Lowe's Risk Manager Valerie Franco: The Right (Risk) Tools For The Job

For which of Lowe's insurance programs are you directly responsible? 

Among other areas, Risk Management has responsibility for Lowe's Workers' Comp program; First-Party Property claims; placements of Property, Casualty and Executive Risk lines of insurance; and Enterprise Risk Management. In each of these disciplines we take a data-driven approach to decision-making.

Approximately how many employees fall within your purview?

Lowe's has approximately 234,000 employees: The key to success is working as a team within the Risk Management department and through partnerships across Lowe's and with our external vendor partners.  

With that many employees, how big of a role does data analytics play in engendering a safe work environment?

For a program the size of Lowe's, the use of data analytics is critical in identifying trends and designing programs to improve results. For example, each month Risk Management brings together internal partners, the claims administrator and our nursing vendor to ensure we're continuously looking for ways to improve the Workers' Compensation program with focus on the employee. By gathering details, we know how injuries occur based on information such as the area of the store or the nature of injury. Then we [formulate] solutions.

Can you detail some of the safety protocols among Lowe's employees that help prevent injury?

Lowe's distribution network focuses on improving safety and preventing incidents using the Integrated Safety Leadership System. This initiative provides the tools, support and materials to build safety awareness and skills. Through training, communication and accountability, all team members are empowered to actively pursue the safest work environment possible, with the commitment and support of leadership. Everyone, regardless of position, is responsible for learning and exhibiting safe behaviors and for alerting and teaching those around them of unsafe behaviors.

In 2011 our store employees voluntarily took more than 6.2 million quizzes as part of the Lowe's Store Cup, an employee-awareness program launched in 2010 to enhance the customer experience, improve safety and reduce inventory shrink through online training. The quizzes, training and consistent communication of our safety expectations continue to improve our overall safety record. During the past eight years, our stores and supply-chain locations have consistently reduced their number of incidents and improved their level of commitment to a safe work environment. 

Can you give me a specific example of a new risk-mitigation approach in Lowes' stores that helped address a certain issue, or a process that needed to be improved upon?

The most common employee injury is soft-tissue strains, particularly backs. To replace tall ladders in stores and alleviate some of the physical strain to our team members, the Safety group has placed power-stocker lifts in each store. This equipment has a manually propelled hydraulic lift that can safely raise the operator and products to adjustable heights, which is ideal for moving heavy, bulky items or multiple items at a time. Lowe's did extensive testing and used employee feedback to improve the functionality and safety of the equipment design.  

What return-to-work programs do you have in place?

Each employee injury is unique, and we strive for solutions to support their recovery on the job. When temporarily modified positions are unavailable at the work location, we partner with local nonprofit organizations to accommodate the physical limitations. This program serves the local community and allows employees to remain active and recover faster.