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Step 2: Collect Relevant Data
Collect accurate data on workplace safety and health. Consider collecting
three kinds of data: conditions before the change, information
about how the change was put in place, and what happened
after the change was made. Good records of how the change was
made will help if you want to do it again because they tell you what
happened. Data on the outcome will tell you whether to bother doing
it again.
How, how often, and when should you collect data?
One way is to measure an outcome (like employee injuries) before
and after the change. Typically, injuries are infrequent occurrences;
therefore, you may need to collect data for quite awhile before
and afterwards to make sure that any changes you detect are real.
On the other hand, if you are measuring changes in employee knowledge
and attitudes after a training session, you may not need to measure
for as long a period of time. You may measure immediately before
the training, right after the training, and then one or two more
times 3 months to 1 year after the training.
Another model for gathering information is to arrange the change
so that it does not affect everyone in the operation at one time.
By introducing the change to several different groups over a period
of several months or a year, you can get a better idea of effectiveness.
Simply measure all the groups (those who receive the change immediately
and those who receive it later) at regular intervals as you gradually
introduce the change to the selected groups. This takes more effort,
but it gives you added confidence that any detected effects are
from the change and not some other event.
What to measure depends on the following:
- Expected outcomes – what will happen as a result of the
safety and health change? Whatever you expect – reduced
injuries or absenteeism, increased productivity, -- measure those
things.
- Nature of the safety and health change – for example,
if the change is plant exhaust ventilation, then you may want
to measure air quality before and after. If the change is increased
rest breaks for employees, then you may want to measure productivity.
If the change is new training, then you may want to look for performance
indicators or success/failure rates.
- Opportunity – think of measurements that are practical.
Remember that someone or something has to collect and analyze
the measurements you choose.
Here are some simple ways of collecting data. If you use more than
one of these methods to measure each change, you will be more certain
of the results.
Acknowledgements
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