Creating Safety Champions
Quality Safety Edge has found that the three elements of creating Safety ChampionsSM and implementing Values-Based Safety™ are education, involvement, and support.
Creating Safety ChampionsSM isn't always easy. Sometimes they come from the most unlikely candidates. Perhaps they were the ones who resisted the behavioral safety process in the beginning, or they adopted a “wait and see” attitude. Whatever their reasons, they have now becomes Champions of the process. But how did they get that way?
Quality Safety Edge has identified the key steps in creating such Safety ChampionsSM.
Education
First, you have to get their attention. Education helps them understand that unsafe acts cause injuries and what their role is in preventing accidents.
Involvement
Second, they must be actively involved in creating a proactive process to help prevent injuries.
Support
Finally, when employees manage the process and coordinate management support, everyone wins through a safer workplace!
These steps are essential elements of Values-Based Safety®
Resistance, apathy, inertia, and lack of leadership are all symptomatic of an unsuccessful Behavioral Safety process. When a Safety ChampionSM takes the lead, the process continues far beyond implementation and initial roll-out phases. It becomes an integral component of the workplace.
Identifying Safety Champions
Watch for these signs to see if you have Safety ChampionsSM in your company! Do your employees ...
- Focus on safety, as well as productivity?
- Communicate concern for others in individual conversations?
- Provide positive feedback to associates for working safely?
- Continually educate themselves about safety procedures and the risks in any aspect of their work?
- Anticipate unforeseen dangers?
- Document and address unsafe conditions and near misses?
- Recognize others for safety improvement efforts?
- Promote problem-solving during safety observations and meetings?
- Ask for suggestions on how to improve their own safety performance?
- Continually make suggestions for improving safety?
- Practice what they preach?!