Making Safety Moments Part of the Culture

Written By: Brent Knight, CSP; President, ISS, inc.

I remember the age-old argument that safety cannot be a priority. The reasoning is that priorities change, and when push comes to shove, safety will be swept to the side in favor of production. I think this is true, and I also feel that many companies take a lot of pride in their safety programs and fail to realize that they may not be effective in practice, but we will leave that topic for a future blog.

If safety is not a priority, then what is it? It must be a value, and I believe it should be a core value in any organization. Core values build the foundation upon which an organization and its culture are built. The most outstanding companies place a high enough value on the safety of their workforce that they make it a foundational or core value. There are many methods by which to do this, but the theme is that it is real and cannot be compromised in favor of production.

A great way to keep this value in the spotlight is to start every meeting with a “Safety Moment.” This is just a simple share that puts safety at the forefront of the organization. A safety moment can be many things, such as a lesson learned, a near miss or incident that occurred, a change in a process or a standard, a new piece of safety equipment, and more. It can be anything.

Though a safety moment is supposed to be a quick share, and the meeting facilitator normally asks if anyone has one, I have found that it is best to ask for a volunteer at the end of the meeting to present the safety moment at the next meeting. This allows it to be added to the meeting agenda and gives the person time to prepare.

Some argue that the safety moment wastes time and does not add value. I disagree and feel we need to keep safety at the forefront of everything we do daily. This requires repetitious attention, and I think the safety moment is a way to keep it out in front of everyone.

Think about your meetings. Do you start them with a safety moment? If not, I urge you to consider doing so. You can conduct a web search and find creative ideas for safety moments.