How a good workplace safety program got even better- A Story

A Singapore based construction company thought it already had an “exceptional” safety program when it reached out to a government program for assistance.

Guru Murthy Metal Manufacturing Pte Ltd (name not original), is “committed to continuous improvement,” according to the company. While researching ways to expand the company’s occupational health and safety policies and procedures, Guru Murthy found the Eversafe Consultant’s webpage.

During the initial walk-through, Eversafe consultants identified housekeeping, improper labeling, machine guarding, improper use of extension cords, new employee safety orientation, electrical, and other hazards.

Walk-through with Eversafe’s findings.

“We felt engaging the services of Eversafe Consultant was a good way to build on our exceptional safety program,” said Guru Murthy’s’ Safety Coordinator, Mr. Abu Baker.

During the initial walk-through, Eversafe consultants identified housekeeping, improper labeling, machine guarding, improper use of extension cords, new employee safety orientation, electrical, and other hazards.

The company corrected all of these hazards. Explaining the safety issues to all employees and what injuries these hazards could cause was the first step. Additional safety trainings and department safety audits were performed. Gur Murthy Metals improved its written safety and health program policy manual and established a safety and health information board for all employees. With the help of the SDF Funding & UTAP Funding, the company also developed safety-training sessions. To enhance the Operational Excellence Program, the Guru Murthy Safety Committee also updated the near-miss program.

Employee engagement was a challenge

Motivating people to get involved in changing the safety and health program proved to be a bit of a challenge. Letting employees find solutions to the problems they were identifying increased their sense of involvement and ownership. “We created a Problem-Solving Sheet through our Operational Excellence Program to help investigate near misses, injuries, and accidents” said Abu Baker. “We also set up a spreadsheet to track near misses, injuries, and accidents.” Tracking this data helped in identifying trends. All near misses, injuries, and accidents are reviewed daily at the Managers Meeting.

Fewer workplace accidents

Improving adherence to WSH safety standards and updating company safety policies and procedures positively affected Guru Murthy Metals injury and illness rates. In 2017, Guru Murthy experienced three recordable injuries and illnesses. After working with Eversafe Consultant, there was only one recordable injury in 2018.

What has changed

Collaborating with Eversafe has benefited the company’s safety culture in several ways. Employee involvement in workplace safety efforts has greatly improved over the last couple of years. People at all levels of the company are proactively involved in not only finding and identifying hazards but also in helping to find solutions to such problems.

Yes, We recommend

As a growing metal manufacturing company we believe that Practise safety is an essential part of daily life and engaging Eversafe will be the right choice.