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Marine Transportation Cuts Lost-Time Accidents by Targeting Leading Indicators
Marine Terminal & Cargo Handling Operations | Multi-fleet | Rotational Crew
Positive reinforcement wasn't new to this crew, but finding a program that was effective and sustainable had proved challenging. With the Bill Sims Company, Inc., they created a long-term plan for strong employee engagement and a strategic recognition program that's enhanced their culture and performance.
The Challenge
In late 2008, accident rates at this client's terminal began climbing sharply. By the first quarter of 2009, recordable accidents had doubled compared to the same period the year before, and the location had become one of the poorest performers in the client's network. Minor incidents—property damage and first-aid-only injuries—were rising at a similar pace, which was a troubling indicator that the trend would continue without intervention.
A closer look revealed a layered problem. The terminal operated alongside a separately owned labor services partner, and workers from that partner were getting hurt more often while working at the terminal than while working at their own site. Lashing operations stood out as the highest-risk job function. There were also signs that some workers were taking extended time off for injuries that, under normal circumstances, would only have required first-aid treatment, with this pattern intensifying as the seasonal work cycle wound down each year and time off became more attractive. Union work rules made it easy for a minor, recordable injury to become a lost-time case if a worker chose to take the days.
The Strategy
Rather than treating this as a single problem with a single fix, our approach combined data analysis, on-the-ground observation, and direct collaboration with site leadership.
The first step was diagnostic: historical accident records were analyzed to identify the specific jobs and conditions driving the spike, with lashing operations flagged early as a priority area. For instance, we learned from talking to employees that the pace of work at the terminal with a higher incident rate was significantly faster than other terminals. From there, a small set of high-impact worker behaviors was "pinpointed"—defined precisely enough that supervisors could reliably observe them and reward the safe behavior when they saw it.
A site visit followed, where our program team worked directly alongside terminal staff to watch the actual work being performed rather than relying on records alone. That observation, combined with input from the site's own safety leadership, sharpened the pinpointed behaviors into a version specific to real conditions on the floor, not a generic checklist.
The strategy also addressed the human side of the data. Site leadership began meeting individually with workers after lost-time incidents, before they returned to work, to talk through what had actually happened. These debriefings were designed to surface root causes that incident reports alone weren't capturing, and to signal that minor injuries causing extended absences would get a closer look going forward, addressing the suspected pattern of compensation abuse without singling anyone out publicly.
Progress After 1 Year
Comparing the months immediately following program launch to the same period a year earlier, total recordable accidents fell by more than 60%. In the twelve months before the program began, the site recorded 30 lost-time accidents. In the twelve months after launch, lost-time accidents fell by 33%.
Baseline: Year Prior to SmartCard®
Employee Engagement
6 out of 17 vessels above 50%
Fleet-wide engagement
28%
Engagement @ lowest vessel
4%
Individual Employee Participation
572 Participants
1 Year With SmartCard®
Employee Engagement
16 out of 17 vessels above 50%
Fleet-wide engagement
75%
Engagement @ lowest vessel
45%
Individual Employee Participation
882 Participants
SmartCard® Results
The result was a measurable, sustained reversal of a trend that had made this location one of the weakest performers in its network, achieved by combining targeted behavioral observation, frontline collaboration, and honest engagement with the human factors behind the numbers. The few remaining repeat cases were used to refine the program further, reinforcing that this was a continuous-improvement effort built on real data, not a one-time campaign.
Client Testimonial
"We had what we considered a robust program. But when we brought the Sims group in and implemented the program, we basically saw an additional 50-60% reduction in our injury rates. It was really a significant improvement... it definitely worked for us. And it made the switch to a performance-based, positive reinforcement-based system, a cultural change in that direction that was absolutely positive."
– Captain Mike Bowman, Retired Director of Marine Services
