Selling Safety, Softly
January 2010
At some point in a risk manager's life, he
or she will realize that inspections, discipline policies, fines, and policing
of worksites are a popular and easy but rarely successful.
By TJ Lyons
There are many methods to get people to do what you want (we never really
admit that), but most are rooted in control and the "gotcha" attitude we learned
from our parents. This still continues today. Rules are needed, but they
must be tempered with reason, recognition, and reward.
This column will detail specific approaches to selling safety softly while
building a system of people who both understand
why they need to work safely but also recognize that production and profit follows
a safe project. If you are a risk manager or loss control guru, consider
these tips and examples and use them as a gauge on how happy a site is. Many
will read this and think "happy?" But let's be honest, isn't that the goal for
anyone and any project? You need happy people to succeed at anything.
The right approach, which is often just being nice, results in long term
rewards from some workers—most of whom are very, very good people.
The Cord Cutter
Early in my career, I met my supervisor for the first time and we traveled
to a project for an inspection. It was apparent he wanted to gauge how I handled
myself. I watched him closely. As we walked and chatted, he spotted a cord
with the ground plug missing. His eyes brightened as he reached into his
three-piece suit and pulled out a knife.
He quickly stooped, grabbed the miscreant conductor, and cut the end off that
unfortunate cord "There, that one won't be used again," he said, smiling
as he dropped the cord and continued on.
Click here for
Figure 1.
Meanwhile outside this six-story building was a young carpenter who had just
traveled back down 12 flights of stairs to his truck to grab a chalk-line he
had forgotten his first trip up. He did not want to be at work. His son was
going to see the doctor with a high fever, and his wife had to take a day off
work to care for him. They needed that money. He felt badly, and he was worried.
As he returned to his sixth floor work area, he followed his cord and discovered
someone had cut the end off. He asked around and soon learned it was "that
safety guy in the suit." He did not have another cord.
After scrounging a favor to borrow another, he went to work. He later
complained at break how that "safety guy" had no right to just cut his cord
and just walk away. "In fact, that was my property," he said. Eleven of his
friends agreed and resolved to hate the safety guy forever—on any job. In the
world of professional safety, the "cord cutter" is destined to damage good people.
Battling the Past
Several years later, I toured a site in Buffalo, New York, where the air
smelled of Cheerios for a mill was nearby, and it smelled wonderful. I spent
some time watching 20 or so masons working on the shady side of the building
on a very, very cold day. I liked what I saw, so just before noon, I radioed
up to the foreman and asked him to have the crew to stand by for a minute; I
wanted to speak with them. I quickly grabbed a handful of $5 gift cards for
the lunch truck and headed up.
As I came onto the floor, the foreman headed my way. I could see he was much
larger than me and quite upset. "Don't know what we did, but next time you see
me—not my guys—if there's a problem." Putting my hands behind my back (I learned
that in Catholic school), I stepped forward and said, "Hey, I just wanted to
pass along how happy I was with what I saw this morning and buy them some lunch."
This was a turning point in my career, for I had discovered two things. First
was the damage some safety managers can do, and second, the need for workers
to know when they do right. Motivation and incentive make us work harder, smarter,
and better. I will always value that lesson, for rewarding people for doing
something well is unusual in our industry.
Remember Those Who Do Well
The next time you visit a project, gather the staff and ask them which contractor
gives them the most grief. The answer will be instant, and one or two will stand
out. Then ask "Who is your best contractor?" and wait. On some sites, the question
has never come up, and they will be surprised by the question. Soon, they will
name someone and give you some details on why that particular contractor is
doing so well. Then ask, "Well have you told them?" There is no better gauge
of a site's safety culture. I enjoy asking that question for eyes open and
understanding creeps into the conversation.
During a visit to a concrete firm in Martinez, California, a few years ago,
I waited in a contractor's lobby, surrounded by kids, toys, and dogs. This was
a big family-run contractor, and I was there to meet with their risk manager.
On the wall I spotted a framed letter from our firm, typed a decade earlier
(1995, in fact) thanking them for being such a great contractor.
When the risk manager came out, she swung by the wall, grabbed the framed
letter, and said "Have you seen this?" with pride in her eyes. I instantly wanted
to work with this firm and recognized the "stickiness" of such simple recognition,
for that message had hung on that wall for 10 years. That is how motivation
and loyalty work—all for the price of a stamp.
Take the time to think about your contractor partners, those who do a great
job all the time, and make sure to thank them. Just today, a safety coordinator
I was traveling with brought up a contractor who had been doing a good job for
years and said, "We never had a problem with them." So I suggested he send them
along a nice thank you. He answered, "Well, let's see how they do on the next
project." We are reluctant to thank people in our industry.
Remember the Person
It is said that one person whom you wrong will tell 11 other people about
it. That goes to say if one person becomes a fan, he will tell 11 friends.
In the Northeast, among the hundreds of riggers who spend their days erecting
tower cranes is someone who stands out from the rest. He is polite, professional,
methodical, and cool in a crisis. After running into him and his crew time and
time again, and hearing from others on how great a job he did for them, I sent
a note to his boss and to his home thanking him for helping us.
The next time I ran into him he explained how happy his boss was, but also
that his wife had called him at work to let him know a letter had arrived from
someone they didn't know. He asked her to open it and she soon realized just
how good a guy her husband was.
Click here for
Figure 2.
At every opportunity tell someone when they are doing something right. If
you go into a room and find a lone worker, with hard hat, hearing protection,
safety glasses, and he's standing on a lift with rails, simply say, "Hey
… hard hat, hearing protection, glasses, and you're doing everything right man!
Thanks!" There is a good chance 11 other folks will hear about it. And yes,
that's the guy in the picture, and that is why he is smiling.
Click here for
Figure 3.
Conclusion
The tips and tales mentioned above are all real-life examples illustrating
our need to focus on the people who build our palaces. As a safety professional
or risk manager, when you visit a site, you will know if it's a happy one. It
will be clean, people will come over and introduce themselves, and the project
staff will tag along since they are interested in what you see and think. On
that site, people are happy to be working, and everyone understands why.
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