The Perfect Safety Culture

June 05 2016
By: Terry L. Mathis

Everyone should have the perfect body type. They should be able to lift the same amount of weight and run at the same speed. They should be able to sing in the same range and dance with the same grace and style. If you think that sounds impossible for individuals, how difficult do you think it would be with groups of individuals? There is NO PERFECT SAFETY CULTURE! Yet, most models of safety culture improvement aim for that nebulous model.

It can be argued (and it has been) that perfection should be the goal and that we should approach it as closely as possible. The problem with that logic is there is no such model of perfection that universally fits all groups of individuals. Even the characteristics touted as ideal are not ideal to some. The very idea that all groups should have common characteristics is impractical. So, what should a safety culture be? It should not "be" but "do." An effective safety culture succeeds at safety. Success is about capabilities, not characteristics. A safety culture should be able to target a needed improvement and work together to accomplish it. Every group does that a different, unique way.

The way to improve a safety culture is one step at a time. As groups learn to achieve success, they move on to more successes. Forget the characteristics and teach people the basic capability of taking a safety step. You will find all challenges are easier one step at a time and, as the Chinese tell us, "Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."