Systematic Leadership

The "leadership" in Safety Leadership reflects our view that leaders at all levels achieve the safety results they expect and demand. When leaders demonstrate zero tolerance for unsafe actions and conditions, everyone develops a zero-injury mindset. We seek to build safety leaders at all levels in the organization.

We consider systematic leadership to have three components: governance, evaluation and accountability.

Governance

We have comprehensive governance systems for health and safety management. Our overarching Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policy is established through a corporate Policy Letter and Directives. In addition, global OHS standards cover all health and safety topics, including safety, ergonomics, occupational hygiene, toxicology, clinical operations, fire and security.

The most efficient and cost-effective way to reduce safety and ergonomic risks in the manufacturing process is to engineer them out upfront. That's the purpose of our global manufacturing engineering forum, which includes senior engineering representatives from all of the Ford brands. The forum defines standard engineering processes and tools that are deployed during the design and engineering of manufacturing processes to minimize safety risks.

We have strengthened our global governance of workplace safety by reviewing key health and safety indicators more frequently with senior management. We review safety regularly at the plant level and in regional OHS committees. The Group Vice President for Corporate Human Resources and Labor Affairs now also conducts quarterly in-depth reviews, our Board of Directors reviews our safety performance every six months, and our President and CEO now includes safety performance as part of a weekly Business Plan Review.

Evaluation

Health and safety specialists conduct Safety and Health Assessment Review Process (SHARP) audits at our manufacturing facilities as an integral part of our manufacturing management systems. During 2007, we conducted a major global revision of SHARP to streamline and simplify it and align it with Ford's current corporate standards and plant operating systems. The SHARP audit is now more similar to other internationally recognized management systems documents. The "medical" element of SHARP was replaced with a health element.

We also conduct unannounced audits, as well as audits of special high-risk areas. Facility staff perform SHARP self-assessments and more frequent internal audits to verify key processes. Any significant incidents are reported weekly on a global basis so plant managers at other facilities can learn from each incident and take preventive action.

Nonmanufacturing sites conduct yearly self-assessments of their OHS risks and performance. A specific safety audit tool for the nonmanufacturing organizations was developed as part of the modular control review program (MCRP) implemented by Ford's General Auditor's Office. During 2007, safety questions were added to the most basic financial control MCRP. This allows us to cover a much broader range of workplaces, since our primary OHS focus is on the higher-risk manufacturing sites. Ford of Europe is leading the way in the deployment of a structured approach to health and safety in the nonmanufacturing functions and in the use of the MCRP for health and safety.

We also conduct a safety culture survey (recently integrated into the overall Pulse survey of employees) to assess attitudes toward health and safety. The results of this survey, combined with audit results and routine gathering and sharing of performance data, provide a comprehensive picture of health and safety performance trends, as well as early warning of conditions that could lead to a decline in performance.

Accountability

We establish accountability for health and safety performance through our business planning and scorecard processes, which set targets and assign responsibility for meeting those targets. Business Operation and plant managers are responsible for health and safety in the operations they manage, and their performance in this area is a significant factor in their incentive compensation. In addition, safety performance is included in the scorecards of salaried employees as appropriate, including those of the CEO and Executive Vice Presidents, where it affects annual bonus and merit awards.