Sustainable Safety: The Five Pillar Holistic Approach

Organizational Transparency – “360* Situational Awareness”

Picture this—everyone in your organization ­having the ability at any given time to see across all layers of your business and understand the objectives and the risk associated with the ­activities of all involved.

Employees aren’t always going to pick up on what leaders want them to know. Leaders need to communicate clearly, succinctly, and ­consistently. That means putting in place a ­system or a series of systems to ensure that the transparency value gets translated into action by your employees. When priorities and objectives shift, let them know. This builds ­relationships, and in turn, builds trust ­between leaders and employees, keeping ­everyone connected to the big picture.

Reducing Risk With The “Big Picture” In Mind

Reducing risk in your company is directly ­correlated to your leadership team’s ability to see the big picture and communicate it to your organization.

Leaders who connect the often complex and ­critical elements of your organization will be the ones who achieve long-term vision while ­providing reduction of the intrinsic business risk.

Alignment is most important at the senior ­level ­because strategic organizational information ­cascades from there. Senior leaders tend to have a clear grasp of the real issues facing their ­organizations from a “big picture” ­perspective and that’s critical. They are steeped in these issues every day. Mid-level managers and ­supervisors, however, are busy managing and supervising, and they, therefore, don’t always prioritize things the same way.

As a senior leader, it’s critical to ensure that the people reporting to you fully understand the big picture and all the variables within it, so that safety is seen as one with holistic sustainability.

Flow Of Information – “Achieving A Laminar State”

Information constitutes the raw materials from which ideas or alternatives emerge. Information flows, depending on the systems you create. Just like water, affected by gravity, information is also affected by variables such as the systems of communication, the network, the ­technology, and the methods in which we choose to direct it. How does your information flow? Where does it go?

Information educates and provides knowledge, which in turn transforms our employees’ outlook by what they know. This includes ­communicating important day-to-day events on the job, and how they impact the safety environment.

The better your information dissemination ­systems and communication structures, the better your ­overall performance results.

Taking the time to ensure information flows will result in having team members become ­informed on various critical issues; the ­knowledge that they have acquired is ­essential to ­perform. This knowledge enhances their individual ­understanding and gives good orientation which invariably generates the ­transformation of self and of collective culture into one of ­transparency, and therefore mature safety cultures emerge.

Imagine a culture where everyone was ­consistently encouraged to contribute their ­individual experiences, learning, ideas, and were collectively compelled towards a ­common vision of “Zero Harm.” This is the formula for safety success in the most sustainable way.

Fostering Ideas – “Leveraging Our Ingenuity”

Mature organizations are constantly ­searching for new ways to improve their profitability, ­reduce their cost footprint, minimize emissions, and ­execute “World Class” sustainable safety ­programs.

In order to achieve these goals, leaders need to engage their people regularly, listen ­actively, and strive to encourage the employee’s ­personal ­experience as a means to create forward ­thinking in a progressive business culture. If we can ­harness the collective thinking of our entire organization, the opportunities to ­succeed are endless.

Addressing Concerns – “The Low-hanging Fruit”

Our employee’s concerns should be seen as “real-time” opportunities to provide “low-cost – high-value” additives to our organizational objectives.

Concerns often show themselves early as ­hazards and near-hit situations, but ultimately as unplanned incidents, some with serious consequences.

If we address employee concerns in a t­imely, effective, and consistent manner, ­taking into ­account proper risk-assessment ­techniques at all levels, we contribute to ­reducing ­operational failure, increasing ­overall ­performance ­capabilities and helping to achieve ­organizational ­objectives.

Addressing line-level concerns ­proactively ­reduces worker interface risk and events ­that result in unfavorable bottom-line outcomes.