Question

Case Study 1: Creating a Safety Culture at Border Transportation

Border Transportation, located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is a company that specializes in the delivery of medical equipment and supplies to hospitals, clinics, and medical supply companies in the Southwest and in Mexico. The majority of employees at Border Transportation are sales representatives, warehouse staff, and truck drivers. Currently, most of these workers are over age 45.

As a result of ongoing expansion, the company will grow from 225 employees to more than 500 employees in the next three years. Several government contracts have already been signed, and more are anticipated. The company has recently hired you as the warehouse manager. Part of your job is to oversee all safety programs for the company. These duties had been handled primarily informally by the dock supervisor prior to your coming onboard.

On your first day, the CFO calls you in and gives you the following directives and information:

• Safety in the warehouse is becoming a real issue. The accident rate has tripled since last year. Something has to be done.
• Absenteeism has increased, especially on Fridays and Mondays.
• The company is spending 25% of its payroll costs on workers’ compensation claims. Many of the claims are related to cumulative trauma disorders.
• You need to get rid of an employee in the warehouse who is reported to have AIDS.

Questions

1. How would you respond to each of the directives from the COO? What steps would you take to instill a culture of safety in this warehouse?
2. Do you think a wellness program makes sense for this company? Provide support for your answer.
3. What do you think will be the biggest challenge in increasing safety and health at this facility?
4. How will you address the issue of the employee with AIDS?
5. Given the location in the Southwest and the company’s work in Mexico, many of the employees have English as their second language. Do you anticipate that language will be an issue in creating and implementing a new safety program? If so, why and how will you address the issue? If not, why not?
6. How will you deal with employees who tell you that they have “always done it this way” when you try to improve safety procedures?

Answer 1

1... I would likewise orchestrate preparing projects to make mindfulness on adhering to wellbeing rules. As I would see it health projects would assist the organization with overcoming total injury issue. Representatives ought to be furnished with wellbeing mindfulness programs on the best way to deal with their wellbeing. I would propose the COO to urge the representatives to join the program by giving motivating forces and the expense of impetuses will be less contrasted with what the organization currently spends on paying clinical cases.

2..I would propose masterminding preparing programs for the representatives particularly for truck drivers and giving motivating forces to the workers who follow wellbeing rules at the work environment. At the point when the workers begin keeping the security administers, the mishaps will lessen, and the non-appearance additionally would decrease significantly. The explanation behind non-attendance on Fridays and Mondays can be the worker's hesitance to want work because of the absence of inspiration. As per Maslow's pecking order of requirements, there are five kinds of should be met which incorporates physiological, wellbeing, social, regard and self-completion needs, and the security needs are considered among the essential needs. At the point when the workers are furnished with enough wellbeing and security, they get persuaded and I would recommend actualizing retirement plans and medical advantages for the representatives with less non-appearance.

3..The greatest test in expanding wellbeing and wellbeing at this office is the developing number of representatives, the expanded work and the way that the greater part of the workers is in excess of 40 who are vulnerable to medical problems in an unsafe domain. I figure organization should take satisfactory wellbeing estimates first to ensure the workers first and later consider development.

4..If we fire the representative for AIDS, it will be oppression the worker as the representative can play out the activity beating the inability. The antidiscrimination laws don't permit segregating the workers dependent on their handicap except if their presentation is influenced and we should confront lawful activity. I would propose CFO not to make any move dependent on the explanation that the representative is accounted for to have AIDS.

5..Yes, I accept that the organization's work in Mexico will make an issue while actualizing another wellbeing program. This will be an issue because of a significant number of the representatives having English as their subsequent language. This issue can be settled through interpreters and another arrangement to work with the representatives and ensure they comprehend the new wellbeing program. I will address this issue by telling my representatives that I will put forth a valiant effort to take into account their requirements and make sense of how to more readily suit them.

6..My organization all in all needs to choose the amount we are happy to put resources into advantages and security programs for our workers past what the law requires. The choices we make about these projects imparts a sign to workers about what the organization esteems, has to this is choices about compensation all in all. Our way of thinking should bolster the mission, vision, and estimations of the firm. On the off chance that a worker discloses to me that they have "constantly done it along these lines" when I attempted to improve security techniques, I will help him to remember our way of thinking and how we have to do things a specific method to be fruitful.