Integrated Lean Safety Model to Develop Organizational Safety Culture

Abstract

The basic purpose of any business organization is to operate it with minimum risks and accidents. These contexts maintain safety culture in the organization in order to improve performance. The integration of Lean and Six Sigma along with existing safety practice may build a more effective safety culture, which may engage the entire workforce proactively seeking a healthy and hassle-free work environment considerably and notably reducing risks and accidents and mitigate the stress of workforce. This prompted the present authors to develop an integrated Lean Safety Management model (ILSM) for improving safety in workplaces. ILSM is an integration of Lean Thinking, Six-Sigma (DMAIC) and Behaviour Based Safety Management. The purpose of this chapter is to bring out the salient features of ILSM through SMILE approach and its credibility in meeting out the needs of the stakeholders regarding industrial safety and occupational health aspect.

1. Introduction

Though, the concept of industrial safety is widely practiced in Western and few other developed countries, its predominant presence in India is yet to be seen except the manufacturing industries having foreign collaborations and some large manufacturing industries having well defined inclusive infrastructure. The chemical and cement industries are very much vulnerable to the risks of accidents. The health of employees is at risk as they are exposed to dangerous chemical activities and exhumation of dusts. This prone to severe health hazards in employees at long run. Therefore, safety is inclusively concerned with the employees as well as the workplace. The malfunctioning of machineries in the workplace may cause accidents. The leakages of chemicals or oil, in case of chemical and oil industries have direct adverse impact on employee’s safety. It could be seen that few big Indian construction industries have taken the advantages of the safety concept in their workplace but not in full fledged manner. “Safety has been defined as a condition where nothing goes wrong or a condition where the number of occurrence of accident, risk of injury, loss and danger to persons, property and environment is acceptably small” [1]. Rene [2] has pointed out that technical breakdown and human errors cause unsafe situation. The safety is considered to be very important in the sense that reducing risk of accidents and avoiding careless handling of machineries may pay a good dividend in terms of performance excellence and financial benefits to the organization. Besides, it helps boost the morale and activate the positive motivation among the employees. Safety is very much concerned with employees’ health and incepts care on their family in all welfare aspects. Further, it is very essential that creating and maintaining a safe working environment ensures high health levels among the workers, protecting the workers from the risk of accidents, illness or discomfort in the workplace and increase the efficiency of wok processes, improves employee perceptions of their working environment and leads to higher recruitment attractiveness [3]. The above context clearly emphasizes the safety concept in manufacturing and services organizations give more importance to the employees than the machineries. In the context of importance given to employees, their behavior and attitude form base in implementing safety culture in organization. To keep the safety culture permanent and perennial in organization, it is very important to induct the safety culture among the employees by transforming their behavior and attitude. This thought of imbibing the importance and benefit of safety among employees lead to the concept of “Behavioral Based Safety (BBS)” management for maintaining safe work environment in organization. The both lean thinking and BBS concept helps proliferate safety in organization by eliminating the unwanted and non value added activities and streamlining the processes in all aspects. Lean Thinking and Six Sigma (DMAIC Methodology) are viewed as formidable strategic weapons to succeed in performance excellence. Therefore, the authors felt the need of an appropriate comprehensive integrated lean safety model (ILSM) to ensure safety practices and enrich safety and health performance in the industry by reducing the risk of accidents. Since, ILSM is a practice of accident prevention system; the authors suggest that the top management must initiate holistic implementation of ILSM to attain safety culture sustainability in the organizations.

1.1 Objectives

Following are few important objectives for this study

1. To understand the importance of Safety Concept in different types of organizations.

2. To evaluate how safety culture could be infiltrate among employees.

3. To understand the role of human components as a base to carry out safety activities in organization and its importance to keep organization accidents free and hazard free.

4. In the context stated in the third objective, to study how far (the) Behavioral Based Safety management system could be aligned with Lean and Six Sigma.

5. To integrate Lean and Six Sigma with BBS (and) to develop a new conceptual model.

2. Review of literature

The Review of Literature has been presented in eight major sections. The first section would bring out the studies related to safety, the second section has been marked to review studies on culture, in the third section, the authors try to highlight the studies on safety culture, the fourth one detail about BBS, the fifth and the sixth describe factors attributing to workplace accidents and benefits of BBS respectively. The Seventh and the eighth sections highlight the linkage of Lean and Six-Sigma with BBS.

• Safety

“Safety has been defined as a condition where nothing goes wrong or a condition where the number of occurrence of accident, risk of injury, loss and danger to persons, property and environment is acceptably small” [1]. Rene [2] has pointed out that technical breakdown and human errors cause unsafe situation.

• Culture

Culture is the product of the interaction between human psychological, work behavioral, and organization situational [4]. According to Reason [5], culture is the ‘engine’ that drives the organization towards the goal of sustaining the maximum resistance towards hazards. Organizational cultures are rooted within community expectations and intersect with national cultures [6].

• Safety Culture

Safety culture in the organizational set up includes the ‘health’ as an important one. Therefore, in most of the literature it has been referred as ‘Health and Safety’ (H&S) culture. Accordingly, based on Hale and Hovden [7] who in their study classified H&S in three ages, Hudson [8] has suggested following three stages in the evolution of H&S culture. In the first stage, Technology was given importance (technical age), then in second stage, more emphasize has been given on H&S management systems (human factors’ age) and in the third the H&S is seen through cultural aspect (safety culture age). Reason [5] suggests that ‘an abiding concern for failure’ would be the key component of a good safety culture. Therefore, organizations having good safety culture are sensitive and responsive to signals of danger.

Before going into detail discussion, understanding the definitions of SC is more important. The cultural drivers of Health and Safety comprises of social forces within organizations that shape organizational members’ assumptions, beliefs, values and actions [9]. Few of the identified important factors of SC are; management [10], individual and behavioral [4], Worker’s knowledge on safety. In this regard, the stakeholder role in safety culture and safety performance has been discussed by Althaqafi and Abunar [11]. A broad thinking is that the social forces are the main cultural drivers which shape organizational members’ assumptions, beliefs, values and actions [9]. In line with the social phenomenon, Richter and Koch [12] define safety culture as the shared and learned meanings, experiences and interpretations of work and safety-expressed particularly symbolically – which guide peoples’ actions towards risk, accidents and prevention.

• Levels of SC

Hudson [8] has identified five levels in SC namely, Pathological-unless we experienced we will not think and cares about safety; Reactive-safety is important in the sense that when we do a lot every time we have to meet an accident; calculative-there is system in place to manage all hazards; Proactive-trying to anticipate safety problems before they arise and generative-health and safety show how the business is going on. According to theory of SC, following four levels have been identified that are; physical culture, institutional culture, behavior culture and spiritual culture. Further it has been defined as “the sharing of safety values, attitudes, ethics and code of conduct” (State Administration of Work Safety, 2009 ^{a & b}). SC being an important part of organization management system, it improves the quality and operation mode of safety management level which could prevent major accidents, reduce accident rates and improve safety performance.

• Behavioral Based Safety (BBS) Management

Employee awareness of safety plays crucial role in maintaining safety standards in organizations. Poor awareness of safety indicates a poor safety climate which decreases the health and safety of employees. Behavioral Based Safety (BBS) is a process within which employees of organizations have been enveloped to follow the safety procedures in their work situation where by to learn more on safe and unsafe activities towards transformation of their behavior and attitude to avoid unsafe work environment, loss of life, get injured and loss of time and financial remuneration. Therefore, BBS focuses on what people do, analyses why they do it and then applies a research supported interventional strategy to improve what people to do. It is an approach based on human behavior used to prevent workplace injuries. BBS is one of the approaches to make employees to aware safety in workplace to improve safety performance and decrease the number of accident cases at the workplace and incorporated with safety management system towards safety and health performances and improvements [13] and is not a program, but an integrated management “process” [14]. The important role of human components in organizations accelerates the risk of accidents wherein, the attitude and behavior of workers have to be carefully considered at the workplace to avoid the untoward incidents. In this exercise, the organization has the compelling responsibility and the duty to make the worker to understand to work safe in the safe environment. Therefore, it is the behavior and the attitude of the worker to follow the norms of the safety in workplace. So, organization should come forward to instill among workers the positive behavior towards safety and has the responsibility to activate and motivate the worker to abide to the strategic plans and related training programs of organization. This is otherwise called as the behavior based safety management. The sustenance of the safety systems management is possible only when the BBS has been transformed to be a culture of the organization, since it wholly relied on human resources.

• Factors Attributing to Workplace Accidents

Cox has defined BBS as the intervention that focused on people and Connor suggested to develop a list of human factors that influence workplace safety. The workplace accidents are caused by unsafe behavior [15] and unsafe act [16], unsafe working conditions and false acts, inadequate safety performance, improper housekeeping, low tool maintenance, supervisory fault [17] and unsafe act or unsafe conditions. Any act that deviates from generally recognized safe procedure laid down to do the job may be considered as unsafe act [18]. In spite of organizations having well managed safety management with good safety policy, significant accidents occur [19] and this may be due to unsafe or careless employees which can easily be resolved by closely monitoring and changing the behaviors of workers [20].

• Lean Thinking Aligning with Safety Management System

Lean Manufacturing (LM) is a business concept; its goal is to minimize processing time, resources and other activities in the manufacturing process and by eliminating wastages to achieve performance excellence and sustainability. The 5S process (Sort, Set in order, Sweep, Standardize, and Sustain) is the basis for an effective lean implementation. The 5S process is a structured program to systematically achieve total organization, neatness, cleanliness, standardization and discipline in the workplace [21]. LM process gives importance to the worker safety by informing, empowering the workers to be active with knowledge, skills and create opportunity to act safely in the workplace in order to eliminate or reduce hazards or risk of accidents.

Anvari et al. [22] have attempted to evaluate an approach aligning Lean Manufacturing with Safety Management Systems and tried to establish relationship between them. In compliance with the above, the above authors have talked about the 6th S that is Safety along with the existing 5S of Lean Manufacturing since safety strategies are considered crucial to world-class competitiveness. Because, the 6S process simplifies the work environment, reduces waste and non-value activities while improving quality of efficiency and safety [22]. The 5S were drawn from Toyota Management System (TMS) and the 6th S has been added by Universal Coordinated Time to emphasize safety in the workplace [23]. The 6th gets prominence since; it is the first method the companies often implement before implementation of Lean process because it serves as the foundation of future continual improvement effort [24]. When safety (6S) is aligned with the Five Ss it creates a culture of continual improvement and employee engagement that is essential for successful implementation of Lean. The 6S helps other lean methods such as cellular manufacturing, one-piece flow and JIT production for easy implementation. In the context stated above, 6S that is Safety can strongly be considered as one of the tools of LM. It strongly enables for employees and enables people to be free of aggravations that hinder their work and it acts as a positive way to involve people in improving their own work settings [25]. Health and Safety hazards in organization are created due to employees de-motivation, lack of or unclearly defined working procedure and tasks, lack of control, lack of instruction or appropriate training, unsafe worker behavior, low management commitment to safety, no consensus on what Safety Management System (SMS) exactly is and on corresponding scope [26] all those could be controlled by LM process. The errors of total productive maintenance (one of the LM component) contribute to accidents in complex systems [27]. Sourin et al. (have) found the relationship between the Lean tool Poka-Yoke and SMS. Fernandez et al. and Bottani et al., [28] have suggested that creation of all types of hazards controlled in LM environments. It could be concluded that there is a perfect correlation and relationship between all the SMS policies and practices and the LM/6S. It could be concluded that all the dimensions of safety culture are used in LM [29]. Increasing diffusion between organizations in respect of Safety Management Systems have been felt by Bottani et al. [28] this is because of the major shortcoming in most of the safety culture models due to lack of integration [15]. Therefore, Fernandez-Muniz et al. [30] suggest that safety must be integrated into all the organization‘s decisions and actions, and the prevention must be more organizational and strategic than material, since human component plays an important role in the causal chain of workplace accidents. When two or more systems are integrated into one model, the level of compatibility increases resulting potential tangible and intangible gains with added value to the organization [31]. Several authors for example, Karapetrovic and Jonker, [32]; Beckmerhagen et al. [33]; Jergensen et al. [34] and Rebelo et al. [35] have extensively studied the integration of Safety with other management systems (like various quality and environmental management systems) for efficient management and excellent performance of organizations.

Following the efforts taken by the above mentioned authors, the present authors have developed a new conceptual model like ILSM and established SMILE approach in behavior based safety system.

• Six Sigma Aligning with Safety Management System

Rehman and Ateekh-ur-Rehman [36] have evolved the possibility of managing safety through Sig Sigma approach and found that the DMAIC approach was effective in reducing the safety hazards. Kehinde et al. [37] have conducted a study in a food processing industry on managing safety using Six Sigma Technique. The Sigma level of safety was estimated using DMAIC method. Further, Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) was used and the Risk Priority Number (RPN) for various departments was also calculated. This study helped to contain safety hazards at present and in future. Stricoff and Seymour [38], Bahadir and Ivan [39], and Ng et al. [40] have endorsed the above findings.

2.1 Gap

Safety Management System (SMS) is familiar with all types of industries in countries abroad. BBS is one of the safety concepts in SMS. The Indian scenario is seemed to be different, particularly, in Southern most part of India that is Tamil Nadu, the Safety practice industries still yet to be taken off. It was observed from field visit that few big industries of various types around Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu follow few elements of SMS but not in full. Particularly, the lean oriented BBS concept in most of the industries in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu is still to be practiced. The reason being, the negligence of organizations to adapt lean oriented BBS concept and the less interest of employees to understand the salient features of the system and failed to understand that despite giving benefits to the organization, it forms basis for the health and welfare of the workers. Further, very few literatures are available on industries with regard to implementation of BBS in associate with Lean Six Sigma.

2.2 Reasons and need

The industries are looking forward to achieve financial benefits through increasing performance. This could be achieved by the relentless contribution of workers. Therefore, workers should be given a healthy and accident free work environment. This warrants change of behavior and attitude. Thus the organizations must keep workers more informative of the work environment and to make them aware of their responsibility in discharging the task in a prescribed way of operation. The holistic implementation of BBS may help organizations to successfully face challenges from similar organizations and the national and international market volatilization.

2.3 The main focus of the study

This study may help to maintain safe work conditions through principled practice of discipline through BBS practice among employers and employees. This cultivates the safety culture in order to reap benefits like, reduction of cost of product in all aspects, eliminate cost of worker’s compensation claims and to reduce costs related to employee medical leave and absenteeism.

3. The proposed model

On extensive deliberations about the integration of Lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC) and BBS, the authors have developed the following SMILE approach in working environment and new conceptual model to be implemented in organizations for attaining safety culture. The robust implementation of lean oriented BBS (SMILE approach) and integrated lean safety model in an organization may definitely help harvest good benefits in terms of accidents free organization, performance excellence and huge financial benefits (Figure 1) (Table 1).

Figure 1.

A conceptual model of safety culture environment.

S – Select	Initially BBS coach is selected to conduct the observation regarding employees’ work practice in the industry environment. The BBS coach after observation selects the safe and unsafe behavioral practices of the employees within the workplace / plant as per framed checklist.
M – Mentor	If unsafe behavior is carried out, immediately corrective actions are suggested by the coach in an appropriate manner. If the employee rectify at risk behavior (unsafe) practice while performing the operations, he will be appreciated by the coach. Further the observer (BBS coach) offers constructive feedback to the employees for their consistent performance.
I – Implement	Brainstorming sessions are carried out to emphasis the need of safe practices and are to be implemented in all aspects without any hesitation.
L – Lean	Observer initiating Lean Six Sigma Based BBS approach. Lean Thinking means eliminating the wastes (unnecessary activities) by streamline the process in a structured way of practicing working behaviors consciously during productive hours as per safety act & rule. The project team (Six-Sigma team) must be formed to solve the safety related problems in the industry through DMAIC approach.
E - Evaluate	The improved safe practices are evaluated as per safety act & rule. The scope of existing improved behavior is discussed with steering committee members for continuous improvement of working environments (Zero injuries / Accidents to be achieved) i.e. maintaining safety culture.

Table 1.

SMILE approach - lean oriented behavior based safety system.

4. Findings and discussion

Various past studies have brought out the importance of implementing Safety Management System in manufacturing, construction and related organizations. The studies have also underlined several benefits like, keeping and improving employee’s health and welfare, changing behavior and attitude of employees towards positive and safe work environment and thus motivating them to work in risk and accident free environment. Therefore, the organizations could reap financial benefits by reducing compensation paid to employees due to accidents, improve quality and production due to increased performance excellence, and could stand out as unbeatable competitor in the market. The Six Sigma technique also reduces the process output variation to six standard deviation which lies between the mean and the nearest specification limit to 3.4 defections per million opportunities. Peter et al. [41] have stressed the need of Six Sigma for continuous improvement in the workplace.

The integration of various managements systems with SMS further fillip to the Safety processes in organizations. The basic and the main concept of Lean is the reduction of space, time, manufacturing processes and other non-value added activities, resources and the various types of wastes. The 5S tool of Lean has been structured to systematically achieve total organization, neatness, cleanliness, standardization and discipline in the workplace [21] which result the reduction of risk of accidents through safer and more efficient productive operation. Stricoff and Seymour [38] have suggested that Six Sigma could be applied for the purpose of organizational safety. Staryarsky and Whitfield [42] have identified few constraints in applying Six Sigma in manufacturing organization towards “World Class” safety performance. In spite of the constraints, several authors have studied the utilization of Six Sigma in various types of organizations, for example, ship Management and safety [39]; to explore injury rate of an international waste disposals firm [41] and reduce hazards among cargo handlers working in cargo container [40].

5. Conclusion

Especially manufacturing and construction industry have become an important sectors in promoting economic growth. However, the accident cases in the manufacturing sector and construction industries are always higher than other sectors. In order to reduce the accident cases, safety culture is the long term solution that creates consistent patterns of safety behaviors, beliefs and values in the organization by practice of effective leadership support, management commitment (Management must be sensitive towards safety issues and committed to challenge unsafe behaviors without fail) and effective safety management system. Safety has a significant role in industrial organizations. Lean is built on the central idea of reducing or eliminating wastes from the system. Since accidents are fundamentally a waste, lean inherently includes safety concerns within its scope.

The conclusion arrived here at is purely a hypothetical based on a number of related studies by various authors and according to their findings. Anvai et al. [22] have found the perfect relationship between lean management and safety management system and most of the attributes of lean management positively and significantly correlated with the SMS process. Several authors have stressed the employee awareness of safety has been considered to be an important in quality outcome in the organizations [43] because poor awareness would result in poor safety climate which would be detrimental to the employee as well as organization. The safety concept is mainly and wholly related to human component. Therefore, it is very important a change in the behavior and attitude of worker to be instituted for a complete transformation in the safety concept to be followed in organization. Therefore, the safety culture should be given equal attention like other important elements such as quality and productivity. Safety Culture could be attained through effective implementation of SMILE approach and integrated lean safety model in industry. The authors suggest that top management (safety monitoring authority committee) must initiate practice of ILSM with support of ‘SMILE’ approach to reduce the occurrences of accidents in all aspects of the company by sustainable safety culture.

5.1 Implementation

Though, different approaches in implementation of BBS process could be observed from various studies, those were mainly based on case study approach. Faridha et al. [19] after reviewing various studies by Killimett [44], Wirth et al., [45], Geller [46], DePasquale and Geller [47] and Smith, have seen a common and consistent approach which has been included in the following four steps as suggested by Dejoy [20] and Krause et al. [48]. Step 1 Identify critical safety behavior that contributes to injuries and losses; Step 2 Observation over sometime period of identified behavior; Step 3 Reinforcement is applied to increase desired behavior and Step 4 Findings and Feedback on the performance is presented for continuous improvement. The White Paper published by SoBran-Bio Science suggests the following four steps for implementation. Those are; establish a need for change, create a plan of action, plan for implementation and put energy into implementation and sustainability. The robust implementation of Lean oriented BBS (SMILE approach) and Integrated Lean Safety Model in an organization may definitely help harvest good benefits in terms of accidents free organization, performance excellence and huge financial benefits.

6. Implications

Implications can be classified into two. One is theoretically impacted and another one is practically experienced. The paucity of studies on lean six sigma oriented behavior based safety management under Indian environment could be fulfilled with this endeavor. In practical, this paper may feed some useful information on the importance of safety aspects in various types of industries which are very much prone to all types of risks. The present model may be an eye opener to those industries which are still in early stage of implementing safety procedure and for the industries still not yet been implemented. Those types of industries vulnerable to different types of risks, accidents and social ill-health may recoup their industries process with risks and accidents free with the help of this model and thus could achieve performance excellence.

6.1 Limitations and scope for future studies

This study is purely a theoretical one based on the findings of various research studies done by different authors in different environment and different types of industries. The present conceptual model developed based on new approach called ‘SMILE’. This new model needs empirical validation to confirm its authenticity. This paper has been developed having taken in mind the Indian industrial environment. However, universal applications of this approach may give greater dividend to all types of industries that are prone to risks, accidents, since the nucleus of this study centered on ‘Safety Culture’ which is an universal entity.