The North America Small Packaging business unit (NASP) has been reinforcing the “Stop-Call-Wait” program to empower employees to intervene in unsafe situations. This concept refers to an operator’s responsibility to “Stop” a process when something abnormal occurs, “Call” for support and “Wait” for the support to arrive before proceeding.
When the “Stop-Call-Wait” principle is applied to safety, employees are given the authority to stop production when an unsafe situation is identified and empowers employees to take immediate action without fear of reprisal. Any employee that sees a significant safety issue or is concerned for their, or another person’s, safety should stop the process, call their supervisor or lead, then wait for further instruction.
NASP has been reinforcing this principle in facilities with
- dedicated toolbox talks;
- reference to the program during toolbox talks on other topics;
- regular inclusion during safety meetings with both operators and leaders;
- and emphasis during incident investigations.
“Stop, Call, Wait originated as a quality process but there is close correlation in how we prevent both safety incidents and quality issues. Additionally, the ways in which we facilitate employee ownership is similar for both. This program empowers employees to take responsibility for intervening in unsafe situations without fear of reprisal.” – Allen Coppolo, Director of Environmental Health and Safety – NASP