A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SERIES – PART III
WRITTEN BY GARY SMITH, APARTMENT BUILDING MANAGEMENT WORKERS COMPENSATION SELF INSURED FUND
In this last part of our series, we will cover WorkOutTM as an effective tool in injury prevention. WorkOutTM, developed at General Electric in the late 1980’s, is being used with dramatic results at hundreds of organizations world-wide. Think of it as a “solution generating” tool that enables organizations of all sizes to effectively solve issues. Employees on the front lines often have a keen awareness of the issues leading to injuries, but, for whatever reason, do not feel empowered to solve them. When using WorkOutTM, these employees become solution oriented and often come up with the best solutions.
Here are the basic steps for using WorkOutTM to prevent injuries:
1. GET A CHAMPION. Your champion will be someone within your company with the most interest for preventing injuries. They will have the support of management and they will facilitate the process.
2. CLARIFY THE ISSUE. Identify the issue to be solved. Remember the Top 5s from Part I in this series? Well, start there because your real life injury experience will focus the attention where it is needed.
3. IDENTIFY THE TEAM. Include one or two persons from each department or area, which means salary and hourly, office and maintenance, etc. You want persons with varying perspectives and experiences. Keep team size between four and eight persons, which is the “sweet spot” for best team interaction. Explain to the team members that the organization wants to better prevent injuries and their ideas are needed.
4. WORK IT OUT WITH WORKOUTTM. During the first meeting, the Champion will explain that the organization wants to better prevent injuries and needs help to identify all possible solutions. After identifying the solutions, the team will prioritize them and then act on the ones that offer the highest benefit/easiest effort.
The Champion will distribute markers and post-it notes to team members, and ask them to write down any idea that they think can help prevent injuries in the workplace. The rule is one idea to a post-it note and no more. This allows for easy sorting later. Now, during this brainstorming exercise, there are no bad ideas! Encourage, and include, every one of them. Allow time for everything to get out and onto paper. Remember, only one idea to a post-it note. Collect all the notes and put them in a stack.
Next, draw the WorkOutTM Priority Matrix (chart) onto a white board or poster board taped to a wall. Take one post-it note and read aloud the idea. Next, ask the team a series of questions to help prioritize it on the matrix. First question: Would we be able to implement this idea ourselves (meaning no management approval required)? If yes, then the idea will be on the “Easy” side of the matrix. Next question: Would this idea result in a big or small payoff? The answer to this question will dictate which quadrant the idea should be placed. Literally, stick that post-it note in that quadrant and go on to the next idea. Continue until all ideas have been processed and post-it notes are in a category.
Now, the team can meet weekly for 90 minutes or less to plan and work on implementing “Foothills” ideas. Focus first on “Foothills” because they offer the highest payoff for the least amount of effort. These are the best available opportunities for preventing injuries. Next, the team’s focus should shift to ideas categorized in the “Mountains” quadrant. While tougher to implement, they still will likely produce a high payoff. Finally, disregard “Flatlands” and “Valleys” ideas as they are low payoff opportunities not worthy of the effort to implement.
Many organizations have attained great results using this tool! The magic is in the collective intelligence of the team and prioritization of the solutions! Try WorkOutTM in 2015!
Much can be read and learned about WorkOutTM from books and online resources that can help you to use it. However, if you need assistance with using WorkOutTM to prevent injuries in your workplace, please contact Gary Smith, CRM, at (517) 338-3367 or Gary.Smith@cmi-yorkrsg.com.