Ninety-Day Action Plan for Safety and Health - Essay Example

Ninety-day Action Plan for Safety and Health Introduction The safety manager at Plant XYZ has the task of coming up with a ninety-day action plan to improve rate reduction by 50% in the coming year, as well as OSHA VPP Star Certification in two years. Plant XYZ is a manufacturing plant that deals with high tech composite components that it creates for the United States DoD for assembly at another secret location. The plant employs three hundred people for one-day shifts and makes approximately $100 million in annual sales, and their goal is doubling of their current profit margin to 5%. Overview The first group that would have to be met is Plant XYZ’s personnel as meetings with the plant managers, staff, and associates are set up to get a feel of the problem. After the meeting this group, namely, the administration, would follow the main aim of becoming familiar with the functions of the plant’s business, its systems, and methods of reporting used (Ranier 23). Concerning the business side of the operation, it would be prudent to begin by seeking to address the immediate support and needs initiatives that are already in progress, as well as identifying the opportunities presented and the areas that need action. Next, the partnership side of Plant XYZ’s operation would have to be reviewed, which necessitates meetings and assessing customers and business relationships. For this, both external and internal partnerships will be considered. Finally, a meeting with the team is on the cards with focus directed on the plant’s leadership, as well as the building of a rapport with the entire team and the company’s clients (Ranier 24). Personnel As far as Plant XYZ’s personnel are concerned, it would be prudent to review them as well as their functions. Through an organizational chart, it is possible to assess the depth inherent within the various departments (Ranier 25). In the period given for coming up with the action plan, time should be taken to become familiar with the capability and functions of the plant’s staff. On top of this, there needs to be a review of key personnel procedures, as well as policies. Finally, an in-depth review of payroll processes and functions is to be carried out. Administration For the administrative side of the company, the first item on the agenda is the review of all responsibilities and duties of each position. During this exercise, observation of the roles and functions of the staff is to be made, in addition to an endeavor of understanding these roles and functions (Ranier 37). To do this, it is prudent to attend all meetings held by various departments, as well as a solicitation of feedback on the opportunities and strengths that these departments feel are vital for the company’s growth. Finally, a review of the company’s budget, as well as processes of forecasting needs to be carried out. Business For the business side of operations, a comprehensive review of the functions and processes of financial reporting will be carried out in the first ninety days. This will be supplemented by a correspondingly wide-range review of the processes of forecasting and budgeting (Ranier 39). A review of the company’s metrics of performance and reporting will also be carried out, coupled with the solicitation of feedback from every department at the plant concerning perceived opportunities. Finally, in order to get a feel of the goings on, participation in all meetings that discuss business operations will be essential. Partnerships A comprehensive review of all inter-departmental functions and roles will be carried out during the first ninety days. This will be followed by a review of financials for every department and its contributions to the operations of the plant. I will also attend every meeting held by various departments and make contributions during the dialogue session. In addition, an enhancement of communications between departments will be vital to creating a sense of mission and this will be given importance (Ranier 67). Focus will also be emphasized on issues of service and client perception, as well as active participation in trade. Finally, a thorough examination of the company’s brokers, direct routes-to-markets, and distributors will be carried out in order to understand them. Team The team will be an important focus group in the first ninety days. To start with, there will be active participation in the operations of the plant, as well as the community. Provision of a challenging and clear market vision and trade vision will also be implemented. Using knowledge gained earlier, sharing of ideas and tools aimed at improving the team will be implemented via lending support, challenging the team, and leading from the front. A supportive environment will be created based on performance and merit. To increase the company’s competitive edge, trade performance will be challenged, as well as encouraging timely and constructive feedback coupled to active trade visits. Business is to be instituted and conducted in an open door style with business conducted in a straightforward and truthful way with the plant’s clients. Finally, feedback will be sought in order to monitor progression of changes and adjustments. Organizational Roadblocks During the first ninety days that the action plan is to be implemented, a number of roadblocks are expected. Poor communication is one of them as well as low trust and credibility because of a new plan that could lead to staff changes. Poor consistency, blame, lack of involvement by every member of the company and misuse of downstream measures are other problems expected. The partnership part of the action plan could be hampered by the lack of team play, as well as resistance to change. From the introduction, it is clear that the plant does not place a high value on safety and, coupled to its application of production pressure, it could derail corrective measures. A lack of clear direction and purpose in health and safety programs will have to be dealt with, as well as the reward system that seems to be a disincentive. Absence of clear definition of responsibilities and roles is a major cause of lack of safety in different levels and should be taken into consideration as well. Poor integration of various processes is a major weakness, especially between quality and production and will have to be dealt with, as will the lack of involvement and commitment by top management (Wyman 20). Plant XYZ needs to implement several measures in order for the action plan to work. The incentive programs will have to be restructured, coupled with good measures of safety performance. Responsibilities and roles need to be clearly defined to improve safety together with the institution of a tag-out system. Safety values and related processes for employees and managers need to be defined so that they can buy into it, as well as increased focus on trust and communication with the plant employees. Works Cited Ranier, Edward. Action plan. Maryland: The Task Force, 2010. Print. Wyman, Robert. Safety and the security professional : a guide to occupational safety and health strategies. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2009. Print. Read More