August 19 2018
By: Terry L. Mathis
We find many organizations stress their employees should follow the rules and procedures to keep themselves safe. Interestingly, when we examine their accident data, we seldom find compliance to be a significant cause of their remaining accidents. A recent client stressing compliance was shocked to discover less than 3% of their accidents had compliance issues as contributary causes.
This does not mean compliance should be minimized or ignored. It is often this stress on compliance that gets the organization from bad to good in safety. However, compliance alone will seldom get you from good to great. That is most often accomplished by continuing compliance efforts while focusing on discretionary issues that go above and beyond compliance. A quick Pareto analysis can tell you if your injuries are coming from rule and procedure violations or happening despite workers being in compliance.
Terry Mathis, Founder and retired CEO of ProAct Safety, has served as a consultant and advisor for top organizations the world over. A respected strategist and thought leader, Terry has authored five books, numerous articles, videos and blogs, and is known for his dynamic and engaging presentations. EHS Today has named him one of the '50 People Who Most Influenced EHS' four consecutive times. Business leaders and safety professionals seek Terry's practical insight and unique ability to introduce new perspectives that lead to real change.
