With the launch of the TLC Stay Safe Out There campaign in late 2019, the Company continued to focus on reducing the number of injuries attributable to Trips, Lifts and Cuts in our stores and facilities across the globe. These types of hazards typically account for 85% of the Company’s employee-reported injuries. The initiative also brings awareness to the risk of fires and spills at manufacturing locations. 

According to Sherwin-Williams Safety Director Paul Chantler, the Company saw an injury reduction of 18% in 2020 (compared with 2019). With the TLC campaign in place, the Company reduced its recordable case rate (RCR) in one year by the same amount as in the previous three years combined. 

“The TLC campaign encourages employees to take a personal stake in the safety of their workplace,” Chantler said. “For all of Sherwin-Williams, we saw an RCR reduction from 1.30 to 1.06, with cuts, contacts and lifting injuries seeing the biggest reductions.”

For The Americas Group, the RCR fell from 1.84 to 1.34 – a decrease of more than 27%, while Global Supply Chain reduced its RCR by 6% from 1.03 to 0.97. Companywide, trips and falls were reduced by 4%, while lift incidents saw a reduction of 16% and contact injuries were reduced by an impressive 33%.

“This was a great Company consolidated effort, helping to make it fun and foster better relationships with our other facilities,” said Shane Shifflet, Sherwin-Williams Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Manager at the Garland, Texas Plant. Throughout the year, global sites incorporated the messaging into daily and monthly safety meetings and engaged employees in creative ways to spread the word. Employees organized poster contests, designed original safety memes and more throughout the year.

Sherwin-Williams Quito, Ecuador Plant EHS Manager Santiago Oña was impressed with how the campaign encouraged employees to “take on the challenge” by providing standards and recommendations in an easily understood manner.

For Candice Aliasgar-Sankoomar, Sherwin-Williams EHS Manager in Deeside, United Kingdom, the initiative is just another great example of S-W Cares – the Company’s enterprise-wide product stewardship and EHS excellence program promoting responsible operations, employee safety and a healthy planet. “Sherwin-Williams is committed to providing a safe working environment for all,” Aliasgar-Sankoomar said. “The Company developed a robust global campaign to encourage employees to have that ‘find it, own it, fix it and report it’ mentality.”

This story is featured in the Sherwin-Williams 2021 Sustainability Report.