Here's how you can instill a culture of safety accountability across all levels of your organization.

The first and most crucial step in building a safety culture is the commitment from leadership. Leaders must not only talk about safety but must also model safe behaviors and prioritize safety in decision-making. This includes allocating resources, time, and attention to safety initiatives. Leadership commitment sets the tone for the entire organization. Continuous training and education are essential. Employees should be educated on the importance of safety protocols and the correct usage of safety equipment. Developing comprehensive safety policies and procedures is a fundamental aspect of a safety culture. These guidelines should cover all aspects of workplace safety, from emergency response plans to daily safety checks.

Building a culture of safety begins with leadership commitment. When leaders prioritize and actively engage in safety initiatives, they set a powerful example. This demonstrates to the entire organization that safety is non-negotiable and integral to operations. Encourage visibility and accountability among management, reinforcing the importance of safety protocols and fostering trust and responsibility throughout the workforce. This leadership-driven approach not only enhances workplace safety but also cultivates a unified commitment to protecting employees and promoting a positive organizational culture.

Do not 'create' channels for feedback to make it clear that every voice is valuable. Do not put up suggestion boxes, or implement anonymous reporting tools. BE the channel for feedback, suggestions and reporting YOURSELF. If you're not, how can you expect anyone to put anything of value in a suggestion box? If you are not the person of trust and neither are other leaders around you, any of these measures for a (non-existent) speak-up culture will fail. Dare to be different and stop just following what others are doing.

Fostering a culture of safety hinges on open communication where all team members feel empowered to report hazards and near-misses without fear of reprisal. Establish transparent feedback channels like safety meetings, suggestion boxes, and anonymous reporting tools. Emphasize learning from incidents rather than assigning blame, reinforcing a proactive approach to safety improvement. When every voice is valued, it promotes a collaborative environment committed to continuous safety enhancement and employee well-being.

Be aware: Training will NOT solve human error problems. Don't try to fix your problems in safety with training, retraining and refresher training (and then start all over again). Training for sure has its place, but when you try to fix a 'people problem' with it, you are wasting time and effort. Better to look at options, how to unlock the potential of your safety team and other leaders. All of them, want to be good in safety, but just often don't know how to be effective in safety. Train them on how to create highest levels of awareness and generate real ownership for safety. It's not rocket science, and worth every single dollar and second.

Effective safety training goes beyond the basics by addressing specific workplace risks and emphasizing everyone's role in safety. Tailor programs to your environment, ensuring relevance and engagement. Make training ongoing to reinforce knowledge and adapt to evolving hazards. Regular updates demonstrate commitment to safety as a dynamic priority, fostering a culture where safety practices are ingrained and continually improved. This proactive approach not only mitigates risks but also empowers employees to contribute to a safer and more resilient workplace.

Do not fall into the trap of 'reward & punishment', which is so tempting and seems to be the obvious choice. Human error is NOT a choice, and you will never be able to stop people from making mistakes. Even, many are 'willful violators', me and you as well. 'Consequences for non-compliance' is not an effective way to deal with the challenges. Instead, we need to be curious about the context, the environment that resulted in a certain behavior and decision. Then only we have the real chance to learn and improve. Let's work together to ensure that AI one day produces better solutions :)

'Safety accountability' will only come from the inside. We can assign responsibilities, instruct, tell, train and retrain, and finally punish .. but ownership for safety cannot be assigned, it needs to be created. One way is to become familiar with and practice the mindset and skills of a leader-coach in safety. Coaching is all about raising awareness and generating ownership. Everything that traditional safety approaches don't do. And everything we desperately need.