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Safety pillar 90-day model area plan

A safety pillar model area plan is a 90-day plan for proving the safety routine on one area of the plant, the model area, before it spreads to every other area. The team moves from reactive work (learning from what already happened) to preventive work (finding hazards before they hurt anyone) and then to proactive work (standards and safe habits): the incident pyramid for the area, a safety cross, near-miss reporting, a hazard hunt, a risk assessment of every task, high risks removed by the hierarchy of controls, investigations, safety standards, safety observations and an audit. This template has the 13-week plan as a Gantt chart in three phases with the owner, deliverable and done-when of each activity, a scoring table to choose the model area from loss data, the team, a KPI board, the day-90 gate, and the expansion plan for months 4 to 12 in three waves, with a worked example.

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Page 1 of the safety pillar 90-day model area plan: a 13-week Gantt chart in three phases with the owner, deliverable and done-when of each activity, from the incident pyramid to the day-90 gate.
13-week Gantt planIncident pyramid to standardsModel area scoringTeam rolesKPI boardDay-90 gateExpansion wavesWorked example

When to use it

When to use a safety pillar 90-day plan

  • When a plant wants to move from reacting to injuries to finding hazards first, and wants to prove it in one area before asking every team.
  • When near-miss reporting, risk assessments or safety walks exist on paper but nobody is sure they work on the floor.
  • When an area has had a run of first-aid cases or a serious near miss and needs a structured 90 days, not a poster campaign.
  • When leaders want a safety plan they can review every week: who does what, by when, and what done looks like.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Choose the model area from loss data

    Score up to three candidate areas (five in Excel) on loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability, from 1 to 3. Loss data here means injuries, first-aid cases, near misses and high-rated risks. Pick the highest total; on a tie, the higher loss data score wins.

  2. 2

    Name the team and write day 1

    Sponsor, pillar lead, the safety coordinator, the area supervisor and operators, and a maintenance technician for guards and lockout points. In Excel, day 1 and the status date set the dates and status of every activity.

  3. 3

    Set the baseline and the day-90 targets

    Near misses reported, actions closed on time, high risks open, tasks with a current risk assessment and first-aid and recordable cases. More near-miss reports is the aim at first: it shows people trust the route.

  4. 4

    Run the 13 weeks and update the plan every week

    Move a bar if your area needs it, write the week each activity really finished, and add one actual per KPI each week. Late activities turn red in the Excel version.

  5. 5

    Pass the day-90 gate

    The sponsor and pillar lead check the six gate items with evidence. If one is not met, fix it before any other area starts.

  6. 6

    Plan the expansion waves

    Wave 1 goes to the areas with the same hazards and tasks, with a model area team member coaching the first hazard hunt in each. Each new area runs its own 13 weeks against its own baseline.

The 90-day plan

Week by week: from the incident pyramid to safety standards

The standard plan printed on page 1 and in the Excel version, tagged reactive, preventive or proactive. Days 1 to 30 are weeks 1 to 4, days 31 to 60 weeks 5 to 9 and days 61 to 90 weeks 10 to 13. Move the weeks to fit your area.

  • 1

    Activity
    Choose the model area and form the team (Setup)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Team list and area map; area chosen with the selection table
    Done when
    Team named, sponsor agreed, first meeting held
  • 1 to 2

    Activity
    Draw the incident pyramid for the area (Reactive)
    Owner
    Safety coordinator
    Deliverable
    12 months of injuries, first-aid cases, near misses and unsafe conditions by level
    Done when
    Every recorded event in the period is on the pyramid
  • 2 to 3

    Activity
    Start the safety cross (Reactive)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    Safety cross posted at the team board, one box per day
    Done when
    Filled in every day and reviewed at the team meeting
  • 2 to 4

    Activity
    Launch near-miss reporting (Preventive)
    Owner
    Safety coordinator
    Deliverable
    A simple card or QR route, a log, and a reply to every reporter
    Done when
    Every report gets an owner and a due date
  • 3 to 5

    Activity
    Hazard hunt: walk the whole area (Preventive)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    Unsafe condition and unsafe act log with photos
    Done when
    Area fully walked and every finding logged
  • 4 to 7

    Activity
    Risk assessment of every task in the area (Preventive)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Risk register: task, hazard, rating before and after controls
    Done when
    Every routine and non-routine task has a current rating
  • 5 to 9

    Activity
    Remove high risks by the hierarchy of controls (Preventive)
    Owner
    Maintenance technician
    Deliverable
    Action list: eliminate, substitute, engineer, admin, PPE
    Done when
    High risks closed or reduced, interim controls on the rest
  • 6 to 9

    Activity
    Investigate incidents and serious near misses (Reactive)
    Owner
    Safety coordinator
    Deliverable
    Investigation report with root cause and actions
    Done when
    Each one has a root cause and similar risks were checked
  • 8 to 11

    Activity
    Write the safety standards for the area (Proactive)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Lockout points, PPE by zone, safe work steps for the top tasks, one point lessons
    Done when
    Standards posted where the work is done and the team trained
  • 9 to 12

    Activity
    Start safety observations (Proactive)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    Observation schedule and log, feedback given on the spot
    Done when
    Observations done to plan for three weeks
  • 11 to 13

    Activity
    Safety audit of the area and close the gaps (Proactive)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Safety audit checklist result and gap list
    Done when
    Audit done and every gap has an owner and a date
  • 13

    Activity
    Day-90 review and decision to expand (Gate)
    Owner
    Sponsor
    Deliverable
    Day-90 gate sheet, KPIs against baseline, lessons
    Done when
    Gate signed by the sponsor and the pillar lead

What's on the gates

The day-90 gate and the wave gate for the safety pillar

The day-90 gate decides whether the model area is ready to be copied; the wave gate is checked for each new area before the next wave starts. Both are on page 3 of the PDF and on the Excel version's Day-90 gate and Expansion sheets.

Day-90 gate

All met before the first expansion wave starts

  1. 1Every task in the area has a current risk assessment
  2. 2High risks are closed or reduced, with interim controls on the rest
  3. 3Near misses are reported and every report gets an owner and a reply
  4. 4The safety cross and the observation routine run without the pillar lead
  5. 5The KPI board has 13 weeks of data against the baseline
  6. 6The standards and lessons are written up so another team can copy them

Wave gate

For each new area, before the next wave starts

  1. 7The area passed the same day-90 gate as the model area
  2. 8Its KPIs are measured against its own baseline, not the model area's
  3. 9The risk register, standards and lessons were copied and adapted, and the copy is recorded
  4. 10Coaches for the next wave are named and have run a session with the pillar lead watching
  5. 11The model area was audited again and still holds its standard

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a metal stamping plant (illustrative, with made-up numbers; the same as page 4 of the PDF and the Excel example sheets). Not a benchmark.

  • Model area choice, loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability scored 1 to 3: Press line 2 scored 11, Weld cell A scored 9 and Shipping dock scored 7. Press line 2 had the most first-aid cases and the highest-rated risks (pinch points at die change), sits on the main aisle, and its tasks repeat on two other press lines.
  • Near misses and unsafe conditions reported: baseline 2 a week, day-90 target 8 a week, week 13 actual 7 a week, 83% of the gap closed.
  • Safety actions closed on time: baseline 45%, day-90 target 90%, week 13 actual 85%, 89% of the gap closed.
  • High risks still open: baseline 6, day-90 target 0, week 13 actual 1, 83% of the gap closed.
  • Tasks with a current risk assessment: baseline 20%, day-90 target 100%, week 13 actual 100%, 100% of the gap closed.
  • First-aid and recordable cases: baseline 3, day-90 target 0, week 13 actual 1, 67% of the gap closed.

The team passed the day-90 gate in week 13. Wave 1 (months 4 to 6) went to Press lines 1 and 3, wave 2 (months 7 to 9) to Weld cells A and B, and wave 3 (months 10 to 12) to Shipping dock, stores, tool room, with a model area team member coaching each wave 1 area.

Common mistakes

  • Judging the area by injuries alone

    Injuries are rare and lag behind the hazards. Track near misses, unsafe conditions and actions closed as well, or the board will look fine until someone is hurt.

  • Asking for near misses and never replying

    People stop reporting when reports disappear. Give every report an owner and a due date, and tell the reporter what was done.

  • Fixing every risk with PPE and signs

    Work down the hierarchy of controls: remove the hazard, substitute, engineer it out, then procedures, and PPE last.

  • Writing standards nobody was trained on

    A standard in a binder protects nobody. Post it where the work is done and train the team before the observation routine starts.

  • Spreading before the gate

    Copying an unproven routine to every area spreads its gaps too. Hold the gate, then expand in waves.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite near misses, unsafe acts and unsafe conditions are routed to an owner with a due date, every corrective action is tracked to completion, and safety metrics such as near misses show on an SQDC tier board with a safety heat map.

FAQ

Safety pillar 90-day model area plan: common questions

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