Safe Acts

Even the best-designed workplace is only as safe as the behavior of the people who work there. We raise awareness of safety issues and reinforce it consistently with employees via regular communication at work group meetings and trainings for managers, supervisors and engineers who design equipment.

We analyze our serious injury events and deploy specific actions to prevent recurrence. For example, our safety professionals provide management with measurable feedback on a regular basis via a new Safe Behavior Index that we launched in North America in 2008. The Index, which was already in place in our South American and Asia Pacific operations, measures observations of people not working safely and allows us to take corrective actions when required. We are also improving our analyses throughout all manufacturing facilities for nonstandard production and maintenance jobs, such as repairs in unplanned locations, as well as infrequent or unexpected maintenance tasks. Outside of our manufacturing facilities, Ford has developed safe driving standards for employees driving on Company business. We also provided national leadership in the United States by banning handheld text messaging while driving on Company business.

In the first quarter of 2009, we held a 90-day challenge to focus on reducing slip-and-fall injuries. We are also reviewing the snow and ice removal procedures at our facilities with an eye toward developing new standards, since many of the slip-and-fall injuries occur as employees enter or exit our buildings.