Establishing a Culture of Safety Excellence

Anthropologists discovered that one of the first roles a culture played was the shared desire for survivability. Prior to the first common languages, acceptable and unacceptable practices were shared through cave drawings, providing stories in the form of graphical representations of how to keep safe in the face of danger.

Only within the past 15 to 20 years have we again  begun to leverage cultures to enhance safety.

To establish an organizational culture that focuses on a results orientation towards safety excellence, you first must assess and understand the existing foundation (systems, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and support). In the April 2010 article, “Seven Simple Steps to Assess Your Safety Culture,” I described a proven strategy to culturally assess the safety element of your culture.

There are many simple, easily identifiable tactics that can improve safety, and there are a plethora of feel-good projects that a team could tackle. But which one presents the most effective leverage point, aligns others for change and becomes the new way we do things around here? An assessment of the culture should provide such transformational opportunities. Short-term successes are easy; thus the predominant, program-of-the-month perception throughout the world. Sustainability is the difficult part. This article will outline the vital strategies that have helped many organizations achieve and sustain safety excellence within their cultures.