One of the first questions we ask management when assessing a company or organization’s safety program, is “How strong is your overall safety program?”.
Invariably the answer is positive. Every company wants to believe that they have a strong approach to safety, and that they are doing the right things, even if the results aren’t as good as they would like. A few years ago we started asking a follow -up question, “What would your employees say, if we asked them if you have a strong safety program” ?
The reality is that the only assessment that counts is the second one, the opinion of the employees. If they don’t believe in the company’s safety program, it doesn’t make much difference whether management thinks it’s strong or not. The workers are the ones who are getting hurt, and whose behavior matters, and it is behavior that leads to injuries.  The question that management needs to ask is not if the company’s safety program is in perfect compliance, but if that program has a positive impact on the behaviors that lead to avoidable injuries and claims.

We have identified six components that influence behavior in any workforce, and contribute to a stronger commitment to performing their jobs safely.
1.Bilingual Safety Trainers
2.Safety Meetings with Participation
3.Safety Incentive Program with Participation
4.Accountability
5.Visibility
6.Sincerity

Proof Statements
Everything a company does in regard to safety constitutes a proof statement to their workers. Consciously or not, every employee is evaluating whether the company cares about their personal safety, and where safety ranks in the company’s list of priorities. Bilingual safety trainers who can weave both English and Spanish into the presentation are far more effective than having a training delivered in English and then translated. It is also a measure of respect to the employees, a sign that the company cares.
Do the safety meetings and safety trainings involve the employees, with the goal of making sure that they understand what is being taught, or do they just fulfill an OSHA requirement, boring but necessary? When people are involved in any training they tend to learn more, because they tend to be more engaged, and when long term workers are hearing a safety topic for the twentieth time, it is a very good idea to have a training where he does not simply tune out.
Everyone knows that the vast majority of injuries are avoidable, and are the result of behavior: unsafe, careless, or fraudulent. Change the behavior, and injuries come tumbling down. Nothing is more effective at changing behavior than a well designed safety incentive program that motivates employees to act safely, support their fellow workers, and report injuries promptly. Safety incentive programs that rely on gimmicks like bingo deliver the opposite message; that safety is a game. To be effective, the safety incentive program should be based on behavior and results, should be participatory with recognition, and should offer the chance to win something significant. Pictures of winners, plaques for safe departments, newsletters recounting positive safety achievements all add to the legitimate perception that safety is a priority. Accountability should be a central piece of any safety incentive program.
The best way to demonstrate a company’s sincerity is to have top management participate. If the general manager is walking through the workplace, praising safe departments,  and handing out the awards at meetings, it lets everyone know just how important safety is to him, and to the company.
Studies prove what intuition tells us, that when people believe that their employer cares about them, and specifically cares about their well being, they perform better and have a greater loyalty to the employer. That’s what makes a strong safety program.


To see an effective safety meeting in action, visit us at www.safetyconsultantsonsite.com

James Parker is an author having experience in writing about the importance of Safety Meetings and Workplace safety. His articles are fond useful to business firms to get some well experienced safety and security companies as well as some acknowledgement about how to deal in emergency situations.