News

Posted On: 12/01/2008

Survey: U.S. workers taking chances with safety by not wearing PPE

PlantServices.com

U.S. workers are risking workplace injuries by not complying with important safety procedures, according to a survey from Kimberly-Clark Professional.

The survey found that 89% of safety professionals polled at the 2008 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress have observed workers failing to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when they should have been.

"We find it disheartening that people continue to put themselves at risk by failing to wear PPE when undertaking hazardous tasks," says Randy Kates, general manager of the safety business for Kimberly-Clark Professional. "Despite the importance of PPE, there is still an unacceptably high rate of noncompliance in the workplace."

This is the third consecutive year that the Kimberly-Clark survey has revealed a high rate of PPE noncompliance. In 2007, 87% of respondents said they had observed PPE noncompliance in the workplace, whereas 85% answered yes to this question in 2006.

Given the high rate of noncompliance during the past three years, it is not surprising that when asked to name the top workplace safety issue in their facilities, one-third of respondents cited worker compliance with safety protocols. Next was insufficient management support and/or resources for health and safety functions (27%). Under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses was third (14%), followed by training a multilingual, multicultural workforce (7%) and escalating worker compensation costs (5%).

Is the Economy a Factor?

One potential explanation for continuing problems with compliance could be the economy. About 34% of respondents said the economy had affected worker safety training programs or resources, whereas 59% said it had not. Of those who said the economy had affected safety training or resources, the survey found that:

• 63% said it had led to less money for education and training.
• 42% said it had resulted in reduced personnel to handle safety training tasks.
• 33% said the faltering economy had led to business concerns taking precedence over safety concerns.

This year’s survey also polled safety professionals about the steps they have taken or intend to take to encourage greater PPE compliance. The top response was "improving existing education and training programs," followed by "purchasing more comfortable PPE." Increased monitoring of employees was third, followed by tying compliance to individual performance evaluations and purchasing more stylish PPE.

"Work-related injuries in the U.S. cost more than $50 billion a year *," Kates says. "Our research has shown that comfort and style are major drivers for compliance with PPE protocols. In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to invest in PPE that workers will want to wear."

* Source: Liberty Mutual

Focus on environmental sustainability

The environment was another topic covered in this year’s survey. About 59% of respondents reported that their companies had formal corporate sustainability goals, whereas 22% said they did not (20% said they did not know the answer to this question). Respondents from companies with corporate sustainability goals were asked what their facilities were doing to become more environmentally responsible. The top choice was reducing the waste generated by a facility’s processes.

It was followed by:

• Reducing energy consumption.
• Reducing the waste associated with supplies and other items that they purchased.
• Reducing water consumption.

All respondents were asked what their facilities had done to encourage or require suppliers to assist them in becoming more environmentally responsible. The top selection was increasing the amount of recycled content in the products supplied to them (39%). Tied for second place were: reducing packaging materials for the products supplied to them and having suppliers "demonstrate or state/warrant that they have environmentally responsible business practices" (29%). Close behind was delivering more products at one time to reduce fuel usage (27%). Only 6% of respondents said environmental responsibility was not a major concern for their organizations (for this question, respondents were allowed to select more than one answer).

Health concerns

When asked if they were concerned about the potential health and safety issues for their workers posed by oil, grease, heavy metal residues or toxic elements on reusable rental shop towels, 63% of respondents answered yes. This compares with 73% of respondents answering yes to the same question in 2007.

When asked what might encourage them to switch from reusable rental shop towels to disposable wipers, the survey found:

• 35% of respondents cited concerns about the health and safety issues mentioned above.
• 28% chose a closed loop solution for disposable wipers, in which used wipers are recycled or converted to energy and diverted from landfills.
• 10% were concerned about water pollution from laundering reusable rental shop towels.
• 29 percent said they did not use rental shop towels.

Safety philosophy

This year respondents were asked to describe their personal safety philosophy from a list of choices. Two responses tied for first place: "Safety doesn’t cost, it pays," and, "Organizations must create safety-based cultures" (43% each). Only 10% selected the statement, "Safety begins and ends at the top," and just 2% chose "Safety is a pain, but so is my boss."

"These results did not surprise us," says Scott Gaddis, global safety leader for Kimberly-Clark Professional. "Workplace safety must be managed like every other strategic business objective that is important to an organization’s success."

Survey methodology

The survey was undertaken at the NSC Congress in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 23, 2008. The survey questionnaires were filled out by 153 safety professionals who reported being responsible for purchasing, selecting or influencing the purchase or selection of, or compliance with, PPE. The respondents included safety directors and managers, industrial hygienists, environmental managers and purchasing professionals. For full survey results, visit www.kcprofessional.com/us/mkt/2008nscpressrelease.