Technology has become a significant component of how most organizations operate. But in many cases, the technology is only as effective as the people using them.
 
In our latest Reader Panel survey, we asked our readers to give us their views on machine safety and machine safeguarding technologies. Many of the respondents maintain the importance of training in the whole machine safety equation.

Stressed out workers face more risks of injury

COS reader panelists are stressed out. Are employers helping them out?

Workplace stress can be a silent killer. The short and long-term health impacts of prolonged exposure to high levels of workplace stress can be debilitating. COS reader panelists say they are stressed out and their colleagues seem even worse. What can workers and employers do to help lower workplace stress levels? These are the questions we sought to answer with this issue’s reader panel.

Among our reader panelists, 65 per cent say they feel they are now  experiencing more workplace stress than before. They tell us that it’s factors such as job cutbacks, increased workloads, lack of control, insufficient resources and poor managers that are fueling unnecessarily high levels of workplace stress. Interestingly, some readers seem to strive on stress and say they need it to get motivated.

• Do you feel you, personally, are experiencing more or less workplace stress?

Yes, I am more stressed out at work (64.7 %)
No, I am less stressed out (19.6 %)
I’m not sure (5.9 %)
Other (9.8 %)

“My type of personality reacts positively to stress not negatively.”

“Stress levels seem pretty constant.”

“I am less stressed out because I quit a job because of the stress.”

“Regulatory requirements are being added, modified, changed and seem to fall into several areas of responsibilities. At times it is tough to decipher which department is responsible for complying with them, but when there is a violation a wide brush is used to point fingers at the allegedly responsible dept.”

“More work with less people and unreasonable expectations —some co-workers do absolutely nothing.”

“Workplace politics, extra work, and lack of control over my destiny due to budgetary constraints.”

“I always feel stress at work and elsewhere and I need to. I believe stress is what you make of it. I need stress to motivate me. If nothing is putting pressure on me to act I probably won't.”

“I limit the stress load by leaving work at work. I never eat lunch in my office and often go to a nearby park to just clear my head. The walk is good too.”

“Here in Alberta, it seems that the most important thing is to make as much money as possible before the boom ends — safety and quality of life are a distant second to the pursuit of money.”

“There is no program aimed at evaluating stress levels or solutions.”

• Do you feel your colleagues and co-workers in general are experiencing more or less workplace stress?

Yes, my co-workers appear more stressed out at work (76.5 %)
No, my co-workers appear less stressed out (7.8 %)
I’m not sure (7.8 %)
Other (7.8 %)

Reader panelists say that about 77 per cent of their colleagues appear more stressed, while only 7.8 per cent appear less stressed. So while readers seem stressed but are coping, they don’t think their co-workers are doing as well. Here are a few comments:

“Yes, I do see some co-workers who appear to be over-stressed. But I believe a lot of the problem is the over-use of the term. It seems any time there is pressure to get a job task done on time, within budget etc some will claim it creates stress — give me a break.”

“The fact that today’s workforce will be adversely affected by the retirement of the baby boomer generation and the lost of experience will only increase workplace stress.”

“Most of my co-workers have few skills to prioritize or delegate effectively which increases their workload and stress level. Too many of them think that only they can do their job properly.”

“Incidents of work related stress leave are increasing.”

• Do you think high levels of workplace stress directly lead to more accidents and injuries on the job?

Yes (84.3 %)
No (11.8 %)
I’m not sure (3.9 %)

Another finding worth thinking about is that 84.3 per cent of respondents say they believe that high levels of workplace stress are directly responsible for more accidents and injuries on the job. So, if we accept that between 65 per cent of our reader panelists and 77 per cent of their colleagues are experiencing higher stress levels, and that they believe this causes more accidents, then it suggests intervention to reduce stress levels and help employees cope better could help reduce injuries.

• Which statement do you believe best reflects the attitude of your company’s leaders towards workplace stress?

“We can provide a safe and fair work environment, but we can’t promise a stress-free workplace.” (42 %)
“Stress is part of the job, that’s why we all get paid, deal with it.” (24 %)
“It’s up to the individual to control his or her own stress.” (8 %)
 “Workplace stress is a serious health and safety issue and we are taking all measures to deal with it appropriately.” (8 %)
“Stress? You want stress? Try doing my job and then let’s talk!” (8 %)
Other  (10 %)

There were some interesting comments provided that help illustrate the range of ways people view workplace stress. For some, it’s part of the job, and there’s no use “crying” about it. For others, it’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Which statement above (or comments below) reflects the views of your company’s leaders?

“Quit crying and get back to work!”

“Stress is associated with everything we do. Some stressors can be positive reinforcement, additionally personal stress from situations outside the workplace will impact on how we truly handle workplace stress and its impact on our physical well being.”

“Stress can be a good thing. Bad stress is no good and should be dealt with by company management.”

“The workplace will never be stress free, however if employers and workers work together, be flexible and understanding the stress can be reduced.”

“Individuals handle stress in different ways, some more effectively than others therefore it is difficult to guarantee a stress free workplace.”

“There are no formal programs to deal with stress. In my company it’s not recognized and it does have an effect on peoples’ personal lives and relationships.”

“We do a good job on the safety, health and physical wellness front. Dealing with emotional wellness is another issue.”

• The CCOHS website cites a study that details a range of symptoms of workplace stress. Which of the following symptoms of stress have you experienced at one time or another during your working career? (please check all that apply)

• sleep disturbances (94.1%)
• over reaction to minor events (58.8 %)
• emotional fatigue (52.9 %)
• chronic fatigue (51.0 %)
• lowered self-esteem / self confidence (47.1%)
• depression (43.1 %)
• more frequent headaches / colds (43.1 %)
• other related medical problems (33.3%)
• carelessness / forgetfulness (33.3%)
• uncontrolled anger or rage (29.4 %)
• restlessness (29.4 %)
• intense anxiety (27.4 %)
• leave of absence  / stress leave (23.5 %)
• increased use of alcohol / smoking / drugs (23.5 %)
• marital problems (17.5%)
• loss of sex drive (15.7 %)
• ulcers (15.7 %)
• heart conditions (11.8 %)
• suicidal or homicidal thoughts (7.8 %)
• paranoia (7.8 %)
• frequent accidents (2 %)
Other (2 %)

“My type of personality is capable of handling stress no matter its source.”

“I am very near retirement and this year, for the first time in my life I was off work for five weeks due to stress. I made the decision to retire two years early and will be done at the end of the year.”

“Who hasn’t experienced at least some of these?”

“Thirteen years ago I experienced a life threatening stress related illness. I have learned to let go and only do what I can realistically accomplish which doesn't mean I don't have goals but I recognize I am not superman.”

“Stress brought on by cycles in the business or by short term problems are expected. Stress brought on by lack of resources or mean spirited managers, supervisors, or employees are not acceptable.”

•  Does your company have an employee assistance program (EAP)?

Yes (76.5 %)
No (23.5 %)
 
• If your company has an EAP program, would you feel comfortable discussing workplace stress?

Yes (54.9 %)
No (33.3 %)
Not sure (7.8 %)
Other (3.9 %)
 
“Are you nuts? They may not track by name but do track by location. An increase in calls from a location prompts investigation that usually results in someone being disciplined/terminated.”

“I’ve seen what happens to others.”

“That is what made me come to the realization that the best thing for me to do was to retire.”

“The councilor in the position is not qualified to be there.”

“The service provider is a phone service and referral. Who wants to discuss their personal problems over the phone?”

“I believe that if the company found out about someone talking to the EAP, any thoughts of promotion is ended.”

“When discussed, the psychologist suggested that working for my company was too stressful for anyone.”

“Our EAP is useless as they just do lip service.”

“I have used our EAP to help me get over some tough personal problems in the last few years. Problems that I feel developed due to the constant change.”

• What do you think workers and employers can do to help reduce the levels of stress in the workplace?

“Employers should ensure that they teach their employees different methodologies to deal with stress. Give them some tools, and they may use them!”

“Research worker wellness incentives, subsidize fitness memberships, have a good social committee that organizes monthly events for staff to get together and interact, employee appreciation programs, mentoring, re-orientation, flex-time work hours, etc.”

“Identify the effects workplace stress has on safe work practices and production. Education about how workplace stress effects overall health and ability to perform daily tasks.”

“Treat people like the valuable resource they are and remember we all have lives this is work not our life or family.”

“Management needs to be aware of workplace stress and provide the support to workers to ensure that they can get their work completed when under stress.”

“I have been wrestling with this for a few years now and have come to the conclusion that as long as companies are owned by large multinational investment firms and do not understand that human interaction is necessary to do the jobs that must get done the stress will continue. I am starting to understand the attitude of kids coming into the workforce: “What’s in it for me?’”

“Treat your co-workers the way that you would like to be treated. Always stay positive, do not hang around with the negative ones, they will bring you down too! Surround yourself with the ‘glass is half full’ people.”

“Giving too much direction in an indvidual’s job can create unhealthy levels of stress for an employee as can too little direction.”

“Understand the needs of others, especially over-achievers and learn to recognize stress symptoms and then intervene in a positive way to help.”

“Set realistic goals / performance standards. Do not expect people to put in extended hours just to get the job done.”

“Change employers.”

“Both sides need to follow the golden rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you. As a manager, I need to be fair with my employees, to look out for their best, and treat them like I would want my own kids treated.”

 

 

 Health and safety committees need more respect

They might have different titles across Canada, but for the most part, joint health and safety committees have similar mandates. For this issue’s reader panel, we asked our panelists about how well their committees were working and what could be done to make them work better.

Of the panelists who responded, more than 60 per cent were on the health and safety committee at their firm. This means the following views and perspectives are from those on the inside, and also those on the outside looking in.

Question: Are you a member of your firm’s joint health and safety committee?

Question: How good a job do you feel your joint health and safety committee is doing at your facility at promoting and monitoring safety?

While the majority of respondents said their committee is doing a good job (64.3 per cent) or an excellent job (10.7 per cent) for a total of 75 per cent positive responses, more than 21 per cent said their committee is doing a poor or terrible job. So, there’s good work being done, and still lots of room for improvement. Here are a few of their comments:

 “Not focusing well on the issues. No one brings up ergonomic issues which is the number one problem.”
“Our JHSC is restricted in their movements by management to the point that they are ineffective.”
“The meetings are not effectively run and only take place because they have to. The meetings often turn into complaint sessions.”
“Our JOH&SC is very active at our organization. The one thing it needs to improve upon is  its communication and making all staff aware they exist and what they do.”
“Some union members are combative in their attitude at the meetings, making some members uncomfortable. The union feels management does not do enough, and therefore our committee spends a lot of time arguing, when we could be more positive.”
“We stay on top of major issues but are slow in correcting minor ones.”
“Members actively participate in meetings and inspections, but seem to lack enforcement of company policies, when they return to the plant floor.”
“Too much bias. It’s only functioning because of legal requirements, no buy in by middle management.”

Question: Do you think employees at your facility have respect for the JHSC and would treat its recommendations seriously?

We wanted to get a sense of whether the employees and management respected their committees and treated its recommendations seriously. For employees, only half of respondents said “most” employees at their firm would respect the recommendations from the JHSC, with 33.9 per cent saying “some” employees would, while 12.5 per cent said employees would dismiss recommendations.
The numbers were similar when reader panelists were asked whether senior managers would respect the committee’s recommendations. Less than half said most senior managers would, (46.4 per cent), while less than nine per cent (8.9 per cent) said senior managers would dismiss the recommendations.

Question: Do you think senior management at your facility have respect for the JHSC and would treat its recommendations seriously?

The comments help illustrate that while committees can be effective, they aren’t always viewed in a positive light by employees and managers.

“Senior management does not always take the JHSC seriously and at times ignore them or takes very long to respond back to written recommendations from the JHSC.”
“The committee can only make recommendations, and sometimes the recommendations are a bit overzealous.”
“Young and new employees greatly respect the recommendations of our committee. We do on occasion experience resistance from older, old school employees and are forced to go to management for help.”
“Not all senior management respects the JHSC. I have heard some senior management say ‘what a pain this committee is.’”
“For the past eight years have ensured the either the CEO or the Vice President are members of the committee at all times.”

Question: Does your company train its JHSC members on a regular basis?
 
It appears that companies are investing the time to train their members on a regular basis; with 60.7 per cent reporting they get regular training.

“We trained our certified members, provide occasional educational sessions at committee meetings, and send articles of interest to the co-chairs to share with the members.”
“More training must be done, but like most operations in Alberta manpower is a problem.”
“We send our safety committee members to provincial safety courses along with an annual occupational safety and health conference for educational purposes and networking with other companies.”
“We provide 40 hours of training annually to members of the JHSC.”

Question:  What activities have worked well at your workplace to get your JHSC working as an effective force?

“Documenting safety concerns at monthly meetings. When the MOL sees these items on our minutes after a year or two they will issue orders.”
“Who’s in charge of safety? We all are! If anyone sees a safety infraction, say something.”
“Bring in a safety meeting guest, someone who has lived through a bad accident and have them explain to the committee and management about how it affected their lives.”
“Involvement in NAOSH activities, involvement in safety investigations, involvement in policy/procedure and rule development.”
“Patience has paid off for our committee. Waving around a flaming sword or pointing fingers does not work. Including the employees and working to create a positive safety culture does.”

It starts at the top, but safety leadership
is a shared responsibility

When it comes to safety leadership, it’s the people at the top running the show that our readers say are responsible for leading the charge.

Our COS reader panelists also had lots of great ideas and opinions on the topic of safety leadership, and whether Canada’s safety leaders are doing a good enough job. The first question we posed was who was “mostly” in charge of safety leadership at their firm. Senior managers were picked first, but our reader panelists came in a close second, as they clearly feel they are front and center when it comes to safety in their firms.

1. Does the safety leadership in your firm come mostly from:
 (27.9%) The top, senior management
(23.5%) You
 (20.6%) Middle management, foremen, supervisors
 (17.6%) The Joint Health and Safety Committee
 (2.9%) The union leaders
 (7.4%) Other

“Our accident rate is high and progressively getting worse. Our senior management talks the talk but when push comes to shove, production wins every time.”

“Senior management discuss safety at all meetings and recently supported and participated in full day safety culture session offered to all employees.”

“It has been my experience that you can have all of the required policies or procedures but they are not worth the paper they are printed on if management does not follow or enforce them.”

“Starting from the middle and working outward has been a challenge but I refuse to give up.”

“There is a lot of talk from upper management about how safety is first, but when it comes time to demonstrate that, the JHSC shows much more safety leadership.”

“Safety direction is a team effort and includes all of the parties noted in your statement.”

“There is a small group of OSH staff across the country and most everything is left to us.”

“Safety leadership comes mostly from me with the full support, cooperation and knowledge of my activities from senior management.”

“People are aware of the need for safety but as safety officer I am the champion of the cause and remind everyone of their roles.”

“Our senior management talks a big game, but doesn’t back up that talk with any action.”

“Our company does not believe safety regulations apply to them. It is production before safety because safety is too expensive.”

We received some thoughtful and eloquent responses when we asked our readers to define safety leadership. “What does safety leadership mean to you?”

“Safety leadership is making those around you safer and smarter.”

“Leadership means making a stand when it isn't easy.”

“Safety leadership is a mindset that is supported by deeds and words.”

“Everyone needs to say what they do and do what they say.”

“Safety leadership is taking the time and effort to make safety part of your every day life and helping others do this as well.”

“Safety leadership is uncompromising action in correcting safety infractions.”

“Walk the talk. Wear all safety equipment talk about safety to all management and hourly workers.”

“Promote, monitor and correct.”

“Safety leadership is taking the time to do the job safely even when it would be easier not to.”

“Never accepting what is questionable. Intervening to ensure safety 24/7.”

We then asked our reader panelists to let us know how companies could improve their safety leadership. The overwhelming first choice (88.2 per cent) was for these firms to fully integrate health and safety into all aspects of their operations. Readers also offered their own suggestions.
 
3.How can companies show more safety leadership? (Please check all that apply):

(88.2%) Fully integrate health and safety into all aspects of company operations
(64.7%) Make sure safe actions are rewarded and recognized
 (63.2%) Ensure the company’s senior leaders always talk about safety
(63.2%) Get involved with safety and industry associations
 (57.4%) Set up a strong health and safety committee and hold members accountable
 (42.6%) Work with suppliers to help them improve their safety
 (39.7%) Put up banners and signs promoting safe behaviour
 (25.0%) Other

“Your choices are limited and do not reflect the broad range of what effective safety leadership can accomplish.”

“Monthly events/activities that revolve around safety. Safety week with slogans, games and prizes.”

“Attaching OHS to the job description and the bonus pay of senior managers.”

“Installing suggestions boxes for employees to make comments.”

“Show leadership by conducting unscheduled tours through the workplace, discussing safety with the workers to gauge their interest and knowledge about safety in their own workplace.”

“The recognition of safe behaviour is more effective than rewarding.”

“Put a health and safety statement into each and every job description ensuring everyone's role in the internal responsibility system.”

4. There are many people and organizations that are championing the cause of safety right across Canada. Many of these organizations, mostly not-for-profit groups, hold conferences and training, conduct research, lobby governments for improved standards and regulations, and provide a variety of other services. How well do you think these groups are doing at promoting health and safety in Canada?

(58.8%)  Canada’s safety leaders are doing an adequate job
(20.6%)  Canada’s safety leaders are doing a poor job
(19.1%)  Canada’s safety leaders are doing an excellent job
(1.5%)  Canada has safety leaders? I never see or hear from them

Please comment:
“Obviously the current model is not working, according to the rising statistics.”

“The organizations are doing an adequate job of promoting safety — to their members or to adherents of the safety profession. They are doing a poor job at reaching out past the safety community.”

“ There is not enough vision. A lot of whatis offered is just the same old stuff over and over.”

“Many times we see issues being driven by, media headlines and organizations with an agenda. Many are not for profit that want to become for profit.”

“Workers are still being injured at work. Until we have a clean slate, we are not doing an adequate job!”

“Safety leaders need to be innovative and more evident to the general worker.”

“The companies in Canada pay enough through their different taxes, all safety training should be free and structured in such a way so the training standards are the same.”

“Industry and labour must get on the same page and put aside their labour relation agendas and political rhetoric. Safety is about employees, whether they are management or non-management.”

“Other than a few organizations making a living on safety, most everything is focused into one week in the spring.”

“The work related accidents, permanent disabilities and fatalities speaks for itself. How could we claim to be doing anything other than a poor job?”

“What the safety community in Canada needs is one voice and uniform laws province to province and job to job.”

“More training should be offered at costs that are acceptable for small companies.”

“The Canadian Society of Safety Engineering is one of the best in promoting health and safety but even they tend to miss getting the message to the senior level decision makers.”

5. In April 2005, safety leaders launched the CEO Health and Safety Leadership Charter aimed to get CEOs to place safety high on their agenda, and to help achieve a Canada-wide breakthrough in health and safety performance. Have you heard of this initiative?
(For information visit: http://www.ceosafety.org/)

(48.5%)  No, I haven’t heard about it
 (38.2%) Yes, I’ve heard of this
 (11.8%) Sounds vaguely familiar

6. Do you have any other comments to share on this topic?

“We need more initiatives like the Charter to move safety forward in Canada.”

“I found the information by accident. What type of initiatives have they implemented to make companies aware of their existence.”

“Our organization attended and even signed the charter but there was no follow up as to who would complete the survey or even from charter organization — seemed like a PR stunt.”

“Maybe if they took a different approach such as: ‘Do you know it is the law that your employer must provide a safe workplace? That they must do hazard assessments and mitigation? That the frontline workers should be involved in this process? That you have the obligation to refuse work that may cause an injury to yourself and any one else in the workplace?”

“In my 35-year career of health and safety, I’ve had the privilege of working for only two employers who functioned in the ‘Best Practice’ realm. The rest are mediocre at best.”

“I will be looking this up and passing the information along to my CEO.”

 

 Health and safety budgets and spending

Better safety is not just about having more money, according to the results of our latest reader panel on health and safety budgets and spending. But when there is money to spend, the 67 of our reader panelists who responded say they and their health and safety committee are the best ones to manage the budget, not their managers or the company’s senior managers.

For starters, 67.7 per cent of respondents say their organization has an annual budget set aside for spending on health and safety related products, services and training, while 32.3 per cent do not. Some say their safety spending is lumped into spending in other departments such as production.

We wanted to know who is in charge of managing that budget, and it turns out, that the company’s senior managers are the ones most responsible (30.8 per cent), followed by our reader panelists, 21.5 per cent of whom say they manage the budget which ties the number for their managers 21.5 per cent, and 10.8 per cent by their department head. Surprisingly, only 3.1 per cent said their health and safety committee is responsible for managing the budget, which is just slightly more than the 1.5 per cent of respondents who say their accounting department manages the budget!

When we asked them who should be managing the budget, the numbers changed dramatically. Our readers clearly think they should be managing more of the budget, as 35.8 per cent picked themselves as the best choice, followed by the health and safety committee at 20.9 per cent. The percentage dropped sharply for senior managers 19.4 per cent, as did the numbers for their managers 11.9 per cent and their department head that fell to 3.0 per cent.

What’s most interesting here is that our readers appear to be change champions who want greater power over the budgets, and also think the health and safety committees should have a much bigger role.

Here are a few of their comments that seem to reveal that there are ongoing struggles over who ought to be in charge of safety within these facilities. Practitioners want more control, but CEOs also argue it is part of their duties.

“My position as Health & Safety Coordinator at my company places me right in the middle of any and all safety issues. I manage the safety supplies and know who requires PPE and the exact type, I keep the records on safety training.”

“Although upper management believes in a progressive health and safety program they believe it should be achieved without a training budget.”

“Operations should be in charge of the budget as they are usually held accountable for safety performance.”

“Each department / supervisory area within the company has an OH&S budget that is managed by that area manager. I also have a corporate OH&S budget. Our system works here because it helps convey ownership of OH&S down to the departmental supervisor level. My budget covers corporate OH&S programs, theirs covers training and local efforts.”

“As the CEO of the firm, I have the ability to control who does what and when, concerning safety training. I want to get my people all trained, and so I have to ensure that I have allocated the appropriate funding to meet my needs.”

“The money for the budget should be set by senior management but controlled by the committee.”

We also asked them some questions about whether their budget was going to increase in 2007. Only 13.6 per cent of respondents expect their health and safety budgets to decrease this year, with 40.9 per cent expecting an increase, and 45.5 per cent expecting them to stay the same.

“We are very robust in our budgeting for this, as my expectation is that every employee attend at least eight hours of training or education in the year, as well as safety people take at least two courses and attend one conference.”

“Every year we review the past work program/budget and tweak it to reflect the priority safety concerns that we have for the coming year.”

We asked reader panelists to tell us whether they think their company is spending enough on health and safety products, services and training. Clearly, they think more needs to be done, since almost 60 per cent said more spending is needed. We also found that safety budgets aren’t immune from economic pressures within an organization.

Respondents would spend their funds on a broad range of personal protective equipment, tools and a lot of training.

“As health & safety director I perform most of our in-house training. But I do not have the resources or the training myself to instruct on some of the new health and safety issues of today.”

“We need to spend money on equipment to make things easier ergonomically. This is our biggest problem.”

“Our present increase in activities requires more money to carry out the additional inspections and the training identified from the inputs to our Health and Safety Management System."

“We are actually spending more this year in training for additional air monitors and testers due to our different approach with confined spaces. Our budget changes as the need arises."

“Due to increased production and staff we need to increase our safety and training budgets accordingly.”

We then asked our reader panelists to consider spending on workplace safety with no financial constraints. Overwhelmingly, they picked training as the area they’d invest most heavily in.

When given an open-ended question, and with no financial constraints, our reader panelists had some interesting ideas. But they didn’t suggest just throwing lots of money at their safety problems to make them go away. But they do believe in training.

“I would ensure all workers were properly trained and that certifications and training were up to date.”
“Training and hire an in-house kinesiologist.”

“I would ensure supervisor and employee training for compliance to all relevant legislation and regulations and set a schedule to maintain it all.”

“Increase managerial and supervisory staff training. Upgrade quality of PPE.”

“Conduct more in-plant testing for air quality, noise, etc.  Build better training facilities."

“Health & safety training! Not just for the health & safety guy or the JOHSC members but for all employees including management. Training is the key to a healthy, safety environment in my opinion.”

“Send everyone for safety and job skills training and managers for supervisory training.”

“Training for managers and supervisors. This will give us the biggest bang for the buck. This is where we can make or break our training program, if we do not have buy in from the managers & supervisors, it will not work!”

“I would take additional training and most likely by tools that are of the latest technology.”

“Many ergonomic issues could be improved with the design of new equipment and better equipment.”

“Complete site assessments and supply mandatory basic equipment: First aid kits, eyewash stations, signage, lock-out kits, etc. Currently these items come out of individual site budgets and sometimes it’s just not there.”

“Close down old inefficient plants and replace them with highly automated plants that have minimal human input. Eliminating workers eliminates exposure and the possibility of being injured or developing an occupational illness. Secondly, there is a looming labour shortage. Thirdly, automation reduces errors and by definition produces higher quality products and less waste.”