In any business venture, we get results through careful planning of activities and through measuring not only the results but the activities that the people undertake to get those results. The creation of safety excellence is accomplished in exactly the same way.

When I’m speaking at conferences or conducting training sessions, it’s not unusual for me to meet frustrated managers and safety folks who are beside themselves with their lack of results in reducing injuries. They are frustrated because their current method of keeping their employees safe isn’t working. It’s from some of these folks that I hear statements and questions like, “Why don’t people use more common sense?” or, “Safety is only common sense!”

I had the good fortune to meet and work with one of my career mentors: Dan Petersen. Dan had influenced my thinking about safety management through his numerous books, videos and magazine articles on the subject of safety management, long before I even met him.

Leaders lead through inspiration and perspiration. They say what they want and inspire others to make those things happen through simple activities that make it obvious that the vision they have for the future is real. They walk the talk.

The challenge we all face as people working with other people, is to align support from others for what we believe needs to be done. There are many great books on the subject of influencing people, selling ideas and the power of persuasion. If you are in the OH&S business, I recommend you spend some of your valuable time learning how some of these techniques can help you become more effective at your job.

I have a number of wonderful client companies who are striving to improve their safety efforts by helping people understand just how personal safety is and why it truly needs to be that way.

During training sessions that we have developed, we spend time with employees (and in some cases, contractors) to discuss our personal stories of how safety (or sometimes the lack of it) has affected our lives. Sometimes the stories are humorous; often they are tragic. Either way, the process of discussing safety becomes very personal and has dramatic impacts on the participating individuals.

In Canada, an important professional designation in the field of health and safety management is provided and administered by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). The designation has been in existence since 1976. The BCRSP has committed itself to the ongoing enhancement and progress of the safety profession.

If you want to change the way that you think, try spending a day with an astronaut. 

Unfortunately, less than 500 people have had the space experience so our chances of doing this are indeed rare. Let’s face it, looking at our big blue marble of a planet through the window of a space vehicle is bound to change the way you think about a great number of human challenges.