A company that has faced serious employee safety issues is Ritrama, a Minneapolis plant that manufactures pressure-sensitive films and labels. In 1997, Ritrama received 14 citations for safety, of which nine were for major safety infractions (Conklin, 2007). Plant managers acknowledged that they had been "focusing on day-to-day operations, content with the status quo and devoting inadequate time to evaluate their current safety and health program, even though the Ritrama philosophy-that nothing is more important than employee health and safety...was very important" (Conklin, 2007). The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or MNOSHA, recommended that Ritrama managers institute a safety program that involved employees in safety and suggested appointing a director and forming a committee dedicated to safety, as well as developing an injury recordkeeping program (Conklin, 2007). The numerous safety violations at Ritrama go back to a specific safety issue-lack of safety control.
To fix its safety control problem, Ritrama started by initiating a four-phase plan to find the root causes of the citations, make the plant compliant, start a safety and health program, and ensure implementation of its safety plans (Conklin). In addition, Ritrama hired a special off-site safety expert who specialized in Ritrama's types of manufacturing, and the expert found that the safety procedures were not being enforced (Conklin). The expert found that most injuries resulted from employees' failure to adhere to established safety practices and that safety incidents were not being properly investigated or followed up (Conklin).
The outcomes of Ritrama's response included a $44,000 reduction in worker's compensation premiums over the period from 2000 to 2003, as well as increased productivity and product quality (Conklin). Product returns dropped from 2.22% to 1.24%, yielding ...