A safety success story

A desire to go beyond regulatory compliance and increase the safety of employees is behind a Minnesota manufacturer’s use of OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program, through the Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC). That’s how Malco Products, Specific Benefit Corporation (SBC), achieved an OSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) designation in 2004 – a designation it has maintained to this day.

(Shown at right: Malco Safety Committee Members with their MNSHARP Certificate and the Minnesota Safety Council, Governor’s Safety Award. Front Row, Left to Right: Robbin Bauer, David Stueve, Sarah Zipoy Back Row, Left to Right: Chris Strand, Brandon Moeller, Abdoulie Jagne, Todd Gunnerson.)

The Annandale company manufactures and supplies premium hand tools for contractors in the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning trades; roofing, siding, and gutter installation trades; and auto body repair and refinishing trades.

And the SBC? Only for-profit companies in Minnesota that are committed to providing benefits to society are allowed to use that suffix. Malco Products is committed to maintaining jobs locally, with particular focus on Annandale and other domestic locations, and to protecting the employees’ ownership in the company.

Free, no penalties

The OSHA On-Site Consultation Program offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. On-Site Consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from state agencies, such as MNOSHA WSC or universities, work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice for compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs.

In an example of how even in safe workplaces, conditions must be continuously monitored, the company’s most recent walkthrough with agency consultants revealed electrical hazards related to the use of multi-outlet power strips and ungrounded fans. Additional hazards that were found: inadequate blade guarding on a horizontal band saw and inadequate railings on a mezzanine.

All of these hazards were corrected. Malco installed new permanent wiring to eliminate the use of multi-outlet power strips, replaced non-compliant fans, added guarding to the band saw blade, and increased the structural integrity of the mezzanine railings.

A "layered" approach to workplace safety

“We addressed root causes for these issues by strengthening our internal inspection procedures and our processes for specifying portable electrical equipment,” said Christopher Strand, Safety and Environmental Manager. “The consultation visit resulted in the Malco organization seeing the need for a ‘layered’ approach to workplace safety, meaning demonstrated commitment by upper management, involvement of supervisors and hourly associates, assistance from engineering staff, and commitment to workplace safety on the part of all associates.”

Challenges to making the improvements included having adequate resources, both in finances and time, to implement the system.

Safety culture challenges

The less obvious challenges, but the most difficult to overcome, according to Strand, were to develop a culture that sees the importance of implementing a safety management system and to obtain the buy-in of all affected employees. Setting aside resources and giving employees at all levels of the organization an opportunity to provide input and a role in making Malco a safer place to work proved helpful in meeting these challenges.

“No one wants to get hurt or see their coworkers be hurt at work,” said Strand.

The biggest impact has been on the organization’s improved commitment to workplace safety and health. “We view MNOSHA WSC as a partner in our efforts to improve workplace safety in our facilities,” said Strand. On a more basic level, the positive impact of the On-Site Consultation Program has been the valuable expertise of the consultants who have seen a wide variety of workplaces and dealt with a wide variety of exposures to hazards.

“The primary successes of Malco’s participation in the On-Site Consultation Program have been the creation of a safer work environment for our associates, an improved workplace safety culture, and an increased focus by management and all associates on workplace safety and health,” Strand continued. The most important success is the relationship that has been built between Malco and MNOSHA WSC. The consultants bring their expertise and experience from seeing other workplaces, which benefits this company. In turn, Malco is able to share its success with other employers, thus creating a multiplier effect for improving workplace safety and health.

Below average injury and illness rates

To earn the OSHA SHARP designation, companies must have injury and illness rates below the national average. Improving adherence to OSHA safety standards and updating company safety policies and procedures positively affected Malco’s injury and illness rates. From 2015 through 2017, the company’s total recordable case (TRC) rate was 2.73, and their days away from work, job transfer and restriction (DART) rate was 1.17. In comparison, for North American Industry Classification System code 332216, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national industry average TRC was 3.67, and the national average DART rate was 1.97 for this period. [Note: 2017 is the last year the BLS injury and illness data are available. For 2018, the company's TRC rate was 2.0, and their DART rate was 1.4.]

OSHA On-Site Consultation and SHARP are voluntary programs. To locate the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program nearest you, call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visitwww.osha.gov/consultation.