Zero Injuries
As part of our journey toward zero injuries, we are committed to a 50% improvement of our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) by 2030.
Our Vision
At O-I, we “Make What Matters” — and we do it safely. Safety is an O-I core value, and we believe everyone should finish each and every day injury and incident free. Driving toward our zero-injury ambitions, we have set a goal to improve our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) 50% by 2030 and an interim goal of a 35% improvement in O-I’s three-year rolling average TRIR by 2025. We drive our ambitions with a global Environment, Health and Safety (“EHS”) function that sets and oversees EHS policies, procedures, and metrics.
Our EHS mission is to empower our people and engage our communities to achieve zero incidents. The Global EHS team is charged with providing leadership in support of the team’s vision and mission. Through leading practices, we implement global, sustainable, innovative, and collaborative solutions. We enable learning, recognize achievements, and continuously improve.
Our EHS Policy supports O-I’s journey to zero injuries and zero EHS noncompliance incidents by providing clear requirements for all employees around EHS. Our commitment to EHS is integral to our Global Code of Conduct and is captured in our sustainability goals. At O-I, all of us are accountable to act in a manner that advances us on our journey to zero incidents and seeks to minimize our impact on the environment—including compliance with applicable EHS laws and regulations.
O-I’s EHS policies require all employees, contractors, and visitors to comply with all of our EHS rules. We partner with employees to identify and control workplace hazards and ensure adequate training. We work to meet or exceed applicable laws and regulations, minimize the environmental impact of operations, and optimize use of natural resources. In our strategic decision-making, operational activities, and capital decisions we look to integrate EHS considerations.
Each facility, through its management team must implement a safety program that meets applicable laws and government regulations and includes required and appropriate training for employees. Employees are responsible for following the training that they receive and for taking other appropriate precautions to protect themselves and their coworkers including immediately reporting accidents, injuries, and unsafe practices or conditions.
At O-I we have five EHS Principles that guide our practices. These principles describe how we will deliver a zero EHS incidents workplace. They drive our culture, strategic planning, EHS processes, talent management, and metrics.
- All incidents are preventable. We focus on root causes to find solutions to solve current issues and prevent a repeat incident anywhere in the world.
- Everyone is responsible for preventing EHS incidents. While employees in different roles have different responsibilities, all employees are expected to help us reach zero EHS incidents.
- We identify and reduce risk before it results in an incident, and identify sustainable solutions through risk reduction.
- We take a proactive no-blame approach. When there is an incident, leadership and the global EHS team are committed to solve the problem, share the solution globally, and avoid laying blame for the past.
- Never put production ahead of health and safety. O-I leadership is committed to creating a culture where employees are not required to decide between a health-and-safety or production decision. We are creating a culture where those situations are openly discussed, alternative actions are assessed, and economic considerations do not automatically come before EHS.
Transforming Today
We put our commitment into action by incorporating health and safety into our day-to-day practices and conversations, and utilize technology wherever possible to ensure a safe workplace for our people. Like everything else we do, O-I strives to bring innovation into our EHS practices to continuously improve health and safety performance in the workplace. O-I has invested heavily in software systems that help us track our work and progress in supporting the health and safety of our employees, partners, customers, and communities. We have built, and continue to build, a culture of open communication and reporting, leveraging this technology and driven by education, detailing positive expected behaviors, and positive incentives rather than intimidation.
Our EHS practices are guided by an EHS Leadership Model including a yearly EHS Business Plan, Global Manufacturing Fundamentals (our global standardized manufacturing approach), best practices, EHS Compliance and Management System audits, and other practices that allow for open communication, managing high-level hazards and risks, and implementation of protocols or controls to decrease possible incidents and their severity.
To continue building a safety-conscious work environment and remind all our people about the importance of EHS, O-I implemented the practice of “EHS Share.” At the beginning of every O-I meeting, one participant takes a few minutes to share a story and call-to-action about the potential EHS risks in our day-to-day work. By taking a few brief moments to reflect on the potential risks impacting our daily lives, every part of the O-I family better understands what we all need to do to ensure every day is injury and incident free.
O-I Golden Rules
O-I created six “Golden Rules,” and an easy-to-read graphic illustration, to provide clear, simple, and consistent risk-avoidance guidelines for everyone—regardless of their role at O-I.
We created the Golden Rules to prevent fatalities, serious injuries, environmental events, and to ensure effective risk management. And they serve as the foundation for all of our training programs, job hazard analyses, and safe operating procedures.
Walks & Talks Program
Since its inception in 2013, the EHS Walks & Talks program has engaged employees at all levels of the company to initiate impromptu safety discussions in a specific work area or department. As part of these discussions, employees can raise concerns and help resolve issues. We have now introduced Walks & Talks into each of our country groups and enhanced them by partnering with a leading firm, specializing in safety behavioral psychology, to bring innovation to our EHS programs.
We applied this innovative behavior-based thinking to our Walks & Talks Program by identifying groups of positive, safety-oriented behaviors that we seek to make common practices. The program works by rewarding and recognizing standardization of the intended behaviors and provides constructive feedback mechanisms to address shortcomings. The program is based on an open dialogue concept that reinforces EHS leadership, ownership, and accountability at all levels of the organization.
Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, we had a slight reduction (14%) in the amount of Walks & Talks. However, we continued to strategically work through this, conducting Walks & Talks while maintaining our enhanced safety measures. We were still able to perform 49,425 Walks & Talks throughout all our country groups. We expect to have full implementation with our enhanced program during 2021.
Enablon System for EHS Performance Management
To drive EHS performance management in 72 plants in 20 countries across 25,000 employees, O-I has deployed a state-of-the-art EHS digital solution. Available in 13 languages and accessible in every plant, administrative and shop floor employees have direct access to report and update EHS information. This platform allows O-I to track key data across all EHS metrics. In 2017, O-I earned an “Excellence Award for EHS Performance Management” from the system provider for effectively using it to drive EHS performance.
Key Metrics
To ensure forward momentum toward a zero-incident workplace, O-I has defined key metrics to track performance. In addition to tracking TRIR, we have implemented added metrics: Near Misses, Serious Incident Potential (SI-P), and Serious Incident Actual (SI-A). These metrics consider the severity of incidents and allow us to track, identify, and improve risks to our people’s health, safety, and life.
Tracking the severity of incidents along with the TRIR allows us to accurately interpret how current behaviors affect EHS in our workplace so we might identify risks and opportunities and create or change practices to meet company-wide goals. Tracking these “leading indicators” rather than “lagging indicators” has allowed O-I to gain a better understanding of EHS risk and stop an incident before it happens. This is yet another illustration of our ability to leverage communication and collaboration with our people and innovative ideas and practices to transform how we operate to become a healthier, safer workplace.
In 2020, in addition to the 30% decrease in TRIR, O-I had a 27% decrease in SI-Ps and a 14% decrease in SI-As. These incident reductions are driven by a serious commitment to recognizing and controlling high-risk activities. We will continue to assess practices and innovate ways to continue our journey to zero incidents.
EHS Business Plans
Our EHS ambitions are guided by EHS Business Plans (“EHSBPs”). Each year, the Global EHS leaders and plant-level EHS leaders collaborate to identify key priorities to reduce EHS risks and incidents. The global team sets several initiatives to be carried out company-wide. Each plant is required to expand on the global goals and tailor initiatives to the plant’s areas of focus. Together, these initiatives form the EHSBP for each plant.
Plant managers are held accountable to the EHSBP. A portion of their performance review and corresponding compensation is determined by their completion of the plan and the success of leading indicators. We have found there is generally a correlation between those plants that meet their EHSBP requirements and a reduction of injuries. In this way, O-I pays for performance and ties positive incentives to improving EHS in our workplace.
EHS Leadership
Each of our 72 plants has an EHS Leadership Team (EHSLT). The EHSLT functions as a collaborative team made up of the facility’s EHS Manager and the employees’ union or work council representatives. These collaborative teams also appoint employee “Champions” for each of the initiatives in the EHSBP.
Each EHSLT meets monthly to develop, approve, and execute the EHSBP and the annual EHS Training Plan for the facility. The team monitors and reports on EHS performance and compliance, communicates information as needed to key stakeholders, and provides direction or resources to drive progress against the objectives.
Our EHS global leadership structure integrates strategy, operational, and plant-level needs. Global EHS Directors provide guidance and act as subject matter experts. Country Group Managers align EHS and Operational needs to implement EHS strategy and guide reasonable action plans.
EHS Directors and Country Group Managers regularly assess plant EHS performance. When a metric or leading indicators suggest emerging challenges, leadership holds monthly meetings with the affected facilities. In collaboration with the local EHS leaders, the teams develop specific plans to address gaps and provide solutions.
Three functional Round Table teams, one for each of Environment, Health, and Safety, consist of a global team chaired by our EHS Directors, global EHS representation, and Operations leaders such as Plant and Regional Managers. The Round Tables are working groups that develop policies, checklists, and tools to support O-I’s operations and plants. The EHS representatives can be Country Group Managers, Regional Managers, and/or plant level EHS Managers.
The Global Leadership Team Safety Steering Committee meets at least monthly to review, address, and lead company-wide safety commitments. This team includes the CEO as well as all Senior Operational and Functional Leaders.
EHS Awards – Best in Class and Most Improved
O-I has an annual tradition of presenting an award to our highest performing and most improved plants for EHS performance. Each year, the top three performers in each category are recognized company-wide and the winners are presented with an award by the members of the Global Leadership Team and the Board of Directors.
To earn these awards, the winning teams and plants undergo a 360-degree audit of their EHS practices and results. The top performers are identified by criteria, which include performance against EHSBPs, implementation of EHS training, positive performance of key metrics, and year-on-year TRIR improvement. In 2020 the best performing plant was Jaroslaw, Poland and the most improved was Recife, Brazil.
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene
As part of O-I’s commitment to health and safety, we offer Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene programs to proactively protect our people, not only from injury but from long-term health risks. The Director of Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Affairs conducts global audits, works with the global Country Group Leaders to facilitate required standard implementation, and collaborates with the EHS Round Table to develop global fundamentals guiding maintenance of employee health.
Incorporated into the EHSBP, every region is required to complete an Industrial Hygiene Assessment and a Sampling Plan. The Sampling Plan requires plans to examine all industrial chemicals so that O-I is aware of employee health risks and the measures needed to protect them, not only in the present but up to three years in the future. Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene has developed a global database, collecting over 6,000 samples in order to perceive global trends. As the database grows and more long-term data is collected, we will be able to better understand potential health impacts and act accordingly. This database is being added to Enablon system to allow for greater functionality.
O-I complies with all applicable laws and regulations. For Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene, global limits are set based on the regions with the most robust regulatory landscape. In this way, all our locations meet compliance requirements, but over half our locations have programs that far exceed regional compliance.
The details of our programs vary according to local markets and regulations but generally include medical surveillance, hearing conservation, and chemical management. In recent years the EHS Round Table has developed three new global fundamentals—Respirable Crystalline Silica, Respiratory Protection, and Mould Shop Ventilation. Two more are currently being developed: Noise Control and Heat Stress.
Each global fundamental incorporates varying elements of requirements for monitoring and testing, appropriate response procedures, equipment requirements, and guidance for employee training. The Mould Shop Ventilation fundamental, for example, provides training and sets standards for ventilation type, cleaning, and testing. The Respirable Crystalline Silica fundamental, for example, trains employees on health effects and establishes monitoring standards and requirements, including a requirement for plant areas with high silica to be required to implement a regulated area, which restricts access, requires specific PPE, and provides medical surveillance.
Medical Surveillance
Mandatory health checks are conducted at all O-I manufacturing locations across the company in accordance with the local governmental requirements. Additionally, there are programs in place when an employee is exposed to criterion levels of chemicals and physical agents. The three most common programs are noise (audiograms), medical approval to wear respirators, and respirable silica surveillances.
Hearing Conservation
O-I has a global written procedure that provides guidance to plants and contains the following elements: noise exposure evaluation, employee training, signage/posting, audiometric testing, employee counseling, hearing protection, documentation/recordkeeping, and audiometer calibration. The implementation of these elements varies by location and varies based on local and country-specific requirements and is documented in the plant program. A compliance audit is scheduled every three years in which the elements of a hearing conservation program is reviewed with recommendations made for any needed improvements.
Chemical Management
Our global procedure provides guidance to plants relative to the safe and proper use of hazardous and nonhazardous chemicals and materials, and to comply with local, applicable regulations addressing the disposal of these chemicals. The procedure establishes requirements for the control of risks associated with all chemicals (i.e., hazardous and non-hazardous). A compliance audit is scheduled every three years to review the chemical management plan and make any necessary improvement recommendations.