A safety culture is not a “static” entity. Cultures change and develop over time.

The impact of accidents on companies, employees and their families is substantial.

The “rumor-mill” or the informal communication system can be detrimental in a workplace culture and to any safety program.

Measurable objectives and criteria are important - what can be measured usually gets done.

The following ten rules of engagement will enable your management team to make an optimal contribution to your safety culture.

While incentive gifts and rewards can be fun for employees who get excited about prizes, there are pitfalls to avoid in their use.

The “team” concept in a safety process helps to ensure employees’ participation and involvement in the safety effort. However, coaches are needed in the areas of problem-solving, decision-making, time management, resolving conflicts, delegating responsibility and helping to build the lead team and subsequent sub-teams and more.

“Same ole, same ole!” “Same old stuff!”… These are common reactions we receive when we begin our introduction of behavior-based safety at a facility. Employees have seen program after program come and go.

Results from a recent safety culture survey (conducted by The Human Side Inc.) at a large facility revealed that approximately 90 percent of the population did not know who was on their safety team, when they met or what they did. The other 10 percent, not surprisingly, were those on the team and management.

Training class is into its third day and we have broken into teams to begin identifying all the safe practices and conditions required within each team’s assigned work area. One group is having difficulty determining the safest way to perform a particular function.