Rating Your Safety Culture

Aaron Hennessy, Group Managing Director, Douglas OHI

How would you rate the strength of your safety culture? Would it earn an A+ rating? Whilst there's undoubtedly room for enhancement, whether your assessment lands on the high end or the low, there's always space for more safety leaders in the workplace.

Safety leadership forms the bedrock of any effective safety culture or programme. Without robust leadership, there is no guiding force for promoting safety practices. To bolster the safety culture within the Douglas OHI Group, here are seven habits we seek from our leaders at all levels of our business.

Habit 1 - Prepare for Safety: In the workplace, managing change is a constant challenge. At Douglas OHI, safety isn't just a consideration; it's integral to every task and decision. We acknowledge that meticulous preparation is vital for effective risk mitigation. Safety is non-negotiable in all our activities, guiding us towards a culture of proactive risk management.

Habit 2 - Lead by Example: Being a safety leader is more than adhering to rules; it involves personally valuing safety and integrating it into daily practices. True motivation stems from individuals, not just organisational directives. At Douglas OHI, we embody this ethos by actively engaging in the workplace, setting exemplary standards, and positively influencing others through their actions.?

Habit 3 - Talk Safety First: Communication is essential and has a profound impact on workplace safety. Sustaining open lines of communication is crucial, as it enables the highlighting of hazards and issues, fostering a collaborative approach to their elimination. By working together as a team, everyone contributes valuable insights stemming from their knowledge of the workplace, thereby enriching safety protocols and practices.

Habit 4 - Ask Questions for Safety: Far too much emphasis can be placed on telling people what to do all the time. Whilst we all need clear direction on what is to be achieved, in order to reach a mutual level of understanding, it is far more productive to ask a series of open questions starting with “who, why, what, when where and how?”?

Habit 5 - Intervene for Safety: Safety is a team effort, and at Douglas OHI, we recognise that intervention is not easy for everyone and also if not done in a positive way, can lead to escalation rather than resolution. This is why we encourage intervention that is done in a constructive manner and helping others to find their own solutions to the problems they face. We call this, Constructive Intervention.

Habit 6 - Request Activity Changes: Repetitive tasks can sometimes lead to complacency, which is why we advocate for effective management of change that enhances safety awareness. We incorporate habits 4 & 5 into managing change in a constructive way and embody an “It's Ok” approach to requests for change.

Habit 7 - Report Incidents: Reporting incidents is not about assigning blame but about learning and preventing future occurrences. At Douglas OHI, we encourage an “If you see it, report it” approach, where every incident is seen as an opportunity to learn and improve and where we capture best practices so that we can repeat it.?

In summary, safety leadership plays a crucial role in cultivating a resilient and positive safety culture within any organisation. It goes beyond mere compliance, ingraining safety into every aspect of the organisational ethos. The seven effective safety leadership habits discussed are pivotal in nurturing an environment where safety becomes a shared responsibility and a core value.

At Douglas OHI, employees who embody these skills not only safeguard the well-being of their colleagues but also bolster the overall success and sustainability of the company by enhancing productivity and ensuring compliance. Here, every employee embraces safety leadership, recognising its significance in creating a workplace where every individual feels valued, protected, and motivated to contribute to the collective safety and success of the Group.