If safety goals are not set at zero, an employer sends a message to employees that severe and disabling incidents are acceptable.
Safety must be an integral component of an overall business plan Must be a company vision, not a target or performance goal. Goals must define a milestone
If safety goals are not set at zero, an employer sends a message to employees that severe and disabling incidents are acceptable. One must understand that the safety culture must be viewed similar to a quality program. The zero incidents concept must be agreed upon and understood by management first. Management leaders that demonstrate a personal commitment and genuine interest to safety can have a substantial impact on any organization. This coupled with employee participation and management support is one of the key success factors in any safety program.
If safety goals are not set at zero, an employer sends a message to employees that severe and disabling incidents are acceptable. One must understand that the safety culture must be viewed similar to a quality program. The zero incidents concept must be agreed upon and understood by management first. Management leaders that demonstrate a personal commitment and genuine interest to safety can have a substantial impact on any organization. This coupled with employee participation and management support is one of the key success factors in any safety program.
If you take a look at the Dupont safety management principles, they state that 96% of all incidents are caused by unsafe acts of people or unsafe conditions. If you relate these two theories together and think about what has been stated, management has control of employee actions and thus control of the entire safety system. Clearly, management controls the “purse strings.” If you have ever studied the successes of Dr. Deming, you will find that some of his philosophies can be adapted to safety quite well. According to Dr. Edward Deming, 94% of the problems in business is due to lack of management commitment. In his book, “Out of the Crisis,” Deming addresses 14 key points that all companies must work toward. These points can be aligned to safety culture change for any organization. If you study his teachings in detail and apply some of the 14 points to safety one will start to understand some basic concepts that can be utilized on a daily basis. It is important to note that all 14 points may not fit the safety culture or philosophy of your firm or employer. One must adopt a safety culture that fits the needs of the organization.
Safe work cultures starts from simple common beliefs that are supported by all employees in an organization
Once these key steps are understood, the safety culture change will start to transform. One must keep in mind that this change will not happen overnight but will come gradually
Reinforcing safe work habits is just as important as eliminating unsafe behavior. Most people tend to repeat behaviors that result in positive consequences and discontinue those that result in negative consequences. Positive reinforcement is the only means available to maintain existing good behavior
Shared Vision - Reaching an incident free culture starts with a vision. A vision is something that everyone can see. Cultural Alignment - Everyone must pull in the same direction. There is consistency between what we do about safety and what we all say about safety. Practices and behaviors are in line with the vision of continuous safety performance. Focus on Incident Control - We must operate at a level of continuous improvement in relationship, safety, quality, etc. Upstream Systems - Make employees at all levels how they are doing. Feedback - This is common. It must be valued, whether it is negative or positive. Feedback must flow back and forward.
Comes from top management. Management must communicate with employees and explain why the change must occur. Most important, management must promote how the employee will benefit from the change in safety culture.
In a zero incident safety culture, one focuses on real time issues. Nobody should ever think that it is okay to suffer a disabling injury while at work or home. It is up to management to convince the skeptics that zero is a reachable vision, a reality. Adopt the cultural belief that all incidents and incidents are preventable. Nobody should ever experience a disabling injury. It is always a challenge to accomplish enormous tasks that are worthwhile whether it is work related or a personal issue. Ultimate satisfaction can be reach when the desired goal is the vision of zero incidents that one should strive for. We learn in early life that you have to work for what you believe in. It is the writers’ opinion that the zero incidents concept is achievable and that a zero incident safety culture can work when it is properly communicated. Any management system will work if top management and the employees pull together toward the common vision of zero incidents. It goes to show that everyone has their way to solving problems. We all learn by trial and error. Sometimes we get things to work right the first time and other times we don’t. We must always strive for the best and always look for proven methods and avoid “reinventing the wheel.” The management system must always be adaptable to enable continuous improvement. Any company that institutes a cultural change toward the zero incidents concept is bound to see safety improvements that the entire workforce can be proud of.