UPS CHSP Committees Fact Sheet
In 1995, UPS launched a program to protect and improve the health and safety of
UPS employees. The result was the Comprehensive Health & Safety Process, and
the formation of more than 2,900 CHSP Co-chaired Health and Safety Committees
at UPS facilities across the country. The committees consist of non-management
employees supported by management, and they take a comprehensive approach to improving
the overall health and safety environment for UPS employees. Employee involvement
- and management support - are the foundation for CHSP’s success.
The process was modeled after experience with OSHA’s Maine 200 program,
which benchmarked best-in-class companies with regards to safety.
"The CHSP is making UPS a safer place to work by educating employees
on how to identify workplace hazards, determine the root causes, recommend work
process and equipment changes, and develop comprehensive strategies to avoid
injuries," said UPS Corporate CHSP Manager Steve Vaughn. "UPS is making
improvements because our people are taking ownership of their own workplace
environment."
Focus on Health and Safety
- There are more than 2,900 CHSP Committees in UPS facilities around the world, helping to protect and improve the health and safety of more than 358,000 UPS employees in the U.S., that’s some 30,000 UPSers who work on safety.
- CHSP Committees consist of non-management employees at a particular
facility, with a management co-chair for support. Non-management employees take
the lead, and drive the committees’ activities.
- Committees conduct facility and equipment audits, recommend work process
changes, conduct safety compliance training and perform safety analysis to develop
action plans for the prevention of injuries and auto accidents.
A Record of Success
- The CHSP program is working. UPS has reduced its Days Away Restricted
or Transferred (DART) frequency by more than 60 percent over the last five years.
All other safety indices including lost-time injuries, OSHA recordable and auto
accident frequencies have also been significantly reduced.
- As part of its safety program, UPS routinely deploys an outside consultant,
Keter Consulting, to audit the compliance of UPS operations with federal standards.
- At the Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH) in Hodgkins, Ill., CHSP
committees instituted the SWEEP (Safety While Evaluating, Educating and Preventing)
program. SWEEP groups monitor the safety of their work areas, assist with safety
training, advise fellow employees of safe work methods, assist with potential
safety concerns and train newly hired employees. SWEEP advisors also provide
recognition for safe work practices, such as distributing cards that are put
in a raffle for VIP parking at CACH.
- As a way to boost delivery drivers’ awareness of backing, the
safety committee in the Pacific Region’s Desert Mountain District (New
Mexico, Arizona and southern Nevada), and the Automotive group in the South
California District (San Diego) created and refined a device that counts the
number of times a package car is placed in reverse. The counters helped spur
a contest to see which package division could achieve the biggest reduction
in total backing maneuvers.
The Metro Denver Safety Committees in the Rocky Mountain District designed a defensive
driving course allowing drivers to display and improve their safe driving skills.
Safety co-chairs designed the course to provide an opportunity for drivers to
showcase their knowledge by:
- Reciting the "Five and Ten" headings and explanations word for
word
- Demonstrating defensive driving skills on the course
- Pretripping their vehicle
- Signing the DVIR
- Noticing potential hazards on the course
- Passing the backing exercise
- Presenting a non-expired D.O.T. card
- In Syracuse, N.Y., the Automotive CHSP Committee developed a tool to
check clearance on bench grinders in UPS facilities, along with a poster to
educate employees on how to safely operate the device.
- CHSP Committees in the Iowa District established a number of best practices
to enhance awareness and safety. For example, in Ottumwa, retirees were asked
to join the safety committee, bringing invaluable knowledge and experience while
helping to increase committee participation.
- The Willow Grove, Pa., feeder CHSP group suggested a number of design
enhancements to the tractor-trailer "dolly" - the connection
device between a set of double trailers - which were implemented company-wide,
making it easier and safer to maneuver the device.
- Many of the design improvements made to package cars and tractors over
the years have come from driver suggestions.
- At the UPS facility in Petaluma, CA, wellness champions have implemented injury-reducing initiatives such as yoga classes, nutritional guidance, heart health awareness and more.
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