Comments on: Q&A: Keeping Your Workers Safe

By: Graybar ESP Blog | Construction Safety & Safety SolutionsEnergy Efficiency, Safety and Productivity Products

Wed, 21 May 2014 15:17:12 +0000

[…] job is to wrangle everyone up to sign a “200% accountability poster.” I found an interesting blog post on job-site safety by Crucial Skills that used 200% accountability to reduce injuries and accidents […]

By: Bret Clikeman

Bret Clikeman — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:09:51 +0000

I have over 30 years of working in manufacturing. I now work for a company that has a truly different approach to safety and has been wildly successful. I transitioned to this company almost 2 years ago. We have an injury rate similar to many office job companies even though we are a 500 employee heavy industrial shop (1.4) and have held this range for years. If there is a model of success this is it.
1. They make the employees understand who really pays the price for injury – THEM ( it is not threatening it appeals to self-preservation / their families’ security).
2. Make them responsible for identifying safety issues and helping them fix the problems (they have investment in the fixing).
3. EVERYONE does morning exercises.
Having been around many shops this seemed too simple and I think that is why it works. I have seen the rules and signs and detail training and cajoling and threatening insurance cost and threatening termination and…………………. And never seen this kind of success.

By: Peter Eastman, SPHR

Peter Eastman, SPHR — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 20:22:28 +0000

I have had a number of very interesting conversations over the years with a guy, who runs a behavioral safety training company, about ways to motivate employees and change the expectations that management is communicating – both officially and unofficially. In my work as a aggressive behavior prevention trainer, I saw many situations where the official message from the organization flew in the face of the actual manager behaviors.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 23:32:09 +0000

The assumption is that workplace risks are the result of the ‘bad apple’ phenomenon: workers who won’t challenge unsafe practices. This completely ignores the common problem of the ‘bad apple crate’. – the employment culture fed by Directors who have successfully lobbied for the de-regulation of their industries (both in terms of customer safety and worker safety). Large companies like poultry, mining, chemicals, and fertilizer producers come readily to mind as the disasters that occur in those sectors are high profile. If leadership has anything to do with promoting a culture of safety then where are our leaders? In the back pocket of the regulators?

By: Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 22:40:01 +0000

Very good article, Ron. The results of an accident, or carelessness, can be serious and often permanent. It’s too late once it’s happened. Prevention is the only effective option and speaking up is the way to achieve that. That 5 point charter is a good way to make it easier for people to say something; that and the verbal skills to actually do it effectively.