You don’t need a special title or years of experience to make a difference in workplace safety; every employer, worker, supervisor, and committee member plays a role. WSPS Consultant Norm Kramer, with over a decade of experience in warehouse and distribution safety, has seen firsthand how safety leadership can come from any corner of an organization. Use these tips to make safety engaging and help build a strong safety culture. 

1. Talk to your greatest asset, your team. Employees who perform the work have valuable insights to share on how to improve their work and make it safer. Tap into this knowledge by taking the time to talk to workers, not just in a group setting, but one-on-one. Ask for their ideas,” explains Norm. The message you are sending is that they are important and that you want to hear from them. This can be done by anyone – committee members, supervisors, and employers. 

“Take all their suggestions seriously and review them with your internal decision makers,” says Norm. Listening and bringing ideas forward from employees will boost morale significantly, which will improve engagement and retention. 

“If you do implement a specific suggestion, thank the employee again. If you don’t, also thank them and explain why their idea was not implemented. When you make business improvements, including safety, you have already attained buy-in because workers were part of the change management process.”

2. Walk the talk. “If you want to improve safety in your workplace, it’s important to be authentic and set an example,” says Norm. “In other words, your actions must match what you say. If you drive too fast in the parking lot, don’t wear high visibility apparel, use cell phones near mobile equipment, or subtly convey the message that production is more important than safety, you lose all credibility.” Team members may very well ignore your safety communications or training, notes Norm, thinking, ‘they don’t follow safety rules, so I guess it’s not important.’ “Safety leaders and employers must not fall into this trap.”

“Make sure everyone walks the talk regarding safety, from the most senior person who signs the cheques to the person performing cleanup. Keep your safety culture strong.”

3. Make safety relevant and engaging. A production worker recently told Norm about a safety meeting he attended: “The safety manager read from health and safety legislation, but didn’t apply it to our workplace. I heard the words coming out of the manager’s mouth; however, I had no idea what it meant to me." 

As a safety leader, your job is to take the boring legislation and standards, and make them relevant, understandable, engaging and motivational, says Norm. There are many ways to do this. A training session could include a video of an incident from a security surveillance camera, followed by a discussion of how the incident occurred and what should be done differently. Or a photo of a hazard and a control, and a discussion of how and why the control keeps workers safe. 

Norm shares an example where the JHSC hosted a Jeopardy! style game. “Divide participants into teams, provide answers, and have them work together to guess the correct question. For example, the answer is: pre-use inspection on a lift truck. The question is: what should every operator do before using mobile equipment?”

“The ways to make safety relevant and engaging are endless,” says Norm. “Don’t skimp on preparation and make your messaging meaningful so that employees walk away from meetings and training smarter and safer.”

4. Embrace continuous learning. “In safety, learning never ends,” says Norm. “Technology is moving at a rapid pace. Stay on top of new and innovative approaches to solve complex business and safety issues.” As technology and best practices evolve, so should we. Norm encourages everyone to keep learning, ask questions, and share new knowledge with colleagues.

How WSPS can help 

Resources

• Are your workers listening? 6 steps for creating dynamic safety talks (article)
• Using Consensus in Safety Decision-Making (pre-recorded webinar)
• Is your JHSC struggling? Tips for overcoming 4 common challenges (article)
• The ROI of OHS: Boost your organization with a strong health and safety program (article)
• Do your workplace supervisors understand their role? 'Due diligence' explained (article)
• The Trusted Leader Blog: Health and Safety Culture

Training

• The Effective Supervisor - Building Strategies for Success (2 days, online instructor-led training)
• Supervisor Responsibilities & Due Diligence (4 hours, available as an eCourse or through online instructor-led training) 

The information in this article is accurate as of its publication date.