ILMA Compoundings - March 2020 - 21

while. By focusing on leading indicators such as inspections,
training, closure of action items, etc., an organization is better
equipped to resolve potential issues before a problem occurs."

Creating a Safety Culture
"A variety of strategies can shape and drive a safety culture,"
Scheuren said. "The primary one has to be effective and
visible leadership, leaders who know what actions to take
to drive the culture within an organization and positively
influence employee behavior."
Next, "Goal setting and creating effective objectives helps
to create a clear vision of what is meant by safety excellence,"
she added. Once that vision is established, leaders need to
communicate it effectively throughout their organization.
Along with leaders devoted to safety and a clear vision
of what that means comes companywide accountability.
"Ensuring accountability through the use of strong performance-management programs helps drive personal
responsibility for safety within the organization," Scheuren
said. "At the end of the day, each of us is responsible for our
own safety and the safety of those around us.
"You also need the right organizational structure to
effectively execute your safety culture. There isn't a one-sizefits-all solution," she added. As a result, companies need to ask
themselves if their EHS structure is effectively aligned with
line management to achieve the expected objectives. If not,
changes may be required. "Your approach to safety needs to
be based on what will work throughout your organization."
Finally, Scheuren said, "It is important that your initiatives-
management systems, programs, actions, etc. - can be
understood at all levels of the company and be actionable. Unfortunately, organizations can sometimes talk about the vision of
safety excellence in generalities that aren't actionable. People say,
'We want everyone to get home safe.' Or, 'I want zero recordables.' But that doesn't tell people what to do to accomplish those
goals. Your initiatives need to be meaningful for people."

Safe Today - and for the Future
Taken all at once, the requirements for an effective, dynamic
safety culture might sound overwhelming. But even small
efforts can yield benefits and help to instill a safety mindset.
"If you don't have a safety culture in place, start now,
before it's too late," Moore advised. "Begin with a safety
briefing in the morning. Share a few thoughts about the
important things to consider before you start doing the job
that day. Then, encourage employees to perform a job-hazard
analysis before every task: Describe the task, describe the
hazard, then describe a hazard control. That way, you're
making it a habit to be mindful about safety."
Going forward, constant diligence is key to combating
complacency and maintaining and strengthening a safety

"Some people are visual learners, audio
learners or hands-on learners. When
you're training employees about safety,
you have to present the message
through every communication avenue
there is."
Matt Moore, technical director, Primrose Oil
culture. "To maintain a high level of safety excellence, an
organization has to continue to work at it," Scheuren said.
"If maintaining a safety culture isn't part of an organization's
core vision, it is easy to become complacent."
Howell added, "My bet would be that every company
with an exemplary health and safety program has a program
of continuous improvement" based on regular self-assessments.
"The most popular form of safety assessment is a self-audit,
which works well for larger multiplant companies, where
the evaluation can be handled by someone internal to the
company but who is not a normal resident of the plant.
They'll do an audit of the EHS program, pointing out areas
where changes and improvements can be made. There also is
an ISO EHS standard, much like there are quality-assurance
standards," he said.

Embrace the Benefits
"The benefits of focusing on safety as a core principle are
crystal clear," Howell said. "Fewer on-the-job accidents,
less lost time. Then - and this offers more of an intangible
benefit - you can talk about your health and safety culture
with customers and suppliers. People in your business will
know that you cherish safety, health and environmental
excellence. That can be a significant differentiator."
"Sometimes safety programs are looked upon as a necessary evil," Moore acknowledged. "I hear some managers
ask, 'Well, why aren't they just being safe on their own? It's
in their best interest.' And sometimes it's hard to justify a
full-time safety position's salary when that position doesn't
produce a product or play a tangible role in the manufacturing process.
"But the fact is that employees simply are not good about
managing their own safety," he added. "Daily routines lead to
distractions. Busy times can mean routine cleanup and organization get set aside for a later time. New procedures often
require reinforcement and repetition before they take hold. A
safety culture helps to minimize unsafe distractions and keep
safety procedures and policies on everyone's mind."
Bittner is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and a frequent
Compoundings contributor.

ILMA Compoundings - March 2020

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