Thought Leadership

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As I was catching up on the goings on of my friends and family on Facebook, I stumbled on a story of a teacher who truly knows how to communicate with students. First, the teacher made it a part of the job as a communicator to know and understand the audience. We, as safety leaders need to do the same.

Making sure that your children are aware of the aspects of fire safety is incredibly important. They need to be able to know what to do in the event of a fire, and teaching them about the different points of fire safety can save lives. From knowing when to push fire alarms to preventing fires in the first place, there are several considerations that need to be considered to keep kids safe.

Recently I was talking to colleagues on the subject of talking to strangers on airplanes. Like many safety professionals I spend a fair amount of time crammed into an uncomfortable seat, breathing stale air, and having my space invaded by a mouth-breather whose idea of a good trip is chatting up the stranger beside him.

Our personal risk tolerance is directly influenced by the severity of the outcome. If there is a high cost associated with a risk, we are more prone to comply with the rules set in place. While writing this post, I am reminded of today’s airline industry.

A number of companies have made significant improvements to their safety cultures. Their progress is so dramatic, they often come to the realization that it is highly probable that their next fatality will come from a contractor they hire. To safety leaders, this is not an acceptable risk.

When we survey drivers during our training courses, we regularly have over 90% of participants rating themselves as better than average drivers. You probably fall into this group too. It’s almost certainly true; most of the time at least.

One of the best ways to make your point is by using humor. As you know, you will more likely listen to a creative and fun airline safety announcement than the same old tired message. For years, I have been sharing the message that people need to use the handrail whenever they are using the stairs.

Aaron Trippler’s commentary on “When OSHA Wins By Losing” (ISHN OSHA Regulatory Alert—03-17-14) was interesting. However, I believe the winners when OSHA loses have not been appropriately identified. The real winners are:  1. S&H Excellence/Sustainability and 2. S&H Professionals.

We all engage in activities outside of work that have risks. In our personal lives, it is normal for our risk tolerance to increase; however, with increased risk comes increased probability of injury. A recent National Safety Council (NSC) report revealed that about 70% of all medical case injuries occur off the job, along with about 90% of fatal injuries.