TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT:

Maria Teresa Torres, Human Resources Director Salinger Imports Travis B. Bevis, Case Manager Superior Safety Firm November 12, 2013 Warehouse Safety Program Proposal

Enclosed is the warehouse safety program that is proposed to replace the current program at Salinger Imports as a way to reduce work-related back injuries, workmans compensation claims and the overall cost associated with these types of injuries. In the 2009-2010 fiscal period, Salinger Imports received a reported 956 injury claims, 25% above the national average for a company of this size. The amount of money put out in these claims was 3.5 million dollars, and there is still 8.2 million dollars in pending claims. The risk of injuries in the Salinger warehouse is substantially high, and in order to reduce the cost and enhance the overall safety for these workers, something must be done. The first proposed measure is to upgrade old equipment and add new equipment to not only address safety, but to increase productivity as well. Some of this equipment includes, fork lifts, hand dollies, ladders, etcetera. The second proposed measure is to confirm that the operators have the appropriate certification(s) for the equipment that they use, and to ensure that workers of all levels have the proper safety training. The third measure is to implement as safety incentives program to boost morale and raise safety awareness. The final measure will be to organize this system using logs and trackers, making sure that workers are up to date with current safety laws, understand the plans and have regular refresher trainings/certification courses. This new program will be implemented from the higher levels down throughout a one month process. Managers will be trained, safety officers will be designated, and then the training will roll down. The managers will train the supervisors who will then train their teams. At each level, the training will be modified to fit each sections specific rolls, but no training will be presented until these modifications have been approved by the Salinger case manager and/or the Superior Safety Firm (SSF) Team. It is my hope that this proposal will provide you and your company with the exact solutions that you are looking for. We, the SSF Team are flexible with any suggested changes to this plan, and look forward to providing you with as many resources as necessary throughout this process. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need further information regarding the enclosed proposal by phone at 915555-0123, or by email at tbevis@ssf.com. Enc.

Distributed December 2013

SAFETY PROGRAM
PREPARED BY TRAVIS BEVIS, CARLA GARCES, JERRY PAZ, AND KARINA SALCIDO

A PROPOSAL TO: HR DIRECTOR

SAFETY PROGRAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION .... EQUIPMENT ........ CERTIFICATION ...... TRAINING .. LOGS AND TRACKING... SUPPLIERS ... CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WORKS CITED

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

SAFETY PROGRAM

ABSTRACT
This report will examine the causes and effects of injuries that occurred in the past year at Salinger. The report will provide efficient methods to handle and reduce the high levels of injuries occurring in the work place, while also implementing courses of actions that can be taken in order to do so. The report will demonstrate rubric as well as logs formats that can be implemented in the work place in order to reduce the levels of money spent on this problem. In turn, it will show the most cost efficient methods. The SSF will cover three areas throughout the report. (1) Implement of safety programs such as safety logs, equipment check lists etc. (2) Demonstrate the benefits of the safety programs and check list. SSF will give statistics as well as beneficial incentives that will help boost moral throughout the Salinger staff. (3) Effective application of safety programs recommended in order to achieve the highest level of improvement.

NAME: CEO: LOCATION:

Salinger Imports Michael Salinger El Paso, TX

TYPE OF BUSINESS Restaurant supplies/general imports

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 1,250 (in four categories administrative management, general administration, warehouse management, and warehouse)

COMPANY RATING 8.5 (out of 10)

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE! I had a shipment that got delayed, and when I called the customer service line, not only were they very understanding, they also gave me 10% discount on my entire order. As a small business owner, I will definitely refer their business to my friends and associates! VERY SATISFIED! We have been customers of Salinger for almost 10 years. Our business has grown significantly in recent years, but unlike a lot of our other suppliers, Salinger hasnt taken advantage of our success. We love the small-business atmosphere that Salinger has always been known for.

NAME: CEO: LOCATION:

Superior Safety Firm (SSF) Carla Garces El Paso, TX NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 32 (in 2 categories administrative management, general administration) COMPANY RATING 9 (out of 10)

TYPE OF BUSINESS Privately contracted business safety specialists

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: THE SSF IS A TEAM OF EXPERTS There were a lot of injuries happening in our small office (about 12 people), and the SSF came in and created a safety and incentive program that was specifically tailored to our individual needs as a company. Jerry, our case manager, was a true professional and our office-related injuries have dropped by over 60 percent. VERY SATISFIED! The process took a little longer than expected, but it was all worth the investment. The services the SSF provided have paid for themselves many times over!

SAFETY PROGRAM

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report will examine and treat the cases of injury on the job at Salinger Imports. It will implement and demonstrate the causes and effects of safety coordination and the benefits they have once taken to action. The report will be given by Safety Services Firm (SSF) and will discuss the ethics of the business conditions and how they can be improved in the context of safety first. The ethics of safety will be made available through safety modules, equipment check lists and associate/ employee safety logs. Major Injury cases- could include bad form when lifting heavy objects. The misuse of equipment such as fork lifts, cherry pickers and other electrical or mobile devices that could lead to serious or life threatening injury. The report will also discuss the proper safety equipment that an associate/ employee should wear when operating a certain piece of equipment such as the googles, gloves, aprons, chemical safety wear if necessary. Minor Injury cases- Could include the steps that should be taken in order to prevent minor slips or falls. In case of slips or falls the company could provide safety sweeps and the logging of them in order to keep a clean floor. Also the importance of maintaining a healthy and cautious work environment by implementing ways of carrying objects. Modules and team lifts could help in this aspect. Two variables will help in the effectiveness of the SSF safety programs (1) the effective implementation by Salinger Imports of the safety recommendations so that every associate/employee, from managers to supervisors down to staff will follow these guidelines. (2) That the necessary plans of action will be taken when a claim or incident occurs. Keeping a healthy work place by lowering the level of injuries is the key to making Salinger a great place to work. Some practices that will help this continue are (1) Taking the steps to continue the use of all recommendations and seek updates if needed (2) Increasing the number of associate/ employees who advocate and in turn practice the safety recommendations. (3) Keeping all logs, check list updated and audited to show the number of injuries to date. (4) Using incentives in order to boost moral and allow for the programs to continue and flourish.

SAFETY PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION
Superior Safety Firm (SSF) is pleased to partner with Salinger Imports to provide an Ergonomics program to reduce back injuries and therefore increase production. As you all now know, Salinger imports is dealing with a high volume in back injury claims. At SSF our mission is to provide our clients with the best program possible that fits their needs while also complying with the US Department of Labor. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) (n.d), has found that the leading cause of back injuries is heavy lifting. Injuries include and are not limited to back sprains, muscle pulls, wrist injuries, elbow injuries, spinal injuries (p.1) & many others. As we conducted a tour throughout the warehouse we found that the majority of employees rely on their back belts so we did research on it. As found by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services, back belts are lacking of scientific support, therefore there is no certainty if it is beneficial or harmful to wear back belts or abdominal belts. What it is true is that many employees tend to lift more weight thinking they are protected with these belts which places them at a greater risk of injury. The use of back belts should be voluntary decision by both employers and employees and should not be mandatory job requirement (CDC, 1996, p.5).

SAFETY PROGRAM 4

EQUIPMENT
THE NEED OF NEW EQUIPMENT. Injuries occur when there is no knowledge of the correct procedures to perform a task and when not having the correct equipment to perform such task. When the employer provides with smart lifting practices and advice employees of their power zone, they will likely suffer less from injuries. Potential hazards for weigh of objects include: Some loads, place great stress on muscles, discs, and vertebrae. Lifting loads of heavier than about 50 pounds will increase the risk of injuries.

To prevent this use forklifts and or duck lifts illustrated below.

CERTIFICATION To ensure all employees are able to operate the new equipment they will have to assist the training program to be certified. The benefits of having trained operators are: Reducing errors as much as 70% Hhelp eliminate OSHA investigations and fines Will qualify the company to pay lower insurance rates And will minimize equipment and product damage

SAFETY PROGRAM 5

TRAINING
The objective of this training program is to prepare employees with useful information about safety in the work place and to help reduce the amount of injuries. This training is composed of seven parts which will guide the employee step by step on how to obtain things such as benefits training equipment, the knowledge and abilities they must have and at the end we will give a practice test on how to use a forklift. The training will last 1 day for approximately 8 hours and it will be directed in groups of maximum 10 employees per session to ensure they get the most of it, interact with each other, comment, discuss and ask for questions. The training will cover the knowledge and abilities needed for each job task and for each equipment. These may include: Proper lifting techniques Health and Safety regulations Must be able to lift heavy objects up to 75 lbs. Must be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing Must be able to bend, squat, crawl, carry, and reach.

The employees will be getting training on the equipment such as: forklift truck hand dolly ladder warehouse dock ramp and hand pallet truck

They will be provided with two videos of accidents and injuries in the workplace because employees do not know how to operate a forklift or any other equipment properly. This training program will end with a forklift practice test. The practice test consists of 10 true or false questions, which will be common sense after going through the training. An important thing that should be mentioned is the age group that should be working, that is from the youngest 18 to the oldest 56, and we do this because of health purposes. One of the biggest points discussed in this training program are the benefits that the employee receives. Medical benefits will be given depending on when & how the injury happened and the severity of the injury. Salaried employees will be eligible to the benefits on the first of the month after the date of hire. After completing the training, the employees will have increased their knowledge on how to operate all the equipment required working at Salinger Imports. Not only will they learn how to properly operate equipment, but they will be aware of the benefits that they can have in case they get injured on the job.

SAFETY PROGRAM 6

LOGS AND TRACKING

The weekly tracking log will help keep track of the equipment used, and to identify if the employee is certified on each equipment. The way that this log works is by creating a chart that identifies the equipment. The chart must include the following: ID Item name Assigned Period or time used

As it can be seen on pg.6 the employee that the forklift was assigned to has a star next to his number. This represents the employees that are certified to use it. On the October log below, only three employees are certified to operate a forklift, therefore the rest of the employees have to do it the regular way and that is causing most of the back injuries. The work log at the bottom of this page helps the supervisor of each department keep track of the equipment used and the tasks performed by each equipment. This log is composed of the following sections: Department Date Supervisors Name Task performed Equipment used Final remarks

This goes for each department; the most important section in this log is where the supervisor marks how many employees are certified to use the equipment because since most of the employees are not certified, they have to do the labor by hand and it is causing them to have back injuries.

Salinger Imports Work Log

Department: Date: Supervisor Name: Task performed: Equipment used: Final remarks:

Merchandise Handler
10/09/2013

Joe Smith Lift heavy boxes

Forklift

Only 10 out of 36 employees certified

SAFETY PROGRAM 7

Salinger Imports Equipment Weekly Tracking Log

*Description: This log will help keep track of the equipment used each week and to identify if the employee is certified on each equipment. Equipment ID 815254515185 812698546542 549851588565 974521515611 203545124897 798657866526 845126982688 215241656158 656548784165 154249851388 7951239463558 7895255878949 5412579631589 2136579655395 1478963259842 Item Name Forklift Hand Dolly Ladder Dock Ramp Hand pallet Hand Dolly Forklift Hand Pallet Forklift Hand Dolly Ladder Dock Ramp Hand pallet Hand Dolly Forklift Assigned to: Employee 15* Employee 47 Employee71 Employee 20* Employee 05* Employee 85 Employee 36 Employee 25 Employee 98 Employee 13 Employee 03 Employee 28 Employee 41 Employee 54 Employee 07 Month of October 10/03/2013-10/08/2013 10/12/2013-10/17/2013 10/08/2013-10/13/2013 10/01/2013-10/06/2013 10/14/2013-11/19/2013 10/02/2013-10/07/2013 10/04/2013-10/09/2013 10/01/2013-10/06/2013 10/20/2013-10/25/2013 10/10/2013-10/15/2013 10/08/2013/10/13/2013 10/02/2013-10/07/2013 10/03/2013-10/082013 10/4/2013/10/19/2013 10/20/2013-10/25/2013

SAFETY PROGRAM 8

SUPPLIERS
Salinger Imports currently uses Warehouse-R-Us as their primary supplier for hand dollies, ladders and similar supplies. The average annual cost of these supplies is $2,160.00, and the equipment tends to wear out on a quarterly basis. The warehouse currently has four operational forklifts, all of which are due for service, and one that is no longer functional. They are all cushion-tire, Raymond dock-stock forklifts purchased from Neo Industrial Equipment Inc. with an average price tag of $4,999.00, and will cost $500 each to have them serviced. The non-operational one has a total of $2,500.00 in necessary repairs, and therefore is considered totaled. Globalindustrial.com (a Systemax company) has put in a bid for the same warehouse supplies as Warehouse-R-Us with an annual quote of $1,789.99 with a five year contract, and claims that the products will have to be maintained or replaced an average of twice per year. This will save Salinger an estimated $1,850.00 throughout the duration of the contract. ACE Forklift says that they will replace the non-operation forklift with a HERC series cushion-tire forklift for $4,000.00 and will service the four others for $280.00 each, using the functional parts of the totaled forklift. This will save almost $1,000 for the new forklift and $880.00 in maintenance costs. By switching suppliers, Salinger will be able to expand its resources, develop new business relationships, and reduce costs, as well as increase productivity and promote a safe environment for its warehouse workers. We hope that you will consider these things when determining if a change in suppliers is right for you.

SAFETY PROGRAM 9

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

In conclusion, Salinger Imports is a company that strives for excellence in every aspect and safety is no exception. The importance of safety in the work environment is an ongoing responsibility that needs the implementation of proper safety guidelines and strong rubrics in order to reach great safety standards. As Salinger Imports works to meet compliance regulations with the Department of Labor new system of ergonomics, we at SSF feel that we are the perfect match in order to implement viable safety solutions.

There is a responsibility for a company like Salinger when it comes to linking the wellbeing of their workforce with overall productivity, at SSF we are confident that we can make that connection.

SAFETY PROGRAM 10

REFERENCES
Inc., G. E. (2013). Folding Portable Hand Carts. Retrieved 2013, from Globalindustrial.com: http://www.globalindustrial.com/g/material-handling/hand-trucks-dollies/hand-trucksfolding/folding-portable-hand-carts-best-value?ref=h/prodtabs Webmaster, A. (2012). HERC Series Forklifts. Retrieved 2013, from Aceforklifts.com: http://www.aceforklift.com/omega-lift/herc-series/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1996) Saving Lives, Protecting People: Back Belts Do They Prevent Injury? Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/94-127/ U.S Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (n.d). Ergonomics eTool: Solutions for Electrical Contractors. Washington, DC: Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/electricalcontractors/materials/heavy.html

SAFETY PROGRAM 11

PROJECT BUDGET
EQUIPMENT
SAFETY GOOGLES LADDERS HAND DOLLY FORKLIFT PALLET JACK DOCK RAMP MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES TOTAL: P/UNIT $ 2.00 $ 65.00 $ 93.00 $ 4,000.00 $ 20.00 $ 409.00 QUANTITY TOTAL 30 $ 60.00 5 $ 325.00 3 $ 279.00 4 $ 16,000.00 3 $ 60.00 2 $ 818.00 $ 18,542.00 $ 5,000.00

$1

INCENTIVES
WILL BE AWARDED EVERY 90 DAYS WITHOUT ANY INJURIES CMPANY PICK NICKS BONUS PROGRAM TOTAL:

TRAINING
INCLUDES: EXPENSES ROUND TRIP TRAVEL SET UP AND TAKE DOWN

$ 15,000.00

TOTAL

$ 38,542.00

5555 Main St, El Paso, Texas 79901 | Phone: 915.555.0123 | Fax: 915.555.4567 Cust-serv@ssf.com | www.ssf.com