Safety Culture - Workplace Safety 101

"Big changes start with small steps”

Safety culture is an important topic; however, it's time-consuming to inspect and difficult to tackle.

Let's take an example from our everyday lives - using a ladder at home. Everyone knows that they aren't supposed to stand on the top two steps of a ladder without support; it's just too easy for the ladder to kick out from beneath and result in a fall.

In most cases of accidents at the workplace, the employees involved already know how to act safely, they just choose not to because the safe approach is time-consuming, or their personal protective equipment is perceived to be uncomfortable. In such situations, we might find employees bypassing the safeguards or safety procedures in the quest for greater productivity.

"We choose to be safe"

Instead of being impetus to stay safe because of supervisory pressures or a fear of negative repercussions, we need to intrinsically develop our safety culture on a personal level and comply with safety procedures because one would want to stay safe, and understand the link between compliance and safety. A maturity model needs to be developed across the working environment.

Everyone wants a safe workplace, but keeping our employees safe requires more than just "fire extinguishers and safety barriers". A truly safe workplace requires a safety-positive workplace culture. Remember, our colleagues in the workplace want to be safe as much as we do.

'Food for thought'

Here is a five-step process to imbibe basic safety thoughts in our everyday operations at the workplace:

Step 1: Communicate

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. We cannot expect employees to know something we haven't told them. Practicing good communication skills while implementing safety practices is vital.

Step 2: Engage

Workers don't just want to be told what must be done - we must invest time to hear them out and clear their queries.

Step 3: Integrate

Safety practices are integral and must be weaved into the processes. Developing a safety plan and reserving time for daily safety meetings can help employees understand that safety is a part of the workday, and they will be more likely to internalise the desired safety practices.

Step 4: Aspire

Our workplace safety culture should be aspirational. We must create an environment where meeting safety goals is rewarded not just by the absence of accidents, but also by reward and recognition. This encourages trust and engagement from our workforce.

Step 5: Walk the talk

Most importantly, effective safety starts at the top with the leadership and demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the best practices to ensure workplace safety.

Finally, 'safety is a journey', and for an organisation and its employees, safety culture must become a living, breathing entity that is nurtured and promoted to thrive at the workplace.