Case Study - Volvo Power Train: better communication improves safety

The goal was to reduce the number of work related accidents at Volvo Power Train in Skövde, Sweden. The OPC Process was chosen as a tool to educate almost 2000 employees and the result could soon be seen, there was a marked increase in the number of near-accidents reports.

“A few years ago there were too few near-accidents reported in proportion to actual accidents.” says Christer Andersson as he explains the situation at Volvo Power Train. “Very few employees actually knew what a near-accident was, this means these incidents go unreported and the risk to safety and life remains unresolved until an actual accident occurs” he continues.

To solve the problem Volvo had to make sure all employees were fully aware of near-accidents and totally committed to reporting and resolving them. With the help of OPC, the safety representatives and the Company Health Organisation created an education based initiative.

“It felt right from the beginning. We liked the OPC approach with short interactive educational sessions, suitable for everyone and we also had the opportunity to adapt the whole process to be 100% Volvo specific” says Christer Andersson.

During the year 2000 all employees in the Foundry, Assembly and Processing Units participated in the two-hour participative workshops. Ten internal workshop leaders kept it all together. During the workshop the participants got to know what a near-accident is, how a near-accident form should be filled out and the importance of feedback in order to resolve the underlying issues and prevent future accidents.

“This was really a new way for us to work. I believe everyone got a kick out of the workshop because the participants felt they actually got a genuine chance to discuss and contribute to the safety at work. The OPC Process® made the message clear and easy to understand, the OPC Storyboard formed the agenda to keep each of the small group discussions on track complemented by the other learning activities, exercises and tasks which held everyone attention and interest.

Statistics from the foundry shows that the OPC Process® created results. In 1999 when Volvo Power Trains first started to seriously discuss near-accidents there were 116 near-accidents reported. Following the OPC near-accident workshops the number of near-accident reports increased significantly by 38% to 161. The Assembly and Processing Units also showed marked increases in near-accident reporting making Volvo a much safer place to work.

“During the last few years we have continuously worked to keep the good results created by the OPC learning process, keeping the message alive and thereby increasing overall safety.” Christer Andersson continues.

The feedback process that forms an intrinsic part of the OPC Process® has been the foundation for several reports delivered to the safety representatives and the management. Christer Andersson does not believe that it would have been possible to create a commitment for the near-accident question amongst employees by just informing them about the problem:

“We would never have reached and affected so many people; there would have been a lot of obstacles. To have such an impact on all our colleagues through one-way communication would have been almost impossible, the OPC Process® gave us the tool to create participation, understanding, commitment and produce tangible results quickly” Christer Andersson concludes.