What are the most common mistakes when communicating safety messages to workers?

One mistake is not having management participation. it makes a difference to craft to see upper management actively involved in safety meetings and actually delivering the message. Canned safety messages often are just to check the box. The safety messages should be appropriate to the task being performed. Let craft interject their own experiences.

When giving instruction lack clarity is know to cause failure in the intended message, management must deliver the message in its most simplest form, and receive feedback from those directed to gage their understanding the message given. Don’t assume the employees will understand. If possible provide an antidotal, provide examples, check for understanding, quiz the crew afterwards.

Employees are more likely to engage with safety practices when communication is clear and accessible. Lack of clarity may result in disengagement, as individuals may perceive safety guidelines as confusing or irrelevant.

Relevance plays a pivotal role when communicating safety briefings. Putting your audience in a real world scenario helps in delivering a specific message. Relating the scenario to members of your team adds a positive spin to an otherwise serious matter. Asking for feedback clarifies whether or not your briefing was effective.

When sharing or communicating safety issues to the team i found it successful when you convert difficult topic to simple topic to deliver message to the team regardless to their education background For example in mining industry we have many unskilled labours who learns through daily practices and team participation so using technical language you may end up communicating to yourself but not to them

Consistency plays a huge role when it comes to safety communication. Safety communication should be clear, concise and direct at all times to prevent misinterpretation and misunderstanding, it should also be oriented towards organizational culture and values.

"Who is the Safety Advisor"? YOU! The word Advisor needs to be removed from the role and replaced with "Supervisor", we are disrespected and need the authority backing that Safety is to be compliant with requirements, we are not Policemen but also not a doormat! We will advise, Shut down or report behaviors that can have adverse effects on coworkers and the asset, Prevention is better than a cure Eg If you're too hungover from D&A then take "Sickie" if you get caught the HSE Manager will deal with it not the coverup "buddies"! Who wants to go home injured or without a paycheck because of negligence? There needs to be live and direct communication endorsed by the Senior operatives & Safety Supervisor Commending "Zero Harm" is the goal 24/7

One thing that I have found helpful is when you relate the message to their understanding and perspective. Most often the language we use makes it very hard for them to understand what the message is. Illustrations and using relatable and common course language are the first to prevent communication errors. Communication must encourage culture, values, and respect for the company. Respectful workplaces often remove fear and panic. This allows everyone to freely express opinions and ask critical questions to make them better understand the message of safety.

Consistency is very important in ensuring safety. There should be a clearly defined standard safety proceedure that aligns well with the organisations safety target.

Inconsistent safety communication increases the likelihood of safety lapses and incidents. Workers may not consistently adhere to safety protocols or may inadvertently overlook critical safety measures due to conflicting messages. When safety messages are inconsistent, workers may become confused about which message to follow, leading to doubt and uncertainty about the appropriate safety procedures. This confusion can result in workers either disregarding safety protocols altogether or inconsistently applying them, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.

Keep the Safety focus job specific, forget "Telltale" stories from 30 years ago or what you heard! Habit becomes inculcated with repetition not diversion, relate risks to "your job" and repeat with Safety Drills to create second nature familiarity with job, as Safety Supervisor I randomly ask personnel about ER, involve in audits, communicate Safety trend, commend performance and with "one goal" which is that we all go home and see someone better looking than the Safety Supervisor!!! We must convince each other to leave the baggage at the gate, go to EAP, ask someone RUOK but you're not a psychiatrist, if work is distracted Shut it Down High risk work doesn't give second chances and Panic because of memory loss is a killer!

When safety messages lack relevance to workers' daily tasks, needs, or interests, workers may disengage from the message. They may perceive it as irrelevant to their roles or responsibilities, leading to apathy or indifference towards safety protocols. Disengagement can result in a lack of attention to safety procedures and an increased risk of accidents or injuries.

Provide a personal example of why this safety rule/concern is personally relatable in your own experience. This provides an ownership case. Too many folks have a false "it could never happen to me" mentality.

In a fluid world that is always evolving it is important to keep making adjustments to keep the workers engaged. An example is instead of generic board signs, a digital engaged system can be used for warnings and cautions.

Language is very important as per the target audience. Local languages are to be preferred and it touches the audience. The level of information also a key again as per the audience, means you can brief very technical explanation to the management people’s but should not be the same for labourers.

Language and keeping the messaged simple and straightforward helps to keep the worker's attention. Care should be taken to avoid clouding the message with irrelevant information.

This can happen when the message is too frequent, too long, or too boring. For example, a message that is repeated every day, or that takes too much time or effort to read or listen to, can lose the workers' attention and interest. To avoid this mistake, vary the format and frequency of the message, use visual aids and interactive elements, and keep the message concise and f

En mi experiencia la retroalimentación es crucial para evaluar la claridad y efectividad de los mensajes de seguridad y para identificar áreas de mejora. La retroalimentación puede revelar si los mensajes son comprensibles, si se están aplicando adecuadamente en el lugar de trabajo y si están abordando las preocupaciones reales de los trabajadores. Al fomentar una cultura de retroalimentación abierta y constructiva, las organizaciones pueden mejorar continuamente sus mensajes de seguridad fortaleciendo así su compromiso con la seguridad en el trabajo.

The most common mistakes of Safety or HSE communication could be : - Poor communication language (non understandable for all personnel), - Using only general topics & description, - Giving orders and severe instruction, under punishement and sanction threat, - scaring personnel to be the main cause of a failure or accident, - Poor management vision/strategy, - focusing on business unit protection and production main target, instead of taking care about "human beings / personnel safety & health", - reliying on softwares or procedure effects rather to promote personnel safety behavior and their committement to safety work measures and safety behior in a specific work environment, - In emergency, accid/incid situation: find Gulty not causes

If you don't like safety try accident. Though simple, still carries the most important message for not ignoring safety. Use of safety data from reliable sources in the local and international context is a very powerful expression and without doubt captures the attention. Nice contribution

Not communicating the effects of a safety failure in terms of personnel, equipment and revenue loss. A negative stimulus evokes a lot stronger reaction and cognizance of the safety issue.