Editor's Note: Last week, we asked you to help a fellow SafetyXChange member. Production supervisor Devin Singh is looking for advice about how to implement a safety program that sticks. So we put the question to you. Thank you to everyone who responded. Here's what you had to say.

Question: "I am a supervisor in a plastics manufacturing facility. I lead the employee safety committee, and we are always looking for ways to improve our approach to workplace safety. What is the best way to implement safety improvement programs to ensure long-term success? We have tried many safety initiatives over the years which all begin with promise. Eventually, when focus shifts to other tasks, our new safety programs run out of steam and fail to become part of our routine. Is there any more advice you can give that will help make our safety ventures permanent fixtures instead of failed attempts at change?"

1. Walk the Talk

Being a good role model is important. Be a good listener. Conduct weekly meetings and incorporate training into each meeting. Repair or modify items or equipment that is unsafe.

Lloyd K.

2. Make Employees Responsible

Simple. Let the "employees" run it. As a prior OSHA inspector, one company I was really impressed with was Herman Miller (HMC) and their safety programs. With their VPP Award, I'm sure they would share their recommendations with you.

Rob Stacy
Southern Nevada Health District
District Safety Manager

3. Make Management Responsible

I think Devin has identified the root problem in his letter. He states that he and the EH&S Committee are always looking for ways to improve safety and that is the problem. It is not the committee's responsibility to develop strategies to motivate the company to be more safety conscious that is the responsibility of management.

Management has to show leadership and commitment by developing the corporate goals and guiding principles that will motivate the workforce. The committee can then concentrate on their job which is to help management implement the process.

Sam Gibson.
Construction EH&S Manager,

4. and 5. Involve Employees and Highlight the Benefits

When I read the question two things quickly came to mind:

• Involve your front-line employees in the development and implementation of your safety initiatives. In this way you'll get great information from those who are doing the work and you'll get their buy-in at the start. With the support of those doing the work the initiative has more weight and credibility. If the JHSC [Joint Health & Safety Committee] members typically do the development, involving others gives a fresh perspective. Another spin off is that more workers become aware of the JHSC role and work.
• Your comment "focus shifts to other tasks, our new safety programs run out of steam and fails to become part of our routine" reflects thoughts of "there is always more work than time." When you look at a new initiative, be sure of your objective and that the initiative is needed. If it is, then look at your method & approach. In some cases you may be able to modify an existing production report verses creating a new "safety" report that duplicates information. You may have the best idea but if it's perceived by workers as just adding extra time and burden without providing a corresponding benefit to them, the idea will be much harder to implement and maintain.

Joyce D. Brown CET
Manager, Health & Safety Program
Human Resources Branch
New Brunswick Department of Transportation

6. Shift Perception of Efforts from Program to Corporate Value

If one considers the safety improvement effort to be a "program" rather than a process or system, it will have an end. Programs, by definition, have a beginning and an end. They are activities that are to be used within an established safety management system to support and revitalize the process.

The comment "when focus shifts to other tasks, our new safety program runs out of steam" clearly indicates that safety is not a value that is ingrained in the culture of the company. Safety may be a priority. But priorities change as the situations and circumstances shift. Values do not. Therefore, until the management and leadership of the company become educated in safety management concepts and principles and come to understand the long-term value to the business (and its employees), lasting change will not occur. As I wrote in my SafetyXChange article that was published on 5/30/07, achieving sustainable improvements in safety performance often requires a change in the way an organization approaches and thinks about safety - a paradigm shift.

There is no one thing that will overcome the failed attempts. The work environment (e.g., housekeeping, equipment), the behaviors of the leaders and line employees, and the safety knowledge and skills must all be addressed.

Accountability is the most critical aspect in the development and the sustainability of an effective safety improvement process. An accountability system needs to be in place for employees and all levels of line management. The role of the system is to define safety roles and responsibilities, goals and objectives, targeted activities, measurements for progress and success, reporting mechanisms, assessment methods and consequences for results (both positive and negative).

I stand by my "3 C's" of organizational or cultural change:

(1) A champion is needed to lead and maintain the process;
(2) There must be a commitment to and sense of ownership in the process; and
(3) Long-term consistency in both actions and words is required.

Please feel free to use my name and company. In fact, if Devin Singh wants to speak with me directly, I can be reached via the contact information shown below or on my web site (www.wolfsafety.com).

Gary C. Wolf
Principal Consultant
Wolf Safety Group, LLC
116 Reveille Road
Chesterbrook, PA 19087-5834
610.647.8643 (office)
610.213.7928 (mobile)

Conclusion

Do you have any advice on how to successfully implement a safety program? How about a success story? (How about you Saxcies™  finalists? Care to share a few pointers?) Send your suggestions for implementing a safety program that sticks to catherinej@bongarde.com, and let us know if we can use your name/company name with your note.

TRAINING BLOOPERS

True experiences that trainers would like to forget

Firing the Trainer

Many years ago I used to volunteer at a racing circuit in Scotland. As part of our training we had to attend various safety demonstrations. One day during practice we were given a demonstration of how to get a trapped driver out of a burning car.

The instructor was a bit nervous and after having set the car on fire, he turned to give us a little speech. Unfortunately the car caught fire quicker than he expected and we started laughing as we noticed the smoke starting to come from his coveralls. He soon realized the problem when he felt the heat.

Obviously, he was a little embarrassed but recovered quickly and picked up a jemmy bar to show us how to pry open the car door. Unfortunately he tripped and the jemmy went through the car door, whereupon someone shouted, "Oh he's killed the driver."

The instructor, to his credit, continued with the demonstration but we all had a great laugh and talked about it for months afterwards. That was one lesson we never forgot.

Frank Pierpoint-Allen
Director of Environmental Services
The Salvation Army Buchanan Lodge
New Westminster BC.

Do you have a training blooper you'd like to share with SafetyXChange readers? Send them to catherinej@bongarde.com and let us know if we can use your name/company name.

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