Human Factors Project

Safety is one of the most important aspects of a work environment. It determines how well the company achieves their corporate social responsibility goals, treats their employees, retains their employees, and the overall happiness of the worker in his/her work environment. This paper will first analyze the safety of a workplace (Starbucks located at Campus Market in Cal Poly SLO) by identifying their safety procedures and standards, how often employees get hurt, and recommendations on how to inspire a culture of safety. Second, the impact of safety in the workplace will be analyzed by __________________________________ (sarah add in).

        Starbucks is a prestigious business that prides themselves in creating a safe work environment for their employees and customers. The specific Starbucks analyzed in located on the Cal Poly SLO campus. It is relatively small compared to the average Starbucks and therefore has a maximum of three workers behind the counter at any point in time. The work area is extremely clean and consists of coffee machines, drink ingredients, a sink, and a cash register. The workplace was analyzed by first asking the employee on shift (Serena) questions (seen in Figure 1below)  regarding her experiences with safety at Starbucks. Then, the worker was observed performing their job to assess possible dangers and harm that could occur. Serena summarized that the procedures set by Starbucks for worker safety basically included a handbook given to them along with training of how to [pic 1][pic 2]

[pic 3]

use the machines, but the only real way to hurt themselves was by burning from the machine or slipping (but this is prevented by the black mats on the ground). She said that employees rarely get hurt and when they do, it is normally new employees who do not have the full experience with the machines and end up burning themselves.  She said that customers never get hurt because they are on the other side of the counter and therefore never encounter the dangerous aspects of the workplace that are behind the register. In terms of after accident procedures, Starbucks has the employees sign legal contracts for workers compensation and for taking proper after accident measures. Serena was extremely helpful but further research about Starbucks showed how they strive to create a healthy and safe worker environment throughout all of their shops. They ensure plant and retail safety that exceeds the workplace safety standards set for each state the shop is located in as well as by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. If an injury occurs, managers and workers are trained to immediately call 911. The incident is handled through the filing of a written incident report for investigation of how it happened to Starbucks Risk Management. After the report is read, Starbucks Corporate associates figure out how best to prevent this incident from happening again. Every store is required to devote time each month to discuss safety issues.  By following these procedures, Starbucks has a low rate of injury of about 2,400 worker’s compensation claims combined in all their stores.