Our safety philosophy

At Bristol Myers Squibb, the health and safety of our employees is our priority and we are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all. Our long-term aspirations include an injury and incident free workplace that is underpinned by our proactive safety strategy, continuous improvement focus, and established programs that enhance the wellbeing of our colleagues at home and at work.

Preventing injuries and illnesses

We are committed to preventing injuries and illnesses through a comprehensive and consistent approach across our organization. We have implemented an Environment, Health, & Safety (EHS) Management System framework that details program requirements focused on compliance, training, continuous improvement, culture and colleague engagement. Our comprehensive safety standards outline requirements and guiding principles at the corporate level, ensuring consistent implementation throughout our network of facilities. Each facility is required to develop site-specific programs and conduct EHS self-assessments to monitor performance against these standards and applicable legal requirements. Additionally, all Bristol Myers Squibb sites undergo periodic corporate EHS audits that are executed utilizing a prioritized schedule considering facility complexity, employee wellbeing and overall risk. Additionally, every Bristol Myers Squibb site is required to have a self-inspection program where departments, teams and individuals proactively inspect their areas to identify and remediate potential hazards. We also maintain site-wide and/or departmental safety committees where employees collaborate to discuss and resolve safety concerns.

All workers have access to occupational health support, with on-site clinics and providers at our larger locations. Risk-based medical surveillance and other preventive programs are in place to ensure workers’ health is protected. BMS also offers a comprehensive range of employee wellbeing products and services as part of our global Living Life Better program.

To view our annual disclosures for Recordable Incident Rate (RIR) and Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), visit our most recent Impact report.

Identifying & communicating serious injuries and incidents

Bristol Myers Squibb continues to evolve programs that focus specifically on the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities. We established life saving rules that focus on work tasks that are the leading causes of serious injuries and fatalities. Additionally, a lessons learned program has been implemented to share incidents across our network that could have resulted in a serious injury or fatality. By sharing these incidents, we can mitigate challenges in real time and prevent incidents from occurring again.

EHS data management

Bristol Myers Squibb facilities utilize an electronic platform to record and communicate all injuries, illnesses, environmental incidents, near misses and unsafe acts or conditions. These events may require detailed investigations to identify corrective and preventative actions, which aim to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Regularly analyzing this data helps identify areas for improvement within our EHS programs. BMS continuously evaluates our most critical events to ensure the ongoing safety of our employees and the communities where we operate. 

Exposure guidelines

In addition to applying recognized exposure controls for commercially available chemicals, our industrial hygiene initiative has further established workplace occupational exposure limits for over 100 BMS active pharmaceutical ingredients used in our products utilizing our internal industrial hygiene and occupational toxicology expertise. An internal Bristol Myers Squibb laboratory, accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association, analyzes air samples collected from our research and manufacturing operations worldwide. The results of these analyses provide important information used to control employee exposures to acceptable levels through engineering solutions, work practices and personal protective equipment.

Crisis management planning and business continuity

In addition to site-based emergency response plans, we have developed comprehensive global plans for responding to crisis events that may impact employees, operations, or business continuity. Our crisis management and business continuity planning consider reasonable risk scenarios such as natural disasters, fires, pandemics and other low frequency but high impact events that might require a large-scale crisis response. Fundamental to our planning is the safety and welfare of our employees, the communities in which we work and live and those who rely on our medications. The company has developed comprehensive policies that govern crisis management plans and business continuity needs.