I've discovered over the course of my career that the term "conducted coaching" is used quite liberally. It's unfortunate. While there are many good ways to conduct coaching, here is how I like to work and encourage others to do the same. Stop: Stop walking and examine the actions and conditions to fully grasp the... Continue Reading →
Throughout my career as a safety professional, I've seen a plethora of safety audit forms. These forms, while a useful tool, place a lot of focus on identifying unsafe conditions. However, most fail to place enough emphasis on unsafe behaviors. Example: Ladders: Are ladders tied off? Answer: No Corrective action: Tie off ladder. Most unsafe... Continue Reading →
Being called a safety professional isn't granted to a person simply based on their job title. Job titles are important, but a safety coordinator can be a safety professional while a safety director may simple be a safety ass. Yes, I said it. Being a safety professional is about how you implement safety and interact... Continue Reading →
Our team is re-working our site orientation program starting with behavior, leadership and culture. From there we get into the safe work rules. Since every orientation has to have a test to document information retention we are creating all new test questions. In my experiences, too often tests are designed to ensure workers pass on... Continue Reading →
Can you correct a problem you are unaware of? Can you meet all of the parameters if you dont know what the parameters are? Will a person maintain a high level of motivation and enthusiasm by being reprimanded for not meeting these unknown expectations? The answer to all of these questions is No. Yet day... Continue Reading →
One of my principles to establishing and maintaining a good safety culture among the crew members is to acknowledge and respond to their concerns in a timely manner. Some instances I can provide a resolution on the spot and other times it may require consulting with others and getting approvals (such as ideas for hard... Continue Reading →
Job titles matter; so do job descriptions and company expectations. I routinely look at help wanted ads for safety professionals. I started doing this when I was new to the career field as a means to ensure I was directing my learning on the items companies were seeking. It started as a simple idea and... Continue Reading →
I'm not saying we need to chase down the VP of construction and instruct him or her on ladder safety. What I am saying is that we do need to manage our managers and provide them information they may not have. Let's talk about safety culture. Many of us try to establish the culture and... Continue Reading →
