'SAFETY is a VALUE'

[brothermagrew]

Came across an interesting and thought provoking article:

Much of current workplace safety is concerned with developing rules and procedures, providing safety training, posting safety signs and safety posters around the facility, conducting weekly inspections, and developing theme of the month campaigns. Some forward thinking companies try to involve the workforce but many rely solely on line-management to ensure workers compliance etc. Some companies are successful in eliminating accidents but the majority is not.

When accidents do occur, many tend to attribute the cause to a person’s unsafe behaviour, poor attitudes, laziness or even stupidity! There may be some truth in what is said, some of the time, but by and large peoples perceptions of their working environment, in combination with their safety values will dictate their actual safety behaviour at any moment in time. This fact alone places a great onus on companies to ensure that its stated safety values are translated into actions that reflect the reality of the working environment. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. All too often a blind eye is turned to poor rules and procedures, poor training, poor supervision, the unavailability of tools and equipment, and poor defences such as a lack of preventative maintenance. In such companies, if they carry on as they are, doing the same things over and over again, their levels of safety performance will not change.


Full article http://www.behavioral-safety.com/articl ... Is_A_Value'/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;