New Bremen, OH: Crown Equipment Corporation will showcase the company's successful behavior-based approach to safety at the Association for Manufacturing Excellence national convention in Dallas on October 26 and 27. Brian Duffy, Crown's director of corporate environmental and manufacturing safety, and Janice Clune, safety technician for Crown's SafeSteps program, will present "Achieving Cultural Change Through Employee-Based Behavior Safety."
The presentation examines Crown's SafeSteps program, which uses employee observation, feedback and positive reinforcement, as well as management support, to focus on the behavioral aspects of safety. Since its inception in 2005, Crown's SafeSteps program has created a culture of continuous improvement that has resulted in a significant reduction in both recordable and lost time injury rates. Last year, Crown was recognized with an Occupational Excellence Achievement Award from the National Safety Council, further supporting Crown's tradition of safety excellence.
"Through this program, we've been able to dramatically shift the culture of safety at Crown to be self-directed by our employees," says Duffy. "Built on a foundation of positive employee reinforcement, the SafeSteps program provides an anonymous, discipline-free approach to safety that is unique for a manufacturing environment. Employees recognize and evaluate fellow employees on the safety techniques they're performing correctly rather than solely focusing on unsafe behavior. This fosters a positive learning environment that allows us to keep employee health and safety as a top priority, as well as ensure productivity and efficiency in our facilities."
The AME also selected Duffy and Tonja Rammel, Crown's environmental administrator for sustainability, to present a second session entitled "Corporate Sustainability – Environmental, Health, Safety & Social Responsibility." This presentation will explain Crown's multi-faceted approach to sustainability with a 20-year case study of the company's environmental progress and incorporation of safety, health and social responsibility into sustainable initiatives. The company issues an annual Crown ecologic Report highlighting its sustainability initiatives and accomplishments. To download a copy of the report, visit http://www.crown.com.
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence's national conference highlights enterprise improvement methods and provides attendees with opportunities to explore increased productivity and specialized solutions options.
