Getting honest about safety

In his second article for SHP Online, Chad Lilley explores how being honest about health and safety is a fundamental attribute to creating a positive workplace culture.

As I discussed in my last article, D.A.R.E to challenge safety, one of the first things you need in order to create a positive culture is a compelling vision, a vision that people can gravitate towards, instead of the normal way of working – away from what we don’t want, i.e. accidents.

The second fundamental is honesty. Honesty is needed on so many levels, from the vision that people truly believe is possible, to the day-to-day activities people carry out.

Now, before I go any further, I would like to state that I know people’s intentions are good and they genuinely never want to see anyone get hurt, however, we have been conditioned a certain way and we also get caught up in the whirlwind of routine work.

Target Zero

So, setting a vision of target zero, zero harm or safety first, although looking good on paper, is actually very limiting on many levels.

Firstly, I only know of a handful of people that actually believe it is possible, and I am one of them. However, if people don’t genuinely think it is possible, the vision isn’t very compelling and will result in an all too common buy in, poor at best.

You see, if we are being honest, if this is a vision that people have bought into then the induction room would be a hive of activity, it would be pristine and welcoming, inductions would be delivered by management with the advice of the safety department and there would be no need for “safety week” as it would already be a constant.

Pre-task briefs would be carried out with enthusiasm instead of being a tick in the box task, near miss reporting would be actively encouraged and everyone would join in – not just the management telling others that they should do more even though the managers don’t do any themselves. People would lead by example and there would be energy behind the whole subject instead of the feeling of “this is what we have to do”.

An honest safety culture

So, let’s get real, creating a positive culture has been proved to work as it is honest and straight.

The truth is “ We are in business to make money, with no one getting hurt along the way” that is why it is called “The Health and Safety at Work Act” and not the “ we can all roll around in cotton wool, and that way no one will get hurt – Act”.

Ideally people would be happy to have discussions on how best to do a job and not just a risk assessment filled out by someone who has never picked up any tools, only for it to be signed and chucked into a filling cabinet and only ever looked at again if someone gets hurt. What will it take for people to get honest on safety?

There are five areas that need to be addressed in order to improve any area of business, which includes safety:

1. absence of trust;
2. fear of conflict – unable to engage;
3. lack of commitment;
4. avoidance of accountability; and
5. inattention to results.

As this article is about being straight and honest there are 6 main reasons for mistrust:

1. a lack of follow through on commitments made. The number one on this is when we ask people to speak up and then don’t do anything with the information;
2. openness of communication;
3. amount of availability of communication and what form that takes;
4. incompetent or poor decision making. Why employ a man with thirty years’ experience and then have a graduate tell him what to do? and
5. incompetent job performance.

And being dishonest shows up at number 6.
It is not the major offences that are the main reasons for mistrust, don’t get me wrong they are important, however they are not as important as the day-to-day activities. And, to be straight, that is where most of your accidents are anyway.

Chad Lilley is a behavioural safety specialist and author for Chad Lilley International, which specialises in people and long-term behavioural results. Our focus and attention to detail is equally of the highest standard whether working with a private individual client or a corporate company. Our purpose is to assist and support the client in changing their behaviours that create life changing and empowering results.