Human beings don't change unless there is tension. For some people, problems become so large that the tension (pain) becomes acute. This tends to provide the motivation to change. Organizations respond similarly to tension. So do our efforts to improve safety performance. Tension is the source of change. Some have trivialized this as 'no pain, no gain.' If tension is necessary for change, where is the source of tension for safety improvement in your organization?
In this article, I want to explore some of the ways tension can benefit your safety program.