At Ecolab, safety is everybody's business. We blend a disciplined, data-driven approach to risk reduction with initiatives to educate, engage, and empower our team members, so they can go home safe every day.
Our overarching safety goal is zero incidents. But Goal Zero is not just a number, it is a journey. On the way there, Ecolab places great value on training and education. Both at our own facilities and customer locations, we assess risk before we start work, identify and address safety issues, and remedy hazardous situations.
For a company with a large number of field associates who spend a lot of their time visiting customers, driving is an important risk factor as well as a prominent area for improvement. Over the last year, Ecolab has reduced its total vehicle accident rate by 3 percent, down to 3.1 per million miles driven.
In 2017, we adapted our Drive Safe programs to address local risks. This is important for a company with a presence in over 170 countries with very different driving environments. We also focused on programs that help us identify risky drivers before they have an accident, combining technology and coaching to improve road skills.
The benefits of these programs extend beyond the workplace. Good driving habits learned at work transfer to employees' off-duty driving, increasing safety for their families and the community.
Ecolab is one of the few companies that performs safety compliance audits at customer locations. As a result, our Safety, Health and Environment practices often spill over into the customer's own safety culture and end up making the entire workforce safer. Our method centers on the Ecolab Compliance Assessment Process (ECAP). This intentional approach enables us to eliminate safety and environmental concerns while increasing risk awareness and safe behaviors among our associates.
At two different customer locations, our auditors found that employees were manually lifting 60 kilogram containers of chemicals. Following the audit, Ecolab started shipping the product in smaller, 20 kilogram containers, greatly reducing the risk of ergonomic injury.
Visiting another customer, Ecolab auditors found issues with deteriorating staircases and employees working at heights in slippery conditions, leading to accidents and employee turnover. Following the ECAP, the customer improved safety procedures and introduced more stringent rules for personal protective equipment use. "When it comes to safety, Ecolab walks the talk," the customer reacted. "None of our other suppliers have done this."