From The Ground Up

“Any fool can know, the point is to understand” – Albert Einstein

Health and Safety is one of those professions where balance is everything. Swing the pendulum one way or another and that imbalance can make or break a safety program and safety culture. The two sides I’m talking about refer to theoretical safety and functional safety. A seasoned health and safety professional recognizes that the foundation of their expertise lies in their understanding of the actual work being done. Rather than relying solely on theoretical knowledge, actively involving oneself in the day-to-day operations is the key to building effective safety strategies.

When health and safety professionals immerse themselves in the work environment, they gain insights into the intricacies of each job. If you’ve never been a framer, it’s easy to look at a group of them and tell them that they must do something, but you’ll never help them fully understand how to do it unless you understand even at a basic level what they’re doing. This hands-on approach allows you to identify potential hazards that might be overlooked by a distant observer or understand that the way a book says to do it might not actually work. It's about more than just reading about a job in a manual or safety policy; it's about feeling the rhythm of the work, understanding the challenges, and appreciating the nuances that might impact the worker’s safety.

Active involvement in the workplace and the specific tasks being performed enables us to ask pertinent questions and engage in active listening. This approach helps us comprehend and understand the specific demands of the job and the concerns of the workers. Rather than relying only on the textbook solutions, we become more capable at tailoring safety to the unique circumstances of each job, each trade, and each crew.

One of the pitfalls to avoid in our field is the trap of credentialism and perceived intellectual superiority. A laundry list of qualifications might look impressive on paper, but it's the practical understanding of the work that truly counts. Workers are unlikely to embrace safety enforced by someone who is detached from the day-to-day realities of their job. That’s not to say that traditional learning isn’t important, or that credentials don’t matter, they most definitely do, but they can’t work alone. I’ll give you an example; I’ve worked in Heavy-Civil for most of my life. I can’t even count how many times an Engineer has designed something that just won’t work. I’ve had long, drawn out arguments as a Supervisor as to why 1% fall over a 600m long ditch won’t drain, and have been told countless times to “just do it because I’m the Engineer and my design will work”. I appreciated the extra money that came with the Time and Materials work it took to fix it, but we could have avoided the extra time and cost entirely if the Engineer had listened to my reasoning in the first place. Does that mean I was smarter than the Engineer or that their credentials were worthless? Absolutely not. All it meant was that having done the work on the ground level, my foresight was valid at that time and in that situation and should have been considered.

Involving workers in the conversation from the start is necessary if you want things to work. They are the ones who carry out the job and face the challenges on the ground. Their input is important to create safety procedures that are not only effective but also feasible. By establishing open communication and collaboration, we as health and safety professionals can tap into the wealth of knowledge possessed by the people we’re trying to protect. Involving them gives them a sense of ownership and accountability.

Safety is not a one-size-fits-all concept. What works in one setting might not in another. By actively participating in the work processes, we gain the contextual understanding necessary to develop tailored safety solutions. This approach not only enhances the well-being of the workers and contributes to the overall efficiency and productivity of the workplace, it makes us approachable, relatable, and credible.

We need to start by understanding the work from the ground up. Active involvement, asking questions, and active listening are important tools in the safety professional's arsenal. Perceived intellectual superiority and a lack of humility only serves to create barriers between the safety professional and the workers. Instead, collaboration and involving the professionals who do the work themselves (the workers) in the safety conversation from the beginning ensures that safety measures are not only effective but also embraced by those whose well-being they are designed to protect.

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