"SAFETY FIRST " - Fitment & Challenges.

Any organization aims to achieve great success, profits and a sense of satisfaction from stakeholders and interested parties….

Oops I missed out something here… Where is Safety amidst the Priorities ?????

“An evidence of an organization’s corporate safety culture when No one monitors their operation defines SAFETY FIRST Notion. “

How a SAFETY FIRST culture can be developed in an Organization?

Cultural Challenges : Assumptions, Beliefs , values, attitudes, Expectations and behaviors should be addressed first to eliminate uncertainty of understanding ONE VISION and ONE MISSION. That is through the Visible felt Leadership (Top Management)

Key points to address the cultural shift:

1.      Setting Priorities : Are Health and safety the TOP priority in the organization?

2.      People’s success : Are personnel recognized and awarded for working safely ?

3.      Decision Making: Is Safety on top of everything while making decisions ?

4.      Management’s expectation: Making clear about expected safe behavior in all cases by all?

5.      Employee’s expectation: getting clear understanding from employees about their needs of workplace?

6.      Peer pressure: Does the peer pressure support/ Undermine the safe behavior

7.      Conflicts resolution: When conflicts arise between productivity and safety, are they settled in favor of safety?

The above questions would definitely help anyone to assess your level in the ladder of benchmarking exercise on evaluation of company’s safety culture.

Having said that, In modern era, even a word COMPETITION would summarize modern day safety culture requirements for organization. Even though moral obligations tops the list for having safety but a pride feeling of owning one with best practices would have a better stand in the market place for demonstration . A better definition of safety at all levels can be combination of cost, quality, service, reduced stress, increased positivity and morale which in turn in Corporate language is SUCCESS. 

The FIVE STEP SECRET MANTRA from Safety Experts to develop SAFETY FIRST CORPORATE CULTURE:

Understand and assess the need/Organization current level

Plan and Expect safety related behavior

Model & Orient the workforce towards safety

Mentor and Train the desired personnel to develop safe culture and attitude.

Monitor and reinforce the desired behavior at all levels.