MoveSMART® 2020 Excellence Award Winners
The winners of the 2020 MoveSMART® Excellence and Merit Awards have been announced.
These awards are presented to organizations with exceptional MoveSMART® processes and champions
that are making a significant positive impact on the safety of their people.
United Ground Operations
Tampa Station
During the course of a United ramp crew’s work day their work locations change constantly as they move from gate to gate. The MoveSMART® Instructor-Catalysts at the Tampa Airport found a creative way to share reinforcing messages despite these continuous changes of location.
Their solution: use a belt loader to create a mobile reminder of MoveSMART® techniques. The team had a belt loader re-painted and then decorated it (somewhat like a NASCAR race car) with MoveSMART® decals and artwork. Since this equipment travels with the crews, they take the reminders with them to whatever gate the next aircraft will park.
The team came up with an even more inspired solution for integrating a reminder for Safe Handling Zones. When unloading bags and cargo from the belt loader the temptation is to pick up an item before it gets to the end of the conveyor. With that in mind, they wanted to draw attention to the Safe Handling Zones, so they painted zones on the lower end of the belt loader. The bottom end of the belt loader is now marked in green, yellow, and red to remind employees to let the load get to the green zone before lifting.
National DCP
NDCP reports that MoveSMART® made a major impact on their safety culture in their first year of using MoveSMART®.
In 2018 (before MoveSMART®) they had a total of eighty-nine incidents resulting in strains and sprains. They began implementing MoveSMART® in March of 2019 in their warehouses and their number of strain and sprain incidents decreased by more than 50% in their first year of using MoveSMART®!
Additionally, two of NDCP’s Instructor-Catalysts came up with a unique tool for demonstrating Safe Handling Zones. One of the common “Zones” tasks for NDCP is unloading bags of ingredients off a pallet. Their Instructor-Catalysts painted a board green, yellow, and red so they could demonstrate options for shifting loads into a closer zone before lifting.
The idea of a Safe Handling Zones board was the most copied idea of any of our clients in all of 2019. This training tool they developed really reinforces Safe Handling Zones during the Visual Aid and Work Practice sections of the training.
2020 Merit Award Winners
MSC Industrial Supply
Atlanta CFC
MSC’s Atlanta, GA CFC reports that, using MoveSMART®, they reduced their injuries by 78%. This group continues to be very creative and active and have:
- created a Safe Handling Zones cart
- retrained all of their employees in MoveSMART®
- developed role-play activities for visual learning
- incorporated MoveSMART® into facility Kaizen events. Every Kaizen inside the facility has a safety member and Kaizen oriented MoveSMART® training for the associates.
In addition they:
- meet bi-weekly to talk about training methods and their next MoveSMART® projects
- conduct on-the-spot quick trainings and one-on-ones with associates
- lead “Lunch & Learn” MoveSMART® seminars for their leadership
- conduct new-hire MoveSMART® trainings.
- create MoveSMART® signage and posters modeled by associates
- develop and facilitate MoveSMART® related contests
- show appreciation to associates for their engagement with monthly Associate Engagement & Recognition meetings
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Lake City, MO
The Lake City facility has continued for many consecutive years to improve their sprain/strain safety record.
In 2016 they experienced 26 OSHA recordable injuries as a result of sprains and strains. They’ve reduced that number every year since—while at the same time increasing their work force by over ten percent.
The Lake City site attributes this continuous improvement to their bi-annual MoveSMART® refresher training in targeted areas. These focused trainings are aimed at areas of the facility with high risk/repetitive motion job duties. In 2019 they trained 1,411 employees and have performed this 6-month training since 2017. In addition they hold MoveSMART® sessions with all new hires at employee orientation.
In 2019 the Lake City MoveSMART® team saw NDCP’s Safe Handling Zones board and made their own boards. The NGC Instructor-Catalysts came up with an addition to this and made “yardstick”-type safe working zone guides to take to the work floor for coaching.
Wacker Chemical Corporation
Wacker completed their MoveSMART® Instructor-Catalyst training in June. From the beginning, this team worked to do everything they could to ensure success.
Before delivering training to their employees they conducted several practice sessions, refining and polishing their skills and presentations. They also created their own unique props for training. Once they started delivering the training, they gave initial training classes to everyone in their facility by early December.
The Wacker team is now in the process of incorporating MoveSMART® into their monthly department safety meetings, new hire safety orientation, and daily safety huddles. They’re also collecting and sharing feedback from employees who credit MoveSMART® with helping them avoid an injury.
Weatherford Oil Tools Middle East Ltd.
Weatherford just started delivering training and they’ve already integrated MoveSMART® into their operations. In addition to training they have focused a lot on communications—creating reinforcement posters (featuring employees) and have created a reinforcement video. In addition, they regularly review MoveSMART® training in their weekly safety meetings and are collecting and sharing employee testimonials.