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In Part 1 of this series we introduced a three step approach to getting employees to “buy-in” to your safety culture.  Step #1 was to create a vision statement that communicates your safety goals and how you plan to achieve them.  We’ll now look at the two remaining steps.

If you are anything like me, there are certain movies that “get to you.”  Personally, I find myself choking up every time I watch the movie “Field of Dreams”.  At the end of the movie, Ray Kinsella realizes that the reason he built the baseball field on his farm was to resolve an issue with his father.  The coup de gras is when they get to have a game of catch, and when I watch that scene I experience real emotions that bind me to the story.  This is what happens during Step #2 in the process: You create buy-in by using vicarious experiences, or stories.  Share stories with your employees of real people who were affected both negatively and positively by safety-related events.  A great example that comes to mind is the poem, “I Could Have Saved A Life That Day,” which describes an actual supervisor who decided not to confront a safety violation that ultimately resulted to an employee’s death.  Vicarious experiences like this have a huge impact on employees’ motivation, and consequently their level of commitment to safety.

Step #2 is an ongoing process during which you motivate your people to buy-in to the vision created in Step #1.  Once that is accomplished, it is time to move to Step #3: Change your organization’s culture by connecting employees’ performance directly to the safety vision that they committed to in Step #2.  This is done through both praise and discipline.  For example… “Joe, we all agreed that our goal is to be incident free this quarter, and when you reminded the team to have a JSA meeting before starting the job you helped us meet that goal.  Thanks.”  It takes 10 seconds to praise someone using the vision statement, and every time you do this it strengthens the employee’s resolve to carry out the safety vision.

There are also times when we must discipline because of unsafe acts.  For example… “Sam, we all agreed that our goal is to be incident free this quarter and I noticed that you were grinding without a face shield…”  By using the vision statement that everyone has already bought into, you are tying the specific action back to a common, and much larger purpose.

Creating a culture of safety is complex and requires, among other things, that we do not overlook people’s motivation to work safely.

Continue to work diligently on your safety journey and remember why you do so; it’s the right thing to do.

Technorati Tags: motivation, rad group, safety

Posted in Safety Articles by Michael Allen. Michael Allen is the Director of Marketing and a facilitator for The RAD Group. Michael and The RAD Group are renowned experts in the areas of safety leadership, performance management, culture change, and organizational communications.

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The number of U.S. human cases of Swine Flu Infection (this is lab confirmed results) is highest in New York City (51 cases) and second highest in Texas (16) as of late this morning. On the pandemic scale the Swine Flu is now at phase 4 (out of 6). The CDC web site said, “During a flu pandemic, people should consider wearing a face mask if they are sick with the flu, live with someone who has the flu or need to be in a crowded place.” The site also says, “… more recent illnesses and the reported death suggest that a pattern of more severe illness associated with the virus may be emerging in the U.S.”

The CDC’s SNS (Division of the Strategic National Stockpile) has been sending antiviral drugs, personal protective equipment and respiratory protection devices to all 50 states to help them respond to the outbreak.

N95 Respirators provide a minimum 95% efficiency against non-oil particulates and are approved by NIOSH. They are one way to protect yourself if you’re in a higher risk situation or to protect others if you are ill.

For more information of what you can do to stay healthy, visit the CDC website.

Posted in Uncategorized by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Contractor, Shawnlee Construction Inc, is facing a potential $70,000 fine from OSHA for allegedly committing a willful violation of fall protection safety. A willful violation is considered “one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.”

Allegedly, workers were exposed to a 50 ft fall while working without fall protection on a building’s roof. Workers are required to use fall protection when working at heights of 6 ft or greater.

$70,000 is a pretty steep fine until one ponders the consequences of an injury or death from a fall – workman’s comp, insurance or lawsuits. Yep, that gets pricy. And when one considers that falls are the number one cause of death in construction work, well, put the pieces together -spend the time and money on fall protection.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, osha, osha fines

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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So you’re 300 ft up from the ground working on a wind turbine. You may be up for 30 minutes or up for 8 hours. You would be crazy not to have a fall harness that is comfortable. (Okay –if you’re 300 ft in the air you already are a little crazy –right?)

So I asked Larry Board, Wind Technology Boot Camp Instructor, about the type of protection he used and recommended. He prefers and uses DBI-Sala ExoFit Harness. The ExoFit harness is more expensive than many harnesses on the market but you’re investing in comfort and fit. He thinks it’s worth it to spend more.

I liken it to buying $20 high heels or the $50 pair of heels. Any women knows that if you plan on wearing heels more than 30 minutes you buy the higher quality pair. They both may get the job done, but only one makes it much easier to focus on the job itself.  A day in cheap heals will make you cranky.

Other comfy harnesses for those up in the air regularly:

• Ultra Safe’s Ultra Pillow Harness
• Guardian’s Vest Harnesses
• DBI-Sala Exofit harness
• Guardian Monster Edge Harness (won design award!)

Technorati Tags: fall harness, fall protection comfort, wind industry safety

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Is the slowing economy causing more companies to cut corners on safety, creating a more dangerous work environment? Some analyst and labor officials think so. Recent headlines shout, “Bad Economy Leads to More Work Place Fatalities” and “Workplace Litigation Risk Heats Up as Economy Cools.”

Tough times are here and we don’t know when things are going to turn around. Until they do, here are some smart things to remember about safety in the workplace. Heck - it’s good stuff to remember even when the economy is great.

·   Doctor bills, workman’s compensation, and the like are much more expensive than Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Spending the money on PPE can keep your costs down in the long run.

·   Don’t skimp on safety training. More companies are hiring newbies right now (cheaper, but less experienced employees). Safety training is even more important than ever when you have less experienced people on your payroll. We are researching safety consultants to give our readers better resources. If you can recommend anyone, please let us know!

·   Save money by checking out clearance and overstock items to keep your costs down. Let someone’s ordering error be to your advantage.

·   Consider case pricing – if case pricing isn’t listed, be bold and ask! Many companies will bend over backward to do this for you.

Do you have any “workplace safety advice during hard economic times” that you want to share? The best advice is from those in the trenches – like you!

Technorati Tags: case pricing, ppe, safety advice, workplace safety

Posted in Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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“This is the way we’ve always done things”.  “You better put on your PPE or the safety rep. is going to write you up”.  If these comments can be heard at your workplace, you are facing an ownership problem.   These folks see safety as something “they” want me to do, not something that “I” want for myself and my co-workers.  So what can we do?  The solution lies in three simple steps, which we have found great organizations do anytime they try to build a sense of ownership among their employees.  However, let’s first look at how motivation affects behavior.

In this post we’re going to focus on how we can influence change by targeting personal motivation and how we impact the motivation of others.  Your goal should be to create a culture in which people not only abide by their organization’s safety programs, but also see those programs as their own.  I once had someone ask me why we should care if employees buy-in to safety, because, according to this particular skeptic, “Safety is a condition of employment.”  The best answer can be found in this short anecdote.

In the early 1900s there was a very skilled Italian sculptor that decided to move to New York City in hopes of making it big.  He soon found that selling his sculptures to the local galleries was nearly impossible.  So, to make ends meet, he took a job as a mason for a local construction company.  For months on end, he carved half circles and diagonal lines into 4 foot by 4 foot blocks of granite.  Eventually, he began to hate his new life.  Not only had he not made it as a sculptor, but he had fallen so low that all he did was carve half circles and diagonal lines day after day.  He decided to take a walk one day to ponder his plight.

As he walked through an unfamiliar part of the city, he saw a newly built office building in the distance.  It was the most beautiful sight that he had seen since arriving in America.  As he got closer to this masterpiece, the detail become evident to his unsuspecting eyes.  As he stood in front of the building, he began to weep.  You see, this entire building was made of 4 foot by 4 foot granite blocks with the most beautiful designs on them - half circles and diagonal lines.  This was his creation.  His dreams of being an artist had not been broken.  Rather, he was the victim of a common management flaw.  The fact is, we care a great deal about things once we understand “what’s in it for me”.

So how can we go from showing employees “what’s in it for them” to their taking ownership in our safety culture?  We have found that the best organizations follow three common steps.

The first step is to create a vision statement.  This can come in many forms, but ultimately a great vision statement should tell people where you want to go and how you want to get there.  For instance, “Our goal is to have an incident free quarter (where you want to go) by eliminating hazards, communicating any risks that may still be present, and holding one another accountable to our safety policies and procedures (how you’re going to get there).  Once you have your vision statement created, make it visible everywhere your people work.  That’s step number one.

In our next post we will talk about steps 2 and 3.  Step 2 will focus on how we can transform a vision statement into to the driving force of the organization’s safety culture, and step 3 will address how we can motivate people to behave safely by using our vision statement.

Until then, continue your safety journey with great passion and always remember:  The ONLY reason we stress safety is because it’s the right thing to do.

Technorati Tags: rad group, safety

Posted in Safety Articles by Michael Allen. Michael Allen is the Director of Marketing and a facilitator for The RAD Group. Michael and The RAD Group are renowned experts in the areas of safety leadership, performance management, culture change, and organizational communications.

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Recently I was asked about Indoor/Outdoor Safety Glasses so I dug through Frank’s Reports (the one on lens colors) and chopped out the portion about I/O lenses. Thanks for your question!

The indoor/outdoor lens is actually a clear lens with a mirrored coating.  The mirrored coating reflects sunlight and glare, which cuts down on eye fatigue and strain.  It provides protection in the sun, but because of its clear lens and the high amount of visible light that passes through, this lens is effective inside as well. 

The unique nature of this lens helps your eyes adjust when moving from a shaded area to a bright area and vice versa.  Without these this lens it’s like a punch in the face every time you go in and out. This lens is ideal for individuals that work outside, but take a large number unnecessary breaks inside.  Indoor/Outdoor lenses allows individuals to wear the same pair of safety glasses for indoor and outdoor applications.  The most important thing to remember is to make sure that the door is shut when the air conditioner is on.

The indoor/outdoor lens can be used for most applications, whether they’re inside or out. They work best for individuals moving from shade to direct sunlight and back again.  You know… people who have trouble making up their mind.

Posted in Safety Glasses by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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A recent discussion group on an online safety site was discussing passive and active fall protection. Safety experts weighed in on their preferences between the two.

First of all, for those of you who need a quick 101 in fall protection, follow along. An example of Passive Fall Protection Systems would be guardrail safety rails, netting or warning lines. It doesn’t require active participation from workers. Active fall protection would be fall harnesses, lanyards, horizontal lifelines, trolley systems and fixed point anchors.

The overwhelming majority of these safety professionals preferred passive systems when it was cost efficient (and you were able to do so) because the less one has to rely on operator, the better. There are so many more opportunities to screw things up when you throw a human into the mix.

Technorati Tags: active fall protection, fall protection systems, guardrails, horizontal lifelines

Posted in Fall Protection Articles, Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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For the past nine years Skanska USA Building Inc. has been awarding honors to its largest subcontractors with the goal of reducing construction-related falls. That’s putting their money where their mouth is.

Through Skanska’s Top 40 competition they hope to “leverage the best leadership of the subcontractor organizations to eliminate all on-the-job falls…Skanska’s Top 40 subcontractors have successfully worked together to create ways to eliminate falls, lacerations and flexibility-related injuries.”

I wish more companies thought big picture and displayed this kind of leadership. I’m thankful for the ones that do. What does your company do that makes a difference?

Technorati Tags: construction related falls, contruction fall protection, eliminate falls

Posted in Fall Protection News by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Here at Safety Briefs, we are interested in safety in all fields. Currently, we have been researching safety in Wind Industry. While the Construction Industry and others have slowed, the Wind Energy Industry has taken off.  With 20% of the stimulus package being set towards renewable energy it is bound to continue to increase dramatically. And with that increase is the increased need in fall protection safety – for wind turbine construction and maintenance.

One college, Cerro Ceso Community College, has been preparing for this surge. They have introduced a 10 week Wind Technology Boot Camp that will give students entry level skills in the Wind Energy Industry.

Larry Board, the College Instructor for the boot camp, has teamed up with Airstreams Energy. I spoke with Larry Board to learn more about this class and fall protection safety in the Wind Industry.  His class covers seven different categories:

-Safety (Specifically climbing and tower rescue as the main focus)

-OSHA 10

-CPR/First Aid

-Electronics and Hydraulics training (a crash course background)

-Fall Protection Test (go out to the Wind Farm, put on your safety harness and climb one of those 300 ft suckers)

-Written Exam

-Business Portion (resume writing and interview skills)

Over the next couple weeks I am going to be highlighting some of our conversations we had and sharing pertinent fall safety information.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, fall safety, wind energy

Posted in Fall Protection Articles, Safety Articles by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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