Safety 24/7

Last week I wrote about the time I wasn’t wearing my gloves and crushed my finger between the tongs, which demonstrated my Level One, “I comply with safety when it’s convenient,” mentality. What I didn’t mention was that it was later determined two of the drill crew noticed me not wearing my gloves but failed to speak-up.

But what happens after you call the time-out, what do you say and how do you say it? In the past, the conversation might have sounded something like this; “I saw you not wearing your gloves and, if I see you do it again, I’m going to run you off…” But what is the likelihood of this conversation motivating a person to change their behavior in the future? What follows is a simple five-step process for having a proper safety conversation:

Step One – Observe both the safe and at-risk behaviors.

Step Two – Accentuate the positive. This lowers a person’s natural defensiveness and, more importantly, reinforces the behavior you want him to continue. For Example:
“I appreciate you locking-out and tagging the machine prior to servicing it”

Step Three – Explore and ask questions. This confirms he knows what the at-risk behavior was, which also helps him to begin to take responsibility for his behavior. For Example:
“What do you think concerns me about your hands?”

Step Four – Emphasize the consequences. This helps him understand the impact an incident could have on both him as well as other people. For Example
“What’s the worst thing that could happen working around that sharp metal? Don’t you like to play baseball with your son? Imagine if you cut off a finger!”

Step Five – Get an agreement to change behavior. This confirms he understands he is accountable for his behavior and responsible for his safety, as well as the safety of those around him. For Example:
“Can I get your agreement that next time you will keep your gloves on while working on the machine?”

In a culture of safety, people are not only entitled to speak-up when they observe at-risk behavior, it is an expectation for which they are held accountable. If someone stops a job because something looks or even feels at-risk, they should not be harassed by their peers or supervisors. Instead, they should be praised for having the courage to demonstrate the desired behavior of speaking-up for safety. This accountability gives all employees within an organization the right to call a time-out and even rewards them for doing so.

In a newspaper article Dr. Najmedin Meshkati, professor of civil, environmental and system engineering at the University of Southern California, said “A company fostering a strong safety culture would encourage employees to cultivate a questioning attitude and a rigorous and prudent approach to all aspects of their jobs, and set-up necessary open communication between co-workers…” Stopping the job and speaking-up takes courage but, as was the case on my rig, the consequence of not doing so can be crushing…

A reporter for a newspaper in Colombia once asked what it felt like to be a “safety expert?”
My reply? “It hurts!” In my attempt at humor, I also was making the point that the lessons I (and many others), have learned about safety are the result of being involved in an incident.

Take the importance of hand safety as an example: While working as a roughneck on a drilling rig, I was on my 33rd day of what was supposed to be a 28-day hitch. We were approaching our 13th hour of a 12-hour tour, oh…and I was five days away from getting married.

We were tripping pipe when a die on one of the tongs appeared to come lose. While another member of the drill crew pulled the tong aside to check, I took off my gloves to wipe my eyes and then slipped the gloves into my back pocket. Then, I stood there, my hand resting on the other tong, thinking about everything other than what was going on around me.

Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw the tong swinging toward me across the floor. I je**ed my hand out of the way as the two tongs slammed together. Unfortunately, I didn’t move quickly enough and, as a result, suffered a compound fracture of my little finger.

Looking back, there were a number of factors, some of which were a result of our company culture that led up to the incident. However, it also exemplified the point that a person’s attitude toward safety, and in this case why I didn’t put my gloves back on, is a choice, and that there are four levels of commitment to safety:

Level One – I comply with safety when it’s convenient.
Level Two – I comply with safety when I have to.
Level Three – I believe in safety for me and my family.
Level Four – I believe in safety for me, my family, and my teammates.

The key difference between levels One and Two versus levels Three and Four is a Compliance mentality rather than Belief.
Webster’s defines the word "comply" to mean, “To conform or adapt one’s actions to another’s wishes.” At Levels Three and Four, ‘I’ make a conscious choice to practice safety and am totally committed to working in that mindset."

Here's the X-factor: Each of us is a blend of all Four Levels of Commitment, so just because you or I may demonstrate Level Four most of the time, we need to know we may revert to Level One when we don’t know the potential danger. This X-factor is why it is important the work culture supports Safety Conversations and Stop-Work Authority, but more on these in a future blog.

Additionally, Level Two behaviors, complying with safety (because we have to), can appear to resemble Level Three or Four. For example, do you wear your gloves because your supervisor is around or because you truly believe in safety for yourself and your teammates?

It is necessary to look beyond your actions to determine the attitude causing this behavior...and these different attitudes or Levels of Commitment help create the type of culture that exists within the organization.

I remember this every day. All I have to do is look at my hand...and on rainy days, it hurts!

The winner of the Safety Toolbox e-mail challenge has been drawn. Congratulations to Jim Thiess from Penske Logistics!

A reporter for a newspaper in Colombia once asked me what it felt like to be a “safety expert?” I replied, “it hurts!” While trying to be funny, I was also making the point when it comes to safety, many lessons, including my own, have unfortunately been learned through tragedy. Which is why I decided to write the book, Safety 24/7.
With over 225,000 copies in print, and available in eight languages, Safety 24/7 is a fictional story of a manager charged with creating a culture of safety in a multinational company plagued with incidents and injuries. Safety 24/7 is also a roadmap on how to build a culture where individuals take personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of those around them.

• Management teams responsible for building a strong culture of safety throughout an organization. Clearly explains why safety can only become a core value when they move it from their heads to their hearts.

• Supervisory personnel whose success depends on their ability to create an environment where their teams are motivated to want to work safely.

• A workforce who wants to understand how behavior and commitment impacts their safety and, more importantly, wants specific tools to reduce the likelihood of becoming involved in an incident.