1. Stop playing the “Safety Game”
How many times have you had to produce that board report on all of the stats, it takes forever to produce but how is it really valued? Have you ever thought about putting the same report in for the next quarter and just changing the date, would anybody really pick up on it?
What do the stats actually mean? Brilliant…..600 near misses reported by the site last month, great, they over achieved on their target, well done! What are we really saying? “Aren’t we a great company because last month we had 600 events whereby we could have harmed somebody”
TIP – have a game of safety SNAP (like the card game) ask the directors / senior managers to write down, so as nobody else can see, the top three safety risk issues in the business. Now see if any of them have matched up? Make sure that what we do actually achieves something so as the benefits are clear, otherwise it will get lost.
2. Treat safety interventions as a good news message
How often have you run training courses for colleagues? When was the last time they said thank you for inviting them? Seriously, this is an investment in their knowledge to ensure we give them all the tools to look after themselves and their colleagues so why do they turn up as if we have just given them a one-day prison sentence. Do we really sell investing in people’s knowledge as a good news story or do we say it is mandatory training, the old three-line whip!
TIP – change the email invite from “you are required to attend on such and such a date etc.”
To…..”because we as a company value you, we invite you to attend this session in order to ensure we maximize your knowledge to ensure we continually look after you etc.……
3. Keep the language simple
People can quickly switch off to jargon, probably because they don’t understand what it is you’re talking about, for example in risk assessments, we could ask the colleague to tell us all about the inherent hazards involved in the activity and any epidemiological research that has been carried out on the operation……what are you going to get back?? Probably somebody that wants you to move on quickly, after all, all you are really trying to find out is what’s a bit “dodgy” and then make it less dodgy.
TIP – don’t be afraid of using simplistic everyday words as you will find you get an immediate positive response.
4. Demonstrate that the intervention makes a difference
Very often controls will be put in place because of safety, however, sometimes the end user can’t actually see how it makes a difference, for example, everybody has to have high vis jackets even though they work in the office, what? Am I going to get knocked down by a truck? How is that jacket going to make me safer?
Of course it’s not, however the reason I want you to wear it is so as we can guarantee that the people who are working near trucks will always have their jacket on, it helps us be consistent and manage it more effectively so by you wearing it at all times ensures you are looking after others.
TIP – just tell the truth, it maybe we are doing something for commercial reasons because it looks good, that’s OK but don’t hide behind health and safety with it.
5. Involve everybody
Without doubt, the best ideas come from people who do jobs but for some reason when it comes to them working safely, it’s very often the safety professional that are seen as the best people to know how to do it safely. Let’s be realistic, how many of us has done every job that we oversee? Very few indeed, so why would we have all the answers. it’s OK for the SHE professional to not have all the answers, in fact, it’s dangerous if we pretend, we have.
I am often asked what I think about that, what I think about this, how can we do this better etc. When I don’t know, the answer is simple….”Sorry, it’s not something I know a great deal about but what about the operator that’s using the machine? What do they think?
Does that now mean I have lost some credibility or in fact, is it the opposite, have I gained some respect?
TIP – don’t get caught into the mindset of “do things the way I say” let’s involve others, agree and then act as agreed.
Written by Gerard Hand
If you want to hear more from Gerard Hand he will be speaking at our next event The SHE Show North East, Tuesday 25th March 2025, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead
Gerard Hand, Past President of IOSH, Director, GPH Safety
Gerard has been involved in health and safety at various level since 1990, he completed a masters degree from the University of Leicester in health and safety management and has built up an excellent reputation for delivering presentations at board level to a number of blue chip organisations, the training that he delivers is well known for its practical interpretation and enthuses directors to become more active in health and safety decision making.
Gerard joined Sainsbury’s Supermarkets in 1983 and worked with them in various different capacities latterly as the Retail Field, Health Safety and Fire Manager whereby he had key responsibilities for 19 health safety and fire professionals.
In 1999, Gerard co-founded Activus Safety Management Services, originally set up as a partnership; it achieved limited company status in 2005. After a number of successful years with Activus, Gerard decided to form GPH Safety, a new company which focuses more on the training side of health and safety.
Gerard has worked with a number of varied organisations on both Safety Management Systems implementation and delivering training to a wide audience.
Organisations that Gerard has been involved in include County Councils, Police Forces, Retailers, Food Manufacturing and the Gambling Commission.
Gerard has an array of experience and involvement in the governance and committee structure of IOSH. He has served as the Past Chair of the Retail and Distribution Group, the Vice Chair of the Groups Management Sub-committee the past Chair of the Groups Management Committee and is the chair of the Networks Committee. Gerard is a member of Council and was the President of IOSH in 2013.
In 2010 Gerard was awarded with the IOSH Presidents distinguished service certificate for the work that he had carried out with the implementation of the IOSH groups review findings.
Please note, the views expressed by the original article author are theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of Washingtondowling Associates Ltd or The SHE Show and therefore we take no responsibility for the content or accuracy of this post.
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