A TT Talk describes how to develop a safety culture in workplace.
Developing a mature safety culture
Compliance with regulations and related requirements is a given for all businesses. Failure to comply will place your business in an extremely difficult position, should a serious incident occur. However, adherence with the law should be seen as the baseline in the context of developing a mature safety culture. Furthermore, achieving the minimum may not ultimately be good enough for your business.
Inevitably, there are a range of factors that need to be taken into account in developing an appropriate safety culture for any business. Not least, the underlying environment, including corporate resources and operational throughput, will fundamentally impact the aspirations that drive the business.
As so often, this requires reflection and assessment – preferably a ‘360 degree’ process that takes into consideration your stakeholder universe. Such a comprehensive assessment of the existing safety culture will provide a baseline understanding of the organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
It clearly is not necessary for every similar organisation globally to reach the same conclusions around safety. It is, however, crucial that safety issues are adequately considered, leading to the development of policies and procedures that support a ‘progressive’ or continually improving safety culture. The result will be something tangible, clearly communicated, understood, adopted and appreciated by all stakeholders. So, where might you start?
Committed leadership
The first step in implementing safety culture improvements is to secure strong leadership commitment. Leaders must visibly demonstrate their dedication to safety, communicate safety expectations clearly, and allocate resources to support safety initiatives. They should actively participate in safety programs, set measurable safety goals, and hold themselves accountable for safety outcomes.
Leadership is by example, seen to be ‘walking the walk’ and not just ‘talking the talk’. The whole organisation should feel that doing the right thing is the only way to work, and this must be led from the very top. Where the leadership team is seen to take safety seriously and be accessible where safety matters are concerned, then the entire workforce will follow suit.
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Source: TT Club
