Safety has done a terrible disservice to itself. It has aligned itself with gruesome scare tactics in the hopes of getting workers compliance. “Fail to follow protocols,” you hear them say, “and you too could lose a body part.” What-if’s and maybe’s don’t sell safety. And safety needs to be sold.
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When the economy lulls and work slows down, the first reaction may be to slash expenditures. That includes the safety budget. And, on paper, it may look like the right move. But it is a predictable move - one that research does not support as being successful long-term.
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There are two ways to do every job: safely or unsafely. That is the choice in every moment of every day. It’s a simple choice. It’s the same choice as voluntarily buying-in to the safety program and being forced to comply against your will.
When professional athletes buy-in to the team’s vision for success, they become unstoppable. An excellent coach who touches his players one-on-one each day can help the players buy-in to the team vision and plan. When the coach gets buy-in from his players, they are more willing to do the right things more often and are less likely to do the wrong things. After all, it’s a team and every team member has a role and importance.
Like most people in the safety industry, I came to safety from somewhere else. Twenty years ago I was selling photocopiers and fax machines. But, I preferred the idea of training salespeople more than the idea of being one.
It’s a fairly simple argument: when employees buy-in to the safety program, you no longer need to police them. All they need is a little coaching and mentoring. When employees buy-in to the safety program, they don’t forget their PPE. They engage in safety meetings. They demonstrate courtesy and respect for their fellow employees. In other words, policing, compliance enforcement and “gotcha” management goes right out the window. Those become archaic, cumbersome, outdated practices that slow down safety performance.
“If you want to your safety program to run like a well-oiled machine, consider your people as “moving parts.” Parts need maintenance for best performance. Coach, communicate and inspire their best. It’s safety after all.” - Kevin Burns
Having mission and values statements are useless without communication. Building and authoring a safety program is useless without communication to tell others what is in it. Safety certification is useless without communication skills to pass along what they know.
The term safety manager refers to anyone responsible for providing direction in safety. If they are managing or supervising or overseeing the safety program in any way, they are safety managers. I am not referring to your title.
There are 5 constants in life: death, taxes, change, Greek folk-songs speed up, and people make decisions that compromise safety. That last constant impacts the first one too often. That impacts the second (taxes/premiums) and creates more of the third, change. I haven’t figured out where the fourth one sits in the scheme of things.
