Getting Support for Safety
By: Michael Dougherty
What is the most effective way to get whole-hearted support for safety from your workers? Keep in mind, that any way you decide, must eliminate indifference and resistance to everyday safe practices. The answer to the question is communication to and from the employee.
The most successful approach in getting employees to commit to avoiding injury or incident is to get them to talk about the value of being safe. Then you can guide their thoughts until they convince themselves.
The difference in treating safety in a light or a serious manner results from each worker's personal conviction that the device or rule in question is (or is not) going to require their complete cooperation. They can be given firm mechanical instruction, but only they can commit themselves to follow the rule or prevent the bypass of a guarding device.
One way to get experienced employees to consistently use guards or follow rules is to have the employees talk and express their opinions about the specific problem. The problem area should be introduced to the workers with the clear understanding that it is of first importance to you as the supervisor, and to your superiors. Let them know that some action in compliance with the present rules must be forthcoming.
Start the employees talking. Ask questions which require fairly expanded or detailed answers. Listen intently and sincerely to demonstrate your interest. Agree where possible and encourage them to talk more. If the conversation is not already about specific safety devices or practices, turn it toward these subjects. Let them tell you how others could compromise or bypass the prescribed practice. Keep on the subject and get them to talk, talk, and talk.
You are generally the 'expert' on safety, but the employee is the expert on the work that applies the safety device or principle. They respect your expertise, but they expect that you will respect their knowledge and experience. As a practical result, your advice won't be appreciated by them nearly as much as their own. Both of you know that you can temporarily modify their physical movement by giving direction, but only the workers can modify their attitude for the long, safe haul.