How are WE

improving 

SAFETY at NIST?

Richard Kayser

Chief Safety Officer

NIST VCAT

Charleston, SC

October 6, 2015
AGENDA

Report regularly to the VCAT on NIST’s safety improvement efforts.

FY 2015 

INCIDENTS DISCUSSION

2014 SAFETY 

CLIMATE SURVEY

2
Injuries

79

FY 2015 Injury Incidents

8 Slips, trips, and falls

18 OSHA 

Recordables 4 Struck by/against

4 Overexertion

3
Why

To foster a shared understanding and 

sense of purpose

Who

All managers and supervisors

and OU/ OSHE safety personnel

How

Self-paced on-line presentation 

supported by safety resources

NIST Safety Leadership Training

?

4
Why We 

Value Safety

Getting Everyone 

Involved in Safety

Safety Laws

and Regulations

Our Safety Policy Managing Risk

Safety Education 

and Training

What Was Covered

Learning from our 

Incidents

Safety Management 

System

NIST Safety Leadership Training

5
2014 Safety Climate Survey Planned Actions

01 EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Improve communication to employees 

of their safety rights and responsibilities.

02 UNSAFE CONDITIONS 

AND PRACTICES

Provide guidance on addressing unsafe 

conditions and practices.

03 INCIDENT REPORTING & 

LESSONS LEARNED

Implement improved incident reporting 

processes and mechanisms for sharing 

lessons learned.

04 SAFETY TRAINING

Improve the quality of 

safety training.

05 MANAGEMENT OBSERVATIONS

Incorporate discussions of safety culture 

issues into management observations.

06 PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS

Re-emphasize the importance of employees 

receiving safety performance feedback during 

performance appraisals. 

6
7
What’s the ugly 

secret behind 

workplace injuries?

Someone didn’t 

SPEAK UP

A CRUCIAL CONVERSATION ABOUT SAFETY

NIST Safety Colloquium

June 10, 2015

8
Preparing 

Supervisors

to Support 

Employee

Reporting

9
10
NIST Safety Leadership 

Training

1,746 

Completions

1,046 

Completions

NIST Hazard Review

Training

NIST Personal Protective 

Equipment Training

581 

Completions

1,117 

Completions

NIST Office Safety 

Training

(Two Options)

11
Training Development

Training Review Process Training Design Principles

Peer-to-Peer

NIST Content

Lessons Learned

OSHE Subject Matter Experts

NIST Subject Matter Experts

Safety Advisory Committee

Plain Language

Engaging and Interactive











Improvements

12
The Olthoff Standard

13
Safety Training Delivery Improvements

Available 

On Demand

Interactive 

Multimedia

Assigned by

Supervisor Email Notifications

14
Everyone Has a Say

Peer-to-Peer 

Conversation

Making Safety 

Personal

Speaking Up, 

Not Walking on By

Clear and Engaging Communications

15
Discussion

16
Brief Description of Event Brief Description of Injury

Employee was repairing an over head pipe while standing on a 

ladder and fell Employee injured hip and wrist

Employee attempted to lift a filled 55 gallon drum back onto a 

hand truck after it partially slipped off Employee injured back

Employee was entering building and tripped on uneven surface Employee broke bone in foot

Employee was holding ornamental grass while another 

employee was cutting it with a gas powered hedge trimmer Employee 1 received lacerations to the tips of two fingers

Employee was retrieving a piece of equipment located in a 

recycling bin

Employee received a broken nose and laceration across the 

bridge of the nose.

Employee was walking in the parking lot on the way to office 

and slipped and fell Employee experienced pain in hand

Employees were moving filled 55 gallon drums when one 

employee had finger pinched between two drums Employee experienced pain in finger

Employee slipped on a puddle of water located in a restroom Employee experienced pain in the mid chest area (ribs)

Employee was walking down exterior stairs and slip on a patch 

of ice at the bottom of the stairs Employee fractured bone in ankle

Employee was walking across a parking area covered by snow 

and ice Employee experienced pain in the neck and shoulder area

Employee was moving a ladder Employee experienced pain in lower back

Employee tripped on elevated portion of sidewalk and fell Employee experienced pain in both knees and hand

Employee was closing door to a room and finger was caught 

between door and door jam Employee fractured a bone in the finger

Employee was conducted numerous activities that required 

repetitive motion Employee experience pain in arm

Undetermined at this time. Employee received burns to arms and face.

Employee was visually inspecting a fan when a foreign object 

blew into the right eye Employee experienced pain and discomfort of the eye

Employee was entering elevator and fell due to the elevator 

floor not being level with ground floor Employee experienced pain in the facial area

Employee was lifting bags of salt Employee experienced pain in the lower back

FY 2015

OSHA Recordable 

Injuries and Illnesses

Slips, Trips, or Falls

DART Cases
OSHA Total Recordable Case (TRC) Rate
Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) Rate