National machine guarding program: Part 2: Safety management in small metal fabrication enterprises

Abstract

Background: Small manufacturing businesses often lack important safety programs. Many reasons have been set forth on why this has remained a persistent problem. Methods: The National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP) was a nationwide intervention conducted in partnership with two workers' compensation insurers. Insurance safety consultants collected baseline data in 221 business using a 33-question safety management audit. Audits were completed during an interview with the business owner or manager. Results: Most measures of safety management improved with an increasing number of employees. This trend was particularly strong for lockout/tagout. However, size was only significant for businesses without a safety committee. Establishments with a safety committee scored higher (55% vs. 36%) on the safety management audit compared with those lacking a committee (P<0.0001). Conclusions: Critical safety management programs were frequently absent. A safety committee appears to be a more important factor than business size in accounting for differences in outcome measures.