Tableau for Occupational Safety

The Bureau of Public Works, a large government agency responsible for maintaining critical infrastructure across a sprawling state, had always taken occupational safety seriously. Yet, despite their best efforts, incidents still occurred—from minor slips and falls to more severe equipment-related injuries. Their safety data was scattered across spreadsheets, paper reports, and disparate departmental systems, making it nearly impossible to identify systemic issues or prevent recurring accidents proactively. The safety officer, Maria Rodriguez, often felt like she was fighting fires rather than preventing them.

Maria knew they needed a change, a unified approach that could bring their safety data to life and streamline their incident response. Her vision was a proactive safety culture, driven by insights, not just reaction. This led her to champion the adoption of Tableau for occupational safety analytics and Salesforce as a robust case management platform.

The transformation began with Tableau. Maria’s team, with surprising ease, connected Tableau to various data sources: daily safety checklists, equipment maintenance logs, training records, and historical incident reports. Almost immediately, the visual power of Tableau became evident. Interactive dashboards started to reveal patterns that had been hidden for years. One dashboard, for instance, showed a clear correlation between certain types of injuries and specific work sites, particularly those involving older machinery. Another highlighted a spike in "struck-by" incidents during night shifts, indicating potential issues with lighting or fatigue. Maria could segment data by department, task, equipment type, and even the weather conditions at the time of an incident. This allowed her to pinpoint high-risk areas and proactively allocate resources for targeted interventions. Safety training compliance, once a vague metric, was now visually tracked, showing exactly which teams needed reinforcement. For the first time, Maria’s team could identify why incidents were happening, not just that they were happening.

Then came the day a serious incident occurred. A maintenance worker, John, sustained a hand injury while operating a new piece of equipment. The immediate priority was John's well-being, but the process of recording, investigating, and resolving the incident had historically been a laborious, paper-intensive task, often leading to delays and missed steps.

This is where Salesforce stepped in as their incident case management platform. As soon as John's injury was reported, a new "Safety Incident" case was instantly created in Salesforce. The mobile-friendly interface allowed the site supervisor to quickly log initial details, upload photos from the scene, and record immediate actions taken—all from their tablet in the field. This eliminated the need for manual data entry back at the office.

The Salesforce platform then automatically triggered a predefined workflow:

• Notifications: Maria and her investigation team received immediate alerts.

• Assignment: The incident was automatically assigned to the appropriate safety investigator based on the incident type and location.

• Investigation Tracking: Within the Salesforce case, the investigation team meticulously logged every step: witness statements, root cause analysis findings, regulatory reporting requirements, and recommended corrective actions. Customizable fields ensured all necessary information was captured systematically.

• Corrective Action Implementation: Once root causes were identified, corrective actions (e.g., equipment repair, new training module, updated safety protocol) were assigned as tasks within the Salesforce case. These tasks had clear owners, deadlines, and status updates, ensuring accountability.

• Collaboration: Different departments, from HR for worker's compensation to equipment services for machinery repair, could collaborate within the single Salesforce case, sharing updates and attaching relevant documents. This broke down communication silos and ensured everyone was working from the same, most up-to-date information.

• Follow-Up and Verification: Salesforce helped track the effectiveness of corrective actions. For instance, if a new training was implemented, follow-up checks could be scheduled, and results recorded, closing the loop on the safety improvement process.

The synergy between Tableau and Salesforce proved to be truly transformative. Insights gleaned from Tableau's comprehensive safety analytics informed the proactive strategies and even helped refine the incident classification categories in Salesforce. Conversely, the detailed, structured incident data captured in Salesforce fed back into Tableau, enriching the analytics and providing an even more accurate picture of the agency's safety landscape.

Within a year, the Bureau of Public Works saw remarkable improvements: a 30% reduction in preventable injuries, a significant decrease in average incident resolution time, and a palpable shift in safety culture. Employees felt more secure, knowing incidents were thoroughly investigated and acted upon. Maria Rodriguez, once bogged down by paperwork, was now a strategic safety leader, using data to build a safer tomorrow for all government workers. Tableau provided the vision through data, and Salesforce provided the operational backbone to make that vision a reality.

Analytics plays a crucial role in enhancing safety and facilitating cost savings, particularly when focusing on preventable accidents. By analyzing safety data—such as incident types, locations, contributing factors, and time of occurrence—organizations can identify underlying patterns and root causes of accidents that might otherwise go unnoticed. This insight allows for targeted interventions, like specific training programs, equipment upgrades, or process adjustments, directly addressing the conditions that lead to preventable incidents. Reducing these accidents not only safeguards employee well-being but also leads to significant cost efficiencies by minimizing expenses related to medical care, workers' compensation claims, equipment damage, lost productivity, and potential regulatory fines. In essence, data-driven safety management shifts the focus from reactive damage control to proactive prevention, yielding both human and financial benefits.

This dashboard provides a comprehensive analysis of workplace safety trends and incident patterns, helping organizations identify risks and take targeted action to improve occupational safety.

Weekend Risk Patterns – Uncover the unexpected frequency of incidents occurring over the weekend, particularly in the late morning and under clear weather conditions. This challenges the assumption that weekends are lower risk and highlights the need for enhanced safety protocols during these periods.

High-Risk Employee Trends – Identify employees who experience a high number of accidents and examine the types of injuries they sustain. Spot recurring patterns that may point to training or equipment gaps.

Injury-Specific Insights – Detect common injury types—such as lower back pain—among frequent accident cases. Use this information to guide ergonomic equipment investments and targeted injury-prevention programs.

Proactive Safety Measures – Pinpoint the times, conditions, and job roles most associated with incidents, enabling leaders to take preventive steps before accidents occur.

With this dashboard, organizations can move beyond generic safety guidelines to a data-driven, targeted approach—making it easier to improve workplace safety, reduce injury-related costs, and boost productivity.

Using the dashboard, you can answer questions like:

• What time of day and weather conditions are most associated with workplace incidents?

• Are weekends a higher risk period for accidents in our organization?

• Which injury types are most common among repeat accident cases?

• What training or equipment changes could most effectively prevent these incidents?