"He who lives without discipline dies without honor."
--Icelandic proverb

Discipline has gotten a bad rap. In the workplace setting, those who decry discipline include both the administrators who should be dishing it out and representatives of employees who should be receiving it. The end result is that discipline often doesn't get imposed even when it's richly deserved. And in the realm of health and safety, absence of discipline is a recipe for disaster.

The Discrediting of Discipline

Once upon a time, discipline was lauded as a fundamental value. In some cultures, it still is. So why has it become such a bugaboo in ours? After all, we would all agree that lack of discipline is a bad thing. So why have so many of us become unwilling to use it?

I'm sorry to have to tell you that this general societal aversion to discipline has found its way into our profession. Now, when workers do things that they aren't supposed to do, things that could get them hurt or killed, that could hurt others and that could blow up the facility, we as safety professionals, are supposed say, "Oh my goodness! It's all our fault. We must not have endeared your trust. I feel your pain, you poor victim. Come, let's have a hug!"

Clearly, something has gone terribly wrong.

What's Wrong With Discipline?

Discipline is unpleasant. But we need to remember that its value is as a means to a larger end. When you think of discipline in this way, it doesn't seem so bad. Webster's defines discipline as:

"Training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental development."

Mark's definition of discipline is:

"A process of training and learning that fosters moral development."

Isn't safety largely about human behavior? What about all those behavior-based theories I keep reading so much about? It seems to me that we should be prepared to discipline those who don't exhibit the right behaviors as a way to help them improve. Discipline thus becomes not only not cruelty but an act of kindness and one that's essential to the well being of the individual and all of the other persons in the workplace.

Using Discipline Right

What I'm basically saying is that discipline is a good thing when you couple it with correction and encouragement. In this way, the act of disciplining serves to change behavior for the positive.

Affirmation and Praise. When you see somebody at your facility doing what he's supposed to do, like wearing safety glasses, you walk up to him and say: "Hey Joe, I'm really glad to see you wearing your safety glasses. You're setting a really good example for everyone around you!" In addition to making Joe feel like a million bucks, you've reinforced his positive behavior and encouraged him to repeat it not just with regard to safety glasses but in general behavior. When people taste positive feedback, they generally crave more.

Goal Incentives. At the end of the year, supervisors are evaluated based on completion of positive safety-related activities, not on their incident rate or lost time accident rates. The goal incentives I'm referring to include things like conducting monthly safety meetings, filing incident reports within 24 hours of an incident, correcting unsafe acts and conditions, checking fire protection equipment weekly, etc.

Conclusion

Correction is the unpleasant part of discipline. But safety professionals must be prepared to point out the things workers are doing wrong, make sure they understand why they're wrong and receive instructions about how to do things right in the future. You don't have to be an authoritarian jerk to correct. But you do have to be firm and exercise authority. Next week, we'll talk about how.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

Is this the world's tallest free-standing structure?

June 23, 1976

By Glenn Demby

Pop quiz: Name the world's tallest free-standing structure.

I would have guessed the Eiffel Tower. But it turns out the Eiffel Tower isn't even in the Top 10. At 553.33 metres (1,815.39 feet) tall, the CN Tower in Toronto is the world's tallest building and free-standing structure. One qualification: The Burj Dubai hotel and commercial building in Dubai actually surpassed the CN Tower in height last September. But it's still under construction so I'm not counting it.

The CN Tower, which opened on this date in 1976, is part communications tower, part tourist attraction. The original conception for a tower to demonstrate Canadian industrial strength came from the Canadian National Railway in 1968. The project was supposed to be part of a gigantic downtown railway station. But the erection of skyscrapers in the downtown area also prompted the need for a tall structure because broadcast signals were bouncing off the new buildings.

Construction on the Tower began in 1973 and was completed in 26 months. Costs: CDN $63 million. The project was financed and the money was paid back in 15 years.

The Tower's safety record is an excellent one. In August 2000, after a fatal fire in a similar structure in Moscow (called the Ostankino Tower), officials gave the CN Tower a serious once over and pronounced such a disaster "highly unlikely," citing he Tower's fireproof building materials, extensive sprinkler system, twin 15,0000-imperial gallon automatically replenishing water reservoirs and outdoor elevator that can function in a fire.

In March 2007, ice from the top of the Tower pelted cars and windows of nearby buildings. (Coincidentally, I was in the City at the time.) Although roads had to be closed, nobody was injured.

TOP 10

Is This the world's tallest free-standing structure?

World's Tallest Structures

The Eiffel Tower is only number 11 on the list.

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