Comments on: Taking Advantage of Your `Free Shot’ to Fix a Safety Problem http://www.safetyxchange.org/financing-safety/taking-advantage-of-your-free-shot%e2%80%99-to-fix-a-safety-problem Putting Safety First Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:58:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=5053 hourly 1 By: douglasjohnson@rogers.com http://www.safetyxchange.org/financing-safety/taking-advantage-of-your-free-shot%e2%80%99-to-fix-a-safety-problem/comment-page-1#comment-162 douglasjohnson@rogers.com Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:05:20 +0000 http://www.safetyxchange.org/?p=4087#comment-162 Jim, I agree with your article on the need to report near misses and close calls. I truly think that this is a very important aspect of safety. I disagree however in your statement “But this is where the safety director can really make a difference”. I fundamentally do not believe that the “Safety Director” “makes the difference”. The person who makes a difference is the person who is in charge of the workplace. The safety director can only perform to the level allowed by the person in charge. The biggest issue that industry has in this day and age is the folks in charge of the workplace who are complacent about safety. The safety director can jump up and down and spit nickels and threaten and cajole the workers but in the end the safety director does not have the authority to make change in the workplace. The only person who has authority to make change is the senior manager of the company. This individual sets the standard. This individual holds the purse strings and unless this individual leads the way the safety director will never be able to make changes in the workplace. The safety director MAY make recommendations but if the recommendations fall on deaf ears there is never going to be any change in the workplace. I believe that you might have been better to conclude this article by indicating that the safety director MAY be able to initiate change by making a business case to management that would support the investigation of near misses and close calls. If the safety director is doing the right job then the business case would make sense and THEN and only THEN would there be the possibility of change from the top. It does not matter what industry you are in, if there is no perceived or actual economic sense to a proposal then the proposal will die a quiet death. Never forget that employers are in business to make money and if they do not see a profit then no one works no matter how safe the facility. I continue to enjoy the articles that you folks publish and trust that you take these constructive thoughts as a way to improve. I have been a safety coordinator and have felt the exhilaration and humiliation of different senior executives. I know how difficult the job is when the “boss” doesn’t give damn. I have left an employer because of this feeling. I presently work with many employers in many industries and I have walked away from contracts when I felt that the senior person was not buying in to the safety philosophy!! And that is hard to do when you are self employed!! Have a great day! Jim, I agree with your article on the need to report near misses and close calls. I truly think that this is a very important aspect of safety.

I disagree however in your statement “But this is where the safety director can really make a difference”. I fundamentally do not believe that the “Safety Director” “makes the difference”. The person who makes a difference is the person who is in charge of the workplace. The safety director can only perform to the level allowed by the person in charge. The biggest issue that industry has in this day and age is the folks in charge of the workplace who are complacent about safety.

The safety director can jump up and down and spit nickels and threaten and cajole the workers but in the end the safety director does not have the authority to make change in the workplace.

The only person who has authority to make change is the senior manager of the company. This individual sets the standard.

This individual holds the purse strings and unless this individual leads the way the safety director will never be able to make changes in the workplace. The safety director MAY make recommendations but if the recommendations fall on deaf ears there is never going to be any change in the workplace.

I believe that you might have been better to conclude this article by indicating that the safety director MAY be able to initiate change by making a business case to management that would support the investigation of near misses and close calls. If the safety director is doing the right job then the business case would make sense and THEN and only THEN would there be the possibility of change from the top.

It does not matter what industry you are in, if there is no perceived or actual economic sense to a proposal then the proposal will die a quiet death. Never forget that employers are in business to make money and if they do not see a profit then no one works no matter how safe the facility.

I continue to enjoy the articles that you folks publish and trust that you take these constructive thoughts as a way to improve. I have been a safety coordinator and have felt the exhilaration and humiliation of different senior executives. I know how difficult the job is when the “boss” doesn’t give damn. I have left an employer because of this feeling.

I presently work with many employers in many industries and I have walked away from contracts when I felt that the senior person was not buying in to the safety philosophy!!

And that is hard to do when you are self employed!!

Have a great day!

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