Safety Communications

Situation

A global automotive components manufacturer reached out to Herta Communications + Marketing when they experienced a spike in safety incidents at two of their North America plant locations. Both sites had new leaders who were committed to fostering a culture of safety in their facilities.

Approach

The Herta team met with a cross-section of leadership, hourly and salaried team members to assess each plant’s situation. Because one of the sites was in Mexico, the Herta team conducted that assessment in Spanish. The assessments determined that language barriers existed at both sites that could negatively impact worker safety. In addition, the first-line supervisors in the workshop indicated they were not comfortable communicating about safety.

Outcome

The Herta team implemented communication training for supervisors on all shifts, with an emphasis on sharing safety information. The goal was to help them become more comfortable in their roles as communicators, and to provide them with the materials to help them be successful. A regular cadence of relevant safety information was then created, using templates that made it easy for the supervisors to use. Translations, icons and strong visuals helped bridge the language barriers. Once the training and safety materials were in place, the client reported an increase in safety awareness among employees. They also experienced a reduction in safety incidents as well as greater reporting of near-miss situations.