Building Trust with TenSquared

RE!NSTITUTE partnered with Social Accountability International (SAI) and organizations in China, Brazil, and Turkey to engage workers to find innovative solutions to the toughest workplace challenges. Using 100-Day Challenges in workplaces ranging from factories to call centers, theTenSquared program supported numerous industries, including chemicals, electronics, packaging, retail, furniture, papers & printing, sugar & ethanol, food & beverage, textile & apparel, financial services, toys, customer service, and steel production to make progress on critical health and safety issues. 

Under TenSquared, workers and managers collaboratively identify and address the root causes of workplace challenges in just 100 days. Participants learn a robust methodology for problem-solving, organizational communication, and leadership that they can use to address future challenges.

This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the Walt Disney Corporation.

Brazil

• By reducing accidents in the workplace, one company team decreased employee absenteeism by 60% and increased productivity by 12% during peak production months.
   
• By creating more effective methods for transporting chemicals, one company team reduced chemical exposure in the workplace by 70% and cut chemical costs by 10%.
   
• By changing assembly line processes to prevent worker injury, one company team reduced absenteeism and saved the company up to $120,000 per year.
   
• By building a ventilation system out of recycled materials, one company team reduced the ambient work temperature by 25°F and saved $12,000 from the cost of buying new ventilators.

Turkey


"Now, employees will go to management and let them know when there are problems. The culture has changed, employees are more aware of health and safety, absenteeism is lower, and accidents are fewer." - Manager 

Building on the success of the 2012–14 TenSquared pilot in Brazil, SAI and RE!NSTITUTE brought the project to Turkey. Together with AKUT Institute, TenSquared helped 23 workplaces in Turkey achieve dramatic improvements in health and safety that impacted more than 13,600 workers.

The results are inspiring, powerful, and, in some cases, lifesaving. Emergency evacuation times were reduced dramatically, accident risks were reduced or eliminated, workplaces were made more ergonomic, workers were empowered, and individuals from all levels of the workplace worked together to drive change.

Through improved risk assessments, increased worker engagement, communication & training, one team reduced limb trauma accidents by 50%

• By engaging the entire workforce, launching an awareness campaign, and establishing a hotline, one company saw a 500% increase in gas leak identification calls (previously 0% of workers reported gas leaks, leading to significant H&S risks and loss of money)
   
• By identifying and correcting the root causes of accidents, one team was able to eliminate slip and fall accidents
   
• By identifying evacuation hazards and improving evacuation procedures, one team was able to reduce evacuation time by 80%

China

“Before, my colleagues had some hesitations about talking to their supervisors. Now, after TenSquared, our approach is different, and we can address any problem." - T. Christina, TenSquared Worker & Participant
 
In 2015, TenSquared spread to China and has since worked with multiple companies and sectors to address the root causes of workplace issues and measurably improve on a specific workplace challenge in 100 days. Through collaboratively overcoming institutional hurdles to change and fostering a culture of continual, sustainable improvement, teams of workers and managers have achieved spectacular results such as the ones below.
In one electronics factory, teams:

• Identified and resolved seven chemical risk areas, achieved or surpassed all sub-goals
• Reduced the chemical consumption for cleaning by 62.88%
• 100% of chemicals used by employees have SDS available
• 100% of employees have access to and wear PPE
• 100% of employees using chemicals were trained
• Employee's direct skin contact with chemicals eliminated
• Achieved 96.4% employee satisfaction on ventilation, an improvement of 220%
• Reduced worker exposure to chemicals by 90%
• 71% of workers said management was more open to worker suggestions

On another team, by engaging the entire workforce, revising the emergency evacuation plan, launching an awareness campaign, and conducting a series of trainings, one team reduced the evacuation time of 1,266 workers from over 10 minutes to under 3 minutes.

• Social Accountability International (SAI)
• The Walt Disney Company