Lean Six Sigma and It's Use in Safety Management

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Lean Six Sigma and It’s Use in Safety Management Tim Hansen University of Central Oklahoma HES 5203/ CRN 10836 Ms. Gayle Snider December 10, 2010 Lean Six Sigma and It’s Use in Safety Management Background: From the beginnings of business, company ownership & management have focused primary business practices that address cost benefit analysis at levels to achieve the maximum profits while minimizing costs, ultimately to result in the most profitable bottom-line. Through government mandate and societal pressure, businesses began the incorporation of safety practices in the mid 1850s with the start of the “Industrial Revolution” in the United States. In the early 1900s, safety practices and theories to improve safety in business accelerated through the research and incorporation of many schools of thought on safety. From Pavlov’s “Conditioned Reflex” to social theorists like Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs, and McClelland’s “Motivational Needs Theory”; and behavioral theorist’s like Herzberg’s “Motivational & Hygiene Theory”, Argyris’ “Conflict Theory”, and Likert’s “Supervisor-Employee Relationship Theory. All of these theories were reactive in nature, addressing actions or behaviors of employees to correct unsafe safety practices or documented failures of the safety program. The basis of these theories was singularly focused on employees, as the leading factors of loss or injury, and the means to improve safety. What these theories lacked was a more holistic view of the business as a whole. Business, not theorists, began looking at employees as a part of the internal business organization, in conjunction with equipment, processes, procedures, planning, supervision, management, and leadership; and also at the larger business system of customers, competition, communication, finance and banking; which were all affected by worker’s
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