This session will look at the conflict between safety and productivity goals in traditional organizations and how those barriers can be broken down through collaborative process improvement efforts. Value-Added Safety is an integrated problem solving approach that connects workplace hazards with process wastes, promoting organizational collaboration and win-win scenarios across production and EHS functional areas. Attendees will learn the basic principles for Value-Added Safety, along with the benefits of lean thinking for reducing safety and health risks:
- SEE hazards in the workplace
- CONNECT hazards to operational wastes
- LEVERAGE lean thinking to develop integrated solutions
- HOLD safety, productivity and quality goals in alignment
Damon Nix is a senior project manager for Georgia Tech’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, specializing in integrated lean and safety problem solving approaches. Through training and on-site projects Nix helps companies apply lean concepts to eliminate safety and health waste from processes while simultaneously addressing productivity and quality issues. Prior to his current position, Nix worked as a Safety Specialist with Georgia Tech’s Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program. There he provided industrial safety and ergonomic assistance to businesses throughout Georgia. He is an instructor for Georgia Tech’s OSHA Training Institute and Education Center, as well as the developer of Georgia Tech’s Value-Added Safety professional education curriculum. Nix holds a B.S. degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as a Master of Divinity from Mercer University. Additionally he is a Certified Safety Professional, an OSHA Authorized General Industry Trainer, and a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).
