American Society of Safety Engineers www.ASSE.org

Safety Profession in these Economic Times San Francisco PDC —2/18/09

Warren K. Brown, CSP, ARM, CSHM President

Discussion Points

 American Society of Safety Engineers  Challenges  Safety and good corporate governance   Safety professional competencies Adding value to the organization  Influence and technical advisor  Maintaining safety during downturn  Your involvement in ASSE

1914 the USCI name changed to American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) 25 March 1911 146 female garment workers died

ASSE – By The Numbers

• • •

32,000+ members- located in 75 countries 151 Chapters & 31 Sections 38 Student Sections

Vision

…be a global champion of the SH&E professional …a global leader of the profession …a premier resource …for those engaged in protecting people, property and the environment

ASSE Mission Statement

ASSE is a global

member-driven society

• providing representation • promotion and support for those engaged in the profession and/or the practice of safety, health and environment in their efforts to protect people, property and the environment.

* Promotes occupational safety and health in the court of public opinion – works to increase awareness and educate publics worldwide

CoC

®

STRUCTURED to DELIVER

MEMBERS

Sections 14 Practice Specialties and Branches Chapters Areas House Of Delegates Regions CoPS CoMRA CoPA CoPD

Board of Directors

(volunteer leaders)

Challenges

• ILO estimates work related incidents and diseases kill 2.2 million workers annually and cost 4% of the world’s GDP • Globally our cultures, languages and governments may differ but safety must transcend these differences applying to all people, businesses and organizations • Role of the safety professional and needed competencies

Challenges

• Safety important part of corporate social responsibility as well as good corporate governance • Business of safety has diverted focus from safety being part of corporate social responsibility • ASSE supporting safety principles as part of organizational mission and vision statements • Oversight of safety at CEO and BOD levels

Social Responsibility Principles Examples

•

We want to be a leader in Health, Safety and Environmental Protection (HSE).

- The safety of our employees, neighbors, customers, consumers and all others affected by our business activities, as well as protection of the environment, have priority in all our activities.

•

Working Conditions

Occupational safety and health - For instance -- factories shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding working conditions and shall provide workers with a safe and healthy environment.

Value of the Safety Professional Study

• The primary objective of the ASSE research garnered from about 3,000 people was to identify gaps in perceptions between safety professionals and senior management. Specifically, the research was designed to: – Measure the importance and perceived value of the safety function overall and on a list of specific departmental tasks.

– Identify overall strengths and weaknesses of safety professionals in general.

– Identify the relative importance of professional credentials/designations and business skills compared to other characteristics when hiring safety function job candidates.

– Investigate barriers that exist in companies which impact the effectiveness of individuals performing the safety function.

Value of the Safety Professional – Business Skills

Areas in which performance fell below expectations:

Business And Strategy

• Plans and reacts strategically • Transforms data/insights into practical solutions • Develop methods that integrate safety performance into business productivity • Aligns the group’s project plans with overall business strategy • Understands financial related terms and information • Evaluates proposed investments against their projected payoff

Value of the Safety Professional – Technical Skills

Areas of Technical Safety Expertise

• Assess the probability and severity of losses and accidents that may result from hazards • Implement techniques to evaluate hazard control and program effectiveness • Provide advice in planning, design, development, fabrication, testing and packaging of products or services regarding safety requirements/principles (this is also the least likely task routinely performed at companies)

Safety Professional Competencies

• Business management skills such as understanding organizational behavior, financial literacy, and strategic thinking • New responsibilities including environmental, wellness, risk management, loss prevention, emergency planning and response, business continuity, security, and more.

Safety Professional Competencies

• Finding new ways to leverage safety concepts with other organizational initiatives such as the greening movement • Integrating the safety management system with other corporate management systems • Increasing use of measurement tools

Safety Professional Competencies

• Ability to influence and articulate value to their organization - Listening skills - Communicating - Resolving conflict - Motivating - Team building - Understanding change management principles

Value of the Safety Professional Project

Promoting and Enhancing the Value of the Safety Professional

Repositioning safety Repositioning the safety professional Preparing safety professionals to become the value-add employee

Safety During Economic Downturn

• If companies believe they will save money by reducing or ignoring safety for their workers, customers and communities they do business in, they are mistaken, ASSE President Warren K. Brown, CSP, ARM, CSHM, notes. In the long run cutting these programs will only result in greater costs for businesses through higher accident rates, increased health and insurance costs, reduction in company trust and more. The cost of preventing work related injuries and illnesses is far less than the cost of correcting them.

Safety During Economic Downturn

• Companies must maintain solid safety process even during difficult times • Safety professional is integral part of the safety process • Good safety process is not just regulatory • Fatal injury rate was 3.7 per 100,000 workers in 2007 • Workplaces are safer today than before OSHA and MSHA

Costs

• Workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries cost US $170 billion each year • Indirect costs of incidents may be as much as 20 times direct costs • Organizations that invest in safety see positive impact on bottom line • SHARP participant reduced incident rate from 28.5 to 8.3

Safety Support

• PS article indicated direct correlation between a company’s performance in safety and financial results • Fall protection program reduced incident costs by 96% • Society saves when there are fewer incidents – increases everyone’s quality of life in a positive way • Safety’s positive return on investment is gaining attention from investors

• • • • • • •

What’s ahead that you may be interested in…

A

Construction symposium

Scottsdale to address key issues in this industry including crane safety and falls was held November 20-21, 2008 in

SeminarFest 2009

celebrated its 10 th anniversary in Las Vegas – another sell out crowd to hear and learn from the top in our industry A special

management symposium

was held January 22-23, 2009 in CA on the topic of "Culture“ delving into the corporate tools we all need to help us communicate with upper management – tapes of the presentations are available on-line Our first ever

Virtual symposium

will occur April 20 thru 24 already registering and it’s a new way ASSE is working to reach our diverse membership with programs that are easily accessible – people are We will be developing and distributing more information from our members on

Safety in Greening in all industries

– building on the hospitality industry’s white paper done through our Practice Specialties group As noted

The Safety Professionals handbook

Penn State University – in the works since 2002 with 79 chapters written by SH&E experts and peer reviewed…much of the royalties from this book will go to the Foundation to be administered by – where the editor and ASSE member Dr. Joel Haight is from We are working with members on celebrations to take place throughout

2011 for our 100 th anniversary

…more on this will be coming out shortly..and we need everyone’s input

More Offerings • • • • ASSE will be finalizing and distributing a

Teen Workplace Safety Outreach Guide

for our members with tips and contact information to reach out to schools along with planning guides and tools to use when talking to teens about being safe at work and about the profession out a safety video game, currently named DO or DIE while it is in development aimed at reaching the teen audience – we will also be rolling I spoke at the

World Safety and Health Congress in S. Korea SAWS safety conference

and the

4 th

in Beijing – we will continue the dialogue on a need to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses worldwide and we found that ASSE was the only group advocating and educating the audience on the importance of the safety, health and environmental professional “

Safety Means Always Coming Home”

is the NAOSH Week 2009 theme which runs from May 3 – 9, 2009 and Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day is May 6 go to the www.asse.org/naosh09 web pages for tools and information and consider joining us and the hundreds of thousands of businesses, ASSE, OSHA and millions of people worldwide in supporting what you do every day and raising awareness of workplace safety..

The

7 th annual ASSE Kids’ ‘Safety-on-the-Job’ poster contest

this September 19 through Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2009 --- there are many prizes and recognitions for the children and what better way to teach kids about what their parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. do each day to keep people safe and to learn about job safety……they learn about job safety early on and help us spread the word… runs from

• Thanks for Supporting NAOSH Week

Winners of the 6th Annual ASSE Poster Contest at the DOL

Seated with the winners, are (from left) CSSE's Andrew Cooper, OSHA's Deputy Asst Secretary Don Shalhoub, and ASSE's President Michael W. Thompson. The American Society of Safety Engineers Thanks Everyone For Making NAOSH Week and Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day 2008 another major success. You have helped us reach millions of people worldwide - businesses, workers and families – with key safety tips, information and solutions. You have helped make a difference.

 NAOSH 2008 Website

What Do

“I”

Get for My Dues?

Maybe a better question to ask is…

So How Can “I” Maximize The Value of “My” Membership?

Get Involved!

…

Member-Driven

Association …

You joined ASSE with some particular desires and needs in mind.

Have you thought about your personal return on your time investment into ASSE Leadership?

Thousands of members benefit from their leadership experiences and new skill sets at the local, area, regional and society levels.

Skills You Will Learn Through Member Involvement

– Leadership skills – Management skills – Communication skills – Networking skills – Presentation skills – Time management skills – Team working skills – Meeting skills – Project skills and more!

Opportunities Exist at: Chapter Level Region/Area Level Society Level

Show Your Interest Online

• Go to www.asse.org/membership/leadershipCon nection.php

Review Committees, Requirements, Expectations, etc.

• Put your name in for interest in different committees.

• Committees reviewed each spring

• Thank you for your support, for being a member of ASSE and for being • An Every Day Hero • You do make a difference in the world and with ASSE • THANK YOU