Safety in Action 2015

Brisbane Safety Conference

Building a Culture of Safe

and Healthy Habits

Prepared by: Carolyn Hands

Senior Consultant

SafetyWorks Group

Agenda

Safety Culture

Developing a safer, more productive & healthier workplace

Impactful management to create a positive safety culture

Key elements of a positive safety culture

Next Steps

Creating a Safety Culture

A core set of safety values and behaviours

that emphasise safety as an

overriding priority

Values are the foundation and safety culture

is expressed through what is said and done

- through behaviour

Patterns of behaviour . . . (what we say & do)

Encouraged or Discouraged (reinforced or punished)

By people or systems (purposefully or inadvertently)

Over time

Culture Defined

Poor

Good

PE

RF

OR

MA

NC

E

Typical Safety Journey.. • Safety is a VALUE

• Understanding Risk Taking

• Safe Behaviour Habits

• Feedback/Positive

Reinforcement

• Personal Responsibility /

Ownership

• Managing by Consequences

• Safe Behaviours On & Off the

Job

• Prevention Mindset

Behaviour/Culture

Systems

Natural Instincts

Equipment, Plant, Hardware

Safety Compliance Safety Maturity Safety Excellence

Creating Voluntary Effort

Voluntary

Effort

“Have to”

“Want to”

Minimum Compliance

Time

Pe

rfo

rma

nc

e

Positive

Reinforcement

Negative

Reinforcement

Relationships are Critical

Relationships are Critical

Relationships are Critical

Relationships are Critical

Relationships are Critical

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their

problems is the day you have stopped

leading them. They have either lost

confidence that you can help them or

concluded you do not care. Either case is

a failure of leadership”

…Colin Powell…

Myth: I’m paid for results,

not to be well liked Number and severity of errors made by the crew is

significantly correlated with the personality of the

captain

• Fewest errors – Captains who were warm, friendly, self-confident, and agreeable

• Most errors – Captains who were arrogant, hostile, boastful, egotistical, and dictatorial

• Chidester et al (1991)

Applying this to Safety

Think of one person at

your workplace who

has good relationships

with people. What do

you see them doing or

hear them saying about health & safety?

What is the Impact

on people and

health and safety.

Effective Safety Leadership

You will achieve the level of safety

excellence that you

Demonstrate and Reinforce

Positive Impactful Leadership Strategies

Defining Expectations: being clear, specific and using objective

language

Modeling: set an example by engaging in the behaviour you want your team to repeat

Positive Reinforcement: effectively using reinforcement to drive critical behaviours

Follow Through: be clear about what you will and will not do and

follow through on it – build trust

Feedback: providing positive and constructive feedback that helps people improve

Measurement: ensure wherever expectations are defined, they are measured consistently

When is a Positive Safety

Culture Sustainable? • Safety is held as a value by all people within the

organisation.

– Decisions are made by actively considering safety every time

• Each individual takes accountability for the safety of themselves, their peers and those that report to them

• Each individual is willing and able to ‘go beyond the call of duty’ (apply Voluntary Effort) on behalf of the safety of others

These are dependent on Effective Leadership

Key Elements to developing a

positive safety culture

2. Workers at all levels are comfortable giving positive & constructive feedback for

at risk behaviour & safe behaviour

3. No one is blamed for near misses or incidents

1. Relentless pursuit of the identification

and remediation of hazards - by

everyone

4. The fear of discipline which drives

underreporting & stifles involvement has been

driven out of the culture

5. Good relationships at all

levels

6. Safety is integrated into day to day work

7. Successes are celebrated along the

way

Applying this to Safety

1. What is done well in

Health & Safety at

your workplace ?

2. What is one thing

that could be

improved?

What could you do

to influence this?

Creating a Positive Safety Culture

• Be relentless about developing Positive

Management Strategies

• Ensure employees are well cared for

In return you will have a safer,

more productive and healthier workplace