Our associates are our highest priority, and they trust us to provide a safe, positive work environment where they can thrive. Our operating companies follow many best practices to ensure our associates come to work feeling secure, confident and empowered to do their jobs.
OUR SAFETY CULTURE
RPM fosters a proactive safety culture by setting high expectations and operational standards. We achieve this through the following six Core EH&S Fundamentals:
- Safety Vision – Senior level vision statements from RPM and it’s operating companies that meet the business needs and communicate our commitment to EH&S continuous improvement.
- Engagement & Accountability – Employee engagement and accountability for EH&S success at all levels is clearly communicated.
- Commitment to Professional Resources – EH&S resources are evaluated annually by RPM and operating group management teams to determine adequacy of support for the operating companies (personnel, program funding, training programs).
- Measure and Report Safety Metrics – Global EH&S metrics (workplace injuries, near misses, compliance violations, and completed corrective actions) are reported to management through our RPMOne database.
- Establish Safety Goals – Local safety goals are established based on operational needs/priorities and clearly communicated to the teams.
- Continuous Improvement – Local EH&S goals and objectives are reviewed annually and reset where needed to address shortfalls and sustain a level of continuous improvement for each operating company.
RPM EH&S leadership and professionals collaborate on a monthly and quarterly basis to share best practices, lessons learned and serve as valuable resources to each other and our operating companies, with functional expertise in workplace health and safety, environmental compliance and product stewardship. Leveraging our global, in-house knowledge base and expertise cultivates a community of EH&S professionals dedicated to driving success and a culture of continuous improvement in our operations.
In 2015, RPM began engaging a third-party consulting group to visit our sites and report on our overall regulatory compliance. As the program progressed, it has morphed from that initial focus to addressing workplace safety programs and their integration into the sites’ business practices.
These visits involve a three-tiered approach to understanding each site's workplace safety program and evaluating its maturity:
1) Review of safety compliance for the locations’ programs, policies and procedures which are documented and scored;
2) Address areas of safety best practices: risk assessment, training, management of change, safety committees, safety audits and inspections, and management reviews, also providing a score; and
3) Conduct a safety walkthrough of the facility to test the incorporation of workplace safety compliance into the operational processes.
During the visits our consultants coach associates on overall safety practices which include methods to expand a culture of workplace safety, housekeeping and mechanical integrity.
Our consultant provides a risk ranking and makes recommendations related to potential areas of improvement. Those recommendations are documented and tracked in an online database. The databased assists RPM in tracking our progress and focusing on both our short and long-term goals.
As we continue in our efforts to Build a Better World, each of us have a responsibility to conduct business in a manner that protects the environment and the health and safety of employees, contractors, suppliers, distributors, customers, consumers, communities and the public. We at RPM do not take this responsibility lightly and will remain dedicated to ensuring safe and ethical practices are the foundation of our operations.
RPM’s EMR shows that we historically have a lower than average injury experience compared to like businesses.
How RPM IS BUILDING A BETTER WORLD
Our commitment to our associates is apparent by actions taken during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some examples:
- We limit outside visitors.
- We set entry processes, including health assessments, while taking steps to protect associate confidentiality.
- We publish clear guidelines on hygiene and facility cleanliness.
- We instruct on self-monitoring for illness.
- We assist associates with alternatives to public transport.
- We enforce social distancing protocols.
- We ensure our associates have proper personal protective equipment.
Sixty percent of our manufacturing locations reported that their associates operated without any incident during calendar year 2020, well above industry standards.
With many associates and manufacturing facilities worldwide, RPM actively looks for new opportunities where we can enhance safety training and improve worker safety.
