent performance’

PPG’s injury and illness (I&I) rate, which tracks the frequency of more serious injuries and illnesses, improved from 0.96 in 2004 to 0.85 in 2005. The rate measures the number of injuries per 100 employees over the course of a year. It includes injuries such as fractures, lacerations or cuts more than two inches long, third-degree burns, severe heat stress, and strains and sprains causing more than 30 days of restricted or lost workdays.

The 11-percent reduction in the injury and illness rate means 36 fewer injuries were sustained last year than the year before, according to Reg Norton, vice president of environment, health and safety (EHS). A total of 136 fewer employees have sustained serious injuries since 2002. So far this year, the illness and injury rate is down another 12 percent to 0.75 at the end of July.

“Those numbers reflect an excellent improvement in overall safety performance,” Norton said. “Over the past three years, we’ve achieved a 31-percent improvement in the injury and illness rate, which is a key measure of our safety performance. But this isn’t all about numbers and statistics, or financial and productivity gains. It’s about people’s lives and people’s health.”

What’s most gratifying with the improved safety performance is that improvement has been worldwide and across nearly every PPG business, according to Greg Palchak, global director of safety and health.

The dramatic safety improvements, he said, have been rooted in:

an effective overall safety process revolving around the reduction and elimination of all incidents — injuries, illnesses, fires, spills, near misses and the like.
careful, day-in-day-out implementation of that safety process;
improved ergonomics to reduce physical stress (ergonomics is the science of designing safe and suitable workplaces, processes, furniture and equipment);
behavior-based safety programs focused on helping employees to recognize potential risks and point them out to coworkers;
employee-driven safety processes and initiatives, including local safety, ergonomics, incident investigation and risk-elimination teams; and
strong leadership and employee participation at all locations and levels. “Our safety performance is the culmination of many factors, and maintaining it takes constant attention,” Palchak said. “It takes only a split second for a lapse – and a deadly accident — to occur.”