"Six Sigma Safety"

Michael Williamsen

Professional Safety

June 2005, pp. 41-49

The author of this article states: "...what Six Sigma did for quality is about to occur in industrial safety. The same desire to eliminate product mistakes is at work to reduce injury rates. This parallel journey has six levels. Each level builds on the previous level until the sixth sigma-a zero injury culture-is attained."

One Sigma Control establishes the foundation for a safe workplace. The focus is on engineering for safety, education for safety, and enforcement of safety rules.

Two Sigma Control focuses on observation programs, job safety analyses, and near-hit reporting.

Three Sigma Control aims for predictable results on a regular basis through well-designed responsibilities and accountabilities for individuals.

Four Sigma Control focuses on employee buy-in and perceptions about safety. The article describes a comprehensive safety perception survey that diagnoses 20 categories:

1. Accident investigation
2. Quality of supervision
3. Substance abuse
4. Attitudes towards safety
5. Communication
6. New employees
7. Safety performance goals
8. Hazard correction
9. Inspections
10. Employee involvement
11. Program awareness
12. Performance recognition
13. Discipline
14. Safety contacts
15. Operating procedures
16. Supervisor training
17. Support for safety
18. Employee training
19. Safety climate
20. Management credibility

Five and Six Sigma Control focus on creating "a sustainable safety culture where heightened safety decisions occur without thought." A regular meeting system is necessary for continuous improvement, and safety issues/data need to be addressed with Six Sigma analytical techniques and tools.

This article also includes a very detailed case study that illustrates how the tools of Six Sigma were successfully applied for Safety at a Fortune 500 company.

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