Challenge:
Following a number of accidents at its manufacturing plants, the chemicals division of a large manufacturing company undertook a major initiative to improve safety across the company. Safety had always been a top priority, but the results didn't reflect the extensive communication efforts. The safety initiative started with a plant safety audit to review the plant environment and safety procedures. To take it further, Davis & Company was brought into conduct a safety communication audit.

Solution:
Davis & Company developed a comprehensive survey to measure the effectiveness of safety communication at headquarters and 25 manufacturing plants in seven countries. The survey asked employees to evaluate the effectiveness of safety communication in the workplace, manager and leader communication, corporate messages and the impact of safety meetings. The synthesis and analysis compared data at each of the plants, uncovering communication needs and identifying ongoing safety issues.

Results:
The research effort was a success. Feedback indicated a high level of knowledge of safety issues and effective manager communication. We were able to build on the strong foundation as the basis for a new communication campaign that ultimately improved safety across the division.