SCENARIOYou are a newly appointed health and safety advisor for an organisation called PrintUp. PrintUp hasbeen in operation since $1995$ and has excelled in providing a high$-$quality printing service fororganisations. PrintUp produces a wide range of products including advertising posters, leaflets,newsletters, food packaging, and books.PrintUp operate in a two$-$storey building. The printing department is where most of the printing,cutting, binding, and packaging takes place. This is also known as the shopfloor.There are $120$ workers at PrintUp, with $52$ of them working on the shopfloor in different shift patterns.On joining PrintUp in $2016,$ the chief executive officer $($CEO$)$ recruited a new senior managementteam $($SMT$)$ comprising a senior accounting manager, a senior engineering manager and a seniormarketing manager.PrintUp used to have an excellent safety record. More recently, they have seen an increase inincidents, and in the last two years, two workers have suffered serious injuries. In addition to this,over the last $12$ months, there has been a $10\%$ increase in reportable injuries and a $25\%$ increase inlost working days. However, near miss reports have decreased from fifteen to five reportedincidents.The CEO is concerned about how these recent accidents on the shopfloor will be viewed by potentialand existing customers. You are also concerned by these trends, and you decide to investigate.You start by comparing PrintUps accident rates with those at similar types of organisations. Youranalysis shows that they are similar. However, PrintUps statistics still concern you, so you decide toinvestigate further.First, you look at the findings of the internal accident investigations of the two accidents that resultedin serious injuries. Both accidents happened on the shopfloor, although they were unrelated events.The brief investigations concluded that there was a lack of care by the workers.The first accident involved a forklift truck $($FLT$)$ carrying multiple large boxes. The driver failed toslow down even though there was a worker using the pedestrian crossing. As a result, the FLTcollided with the worker, crushing their leg. The investigation concluded that the driver was at faultas they were driving too fast.The most recent accident involved a $17-$year$-$old apprentice. They were instructed by anotherapprentice and a new worker on how to use a manually$-$operated die cutting and creasing machine.These machines cut shapes into paper or card by pressing it between two large plates. Operatorsmanually feed and remove the paper or card, but the operation of the plates is automated. The topDN$1-0006-$P$1-$ENG$-$QP$-$V$1$ Mar$24$ NEBOSH $2024$ page $3$ of $7$plate is brought down to meet the fixed bottom plate, cutting or creasing the paper in the process; theplates then part and the cycle begins again. The cycle is repeated automatically every four seconds.The maximum gap between the two plates is $1\mathrm{.}1$ metres and each plate is $1\mathrm{.}7$ metres x $1$ metre. Onthis occasion, the $17-$year$-$old apprentice had to reach into the centre of the plates to remove andplace the products to be creased.The $17-$year$-$old apprentice was left on their own to finish the task. The fabric safety glove, worn bythe apprentice, fell into the press. They tried to reach the glove during the four seconds that theplates are open, but the plates closed on the workers arm and shoulder, resulting in a severecrushing injury. The investigation concluded that the apprentice was at fault for trying to retrieve theglove.While reading this information on the accident report findings, you also find two ill$-$health reports. Onthese reports both workers describe dry and itchy skin on their hands and wrists. You realise thatthese are signs of occupational dermatitis.Finally, you look at the near miss reports. One of the reported near misses particularly worries you.While removing broken pallets from racking, workers were regularly lifted to a height of six metres inan unsecured plastic box, balanced on the forks of a FLT$.$ Three months ago, one of the workersnearly fell from the plastic box while being lifted.Meeting with the CEOConcerned by your findings, you set up an urgent meeting with the CEO. The CEO listens to whatyou have to say, but they raise their voice when giving you an explanation. They tell you that theirmain goal is to invest any profit into increasing production efficiency and marketing. They also tellyou that there have been fewer new contracts over the last seven years. Organisations are spendingless money on printed advertising literature as they focus more on digital advertising. Foodmanufacturers have also cut back on packaging, due to global rising costs and environmentalconcerns. Consumers are just spending less money.The CEO wants PrintUp to investigate the use of environmentally friendly alternatives, such as eco$-$friendly inks and recycled paper. They think that this will help their competitive edge, as many otherprinting organisations are slow to move in this direction to show commitment to environmentalprotection.You tell the CEO that you want to see why accidents have increased. The CEO tells you that theyhave always believed that accidents cannot be avoided. You tell the CEO that applying a safetyclimate tool $($SCT$)$ will give a broad insight into PrintUps health and safety culture, and how workersfeel about safety. Based on what you find with the SCT$,$ you plan to pilot a behavioural changeprogramme initiative. The CEO likes the idea of a behavioural change programme. They believethat it will be easy to see which workers are to blame for unsafe behaviours, then they can bedisciplined. You try to explain that this is not the aim of the programme.The CEO concludes the meeting and thinks that there is no need to waste time on an SCT or on apiloted behavioural change programme. They would like the behavioural change programme to startas soon as possible, as they believe it would improve the reputation of the organisation.The behavioural change programmeFor the first three weeks of the programme, you spend some time outlining its aims; this includes aseries of presentations to all workers. The CEO, the senior accounting manager, and two of thesupervisors are too busy to attend any of the presentations.Many workers welcome the introduction of the programme. Some of the workers tell you that theyare looking forward to getting rewarded for their behaviour, while others say that accidents havealways been seen as normal in this type of industry. The newest supervisor expresses concernabout it taking time away from meeting deadlines.DN$1-0006-$P$1-$ENG$-$QP$-$V$1$ Mar$24$ NEBOSH $2024$ page $4$ of $7$Following one of your presentations, two workers separately ask to speak to you in confidence. Oneworker tells you that they were seriously injured six months ago, because of a non$-$work$-$relatedaccident, which means that they now need to use a wheelchair. They go on to say that they returnedto full$-$time work two months ago without a phased return to work. Their supervisor refused to allowthem to return to their usual job on the shopfloor, citing safety concerns. However, the worker wasassessed as medically fit to return to their previous job, but some modifications would be needed.They tell you that they had been placed in the office and had been given administration tasks, with apromise that they could return to their normal role within a few months. This has not happened.They also find it difficult to open heavy doors around the site.The second worker, who has worked for PrintUp for many years, tells you that many workers are notfollowing safety protocols. They say that it never used to be like this and they have often seenworkers take short$-$cuts to save time. Workers are often on sick leave and the workload for othershas consequently increased. They admit they have felt too scared to report near misses.After the presentation series is finished, you decide to develop the programme with some of theworkers from the shopfloor. Fifteen morning$-$shift workers from this department are randomly chosento be observers. These are a mix of new and long$-$term printing press workers, indoor vehicleoperators, and a supervisor. You arrange a one$-$day training session for the observers that explainshow to observe, give observation feedback, and measure worker behaviours and safetyperformance. They then practise these skills. Due to production demands, only twelve of the fifteenobservers complete the scheduled training.You set a target for all trained observers to complete at least two observations a week, using a five$-$page checklist that you have devised. This checklist contains a range of safe behaviours on topicssuch as wearing personal safety equipment, safe machinery operation and vehicle movement,following procedures and safe material handling.You set up a steering group made up of yourself and the fifteen observers. The supervisor isselected to lead the group. The steering group will meet monthly to discuss the observation findings.Two weeks later, three workers approach you and ask you how long this programme is going to last.They say that they do not like being watched by new workers. They tell you that the new workers arenot experienced enough to tell them how to do their job. They also ask you why the shopfloor is theonly department being watched. You thank them for their concerns and tell them that you willdiscuss this at the first steering group meeting.Steering group meetingsSix of the observers do not attend the first steering group meeting, including the supervisor. Youlearn that each observation is taking approximately $45$ minutes to complete and is done during theobservers morning shifts. Observers who attend say that lots of concerning behaviour has beenidentified. One example was where a group of workers were not using designated walkways. One ofthese workers narrowly avoided a collision with a moving FLT$.$ Observers tell you that they tried tocorrect the behaviour, but one of the workers just said, the supervisors do it$,$ so why shouldnt I?Another observer said that they had seen a shopfloor worker being lifted by an FLT to reach someracking. They did not challenge this by giving observation feedback, as they thought that this issuewas already being dealt with.A month later, the second steering group meeting has better attendance. During this meeting youdiscuss a near miss that was observed. The observer saw an experienced worker attempting toidentify and repair an intermittent fault with one of the printing presses. Their hand was almosttrapped between the rollers of the printing press while trying to find the fault. The observer quicklypressed the emergency stop button and told the experienced worker that they should switch off theprinting press and wait for maintenance to fix the fault. The observer then asked the worker to reportthe fault and log the near miss. The worker responded by saying whats the point? The forms taketoo long to fill in and nothing ever gets done anyway. During the meeting, a disagreement thenstarts between the supervisor and another observer. The supervisor says that the experiencedworker was right in trying to get the machine working again, rather than waiting for maintenance.DN$1-0006-$P$1-$ENG$-$QP$-$V$1$ Mar$24$ NEBOSH $2024$ page $5$ of $7$The conversation quickly turns to a discussion of the checklist. An observer tells you that they madenotes on the checklist where they had observed safe behaviour. Feeling encouraged, you look at thechecklist but notice no feedback was given. You ask the observer why, and they tell you that theythought good behaviour did not need attention, only bad. They then say that they had given manyworkers a stern warning when unsafe behaviour was observed. At the end of this meeting, youcollect all of the checklists to see if you can identify any trends in behaviours. The information islimited, as many of the weekly observations over the past month have not been fully completed.By the sixth month, you notice even fewer observations are being made. Some of the observers tellyou that their supervisors had said that there was not enough time to complete them due to otherdeadlines. Others admitted that they did not like observing other workers, as they were their friends.You decide to do some observations yourself. During these, you find many workers seem to beworking at a much slower rate. You notice that all these workers are wearing gloves and other itemsof personal protective equipment that you know they would not normally wear. A worker approachesyou and tells you that they are glad to see you doing the observations, as some other observer hadbeen rude and domineering. The worker says that they have been removed from certain taskswithout knowing what they have done wrong.During your feedback meeting with the CEO, they ask you to suspend the programme as it isaffecting production. Discouraged by this, you inform the observers to stop carrying out theobservations.What would be the benefits for PrintUp using a safety climate tool $($SCT$)$to help improve the culture? $(8)$Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevantinformation from the scenario Use the PEE$($Point$,$ Evidence, Explain$)$ framework to support your answer