Making a Safety Culture

Truly Cultural
THE DNA OF GOOD WORKPLACE HABITS
We hear the term
Safety Culture thrown around
a lot today.
But does it mean anything?
We hear the term Safety Culture thrown
around a lot today.
But does it mean anything?
Are managers just giving it lip service?
Do employees make it a part of their
everyday work?
By itself, the term culture is defined
as a collective commitment to values
embedded within us. Like a habit –
culture is a behavior that happens
automatically.
Add the word safety to that and
Safety Culture sounds good.
However, the 2017 National Safety Survey
by Environmental Health and Safety Today
says that safety professionals nationwide
report that budgets, increasing work
responsibilities and a relaxed regulatory
environment are still reasons for concern.1
So, what’s wrong?
To answer that we need to look at
where we’re at, where we want to be,
and how we get there.
2
Statistics do show an upside –
82% of safety mangers
report more support from
top management and 71%
report they have increased
budgets for occupational
health and safety.
WHAT SAFETY LOOKS LIKE TODAY
In the 2017 EHS Today survey, industry
professionals said that budget and
personnel concerns, plus a perception
of relaxed governmental regulations are
all reasons to be worried about today’s
Safety Culture.1
However, statistics do show an upside –
82% of safety mangers report more
support from top management
and 71% report increased budgets
for occupational health and safety.1
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
workplace injuries and illnesses have fallen
0.1 cases per 100 workers since 2015.3
The downside is that in practice,
safety resources are stretched.
Safety Culture is a popular sentiment,
but the organizational commitment is
not yet second nature.
Survey respondents further request
these wish list items1 :
• Established programs that comply with
laws, plus the appropriate automation,
training, procedures and incentives that
go with the programs.
• Directing
 resources toward occupational
health, fire protection, ergonomics,
risk management and environmental
compliance concerns.
• A government administration that
does not cut regulations but supports
standards, compliance and enforcement.
Part of the issue is that safety has been
given lip service. Maybe this sounds
familiar – Yes, safety is job one... Yes, we have
people in operations or HR who handle it…
Yes, we have a safety policy… Yes, we still
have the same slips, trips and falls.
Although the number of reported
incidents has dropped, there are still
3 injuries and illnesses per 100 workers.4
3

EHS Today Survey respondents
want to see tangible
behavioral changes.
CONTINUED
It’s one thing to talk about safety
but another thing to put it on par
with organizational DNA.
To illustrate that this is an issue, let’s look
at just one area of safety concern – fatigue.
According to the National Safety Council
report Fatigue in the Workplace, the
potential for injuries on the job increases
as fatigue risk factors increase.2
This is not groundbreaking news.
But here’s an example of how that’s
addressed in the very same report,
by saying one thing yet doing another2 :
• 90%
 of employers want to understand
root causes of employees’ fatigue,
but only 55% say they will adjust
schedules or tasks.
• 51%
 assign a night shift to an employee
immediately before or after a day shift.
• 60%
 who know rest is important lack a
designated area for employees to do so.
The conversation here is not limited to the topic of fatigue. It is to illustrate that
we can’t get into the practice of saying one thing and doing another.
That is not cultural. A Safety Culture has to be how we naturally behave.
Of course, contrary behavior is not
isolated to employers. Employees report
these fatigue-related issues2 :
• 43% of employees get less than 7 hours
of sleep per night, although 94% know
that more is optimal.
• 64%
 of respondents incorrectly felt that
rolling down the windows would prevent
drowsy driving.
• 67%
 who moonlight report working
50-plus hours per week contributes to
sleep deprivation.
EHS Today Survey respondents want
to do the right thing, not just say it.
They want to see behavioral changes.
Here are examples1 :
• B etter communications equipment
to help everyone work together and rely
on each other.
• Significantly more behavioral
safety training.
• Increased employee feedback
and recognition for doing the right thing.
4
 This year, Tom Cecich, former president of the
American Society of Safety Professionals, cited the concept
of safety leadership in a message to members.

“ I thought only the vanguards of the profession,

our respected authors, known speakers and elected officers, were safety leaders...
[but] occupational health professionals are uniquely qualified to ensure that
safety vacuums do not exist. Doing so requires leadership, and we must be clear

”
that as OSH professionals, we are all safety leaders.3

The EHS Today Survey results mirror

the sentiment of inherent, take-the-lead
behavior. Respondents want consistency
in safety policies across the board,
from the top down – not housed inside
individual organizational departments.1
5

Prevention can be brought about
by working together.
Changing how we behave.
WHERE SAFETY NEEDS TO CHANGE
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the workplace is getting safer.4
But is that true?
OSHA reports tens of thousands of se-
vere injuries on the job across the United
States, sometimes with permanent conse-
quences to themselves and their families5 :
• Every
 year, more than 4.1 million
workers suffer a serious job-related
injury or illness.
• Most
 general-industry incidents involve
slips, trips, and falls, causing 15% of all
accidental deaths.
• Every day, more than 12 workers die on
the job – 4,500-plus employees per year.
Still, there is good news. OSHA’s figures
have a silver lining. The workplace is getting
safer. It would be improbable that there
would never be another accident. But
bad habits are truly being replaced with
good habits. Behaviors are evolving.
Prevention can be brought about by
working together. Changing how we behave.
Consider this OSHA initiative that began in
2015 – the Severe Injury Reporting Program.
In a nutshell, employers must report to
the administration within 24 hours any
work-related amputation, in-patient
hospitalization or loss of an eye.6
Serious injuries. Reported within
one day versus letting it slide.
That’s a good habit.
In 2016, an evaluation by David Michaels,
PhD, MPH, the former Assistant Secretary
of Labor for the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), states that
this program has eliminated the potential
for many more thousands of injuries. That
is, with mandatory, prompt reporting, the
agency was better able to target places
of risk and eliminate serious hazards as a
result.6
Most hazards leading to severe injuries
are well understood and easily prevented,
the evaluation says. Employers can prevent
them in a straightforward, cost-effective
manner – providing fall-protection
equipment, installing guard covers over
machinery and clearly marking pathways.6
6

For every $1 spent on safety
today, you save $2 in the future.
In fact, you could save
$3, $4 or even $6 in the future
per dollar spent now.
CONTINUED
One objective of the program was to
encourage employers to work together
with OSHA and find ways to eliminate
hazards and protect other workers from
the same injuries. Because of that,
here is how specific examples are
playing out today6 :
• A fter an arm injury in a Chicago plant,
the employer installed metal guards
to shield workers’ limbs from moving
machinery, and added warning alarms
and flashing lights.
• In Idaho, a valve cover snapped shut
and severed fingertips, so a hands-free
tool for closing the valve was added
and employees were trained.
• A mechanized blender in a Missouri
plant caused an amputation, so the
employer re-engineered the control
system, changed safety interlocks,
and enhanced worker training
and supervision.
In these cases, the occurrence of serious
injuries prevented future injuries. Proving
that a change in behavior can make
a difference. Turning a bad habit
of inaction (slow reporting) into a good
habit of action (prompt reporting) greatly
reduced future injuries.
THE ROI OF SAFETY
Another bad behavior to overcome
is basing decisions on cost savings
versus keeping workers safe.
Here’s why. Safety+Health magazine
reports that investments in safety now
will result in savings down the line.
For every $1 spent on safety today,
you save $2 in the future. In fact, the
authors point out that you could save $3,
$4 or even $6 in the future per dollar
spent now.7
Although major accidents might
never happen in your organization,
consider the dollar amounts that
demonstrate the enormity
of the costs.
That is, put the cost
of prevention into perspective.
You may think a workplace fatality is
unlikely, but put it into perspective. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimate that a fatal injury could cost nearly
$1 million. And the National Safety Council
estimates the cost at $1.4 million.7
Also, factor in the indirect costs of lost
productivity, employee replacement,
insurance and attorneys, and the cost
jumps to $3 million on average.7
7

Only the companies that are
ensuring good behaviors,
and focusing on people and
processes, are truly creating a
Safety Culture.
CONTINUED
NEW HABITS OF OLD COMPANIES
The Schneider Electric company, based
in France, already had a good safety record.
But by identifying and eliminating further
hazards, the company saw its injury rate
drop from 3.6 per 100 to 0.5 – saving them
$15 million per year in direct costs alone.7
When Alcoa focused on becoming a safer
place, lost hours due to employee injuries
declined over a 10-year period. Sales grew
15%, earnings increased from $0.20 to $1.41
per share and they also saw an increase
in profits.7
Also, Forbes reports the following results
from JUST Capital, a firm that ranks
American companies on priority issues.
No surprise, industries that are more prone
to incidents score lowest in worker safety.
However, promoting safety in the
workplace is changing the landscape
in those industries where risks are higher.8
Incident-risk companies that stand out
for promoting safety in their workplaces
include AES Corporation (utilities), Cabot
Corporation (chemicals), Cimarex Energy
Co. (oil, gas and consumable fuels),
Home Depot (retailing), and W.W. Grainger
(capital goods).8
Despite industry trends, these companies
have taken the lead in providing programs
for safe workplaces and had minimal
or no safety incidents. They’ve committed
to at least four of the following good habits
of safety8 :
• A policy to improve employee health
and safety.
• A safety policy within the company
and its supply chain.
• An employee health and safety team.
• A health and safety training program
for its executives or key employees.
• Health
 and safety management systems
put into place.
Everyone wants to be safe.
But only the companies that are
ensuring good behaviors,
and focusing on people and
processes, are truly creating
a Safety Culture.
8

The problem is that our
brains can’t tell the difference
between good habits and
bad habits.
They’re just habits.
ARRIVING AT A SAFETY CULTURE
By creating good safety habits – focusing
on people versus budgets, identifying and
eliminating hazards in advance, training
employees and executives – companies like
Schneider Electric, Alcoa and Home Depot
have improved their safety.
Good behavioral habits lead to positive
results and that’s why human behavior
is at the heart of safety.
But how can we change old habits?
Change human behavior?
In the book, The Power of Habit, author
Charles Duhigg says that at one point,
we all consciously decide what to do
when we get to work. But then we stop
making a choice and the behavior
becomes automatic. The following synopsis
helps explain why.9
Once the habit emerges, the brain stops
evaluating the decision. So, unless we
achieve new behaviors, the pattern will
continue automatically. And the problem
is that our brains can’t tell the difference
between good habits and bad habits.
They’re just habits.
Each behavior consists of a habit loop,
comprised of three components –
a cue, plus a routine, plus a reward,
Duhigg says. One thing leads to the next
and then, like a loop, it repeats.
For example, assume that not brushing
your teeth is a bad habit. You finish
eating a sandwich and that’s a cue that
you’re done with the main course. You
don’t brush your teeth because you hate
what it does to your palate, that’s a routine.
You follow-up dinner with ice cream and
it tastes great, not like toothpaste, that’s
a reward.
But we all know bad things happen when
we don’t brush our teeth.
It’s hard to change habits,
but we can fiddle around with the
components of the habit loop.
Duhigg tells us it’s hard to change
habits, but we can fiddle around with
the components of the habit loop.
For example, change the cue and the
reward. The routine then changes with it.
Your teeth feel dirty (cue), you brush your
teeth (routine), you enjoy the tingly effect
of the toothpaste (reward).
9

The takeaway is, don’t try to
change the entire organization
all at once.
What if your organization
could address one safety issue
at a time, such as falls?
CONTINUED
So, how does the concept of a habit loop
translate to the workplace? The Power
of Habit says that renowned pro football
coach Tony Dungy used this same
psychology at his job – turning around the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a dismal team.
His theory was that there is too much
to remember during a football play –
players think too much. Too much
decision-making and reaction times
are delayed.
A defensive player has to look at the
lineman, the running back, the quarterback.
Their legs, their hips, their movement.
Gaps in the line, run or pass, ball thrown
to the side or away.
These are all cues in the habit loop.
Dungy had players focus on only one
cue instead. The running back. And drilled
it and drilled it. Then, the QB. And drilled it.
And so on. Each cue became a singular,
rapid-fire step in the routine instead of the
defense trying to look at everything at once.
Of course – the reward – they became
division champs and those players went
on to win a Super Bowl.
The takeaway is, don’t try to change
the entire organization all at once.
Like Dungy, Schneider Electric addressed
one challenge – a piece of equipment that
was a trip hazard. Remedying that would
cost $1 million, but they fixed it anyway.
Then, Schneider moved on to the next
item, and so on.7
Not only were Schneider employees
protected by correcting one issue,
but that change also increased
productivity, improved processes,
improved customer service
and saved money with fewer injuries.7
What if your organization could address
one safety issue at a time, such as falls?
For example:
• Safety
 harnesses are identified
as inadequate, so they’re replaced.
• Training
 makes stepping on a platform
synonymous with wearing a harness.
• Compliance
 is satisfied with new rules
and equipment in place.
When behaviors become good habits –
part of our routine and organizational
DNA – that is a clear sign of developing a
true Safety Culture.
10
A proper Safety Culture has Consider that there are 150 million people
in the nation’s workforce, according to
a real ROI.
Pew Research. And 100 million of them
are more prone to safety incidents,
in industries such as construction,
manufacturing, processing, warehousing
and others.10
Everyone wants employees to be safe,
work safely and have the world be a better
place because of it. But bad habits,
contradictory behaviors and cost-cutting
can prevent today’s Safety Culture from
becoming truly cultural.

Safety can become the culture of this Humans err.

great workforce. Look for ways to turn Processes break.
these considerations into good habits: Regulations change.

• A focus on people not just machinery. But a Safety Culture has a positive ROI.
• Better
 training of workers as well as
safety professionals – to influence
behavior, modify behavior and reward
safe behavior.

• Automation
 that reports, tracks and
compiles observations, so that trends
and scenarios can be identified and
addressed before they become incidents.

• Better systems for communication,

from inspection and auditing to program
support and emergency response.

• Personnel
 committed to prevention,
industrial hygiene, training, and
compliance.

11
Sources:
1
Valentic, S., “National Safety Survey,” EHSToday.com, 7 Aug 2017.

Survey Results, “Fatigue in the Workplace: Causes & Consequences of Employee Fatigue,”
2

National Safety Council, Jul 2017.

3
Cecich, T., “We Are all Safety Leaders,” American Society of Safety Professionals, assp.com, 22 Apr 2018.

News Release, “Employer-Reported Workplace Injury and Illnesses, 2016,” Economic News Release,
4

bls.gov, 9 Nov 2017.

White Paper, “Injury and Illness Prevention Programs,” 4OSHA, Occupational Safety & Health Administration,
5

osha.gov, Jan 2012.

Michaels, D., “Year One of OSHA’s Severe Injury Reporting Program: An Impact Evaluation,”
6

osha.gov, 17 Mar 2016.

7
Morrison, K., “The ROI of Safety,” Safety+Health Magazine, 23 May 2014.
8
Knauer, A., “Regulate This: Worker Safety in Trump’s America,” Forbes, 9 Jun 2017.
9
Duhigg, C., “The Power of Habit,” 7 Jan 2014.
10
Desilver, D., “10 facts about American workers”, Pew Research Center, pewresearch.org, 1 Sep 2016.
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