Thoughtful Conversations On Risk Management

Advancing Our Safety Culture Through Our Children’s Behaviors

Enjoying a wonderful sunrise, a cup of Tetley, and time with my son, I struck upon one of the most meaningful conversations associated with Safety Culture Advancement that I’ve had to date.

I am a father of four wonderful teenagers and often, as a concerned father and a professional safety leader, I find myself wondering how do my children manage their day-to-day behaviors to help keep themselves safe. As parents we do think about their safety frequently.

Liam, my seventeen-year-old son, had just received his driving license. Months earlier, I began my coaching campaign to ensure that he had the necessary skills to understand the significant risks associated with driving. He attended Young Driver training and passed his written and physical driving exams. One would think he should be well equipped to begin his driving adventures.

As we sipped our tea on the deck, I shared my concerns about driving, and Liam quickly assured me that he could handle it. He reminded me that I had been coaching him about safety for as long as he could remember. I countered that driving was different, and the outcome had the potential to be much more significant than other previous risks he had encountered.

Committed to Liam’s well-being, I felt the need to bring home the message of risk management, so I kept the conversation going. I began with an analogy that would, hopefully, bring safety and risk management to a whole new level of understanding. The analogy came from the every day task of: “MOWING THE LAWN.”

I asked Liam, “If I had not consistently encouraged you to use proper boots and protection for your eyes, ears, and hands when you were mowing the lawn—do you think there would have been a higher risk of you having had an accident? What about assessing the yard for foreign objects prior to cutting, and inspecting the mower prior to every use? Would the risk of you being harmed have increased?

He quickly agreed with these questions, and said “yes” that the risk of being harmed would increase. I then proceeded to probe further to see if my numerous teachings had really sunk in.

I asked him, “Liam, if you witnessed your younger brother, Joshua, cutting the grass without proper hazard spotting or wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE), what would you do?” He assured me that it was his responsibility as Joshua’s older brother to coach him on risk management and ask him to wear correct PPE and check the lawn for hazards.

I asked him if he was willing to consistently take that approach with anyone including strangers to remind and encourage good risk management and safe behaviors.

He said, “Even if it wasn’t my brother?” I said, “yes, even if it wasn’t your brother.” Again, he said, “yes.”

So, it would seem that my many conversations and sometime lectures with Liam were paying off. He was aware of taking precautions and also ensuring that others did the same.

We talked further about what could happen if Liam or I were not there to ensure that Joshua would make the right decisions to reduce the risk of injury to himself or others?

We reasoned that the more he was consistently coached from the beginning, the more likely he would be to use safe decision-making when left on his own.

So I continued the conversation with Liam, “Let’s suppose that, Joshua, is cutting the grass with no immediate supervision, and he is providing good risk management by wearing all the correct PPE. Then a friend of his stops by, flags Joshua down, and, once the mower is off, starts teasing Joshua about all “the gear” that he is wearing–“fancy glasses, etc.” Joshua hesitates as if to remove his safety glasses, but pauses and instead begins to explain to his friend why safety makes good sense. Joshua, having had significant coaching, uses the example of losing his eye and being blinded while mowing the grass by simply not wearing safety glasses. In that moment, his friend seems to ponder and a little flicker occurs in his eyes as if it suddenly makes sense to the mocking boy. I asked, “Do you think your brother did the right thing?”

Believing Joshua did the right thing, Liam explained, “He may have actually changed the way his friend thought about things; he stood for what he believed in. Acting on that belief will help reduce the risk of having accident.”

I smiled and continued, “Later that day, Joshua’s friend, who seemed to think deeply about losing his sight and his own safety, stops to talk to his dad. His father barks a command to the boy to go cut the grass—“it’s up to your knees,” he chimes! The father is too busy to stop and consider three very important questions:

1. What could go wrong?
2. How bad could that be?
3. And above all, how could he prevent harm from affecting his son?

You see it’s always been that way—just get the job done—no need to consider risk or provide protection. I asked Liam, “How do you think the young boy is feeling in that moment?” Liam answered, “Perhaps alot like Joshua, when he was being mocked. Perhaps, a little conflicted but, at the same time, he probably wants to do the right thing—the new thing, the better, safer way.”

I continued, “The young boy is now at his pivotal place and begins to head out instinctively doing what he has been told so often to do, but then he stops. He turns and, hesitantly, says to his father, “Dad, if I go and cut the grass without protecting myself, then it’s likely that I may be blinded or worse. I really think it’s a good idea to wear safety glasses. Do you think I could get a pair before I start?”

“The father, a man set in his ways who scorned and teased those who chose to act safely in the past, now sits at his pivotal place. He knows that, if he tells his son to cut the grass without providing safe behavior and proper PPE, his son could be seriously injured, and he would have had the opportunity to prevent it. The son waits patiently for his father’s usual command to “just get it done” but instead his father stands up, puts his hand on his son’s shoulder, and agrees that nothing is more important than his safety.”

I’m happy to report that Liam left that day in the car to begin a lifelong journey of risk management but not before checking the weather, doing his vehicle walk-around, putting on his seatbelt, and pondering those three simple questions:

1. What could go wrong?
2. How bad could that be?
3. And above all, how could he prevent harm from occurring?

As he drove off, I sat there feeling content that he would make the right decisions in his life to ensure his safety and the safety of others.