Recently, Chinasafety.gov reported on the behavior-based safety (BBS) process implemented by Embraco-Xuehua Compressors Co. Ltd., in Beijing (See a translation of the article below). While BBS is relatively new to China, such publications reflect the growing interest of China’s business community.
Beijing Embraco-Xuehua Compressors Co. Ltd.
Founded in April 1995, Beijing Embraco-Xuehua Compressors Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Embraco-Xuehua) is a joint venture co-invested by Embraco Brazil, Xuehua Life Electric Appliance Group, and Whirlpool. Dedicated to the production of sealed refrigeration compressors, Embraco-Xuehua is committed to providing both domestic and global markets with high-tech and advanced compressors that are highly efficient, energy saving, and environmentally friendly. Located in Tianzhu Airport Development Zone in Shunyi District, Beijing, the company has 2,200 employees with a production capacity of 8.6 million compressors and sales revenue of 2 billion yuan a year. Its total assets reach 1.9 billion yuan. The organization has received many honors, such as Civilized Company in Beijing, National Model Employees’ Family, and one of Top 100 Enterprises in the Shunyi District.
Through the investigation, reporting, and treatment of hidden risks concerning production safety required by the government of Shunyi District, Embraco-Xuehua has been careful in implementing internal information and education activities to ensure that employees thoroughly understand the requirements of relative standards and the significance of safe activities. Self-inspection and reporting integrates and works with the corporate safety culture and safety management philosophy; it has designed a feasible and practical Action Plan with an effective working system to implement production safety-related inspection and treatment at the grass-roots level. The details are as reported below:
1. Embraco-Xuehua has established a complete safety management framework.
In addition to standardizing safe production behaviors, the company has assigned the management goals and responsibilities related to safe operations behaviors to individual employees. The goals have been split and distributed to each department. Safety-related, self-inspection and reporting, lost-time injury frequency rate, ratio of employees trained in production safety, and ratio of employees who have undergone occupational health inspection have been included in the criterion of performance appraisal by the Safety Management Department. The Deputy General Manager is in charge of safety management and the Safety Management Department designates the dedicated safety management and occupational health supervisors.
2. Embraco-Xuehua makes full use of the added capacity of the self-inspection and reporting system to improve safety management. The company adopts a field inspection list of safety-related hidden risks which is developed based on the standards of both fundamental management and field management within the self-inspection and reporting system. The problems, once identified and confirmed, will be input in the system, and then an improvement plan will be made within a limited time frame and the results of improvement will be communicated to employees. In case of new problems found during the implementation of the improvement plan, work-related employees will be organized together to design a new improvement plan to ensure complete removal of the hidden risks.
3. Embraco-Xuehua implements a dedicated safety program and ensures active involvement of all employees.
• Golden Rule: it enhances Embraco’s commitment of “providing a safe and healthy working environment for employees, contractors, clients, and visitors.”
• Behavior-based Safety Management: through observing their safety-related behaviors, Embraco-Xuehua provides employees with positive motivation and feedback, continues to strengthen their sense of safety, designs improvement plans when hidden risks are identified, and continues to improve behavior-based safety (BBS).
• Lock Out & Tag Out (LOTO): Embraco-Xuehua follows the LOTO procedure, provides training to equipment repair and adjustment workers and employees, and cuts off all power in the event of equipment repair, maintenance, or adjustment.
• Mechanical Safety Program: Embraco-Xuehua provides mechanical safety training to employees working on technics, repair and maintenance and EHS. The company also provides support to safety accreditation of equipment purchase and modification and ensures material safety of the equipment through designing an EHS Technical Manual.
4. Embraco-Xuehua spends more on improvement of production safety to effectively remove the hidden risks. Safety-related investment is always a key component of Embraco-Xuehua’s budget in production safety. It ensures the timely funds needed for production safety, training and education, personal protection articles, and risk removal. Between 2008 and September 2011, the company has spent a total of 26.64 million yuan in safety management, of which 1.18 million yuan was for dedicated programs, 3.46 million yuan for safety training, and the rest, 22 million yuan, for safety protection.
5. Embraco-Xuehua’s next goal and prospect of safety management follows:
For the year 2011, the company has confirmed that its lost-time injury frequency rate is 0.10, the ratio of new employees trained prior to working on the job is 100%, the ratio of employees given 8 hours of safety training a year is 100%, and the ratio of employees that have undergone timely occupational health inspection also reaches 100%. By 2013, the company goal is for the lost-time injury frequency rate to be improved to 0.
Standardization of safe production and smart use of various management resources developed by the self-inspection and reporting system are two crucial ways to improve Embraco-Xuehua’s capacity in both fundamental and field management of safety. They are able to enhance employees’ sense of safety, keep their correct and safe behaviors at work, and most importantly, better improve the capabilities of the safety management team. This is just the only way to enhance materially Embraco-Xuehua’s overall safety management level, realize standardized safe production, and provide good conditions to develop a safe and harmonious enterprise.
To see the original article in Chinese, go to http://www.chinasafety.gov.cn/newpage/Contents/Channel_20685/2011/1103/154888/content_154888.htm