Target Zero
Target Zero safeguards people and the environment
During a EHS Day event, employees make productivity and safety improvements to the Villa Bosch production site in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The team used a "5S" process to organize and manage the workspace for greater safety, improved efficiency and reduced waste.
Safeguarding people and the environment is a primary element of our commitment to sustainable business practices. Protecting the health and safety of all our employees is at the heart of that commitment. We developed Target Zero, an injury-reduction initiative based in the belief that all injuries are preventable. Target Zero focuses on improving employees' understanding of good safety practices and on ensuring that they act to reduce injuries in both their work and their personal lives.
Since its inception in 2002, Target Zero has helped us reduce our rate of on-the-job injuries by 77.3 percent. In six years, Target Zero contributed to the prevention of 904 employee injuries. In 2008 alone, we reduced the injury rate by 10.4 percent.
In spite of this progress, however, our ultimate target is zero environment, health and safety (EHS) incidents related to our operations, products and services. We have redoubled our training and awareness programs to continue to drive safety awareness and behaviors among our employees, visitors, suppliers and customers. We know that workplace safety comprises two elements: conditions and behaviors. Likewise, for a safety program to succeed there must be a steadfast, consistent effort at every level of the organization to identify unsafe conditions and eliminate or control them, and to drive out unsafe behaviors.
In 2008, we launched an intensive effort to refresh our employees' knowledge and awareness of the Target Zero EHS program. We began with the Value Chain team, where all senior leaders, managers and supervisors were required to complete Target Zero training in person or online. Training was provided in 11 languages. At the end of each training module, participants were required to respond correctly to several questions in order to verify their understanding of the information.
Our company's 2008 operating plan required each of our senior leaders to conduct a minimum of four "safe behavior" checks at employee work sites. In tandem with that requirement, we formalized a procedure for conducting and reporting the results of those visits. The objective of safe behavior visits is to develop a culture of injury prevention by identifying safe and unsafe work behaviors and conditions. The program focuses on such areas as driving safety, use of personal protective equipment, proper handling of chemicals and equipment, slip prevention, general housekeeping of the work area, emergency planning, and safety when working at heights, or with hazardous equipment or materials.
We also engaged line managers more fully in developing a positive culture of EHS, by making them responsible for investigating accidents, incidents and near-misses. With support from our Environment Health and Safety team, line managers now have ownership of corrective actions that arise from the investigation of incidents in the workplace, and can engage employees directly in maintaining safe workplaces and exhibiting safe behavior.
Additionally, we formalized the procedures by which we manage and audit compliance with each of our global Environment Health and Safety Standards and with relevant regulations and legislation in each of our locations. Compliance with JohnsonDiversey's EHS Standards and Procedures is mandatory for all employees and contractors at all our operations, and all employees at third-party locations. The Standards and Procedures are consistent worldwide.
Protecting the health and safety of all our employees is specifically required by our company's statement of values. Living out that pledge requires the personal attention of every employee, every day. We are committed to providing the training, resources and discipline to make that commitment possible.