“When Safety Is Second Nature”

When we practice something long enough, we become so proficient that it seems almost instinctual, almost like something that we would do "naturally." That is, our "first nature" is what we would do without reflection, instruction, or conscious thought.

SECOND NATURE -- "Said of a habit or way of doing things that has become so ingrained that it is instinctive."

The first nature would be those things we are genetically programmed to do, like, the song says: "breathing out and breathing in."

If we want to elevate our environment, health and safety (EH&S) performance we must focus on two sides of safety: the soft side and the hard side. The soft side is all about making EH&S a part of our culture and our DNA. The hard side is the engine that drives that culture, such as our operating disciplines, processes and tools.

Both are critical, but the soft side is more difficult to achieve because it involves human behavior. It takes time to nurture a safety mindset and make it a way of life rather than a box to check or something to do as time allows.

Eventually, the effort pays off as safety behaviors become automatic, like putting on a seat-belt, and that’s when we start to see dramatic improvements.

We can buy most of the processes and tools to implement and measure safety performance. However, we can’t buy a safety culture; it must happen from the inside out.

?Make safety the top value… We must have the philosophical discussion. We must ask ourselves what I am doing to develop the right behaviors to keep myself, my co-workers the environment safe. Putting safety first is critical but conversations can’t be only about the numbers; they must put concern for people and the organization’s future first. When we do that, we’re building a culture in which tolerance for harm and injury is very low and safety expectations are very high. Employees at all levels will start demanding the processes and tools, and get inspired to make a difference. When that happens, safety becomes a part of our DNA. Improved behaviors will fuel innovative thinking and more sustainable improvements in total EH&S performance

?Set the tone from the top. Leadership, from the upper management down, plays a key role in cultural change, and must be visible and vigilant in its commitment. Safety must involve everyone. It helps to start with the basics: make safety a core value rather than an initiative; infuse it into our corporate strategy; integrate it across all businesses, functions and geographies; and continually measure progress. In addition, leaders must take every opportunity to talk about safety. They must show they personally care, they want others to care, and it takes a team to succeed.

?Hold everyone accountable. To create and sustain a safety mindset, all people at all levels must be involved and accountable — no exceptions. This includes employees across all businesses and functions. If a failure does occur, our company must acknowledge it, conduct a root cause investigation, take corrective action, and leverage the learning across the organization to prevent repeat incidents. If we can’t do these things, we don’t have the right culture.

Establish bold goals. Rather than settle for incremental EH&S goals that are easily attainable, we must set challenging goals that truly will drive change. We can expand our goals to include the impact we have on our communities and the world?

?Learn and leverage. We must be a learning organization focused on prevention and continuous improvement. The best system is one that teaches safety behaviors and operating disciplines and that keeps us engaged with industry best practices. While the goal is to prevent incidents, we still need a mechanism to learn from our mistakes. At the same time, we must be flexible enough to deal with new issues and challenges. In a sense, we are constantly learning is all about.

The only way to create an enduring safety culture is to have both the culture and the processes firmly in place, and to pay as much attention to the soft side of EH&S as the hard side. If safety is a part of our daily routine, it will become second nature and ingrained in our DNA. The rewards are well worth the investment: healthier employees, safer communities, a cleaner environment, more sustainable operations, and a better reputation — all of which drive business growth and competitive advantage.

What traps should we avoid? Complacency, satisfaction with the status quo, willingness to compromise, tolerating lazy leadership and big egos, passing the buck, adopting easy goals, and thinking we know it all, as well as not setting priorities, clarifying expectations, communicating and being transparent.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” William James”