Case Study
Smurfit WestRock Improves Employee Engagement & Safety Performance Through Digitized HOP Safety Principles
0%
fewer OSHA
recordable incidents
0%
reduction in
life-changing events
0%
more learning events for continuous improvement
Smurfit Westrock is a global leader in sustainable packaging, operating in 40 countries with 500+ production facilities worldwide and 100,000+ team members.
The organization’s primary goal is to achieve a 100% safe workplace, eliminate life-changing events, and reduce risk through the engagement of all team members.
When the organization launched a new Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) program to increase employee safety involvement, they realized that components of their incident management system didn’t align with this framework. To solve this, they partnered with Benchmark Gensuite to reinforce their incident investigations with HOP safety principles.
With the help of Benchmark Gensuite, Smurfit WestRock was able to:
Integrate HOP safety principles into its incident investigations
Boost employee engagement with concern reporting
Communicate results and track reporting rates
The Challenge: Adding a HOP Lens to Incident Management
What very quickly happened, though, once we started in our HOP implementation, is that folks at our sites said, ‘Hey, you’re asking us to record all of this stuff, and it seems a little bit counter to what we learned in our HOP training.’ – Harris explained. The Solution: Revamping Incident Reporting
Smurfit Westrock partnered with us to update their incident investigation forms to match the language and methods they were teaching in their HOP advocacy training.
They restructured their forms to record any defenses that were in place, the degree to which they were successful or unsuccessful in preventing an event, what triggered the event, in addition to capturing problem statements and controls, which are pushed to Benchmark Gensuite’s Action Tracking System for detailed follow up. Smurfit Westrock also began using the platform’s Describe-It AI advisor to help teams record high quality and comprehensive incident details.
By redesigning their forms, they can better adhere to HOP safety principles and encourage a shift in the way that employees approach an incident. As Harris explains, “Even if they’re not going through an entire learning event for an incident, it’s forcing people to slow down a minute and actually think through what the actual problem was.”
The impacts have been significant. Since Smurfit Westrock’s implementation of the HOP philosophy, the organization has achieved a considerable reduction in OSHA recordable incidents and life-changing events. They’ve also seen a big boost in employee engagement in proactively submitting near misses and opportunities for improvement.
We have twice as many operational learning events in the system for continuous improvement now as we do for injuries. That’s because people are coming to us and saying, ‘Hey, there’s a problem. Can you help me to solve it?’ And then we’re able to use this methodology to implement really effective controls,” — Harris stated.
Smurfit Westrock has also seen increased engagement with employees reporting safety concerns and hazards.
A lot of the success we’ve achieved has come from concern reporting. With our implementation, the most important thing for us to do right out of the gate was just to get people to use it. You want them to see how easy it is, right? We set up a QR code, so you can scan it and pull up the form. It takes you all of three seconds. You can take a picture. You can use the kiosk. You can do it anonymously,” – Harris shared.
Providing a steady feedback loop so that workers can see what actions are taken when they report a concern is also critical. Smurfit Westrock has set up our concern reporting so that employees receive notifications whenever concerns have been closed out.
If people are reporting concerns and they never hear about or never see any change, then they’re going to stop reporting, right?” Harris explained.
Benchmark Gensuite’s dashboards and reports provide a clear view of each site’s concern reporting activity. At the corporate level, Smurfit Westrock is able to track concern reporting rates to ensure that reporting isn’t flagging and employees are continuing to see value in submitting findings.
“We have really fantastic reporting rates throughout all of our sites. And so, I think it just speaks to the level of engagement that people have when they feel heard.”
GE Appliances saw substantial improvements in safety management and overall efficiency with the Benchmark Gensuite platform. Key outcomes included:
Reduced Inspection Time: Digital QR code access cut down inspection times significantly, allowing employees to verify LOTO procedures more efficiently.
Enhanced Compliance: Standardized templates and centralized storage minimized discrepancies and reduced the risk of human error.
Higher Employee Confidence: Technicians reported feeling more confident in their work due to the reliability and accessibility of the digital LOTO procedures.
Benchmark Gensuite offers everything you need to execute against core EHS responsibilities and protect employee health and safety in one powerful platform.
01
Create a Stronger Safety Culture with Behavior Based Safety Software
02
Manage Incidents and Injuries
03
Ensure Timely & Complete Corrective Actions
04
Mitigate Workplace Hazards
Spotlight on Levin Sources, a Benchmark Gensuite Partner
Levin Sources is a global B Corp-certified consultancy that:
- Enables governments, businesses, investors, and civil society to build sustainable, valuable, and equitable minerals value chains in line with major voluntary and mandatory ESG standards.
- Provides expertise with 130+ minerals and metals.
- Executes projects in over 90 countries and regions around the world.
