October 02 2023
By: Shawn M. Galloway
Visiting a family member who works in a major construction trade, he shared a recent communication from their safety department. The message aimed to bring attention to slips, trips, and falls. It included a statement "Falling downstairs produces more severe injuries than falling on flat surfaces." He asked me, "Do they think we are idiots?"
I have a friend on the financial leadership team of a major oil and gas company who continues to demonstrate dedication to pursuing safety excellence. He is bought into the safety culture. He carries practices to his personal life, including practicing safety behaviors at home. 
He happily attended when a major reorganization and teambuilding exercise of bowling was scheduled. As they were greeting old and new colleagues, he was told by the leader, "Before you pick out your bowling ball, please fill out this Job Safety Analysis (JSA) form," immediately disengaging someone who was actively engaged and felt a sense of ownership for requested safety practices. Safety must be strategic. This means two things:
- Ensure what you are focusing on is the most important area of focus for preventing injuries (frequency and severity). Data should drive these decisions, and opinions relied on as a last resort.
- Ensure the perception of value is created with the areas of focus. If we disengage, demotivate, distract, or create distrust with our safety improvement efforts, you end up with a 'have-to' culture at best.
How strategically focused are your efforts? What data validates this? Do you have a culture of have-to or want-to? This is much easier to ascertain than many leaders realize. How in touch with reality are your safety improvement efforts?
"To add value to others, one must first value others." — John C. Maxwell
"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." — Ernest Hemingway
"Until you understand your customers — deeply and genuinely — you cannot truly serve them." — Rasheed Ogunlaru
Shawn M. Galloway is the CEO of ProAct Safety and an advisor to leading organizations across all major industries. With over twenty years of experience in safety systems, strategy, culture, leadership, and employee engagement, he is a trusted advisor, keynote speaker, and expert witness.
He is the author of several bestselling books and has multiple regular columns in leading magazines, with over 400 articles and 100 videos to his credit. He also created the first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence, with over 800 episodes. Shawn has received numerous prestigious accolades and has been featured in Power 101 Leaders of the EHS World, Top 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS, Top 40 Rising Stars, Top 11 Health and Safety Influencers, and Top 10 Speakers.
He serves on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the Fast Company Executive Board. He has appeared as a guest on Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Mail, Dubai One, U.S. News & World Report, Sirius Business Radio, Wharton Business Daily, and leading safety magazines and podcasts, reinforcing his status as an authority in the field of safety excellence.
For more information, call +1.936.273.8700 or email info@ProActSafety.com.
