Problem Solving & Skills Training Helps Bobcat Decrease Incident Rates by 17% and Work Comp. Claims by 20%
Bobcat Company
Bobcat Company, located in Gwinner, N.D., is a manufacturer of skid steer loaders. Founded in 1958, by Les, Cliff, Roger and Irv Melroe, Bobcat Company was a subsidiary of the Ingersoll Rand Company from 1995 until July 2007 when it was sold to Doosan Infracore.
Bobcat Company’s mission is to be recognized as a world leader in the engineering, manufacture, and marketing of compact industrial, construction, and agri-business equipment, attachments and related services.
High Incident Rates
Bobcat wanted to prevent incidents and injuries from happening in their Gwinner, N.D. plant.
Skill Development in Effective Job Training, Skill Development in Improving Standardized Work and Problem Solving / Root Cause Analysis
Impact Dakota provided services in problem solving / root cause analysis to assist in determining the root cause and assist in eliminating the situation from reoccurring.
Working with Bobcat’s leadership, the safety team, supervisors, safety contact people and the labor union to come up with solutions, Impact Dakota applied the eight-step problem solving process to their Safety Incident Investigation Process. First, Skill Development in Effective Job Training was applied to establish the current state. Next, Skill Development in Improving Standardized Work was applied, and through questioning every detail, a great deal of waste was removed from the current process. Once this was completed, the eight step problem solving process was integrated into Bobcat’s investigation procedure and it became the new standard.
Decreases in Incident Rates, Lost Time Rates, Safety Index Rates and Workman Compensation Claims
By using the new standardized investigation process on potential hazards and near miss situations as well as safety incidents, Bobcat is improving on how to get the root causes of safety incidents and is capable of taking actions to prevent them from happing again. They have also achieved a much more proactive safety culture in which potential situations are indentified and countermeasures are implemented before a potential hazard becomes an incident or a near miss.
From 2007 to 2008, Bobcat realized reductions in the following:
- Total Recordable Incident Rate decreased by 17%
- Total Lost Time Rate decreased by 44%
- Safety Index Rate decreased by 80%
- Workman Compensation Claims decreased by 20%
“Implementing a root cause analysis process is a practice we use to continuously improve the safety and welfare of our employees and reduce reoccurring incidents.”
—Kara Carter, ESH Manager