Deployment of the new Employee Health and Safety (EHS) management system was completed this year to automate reporting and management of accidents, injuries, and illnesses. EHS is integrated into the Human Capital Enterprise System. It is accessible to all managers and supervisors to enter information directly into a Web-based system and send the information electronically to safety personnel. Once accident information is received, EHS provides injury case management tools to health and resource management specialists for more efficient management of caseloads. The system’s fast, efficient handling of claims replaces paper processes.
The Postal Service’s safety record continues to improve annually. This year the OSHA injury and illness frequency rate of 5.49 per 100 employees is a 2.35 percent improvement over last year and equates to 2,876 fewer employee injuries and illnesses.
These outstanding results are due to employee and management commitment to safety through a variety of efforts that include risk analysis, training, and employee awareness efforts, including “Safety Depends on Me.” Employee feedback is a vital component of these efforts, and is used to ensure that training content is relevant and effective. An example is this year’s implementation of an electrical work plan for maintenance, which improves work methods and requires that employees be provided with the appropriate protective equipment to safely perform electrical work. Adoption of the plan included training of over 20,000 employees.
The Performance Evaluation Guide audit process is used to evaluate those safety programs that are required by OSHA to have a written set of rules and processes and to pursue any necessary corrective actions. Thorough risk analyses of accident and injury reports and claims information were performed using the centralized data in EHS.
The Postal Service’s motor vehicle accident frequency rate was 9.10 per million miles — a slight (1.9 percent) increase over last year. To foster save driving, drivers are screened, trained and tested under the Safe Driver Program. The Postal Service also is a member of the National Safety Council and participates in the Safe Driver Award Program. Since 2005, when records were established, 5,858 postal professionals have driven more than a million miles without a single accident.
The Postal Service maintains 165 worksites in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), which recognizes facilities that have implemented the best safety programs and practices. Four additional sites were recommended for Star, the most prestigious level, and 12 were reevaluated and approved for continued participation. On average, VPP sites post OSHA injury and illness reductions that are 50 percent better than the industry average.
The Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process (ERRP) reduces both the number and severity of musculoskeletal disorders, builds labor/management teams with ergonomic skills, and cultivates partnerships to identify and control ergonomic risk. These partnerships include OSHA, and the NPMHU and APWU. Since its inception in 2003, 176 plants and 9 districts have implemented ERRP. Approximately 159,454 employees have received training, and 11,560 have submitted solutions to reduce risk that were implemented. ERRP sites involved in the process for at least 12 months experienced a 19.3 percent reduction in musculoskeletal disorders in 2010.
