Safety is at it again: OSHA Top 10 Violations Reviewed

The results are in....we are still unsafe at work. Shocker right? But there is more.

At the National Safety Council Congress and Expo, OSHA announced its preliminary list of Top 10 Most Cited Violations in 2019. Even though the data may be preliminary, it is not expected to change in order much as the top 8 have consistently hit the leader board for over 5 years. So in this article, we discuss the Good, Bad, and Ugly of Safety and recommendations for improving violations numbers. (Hint: It has nothing to do with more rules or regulations, but more about your leadership and message.)

So let's dive in:

THE GOOD: According to The Industry Report by Training Magazine, companies spent 6.4% less money in 2018 compared to the year prior. Even with less money spent, OSHA saw a 15% decrease in issued violations; this means, in theory, people were safer at work and lives may have been saved. Also, the industry seems to continue to trend downward with violations in general.

The BAD: Violations are still happening. With an industry that is worth $87.6 BILLION (yes Billion with a "B") in 2018, you would think we would see dramatic decreases in the violations, yet the Top 8 stay pretty consistent. Even with the numbers going down in general, we still are a far cry from feeling safe.

The UGLY: Lockout/Tagout moved up a spot. With Lockout/Tagout arguably being one of the most dangerous violations behind falls, this is huge. Yes, we have decreased worker deaths in America drastically, BUT we still have 575 deaths in the 2019 OSHA fiscal year according to OSHA fatality inspection data. That is 575 deaths too many. Even though we say accidents are preventable, the reality is this is not true. Some strange things will happen, but some things are preventable. It is our job to create a space for safety and health practices to be valued and encouraged, not just enforced.

Side frustrating note: OSHA does not include the number of deaths from stress-induced events from work, so I believe the number is even uglier. Hint, hint: There is a reason that most heart attacks happen on Monday mornings between 5-6 a.m. No, I do not want OSHA to make more rules and regulations, but this needs to be on company's radars. Which leads to my recommendations for companies on better ways to work Safe:

Recommendations for improvement:

Find your geniuses: This was a principal I learned quickly in my career. For ANY program to work, you can NOT think you are the smartest person in the room with all the answers. However, time and time again, this seems to happen... and they wonder why people don't listen to them.

The kiss of death is to be the genius with 10,000 helpers, instead, be the genius with 10,000 geniuses.

Please remember that the people doing the frontline work every day is some of your GREATEST assets. No, they may not have your prestigious degree or even have half the years of experience as you, but they have a fantastic body part called a brain which makes them a great candidate for being a genius. So please let them use it. Solicit feedback, listen, and most importantly ACT immediately on all valuable information received.

Focus on all environments, not just the physical ones: I have yet to figure if this is such a new philosophy that people are waiting for data or an organizational body to tell them how to act, or if this is an area people are scared to go because they may be stepping on toes. Well at 4'11 and 105lbs, I am proudly going to step on toes (because I am pretty sure it won't do much damage lol)

Your physical environment matters, but also the emotional and political environments matter. (And no I am not talking about Trump political environment), I am talking about the way your company feels in the gut of everyone that works there. I say gut specifically because this is where 90% of the safety chemical, serotonin, resides. If you have heard any of my speeches, you know that Serotonin is one of my favorite chemicals and I refer to it as the safety cop of the body. This safety cop can tell when something isn't right like a power move that has been made by someone as they curtsy outside the lines of the companies core values to manipulate data. This safety cop can tell when something feels off as they hear about an unjust firing all because upper management saw things differently. This safety cop knows when there is an environment that lacks support and care. These internal safety cops are being regulated by people's perceptions of their environment and their perceptions are a DIRECT REFLECTION OF THE LEADERSHIP. If your company seems to value profits over people, you will see them ultimately spending those profits on those people in ways they didn't want to. Take care of your people; mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally, and they will take care of the organization; mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally.

Stop enforcing, start empowering! Have you ever heard of a safety person's pictures being put in the urinals so people could get their childish revenge on them? Well, I have (unfortunately). Safety can sometimes get a bad wrap as an overbearing, controlling group that needs to mind their own dang business, but this is far from the truth. As for safety people, it is our job to get people to believe in what we are "preaching" This is one of my FAVORITE challenges to work within organizations as we come up with WISE approaches. No matter the effort, I have found 10% of people will be your "headache population" and never buy-in NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO so that leaves me with 90%. That is 90% of people I can possibly affect by just one simple mindset change: Let's Work WISE by Working Safe. It is fun to come up with creative ways to engage populations so they can learn and grow to be better people daily. It never gets old when people get that "aaaha" moment when they realize safety is more than following a rule book. When you empower people, they see safety as more than wearing a vest or walking in between the bright yellow lines. Safety becomes about living your best life possible while focusing on ways they can come fully engage at home, work, and play. So next time you feel like telling someone, they need to do something because of violation X, Y, or Z. Instead, please get to know them. Learn their actual name. Shake their hand or high five them with a compliment and ask them a question or two about their passions. Go from regulations to relationships so you can stop enforcing and start empowering.

If you have any additional thoughts or would like to know more about Workzbe, please contact me at [email protected].