May 2011

Success of implementing our Employee Shoe Policy

What did you do?

How well did it work?

The Two Questions on Everyone’s Mind….

What we did….• Decided to implement a shoe policy to

hopefully reduce slip\fall accidents• Decided to make the quality of the shoe

measurable, so as to take away the arbitrary nature of just “eye balling it”

• Researched what would make a “good” shoe• Implemented what we found to be reasonable

and would ensure success• Began holding employees accountable

Where, oh where, shall we do our research?

To the Internet!

• Tread Depth• Tread Width• Both impact the Coefficient of

Friction

Common Threads

Back to the Internet!

Coefficient of Friction

The Problem is Our Employees are Hydroplaning!

So, after all that research, what makes a “good shoe”?

Let’s do a comparative analysis….

Shoe on the left has no tread depth; no place to channel water and dirt out the sides

Shoe on the right has deep treads and multiple wide channels out each side

According to our research:

3 mm is the optimal tread depth

Slight loss of friction at 2 mm

Less than 2 mm: significant loss in friction

Tread width also has a significant impact

Key Elements of Our Policy• policy applies to any individual working in the mushroom

doubles• shoes must have a distinction or separation between the heel

and toe • supervisors will check the tread depth at its lowest point• 3mm is optimal tread depth; 2mm is the minimum acceptable• If the tread depth is between 2 and 3mm, the supervisor will

instruct the employee that his\her shoes will need to be replaced soon

• a depth of 2mm or less require a change in shoes within 1 day• Any employee not in compliance with this program will not be

allowed to work until they have adequate footwear• shoes will be checked regularly

One More Key Element of Our Policy

We negotiated a 10% discount at a local shoe store our employees are known to frequent. All they have to do is show their company issued ID Card and they receive the discount on ANY shoe purchase, not just work shoes.

How do we measure tread depth?

Old Method

New Method

Sample Shoe Inspection ReportGang 7

Date Checked PASS FAIL SENT HOME

3/11/10 20 16 4 0

3/19/10 16 15 1 1

5/7/10 30 27 3 0

5/8/11 3 3 0 0

5/20/10 6 6 0 0

8/12/10 26 25 1 0

8/13/10 9 7 2 0

8/19/10 2 1 1 1

10/8/10 29 26 3 0

10/9/10 3 3 0 0

1/13/11 23 23 0 0

1/14/11 6 6 0 0

2/10/11 24 24 0 0

How well did it work?

Gaspari Farms

Gaspari Farms

Gaspari Farms

Dew Fresh

Dew Fresh

Dew Fresh

Credit, where credit is due

• John Hillard & Dave Carroll• Mark Gaspari• Al Gore for “inventing” the Internet• Joe Plageman & Tom Tranquillo• Supervisors at Gaspari Farms & Dew Fresh• All of our employees

Fin