Why End Meetings With Safety
Most of our clients make a great effort to start meetings in a meaningful way with respect to safety. Many enjoy collecting relevant safety topics for easy reference at the beginning of meetings, and we’ve seen countless humorous videos that illustrate critical risks and risk reduction activities. We’ve admired highly engaged employees who talk about the exposures they expect to encounter during the next few hours and how they intend to ensure the right safety controls are in place.
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Operational leader & enabler
4 年I have been pushing this for some time. Beginning with safety means the last thing people walk out with is all the things that must be done. I think the best solution is to sandwich the meeting content between safety messages. Start with a safety moment and then end with actions to work safely that day.
Delivering Leadership, Restoring Functional Credibility, Sustainability & Product Compliance
5 年I see value in both approaches, a standalone discussion, or more integrated into every topic but the fact is all organizations are different, and the integrated approach may be so hard to spot that it is easily forgotten when other aspects of the discussion are highlighted. What I really like about this article is not the timing of that discussion, but the content of the questions. Introspective, asking "what are the results of this decision likely to be relative to the safety of our people?" We expect workers to examine the potential outcomes of their decisions before taking action, do leaders, managers, "decision-makers" in the org do that same thing on bigger issues that affect more? Or do we get complacent and leave the outcomes of our decisions for line workers and others to deal with? That's like saying "be safer," not terribly useful advice. The point is: whether at beginning, end or throughout, have these discussions!
Head of HSES, Volker Fitzpatrick, Building & Infrastructure.
5 年A valid point, but this still places safety as a stand alone matter and not an integral part of the business. We don't open or close meetings with a HR moment or a Finance point. We have to ensure all matters are considered in the round and yes every member will have a focus but as a management team we have to ensure balance in every conversation to achieve sustainable success.