This week on a call with one of my clients, I took the responsibility for the pre-call safety moment. As I have mentioned previously, this was an idea I learned from this client last year. They, as many other companies, display safety as a value by beginning every meeting with a safety moment when someone shares a safety story or idea.
The Mossad? The Mossad is Israel’s intelligence service with a reputation for respect, fear, professionalism, boldness, expertise and execution surrounded by myth and mystery. In his book, “The Secret History of the Mossad,” author Gordon Thomas quoted the operating principles – or the cultural values -- for the agency as laid down by Meir Amit, a legendary Mossad director. I paraphrase:
My friend and colleague, Dan Rockwell, introduced his blog followers to a little book that will not only change your personal life, but might have a demonstrable impact on your safety program.
Dr. Dan Petersen was one of the great safety pioneers of the last 50 years. His focus was consistently on developing a viable safety culture that lived safety accountabilities at all levels of the organization. Organizations fully utilizing his Six Criteria for Safety Excellence are among the leaders in safety performance. These criteria are:
Trust is one of the fundamental aspects contained in the British Health & Safety Executive’s ubiquitous definition of Safety Culture, which states “organizations with a positive Safety Culture are characterized by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety, and by confidence in the efficacy of preventative measures”[i].
Eliminate or reduce any safety vs. productivity conflicts. Adopt and enact the philosophy and vision that ‘safe production is the number one priority’. Develop a safety partnership between management and employees. Actively involve employees in the safety improvement effort in meaningful ways.
The Millennial generation has been pouring into the workforce since the late 1990s and increasingly they're being promoted to supervisory and management positions.
The American Society of Safety Engineers’ Safety 2013 meeting, held this past June in steamy Las Vegas, featured an educational session titled, “Transformational Leadership – A Key Element in the Journey to World Class.”
