Does your safety program feel stale? If you can relate to this, we want you to know that you are not alone! Your company might have set off on your safety journey and made some serious strides to achieving an outstanding safety program. After a few years though, that momentum tends to slow down. This can leave business owners and safety professionals at a loss for what to do next.
If your company’s safety program feels like stale bread, good for you! Some companies never get to this level where operating safely has become a habit, a culture. Your company has “bought-in” to safety and realizes a successful safety program is not about reaching a finish line but rather establishing procedures and systems that continually need to be refined. Your team is operating safely without always thinking about it, which is something to celebrate! Look at it from this perspective, if your company is only improving your safety program when it is a priority, you won’t achieve substantial results in the long term. An ongoing, consistent effort needs to be realized.
However, a huge threat to reaching this level of a successful safety program is boredom and complacency. It is extremely common, possibly inevitable, but it is also easy to overcome.
If you have a safety committee, plan to discuss the issue of safety complacency and what it looks like for your company. Brainstorming on a regular basis is essential to refining and improving your safety culture. At Lancaster Safety, we have a safety committee that meets on a monthly basis. We’re an OSHA approved VPP Star Mobile Worksite but even we have to work to keep things fresh. We’ll share a few ideas with you here:
The first two tips on this list consist of benchmarking where you are at, and brainstorming how you can get better as a company. It might seem obvious to need to recommit to safety excellence, but this is an important step if you feel like your company has been operating on autopilot. Take your safety program off of autopilot and let’s fly!
Assessing the workplace for hazards is one of the foundational elements needed to keep employees safe on the job. While your team is spotting these potential safety infractions, look for safe practices as well and give recognition for it!
“Thanks for always wearing your PPE, it seems to be a habit for you all and that makes my job easier!”
“John spotted a safety hazard that could have been a real problem if he didn’t speak up. We commend him for this and thank him for saying something.”
“Accidents are never planned but by regularly completing your safety training, you’re helping to prevent injuries from occurring.”
Each month, Lancaster Safety sends an e-newsletter to our clients. It is full of OSHA news, webinar invitations, and safety inspiration. One of our favorite parts of the newsletter is a little section of safety inspiration. This is our chance to use creativity and bring our clients positive messaging each month. We want to share some quotes we’ve collected over the years with you!
Managing the safety and health of employees in any industry, takes a lot of work! Between turnover, changes in the environment, new equipment, and keeping up with OSHA regulations, you have your hands full. Experienced safety professionals often lean on us to help achieve a complete safety program.